“Wow. Who are all these people?”
“Mostly family,” Koda said, taking off his seat belt. “Some are people my mom used to work with at her old manufacturing job. They were like a second family to her. To us too, I suppose, since we always spent weekends together. That’s how I know Zayn. Our moms worked together.”
“Now I’m sure neither have to work thanks to their wealthy sons.”
“The circle of life,” Koda said with a laugh as he exited the car.
Felix climbed out too and circled the car. He waited for Koda. Koda always walked with the confidence of a man with no sight issues. Sometimes, Felix forgot Koda couldn’t see. Side by side, they headed for the door. Felix eyed the house. It was big, but not gigantic. He could hear children laughing and music playing. As they neared the front steps, Felix caught himself setting his hand on the small of Koda’s back again. Koda slowed and used his stick to find the stairs.
Before they reached the front door, it opened. A brunette stood waiting with a huge grin. “Koda, baby. Didn’t you leave here with a different man?”
“Yes,” Koda said. His smile didn’t hold an ounce of shame as he leaned in and kissed the woman who was a mirror image of him. “But you know I’m a whore. This is Felix. Felix, this is my mom, Elena.”
Elena released Koda and hugged Felix. “Ah, sì. The record producer. We’ve heard about you. It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
Felix wondered what they had heard. Probably nothing good. “It’s nice to meet you too. I apologize for crashing your party. Blame Koda.”
“I always do,” Elena said with a laugh. She patted his chest. “But in this case, we love party crashers. This is an Italian family. We’re big, loud, and nosy as fuck, so be prepared.”
Felix couldn’t stop smiling. Koda had been right. This was exactly what he needed. Unfortunately, Elena didn’t stop there. She grabbed his hand and dragged him through the living room and into the kitchen. He didn’t have time to take in the modern light-colored furniture, but the place smelled good—like home-cooked food. “Now tell me everything. How long have you been dating my son? Did you steal him from Zayn? You look to be Zayn’s age. Can you afford to take care of my baby?”
Koda snorted behind them. “Your baby can take care of himself.”
Elena made a dismissive gesture as if Koda could see everything. “Yeah, yeah. I know, but you deserve to be spoiled too. You shouldn’t have to carry the relationship.”
Felix couldn’t help but to agree. “He really deserves to have someone buying him nice things, but we just work together.”
“And we’re fucking,” Koda said, making heat explode across Felix’s face.
“We’re really not.”
Elena swatted Felix’s arm. “I know. My son is the jokester. He likes to try to scandalize me, but little does he know that I’ll get to Hell before him and they’ll welcome me with open arms.” She lowered her voice to a fake whisper. “His hoe phase has nothing on mine.”
Felix had never been more thankful Koda couldn’t see, because Felix knew he was visibly dying.
“Let me grab you a drink.”
As Elena turned away to grab him a beer from the fridge, Koda pressed his lips to Felix’s ear. “I can feel your mortification. It feeds me.”
Koda’s hot breath brushing his ear had Felix turning his head. His mood instantly shifted with Koda so close. Hunger washed over him like a tidal wave. Their lips were only inches away. All Felix had to do was lean a hair closer and claim Koda’s lips. He could ruin their friendship in a matter of seconds.
Koda’s smile slipped away. His expression turned sexy as hell, making Felix’s lust skyrocket. “Maybe embarrassment isn’t what I’m feeling after all.”
Before Felix responded and humiliated himself, Koda took a step back, and Elena handed him a beer. “I still have guests out back, so I’m going to leave you boys alone. Koda can keep you entertained.”
“I’m sure.” The words were past Felix’s lips before he realized what he said. He didn’t take them back. Felix wanted to be distracted, and he was willing to bet there was a flat surface under this roof that would work for just that purpose. Fuck. He needed to get his life together.
Koda couldn’t stop smiling. Dealing with Felix’s problems was exactly the distraction Koda needed. The party was every bit as loud as it had been when he left, but Koda didn’t feel suffocated by the noise anymore. He swore he could feel Felix’s mood constantly shifting. Koda wanted to make it worse. He liked the chaos of Felix. There wasn’t a doubt in Koda’s mind that Felix would be explosive as hell in bed. All that pent-up emotion would blow up all over Koda one of these days. Koda couldn’t wait.
“I’d offer you a tour, but I’m blind.”
Felix snorted—like Koda made him choke on his beer. “It’s fine. I’m sure your mom doesn’t want me poking through her house anyway.”
Koda shrugged. “There’s probably a hundred people here. I doubt she cares. Do you want to join the party?”
“Sure.”
At Felix’s flippant tone, Koda snagged his arm and headed for the back door. As he wrapped his fingers around Felix’s bicep, Koda couldn’t stop himself from pushing up Felix’s sleeve and going for bare skin. He stroked. Koda wondered if it made him weird that he much preferred the way Felix’s arm felt compared to Zayn’s. Zayn was a bodybuilder. No doubt people fawned over his hard body. Koda knew his mom did. But Koda liked the way Felix felt. He felt like Koda’s type. Koda hoped his family didn’t scare Felix away. They weren’t exactly subtle, and some of them were downright mean. Koda wanted Felix to stick around.
The moment they stepped outside, Koda lost Felix. People engulfed them and introduced themselves. Felix got pulled away and Koda’s mom snagged his waist.
“Come sit with me, baby. I want to know what happened with Zayn. You weren’t gone but a few minutes and then you reappeared with this guy. Not that I’m complaining. He is fine. I mean F.I.N.E. Fine.”
Koda couldn’t stop smiling. “Really? Describe him to me.” While Koda liked Felix for who he was and not his appearance, he had to admit he was curious. He knew his mom wouldn’t hold back.
Elena held tight to his arm as they sat side by side in lawn chairs. “He’s got messy brown hair—like stylish messy, as if he runs his fingers through it a lot, but it was cut to handle that. His eyes are light blue—like the sky, and he’s covered in tattoos. I mean full sleeves and even his hands. If I didn’t know he was a record producer, I would think he was some famous metal singer or something. He looks like a bad boy.” His mom made a noise—like she found something curious. “He also can’t take his eyes off you. Your uncle Karl has him cornered—no doubt asking how much money he makes, but he hasn’t stopped staring at you. Whew. I don’t know how you swapped Zayn for this one, but I don’t blame you. This one has heat in his eyes. He wants you something fierce.”