Time to Bounce (Carter Brothers #6)

Chapter 16

The empty spot in my bed is for snacks, not for liars.

— Athena to Gable

ATHENA

“ So who was that delicious morsel talking to you, Athena ?” Pat asked as we walked together out of the communications building.

“ You mean that one?” Porfirio , our resident gay man, asked.

My head jerked up, but I was disappointed to see that it wasn’t Gable at all, but Garrett .

“ No , that’s his twin brother, Garrett ,” I said. “ Which you know.”

“ Oh , yeah, you’re right. I know him. I didn’t see the dog until now.” He paused. “ Where did he get that scar?”

I vaguely remembered Garrett being under cover a long time ago before he was a K -9 officer. But I didn’t remember how, exactly, he’d gotten the scar. Only that it was work related.

“ No clue,” I said, hoping not to continue the conversation.

If there was one thing Garrett was sensitive about, it was his scar.

I didn’t know why, though.

The man looked great with a scar.

Since Garrett was leaning against my car, I had a feeling he was waiting for me.

“ I’ll see y’all tomorrow,” I said as I peeled away to head Garrett’s way.

He jerked his chin up at me when I got close enough before saying, “ I was tasked in making sure you got home safely, as well as letting you know that there’s a possibility that Darryl Horton , also known as Madman , might get out on a technicality.”

I blinked, my stomach dropping.

“ What ?” I breathed.

“ Yeah ,” Garrett said. “ Gable wanted me to tell you so you’d keep your eyes peeled, and make sure that you were careful.”

My shoulders slumped. “ That man is like a roach. Still surviving.”

Garrett smirked. “ Great description. I tend to agree.”

I looked down at Boss , who was looking across the street at a couple of doves on the grass.

“ He looks like he’s distracted,” I mused.

“ He’s hungry, tired, and ready to be home.” He paused. “ Like me. So let’s go so I can make sure you’re inside safely.”

I winked at him. “ Yes , sir.”

He snorted. “ That might work on my brother, but not me. Get in the car.”

I got in the car and did, indeed, head home.

I arrived at my house, and all was well.

Until I heard all the damn music coming from my neighbor’s place.

Since that was a common occurrence, I chose to wave Garrett off once I got into my place, and headed straight for my kitchen where I grabbed a yogurt.

I sat there, eating my yogurt, listened to my neighbor’s loud music, and sighed.

It sounded like really bad sensual music.

I frowned and went out onto my back porch, my eyebrows knitting as soon as I could hear the music better.

Not music.

Not music at all.

I sat there, mouth open, and glared at the fence parting me from the next yard over.

What the hell was he doing over there?

Since I was already out there, I went to check on my bees.

I had a really cool hive that allowed you to see the bees in action. And when you wanted honey, all you had to do was twist the nozzle, and you could have some.

It was my first foray into bees, and I found that I enjoyed it.

Other than, now that I had them, I was slightly terrified every time that Gable came over.

I’d have to get rid of them.

Maybe Pat from work could take them…

I sat there for a full ten minutes as I contemplated what to do next with the people next door.

I was the head of the stupid neighborhood watch program now.

And , right on cue, my phone buzzed.

Winston Herman -15034:

Hi , Ms . Athena . This is Winston at 15034 Eleventh Street . I know this is a weird thing to say, but we have a neighbor that’s listening to some really loud… stuff.

I winced.

Me :

I’ll call. Or text.

I’d definitely text, because I had a phobia of calling people.

The best thing that had ever happened to me was when all the food places started creating their own apps where you could place your order rather than calling it in. Now if I could only get 911 or my doctor’s office to go to text, we’d be cooking.

Winston Herman -15034:

Thank you. Appreciate it. My wife is losing her mind.

I could imagine.

Winston and his wife, Shirley , were from a time when women stayed at home, men worked. You went to church every Sunday , and you had as many kids as you could have. Oh , and you spied on your neighbors and complained about them all the time.

Well , Shirley , Winston’s wife, was the complainer.

Winston just went with the flow, because what else could he do but keep the peace at home?

I heard a low, long moan come from the neighbor’s house, and thought… fuck it.

I didn’t call the cops.

That wasn’t the way to get scary people like Nick McKinney to trust me.

Instead , I texted him.

Me :

Hey , Nick . I’m sorry, but can you keep it down? I have a few neighbors that are wanting to call the cops on you because your, erm, ‘music’ is too loud.

It wasn’t music, and we both knew it.

Nick :

What music?

It wasn’t music.

It was porn.

Really loud porn.

And by the looks of it, it was on the loudspeaker, and he didn’t realize it.

I sent him a video.

Me :

see attached.

There were gray dots dancing on the screen for a while before he finally replied.

Nick :

I’m not at home. Give me ten.

