Narcos…

“Hey, man. She looks like she’s doing awesome,” I leaned back against the bar and looked over. Driller stepped up next to me, Yale breaking off from him and going straight for his Aly Cat.

I cast my eyes in the direction of Everleigh, sitting among the rest of the club’s women. She was smiling, genuinely smiling, but she wasn’t talking, just listening, finding her own way, nodding along while the other ladies chatted.

“Yeah, she’s doing great,” I said.

“Taking her to your place tonight?” he asked.

“Yep.”

“Cool, cool.”

I tore my eyes off my girl and gave my friend some side-eye while I swigged my beer.

“Spill it,” I ordered, and Driller bowed his head and laughed a little.

“Nothing, man. I’m happy for you, that’s all.”

“Buuut...” I lead off.

“No ‘But’, it’s just – “

I laughed, “Motherfucker, ‘It’s just’ is the same exact thing as a ‘But.’”

He laughed too, and said, “It is not!”

“Okay, whatever, it’s just what, then?”

“It’s just things are changing,” he said with a shrug, and I handed him my beer. He took a drink and handed it back.

“The more things change,” I said, looking back at Everleigh who smiled at me from across the room, the warm glow of happiness in her eyes. I found myself smiling, too, when I finished, “The more they stay the same.”

I looked back at Driller, who was searching my face, his expression too solemn for my liking. I took a swig of my beer and passed it back to him, and waved him off when he took a drink and tried to hand it back. He needed it a fuck of a lot more than I did, and I could always get another.

He nodded slowly, and I watched him work out my meaning for himself. He finally sighed and still looked unhappy.

“Move in with us,” I said. “When I get us a house. Be our roomie.”

“What?” he demanded, and nearly choked on another swig of beer.

“You heard me. Let’s all start out together. I don’t want or need you thinking anything stupid, like I’m going anywhere on you. It’s always been you and me; that shit isn’t changing.”

“Shouldn’t you check with the little missus before making unilateral decisions like that?”

I looked back to Everleigh and sighed. “You know, bro… she’s so generous, so kind, I don’t honestly think she’d have a problem with it. I know it’d make me feel a fuck of a lot better.”

“How so?”

“Well, for one, if we’re on opposite work schedules, it means she’ll be home with someone I know I can trust to protect her, rather than by herself.”

“True dat,” he agreed.

“You’d save money, we’d save money, and really, things only have to change up if you managed to get yourself a woman…”

He snorted, “That’s the last thing I need.”

“Eventually,” I said and he nodded.

“Eventually, but right now, I think I’m cool with one new normal at a fuckin’ time.”

“So you’ll think about it?” I asked.

“As long as Bright Eyes is cool with it, or it’s what she wants, then yeah. Yeah, I’d do it.”

“You just want unfettered access to some hot pussy,” Oz declared, knowing how we rolled. I laughed, and Driller finally did have beer come out his nose.

“She says ‘No’ I don’t touch,” he said.

I smiled, “Only reason I’d see her saying ‘No’ is if I weren’t home and she starts second-guessing herself, or me. She fuckin’ loves you, dude.”

“Maybe,” he said, “But nothing like the way she loves you.”

“That’s why she’s my girl and not our girl. You never know where life’s gonna take you, though.”

Driller snorted and Oz shook his head, “You two fuckers are just too weird for me with the sharing shit.” He walked away and Driller and I traded a look and practically rolled our eyes at the same time.

“Doesn’t know what he’s missing,” Driller declared.

“Doesn’t have a homie that he’s tight with like we are,” I said.

“Kind of sad for him when you put it that way.”

“Right?”

“Tell you what,” he said. “I’m game if she’s game, but I need to hear it from her.”

“That’s fair enough, bro. You coming back with us tonight?”

“Nah, your first night having your woman in your bed; that should just be you two.”

I snorted.

“I ain’t slept in my own bed for so long, it probably isn’t even comfortable to me anymore.” I looked at Driller, who gave me a look in return, and I immediately went on the defensive. “What?” I demanded. “I can’t even remember what it feels like, it’s been so long!”

He started cracking up and I rolled my eyes. Like seriously, he started laughing so hard he couldn’t even speak, wheezing out between gales of it, “You stupid.”

The laughter was infectious and before long, I found myself laughing too, even though what we were laughing about was so fucking stupid.

