Graduation and Gifts (Untouchable Book 8) by Heather Long (best books to read for beginners TXT) 📕

Even Coop seemed to have eased up some. Only Archie was still guarded and when he squeezed my hand, I understood it.

Until we were certain, he would be.

And I was okay with that too.

Hank caught me staring and he grinned. "Everything on your pizza? Back me up here."

"Pineapple," my guys announced in chorus and Hank gripped his chest.

I just grinned.

As first steps went, this was a doozy and I was all right with it.

Chapter Two

Mad World

Frankie

"You go," Jake's soft whisper penetrated my sleepy brain.

"No," Coop countered. "You."

"Shut up," Archie said from somewhere on the floor. "You're going to wake her up."

"Just go," Ian groaned with just a hint of impatience.

"No," Jake grunted. "I'll wait. Coop can go first."

Oh fuck me, they were not going to shut up. I slit my eyes open and it was still dark. I growled but it came out more like a whimper as I buried my face back under the covers. Jake and Coop had piled in on either side of me the night before, while Archie and Ian sacked out on the floor. Someone had dragged blankets and pillows in and they'd made their pallets. I'd totally meant to help, but I'd been dead on my feet.

Coop wrapped me up in a hug, and I pretty much passed out.

"See, now you did it," Archie scolded and I groaned again.

"Why are you arguing?" It came out muffled but mostly because I had my face pressed into the pillow. We didn't have to be at school until ten. Ten-thirty at the latest, because we would be bussed over together. Archie had grumbled about that, but it was our last "bus" ride for school, ever.

"Jake needs to pee," Coop said, and I frowned.

What?

Lifting my head, I peered at Coop then at Jake. "Then go pee." Why was this even an issue when I could be sleeping?

"I can wait," Jake said. "Go back to sleep, Baby Girl."

Collapsing back against the pillows, I blinked slowly. Most of my brain was still planted in dreamland. "Wait...why would you wait? Did one of you guys break the bathroom?"

It wouldn't be the first time and the more that thought settled in, the more I frowned.

"No," Archie assured me. "He just doesn't know if Hank's awake."

Hank.

My eyes widened as awareness swept through me. Hank. My dad. He'd slept on the sofa the night before. The guys had offered him the other room, but he said the sofa was fine. Very comfortable. On the one hand, considering what the guys and I had done in the other bedroom, I was down with him not sleeping in there.

Not that the sofa was free of such memories, but I wasn't thinking about those right now. Nope. Just better for everyone if I didn't focus on it. I still couldn't believe he'd come all this way just because I left him a message.

More than that, he'd been so nice and funny and warm. "I thought you guys liked him."

"We do," Coop promised then nuzzled a kiss to my forehead.

"Yep," Jake agreed. "But this is a new dynamic and you pretty much told him we were all the boyfriends."

"And we all slept in here," Coop tacked on.

"So?" What was my sleep-fogged brain not getting? "And if you make me wake up to sort this out, I may have to hurt all of you."

"Go back to sleep, Angel," Ian murmured. "They can suffer and wait it out."

Why the hell did they have to wait? "Jake if you have to pee, go pee."

"Yeah, we kind of took your dad on as a group last night, Baby Girl. Be better to not start anything this morning if he's up, and we don't want to wake him up on accident. We can wait until you're up."

Were they for fucking real right now?

"What are you going to start if he's up?" I dragged myself upright and shoved the hair out of my face. It was dark and Tiddles let out a disgruntled meow before leaping off the bed, which set Tory off. It didn't matter what time it was, they wanted to eat.

Kill me.

"Just the one on one, Baby Girl, don't worry about it." Jake tried to soothe me, but it wasn't really working. Fuck. Tiddles let out another plaintive note and I tilted my head back before I climbed over Coop.

"I hate you all."

Coop balanced me with his hands on my hips and there was no missing his morning wood. "You don't have to go out there," he said almost suggestively.

I snorted. There was a strangled laugh from the floor that had to be Archie, and Ian let out a sigh, but Jake punched Coop in the arm. Right, they didn't want to go out there and accidentally trip over Hank. No way were we having sex with him out there.

Just, no.

"I don't get it," I muttered as I climbed off Coop. "You have no problems dealing with psychotic Maddy, but Hank, who is nice, worries you."

"Maddy we know and hate. We also don't give a fuck what she thinks," Archie explained.

"Hank's different." Coop squeezed my hand. "You like him and you're just getting to know him."

"We're not rocking the boat," Jake finished, and I sighed.

Okay.

That was sweet. Really sweet. But I could still be asleep if they just went to the bathroom and came straight back to bed.

"It's a good thing I love all of you."

I let myself out of the bedroom along with the cats who threaded around my legs. It was pretty dark in the whole apartment. A single light from the kitchen burned, not that I couldn't make the whole walk in the dark. The bathroom door closed behind me and then the second bathroom door shut as I padded into the kitchen.

Boys.

The cats were still meowing as they raced ahead, and I faltered two steps into the kitchen as both the smell of coffee and the sight of Hank standing there hit me simultaneously and chased the remnants of sleep from my brain.

Well, look