Oh , boy.

Me :

Okay . Thank you.

It took him seven.

I could tell because I could hear his loud ass car coming from a mile away.

Surprisingly , the people listening to the porn in the backyard didn’t seem to hear it, because the ‘music’ didn’t shut off.

In those seven minutes, the darkness started to take over, and the last rays of the sun started to seep behind the house to my right.

I went back inside, my head already pounding.

This was going to be no fun.

But , because I was a hopeless nosy person, I went out onto the front porch so I could see and hear better.

The backyard was good and all, but there was a ten-foot fence, meaning I couldn’t see.

From my side porch, though, if I wanted to, I could see directly into their backyard due to the angle.

I found Nick standing in his yard, fuming, as he looked at what was happening in his backyard.

Finally , it looked like he’d had enough, because he took a step forward, bent down, and yanked a power cord out of the wall beside his feet.

The noise in the backyard abruptly turned off, and when he twisted to the side, I could see that there was a full on outdoor orgy going on in the backyard.

My mouth fell open as I saw all of the bodies—all of them naked—on pool floats, patio furniture, and even in the grass.

All of them were naked, wet, and staring in shock at Nick .

“ You better get this fuckin’ shit out of my yard, right now, before I pull this forty-cal out of my goddamn back pocket and start lighting up asses!” Nick seethed.

I blinked at the venom dripping from his voice.

“ What are you doing home?” Nick’s girlfriend asked.

I couldn’t remember her name.

She was fairly new, and though I’d seen her around, and Nick had introduced her to me at the last neighborhood meeting, I still couldn’t remember.

“ I’m here because the goddamn neighborhood watch bitch asked me to turn down the music! And since I wasn’t home, I pulled up the goddamn cameras, and guess what I saw. Your fat fuckin’ ass bouncing on this random guy’s dick!” Nick snarled.

I didn’t take offense to Nick calling me a bitch.

Every woman was a bitch in his eyes.

His girlfriend took offense to the ‘fat ass’ part, because she launched herself at Nick .

“ I am not fat!” she cried out.

“ Get the fuck out of here!” he bellowed.

I moved, thinking maybe it was time to slink back inside, but the movement caught the woman’s eyes.

“ I’m gonna fucking kill you, bitch!” the woman screeched.

“ No , you’re fucking not,” Nick snarled, pushing his girl back.

Before she could reply, red and blue lights lit up the night sky around us.

And none other than the man I’d been thinking about nonstop all day got out.

“ Problem here?” Gable asked.

I refused to look at his sexy ass right now with an angry, oiled up woman standing naked in her side yard appearing as if she was aiming for me.

Nick was doing a damn good job holding her, despite all the oil.

“ The fuckin’ problem is,” the woman screamed, pointing her long-nailed fingers at me, “this bitch reported me having an affair to my man, and now he wants to kick me out!”

I could feel Gable’s eyes on me.

“ I’m not sure that’s her fault,” Gable guessed.

“ She called him! And he’s making me leave! This is where I live!” she cried out.

“ You’ve lived here for a fuckin’ month, bitch. Now , get your shit, get these used goddamn condoms out my yard, and get the fuck gone!” he yelled. Turning to Gable , he said, “ Can you trespass them?”

“ Sure ,” Gable said, eyes sparkling.

He was enjoying this.

He pulled out his ticket book, and he started getting names.

I went inside and started getting ready for our date.

I was halfway dressed, in my tightest jeans I had, a bra, and black combat boots, when I heard him call my name.

I peeked out of the bathroom to find him in the living room, eyes downcast.

“ Yeah ?” I called.

His gaze moved upward to find mine, and he froze.

“ I was, uh, going to tell you that I had to call in some backup. There’s definitely some drug use going on back there.” He hesitated. “ I have three black and whites that are out there, but since I’m the first on scene, it might take me a bit to get ready to go.”

I reached down and unbuttoned my pants, thinking maybe I should change them.

His eyes tracked the movement. “ What are you doing?”

I grinned wickedly then. “ I think I’m gonna wear a dress.”

He watched me avidly as I started to struggle to get them off my ass and down my thighs.

“ You’re not wearing any panties.”

I squeaked, surprised to find him so close.

“ I had them on,” I paused. “ They just came off when I was pulling these down. I think I might have to retire these until I lose the ten pounds I gained the last year.”

“ Please , please, please don’t lose that weight. I love having something to grab.” He moved around to my backside, which was wiggling as I tried to get the jeans off my calves.

Shit , they were tight.

“ I …” I began, but stopped when I felt his mouth on my pussy.

On .

My .

Pussy .

“ Gable ,” I gasped, my hands going to the floor to steady myself.

“ Mmm ,” he said as he went in for another lick.

“ What are you doing?” I gasped.

