Chapter 3

• Jadon cringed at the loud voice and threw a glance over his shoulder at the sleeping drunk on the table. Not wanting to wake the man or risk the attention of someone else, he grabbed Asher’s arm and pushed him back outside.
• “Hey!” Asher protested but moved his legs when Jadon didn’t let go and walked them down a few steps and toward the driveway where he could see his Cadillac XT4 and it was thankfully still in one piece.
• “We need to leave this place,” Jadon gritted out, not letting go of Asher’s arm.
• Asher huffed and tried to pull his arm free. “Yeah. Okay. But let go, man! You’re making me feel like a naughty teenager being dragged back home by his elder brother. Not cool.”
• Not willing to be delayed, Jadon refused to let go. “Seeing how that party turned out, I feel as though I was the only adult there. I can’t believe I allowed you to drag me to such a party.”
• “Oh, come on.” Asher huffed. “Loosen those shorts a little. You are beginning to sound like an old man.”
• Jadon ignored his brother’s words. They had reached his SUV. He gave the vehicle a quick once over, satisfied to see no scratches, and then unlocked the doors before dropping Asher’s arm and going around to the driver’s side.
• A few minutes later, they were driving away from the house along a rather quiet suburban street with similar large two-story houses like the one the party had been held in. Jadon was almost surprised no one had called the police on them last night for the noise, but he was glad they hadn’t.
• Jadon would have probably woken up in a police cell instead of a bed and then there would have been no hope of sweeping the night and everything that had happened at that party under a metaphorical rag and forget about it.
• Asher huffed again, snapping Jadon’s attention away from his thoughts. He had just stopped at a stop sign, so he shot his brother a look, not surprised to see the younger man almost pouting like an adolescent. Asher’s dyed black hair was sticking out in every direction and even had strands of grass in it. Jadon frowned.
• “Seriously, dude, did you sleep outside on the grass or something?” Jadon asked, puzzled.
• “What?” Asher gave him a confused frown.
• Jadon waved a hand in the general direction of Asher’s head and got them moving again after checking the road was clear. “You have grass in your hair.”
• “Oh.” Asher chuckled. “Fell asleep on a lounge by the pool. Woke up on the grass.” He laughed as though that was the funniest thing that could have happened and was completely normal.
• “Glad you had fun,” Jadon deadpanned.
• “Hey! You would have had fun too if you stopped being so uptight. You got a damn rod up your backside always making you so stiff and moody. No wonder you ain’t got a girlfriend. Where did you spend the night, anyway? Did some girl actually feel pity for you and give you a little service?”
• A flash of the bed he had woken up in ran through his mind. Jadon tightened his hold on the steering wheel. “No. I slept on an empty chair in the hallway,” he lied.
• Asher turned and looked at him. “For real? Damn. That sucks. You could have probably gone home last night. Lots of people left. I think my girlfriend left last night, too.” Asher rubbed at the back of his neck. “Damn. I think I have to buy her something nice. I completely lost track of her after my second glass.”
• Brows deep in a furrow, Jadon tried to remember what Asher had said about his new girlfriend, but nothing came to mind. He didn’t even remember meeting the woman. He shook his head. “What’s the point? Won’t you dump her in a week like all the others?”
• Asher snorted and turned back to face the window. “I shot myself in the leg this time. She’s the daughter of Mrs. Mvula. Remember mom’s friend? Yeah, well, I have to play nice for at least a few months.”
• Jadon couldn’t say he remembered the woman or any daughter she had. And at that very moment, he was more concerned with the gaps in his memory from last night and figuring out the identity of the woman he had slept with. Asher’s dilemma about keeping a girlfriend longer than a week was not his problem.
• Still, he said, “Sucks to be you.” Then an idea popped into his head and he spoke again. “Hey, Asher, did your friends add something to the drinks last night?”
• A burst of laughter filled the SUV. Asher slapped his knee. “Nuh! It wasn’t that kind of party. It was just a good party.”
• Good party? Right, Jadon thought, his lips pressed into a thin line. It had been so good he couldn’t remember it and now he had to make an appointment with his doctor. He cringed. Yeah, he wasn’t looking forward to that.