“You guys are fuckin’ ridiculous, man,” Oz declared, shaking his head. “Y’all ain’t even that drunk.”

“Leave them alone, sensual chocolate,” Pasquale came to the rescue from over by Everleigh, who’d been delighted to see him again. “It’s probably stress and a whole lot of tired.” He cocked a hand against his narrow waist and arched one overdone eyebrow at Oz as if daring him to challenge him on it. Oz was too busy laughing himself, shaking his head, because unlike us, he was that drunk, which was rare for him.

Everleigh drifted over and wrapped her arms around me, resting her chin on my chest and turning those luminous eyes up to me.

“Hello, beautiful,” Driller said as I opened my mouth to say essentially the same thing.

She smiled and said softly, “Hey, how are my handsome men?” I barely heard her over the din of the bar, but couldn’t help but smile when I made out her words.

“We’re good,” I said. “How are you feeling?”

“Overwhelmed, but I’m good too.”

“You ready to get out of here?” I asked.

“You guys ready to take me?” she asked, and Driller and I exchanged a look.

I winked at him and smiled down at her and said, “Sure are, babe. There’s something we want to ask you about…”

She smiled a thousand-watt smile and nodded, “Then let’s go.”

I was nervous about letting Everleigh into my apartment. I mean, it really was a piece of shit and I was kind of a minimalist. I didn’t have a whole lot of personal shit. There wasn’t any point, when I didn’t spend any real time here.

I let her come in only after I swept the place and made sure there wasn’t anyone lurking, still on high alert. I was pretty sure it was just going to be ingrained habit, and considering our accomplishments, it was likely to be a good thing. You know what I mean?

I left her in the care of Driller while I did my quick sweep and when I came back to the front door, my best friend was pouring on the charm, keeping my girl relaxed, and flirting like the pro at it he was.

“Okay you two, get in the apartment,” I declared, and Everleigh burst into a fit of giggles at the face Driller made. He escorted my girl past me, his hands on her shoulders and I shut the door behind them and secured it.

Everleigh stood at the foot of the bed and did a slow, three-hundred-and-sixty-degree turn to take the place in.

“I can see why you want a house,” she said softly, and Driller and I exchanged a look. She picked up on it right away and froze, cocking her head to one side and asking, “What?”

“Actually, we wanted to talk to you about that,” I said.

“Oh?”

I nodded slowly and went to her, resting my hands on her waist, pulling her close, smoothing my hands under her little jean jacket, over her dress, and feeling up her lithe body underneath it. Driller moved in to stand behind her and took her jacket from her, tossing it carelessly onto the foot of my bed. He smoothed his hands over her back, along her shoulders, digging his thumbs ever-so-slightly in between them.

I smiled as Everleigh groaned in pleasure, her eyes slipping shut. I smiled at Driller, who winked at me and put his lips next to her ear.

“How would you like this whenever you want it?” he murmured low and rough, teasing.

“Mmm,” she hummed out happily with the notion as he placed his lips on the cap of her shoulder in a light butterfly kiss.

“I would know you were safe.” I said, pitching my voice low, “even when I couldn’t be home.”

She opened her eyes and looked up at me through her lashes, her pupils already dilating with desire as Driller deepened his attentions, kissing the erogenous zone on the side of her neck. I let my hands wander over the smooth cotton and rough embroidery of her little tank-dress and she let out a little breathy sound that immediately had my dick stirring behind the fly of my jeans.

“I’d have my own room, separate from yours, so no pressure.”

“Have a bad dream and I’m not there, you can go crawl in with Driller,” I murmured, kissing her softly.

“It’d lessen the financial load on y’all and on me,” he murmured, cupping her breasts through the front of her dress.

“You don’t have to seduce me into thinking this is a good idea, you know,” she whispered, and we both laughed while I captured her mouth and Driller unzipped her dress to kiss down her back.

Loving her between us had become so damn easy, and she’d gotten better at trusting and feeling us both out. I was sure with time and clear communication, this would work for the three of us well. I was glad that she seemed open to the idea of the three of us living together, and admittedly, it took a load off my heart, knowing that she would be good if I had to be away.

She fell so naturally into our arms, fit so beautifully between us, it made my heart heavy with joy, made it ache and hurt so good with happiness, the peace it brought me a soothing, calming balm to my soul.

Even without a roof over our heads, the future was bright, held happiness and hope, and for Everleigh, it had been a long time coming.

A long time coming.