“ What does it feel like I’m doing?” he asked.

“ It feels like,” I moaned. “ It feels like you’re doing something that you shouldn’t be doing since you just told me you’d be a few more minutes outside while you handled all of that.”

He took a few more languid licks of my pussy, once dipping inside to taste me fully, before he pulled back.

After squeezing my ass in his hands, he said, “ You’re right.”

Then the asshole started heading for the door.

I stared at his back in disbelief. “ You did not just do that.”

He winked at me over his shoulder before reaching the door and slowly opening it.

I squeaked and backed away, hiding myself mostly by the hallway wall before calling out to him.

“ I’ll bet your parents change the subject when someone asks about you,” I snarled.

Gable’s mouth twitched, and I wanted to punch him right in the smirk he wasn’t doing a good job of hiding.

“ Be ready to go in fifteen minutes, darlin’,” he ordered, reaching down to adjust himself in his pants before heading out the door.

I moaned and clenched my thighs together.

Then a slow smile lit my mouth.

If he wanted to fight dirty, then two could play.

Going to the back of my closet, I pulled out the one black dress I never wore because I always felt like it was a bit too revealing.

A bra wouldn’t be happening because it was too tight—not to mention there wasn’t any fabric to hide the straps. Plus , if I had any clothing on underneath, you could definitely see the indentions in my fat from the underwear lines. And we couldn’t have that, could we?

Once I was dressed, I went to the bathroom and pulled my hair up in a sleek, high ponytail. I put on mascara, some sparkly eyeshadow that complemented my eyes, and some eyeliner.

The last touch was to take my iWatch off and put an actual, non-smart watch on instead. If Gable was going to take me out on a date, I was going to give him my full attention.

Once done, I smoothed on some lip gloss, then went to the bedroom to find my black heels.

Dressed , I picked up my phone and purse from the counter, locked all the doors, and headed outside.

I surreptitiously watched, shoulder leaning against the post, as Gable did his thing.

He looked so sexy and capable.

Him in his black tactical pants, black boots, and black polo that had DPD on the left breast.

His beard was shorter today, as was his hair. Had he gone to the barber?

I wasn’t sure what to think about how short it was.

Not that I didn’t like it, but I was kind of partial to the unkempt look when it came to him. As if he didn’t care what the world thought about his appearance.

But had he cared to ask, everyone would let him know that he was mouthwatering.

His hair was darker than his twin’s.

Longer , thicker, and pullable.

His long eyelashes were to die for and every woman’s dream.

My dream.

Even from here I could see them fan across his upper cheeks as he blinked, incredulous, to what one of the cops was saying to him.

His eyes.

They looked extra blue tonight, as if the setting sun and the lights from the cars around him were making them pop.

He hadn’t noticed me yet, but a lot more of his coworkers had.

The whispering started, quiet at first so as to not alert the bossman. But eventually someone close to him said something and pointed, and Gable’s head jerked up, immediately finding me.

His mouth opened, then snapped shut.

I smiled at him and gave him a single finger wave.

He said something to the men around him, something sharp that had them all looking away from me, then he continued to talk.

It was sexy watching him work.

Like he was made to lead.

I wondered what he looked like in his dress blues.

Gable and Garrett had gone into the Navy when they were eighteen.

Would Gable even fit into his old dress blues?

I doubted it.

He looked like he was solid muscle, and he’d been out, from what I understood from Maven , for at least six years now.

I …

“ Hey .”

I looked over to find Nick standing on his side of the property line, staring at me like he’d never seen me before.

Nick was, from what I could tell, a pretty decent guy.

The only issue was that he had trouble finding a woman who wasn’t a bitch.

“ Hey , Nick ,” I said quietly.

“ When did, you, uh…” He paused, frowning. “ Do you want to go out some time?”

I shook my head, smiling despite the rejection I was about to give. “ I’m very solidly taken.”

Gable had said he wanted to try.

And I was one who gave it my all.

Gable was something I’d wanted for a very, very long time.

I deserved to be happy, and I had a feeling that, if I let him, Gable would make that happen.

“ Who ?” he asked, as if he was ready for a challenge.

Before I could answer, a couple of loud greetings of ‘see ya’ and ‘catch you later’ were yelled, and then I heard bootsteps making their way toward me.

I looked over just in time to see Gable marching toward me as if he was on a mission.

And because I wanted to, when he got close enough, I launched myself at him from the top step.

He caught me easily, just like I knew he would.

One hand went to cover my ass—which was probably a good thing because my dress rode up a little bit on the take off—and the other went up to my upper back.

“ You are in so much trouble,” he growled against my lips.

I smiled, my teeth brushing against his upper lip, and said, “ What’s for dinner?”

He said something under his breath before saying louder, “ You .”