Graduation and Gifts (Untouchable Book 8) by Heather Long (ebook reader play store .txt) 📗

“And we’ll fix it,” I confirmed. “Because that’s what we do.”

What we would continue to do.

Every.

Damn.

Time.

Jake

“How are you handling the changes?”

Okay, the psychologist lady was nice, but she asked weird and somewhat irritating questions. “What kind of question is that?”

“A straightforward one. You went from being primarily a friend group dating multiple girls to a group that now dates one girl. You’re living together. You’ve already faced several challenges. Now you have a lot of life issues facing you. How are you handling the changes? Not just as a group, but individually.”

Before I could growl out an answer, Coop leaned forward elbows on his knees. “I think we’re all handling it like we did before. We talk. Sometimes we argue and debate. But at the end of the day, it’s an individual call on the personal issues and we do our best to support each other.”

“Even if you disagree with how one or more of you is handling something?” Erin studied us in turn, and I had to wonder what she saw. One thing Frankie had been clear about was that she had discussed us with Erin, not invasively, but our relationship. There was no judgment in the woman’s eyes or her tone.

The fact Frankie liked her so much was a plus in her column, but the whole process was making my skin itch.

“We try to ask questions if we don’t understand something,” Bubba offered. “Or we try to head off questions by being honest ourselves. You don’t always know what everyone needs to know or understands if you don’t share.”

I didn’t laugh, but he had a point. He had actually come to me and talked to me about the play he and Frankie liked to engage in, and I was glad he’d told me. As intriguing as it all was, I’d probably have hit first and asked questions later if I’d ever found him tying her up. Now? Now it intrigued the hell out of me.

Then there was Coop’s voyeurism. Bubba hadn’t totally gotten that, so I pointed it out and it had helped.

“Sometimes, we can talk to each other when we get something one of the others doesn’t.” Rather than use those examples, I said, “I’ve known Frankie a long time. Coop’s known her longer. Sometimes, he sees stuff that even I don’t. He can give us a heads-up if he notices something amiss. That said, Bubba pays pretty good attention to the shifting dynamic, though one might say he’s had to get better with words.”

Not missing a beat, Bubba flipped me off.

“That said…” I continued with a grin this time as I glanced over to find Frankie watching me. The warmth in her green eyes eased some of the tension right out of my shoulders. “Sometimes, we have to just confront each other and not let the other one get away with burying or dismissing what they’re feeling or thinking. It’s easy to say what is happening to them is more important than what is happening to me.”

“Even when we’re not always thrilled with the confrontation,” Frankie pointed out. Then she blew out a breath. “At the beginning of the school year after I’d avoided them all summer, they found different ways of calling me on it. Jake tends to be more direct, while Coop prefers sneak attacks.” She glanced at Archie and then Bubba. “Archie and Ian are a lot more subtle.”

I snorted. “Archie is not subtle.”

“Bite me,” Archie retorted with a smirk. “I can be subtle.”

“‘Can’ and ‘are’ are two very different things,” I countered. “You tend to bulldoze your way into or around a situation until you can take control. You also prefer ambushes.”

Archie’s eyes narrowed, but it was Bubba who cut a look at me. “Sometimes, we prefer patience and letting everyone else figure out what they are doing before we decide to take the matter out of their hands.”

“Until someone decides to confess something that doesn’t just involve them but throws everyone else under the bus.” Coop’s tone was idle, but the faint whiteness around his knuckles wasn’t.

“Point,” Archie said. “We don’t get to make arbitrary decisions for each other.”

“Oh, we don’t?” Bubba’s tone was mild, but there was a crackle of tension in the air.

“And this is where I whistle because they are going to start arguing,” Frankie said almost patiently, and I flicked a look to her. “Or I let it go, because for the most part, they can settle the disputes on their own.”

“How do their disputes make you feel?”

It was like someone snapped a switch, and all of us focused on her.

“Sometimes they frustrate me,” she admitted, picking at some invisible piece of lint on her shorts. She also shot Archie an apologetic smile, but he just kissed her hand and I had to bite back my own rolled eyes response. I could hate the guy, but he just did it. He charmed her. He always had. It wasn’t even something he had to fucking try at.

Asshole.

“Other times, I think they’re ridiculous,” Frankie said with a wry smile. “Sometimes, I just want to leave them to sort it out, and sometimes, I want to throw things at them so they’ll knock it off. But I always know they care about each other and that if they are fighting, it’s because they have their own points of view. I just never want them to fight over me.”

“That’s gonna happen, Baby Girl,” I said before the others could jump in, and it was my turn to lean forward and study her. “We love you. All of us. We all want what is best for you. Now, we don’t always agree on what is best, but I’d like to think we’ve figured out a few things along the way.”

“Agreed,” Bubba said slowly, and Coop nodded. That just left Archie, and as I stared at him, he gave me a slow smirk.

Really?

“Yeah,” he admitted with a faint chuckle. “Fine, I’ve learned that I can’t fix everything, even when I want to.