"Why are you screaming?" I groan, covering my ears.

Aria turns her head to look at me and her face scrunches. "Dude, I whispered."

"Not quietly enough." My face thumps into her pillow and I groan into it, curling my body inwards and kicking her leg to get some more room. "And why the fuck is your bed so small?"

"It has sentimental value. I grew up in this bed."

"More like you've grown out of this bed."

"In my defence I did try to get rid of it but Asher made me keep it. Makes him hot that it's the same bed we've shared since we were kids."

"Aaaand I officially need to burn my body." I roll off the bed like I was stabbed, not even caring when I painfully fall to the floor. I dust myself off and shiver. "You guys are fucking disgusting."

Aria peers over the bed to look down at me and laughs, not at all offended. "You know you love us."

Fine. I do. But only because I've been hearing about Asher since the day I met Ria and I've wanted them to be together since. Those two are straight out of a fucking fairytale with their best friends to lovers story. You know, minus Asher's birth parents being part of a drug cartel and their enemies almost killing Ash in the process.

When I first met Aria, there was something about her I instantly liked. It's not just that she stumbled into the tattoo parlour I worked at when we lived in California all drunk and incoherent—although I'll admit, Ria is entertaining as fuck when she's drunk—but beneath her perfectly composed lawyer ensemble, I could see the pain inside of her through her eyes. You know how they say the eyes are the windows to the soul or some shit? It was like that.

On the first day we met, Aria flopped down on the recliner beside me and demanded I give her a tattoo. She didn't give a shit that she didn't make an appointment or that someone else was booked to come see me in another five minutes. I almost kicked her right out, having major practice dealing with drunken messes of people that somehow convince themselves that getting a permanent tattoo in their state is a good idea, but then she stared at me with so much raw hurt that I couldn't say no. Because fuck, that same hurt was brewing inside of me. And maybe it was fate but my appointment ended up being a no-show and I found myself feeling grateful that I hadn't turned away from Aria.

The entire time I worked on her tattoo, she told me about Asher and how her piece was for him. The way she talked about him made me realize I've never loved anyone like that (and I still don't) but there was also so much anguish in her voice. Sorrow. I had an intuition that her story ran so much deeper than just the boy next door and maybe it was the the protective side of me but I knew I had to watch over her. So I got her number and met up with her again the next day, pleasantly surprised that she was just as entertaining when sober too. Even though we're complete opposites on the outside, on the insides our pain almost runs in par with each other. I somehow knew that way before she finally opened up to me a year into our friendship about everything she went through. Then I told her my story and we got drunk and spontaneously decided to become roommates and that was that. She's been my ride or die since.

That's why I'm over the fucking moon that her and Asher are finally together and they're arguably the cutest fucking couple I've ever known but I'm still going to give them shit. What else is a best friend for?

Speak of the devil, the sound of shoes meeting concrete has Aria and I sitting upright just before the balcony doors of her room open and lover boy struts in.

"Ladies." He smirks.

I make a face at the little maneuver he pulled, scaling between their balconies like that. "Edward."

Asher had just bent his head to kiss Aria but pauses, narrowing his eyes on me. "That sparkly fucker?"

"Vampire." I sit up from the floor.

"Those movies sucked." He mutters before turning his head back to Aria.

She shoves him back before he can kiss her, gasping. "Don't you dare! They're a classic."

"I hate to break it to you babe, but they're pretty stupid. And how fucked up was it of the werewolf asshole to go after the chick's daughter?"

"Technically he imprinted." Aria defends.

At the same time, I snort. "So fucked up."

Asher and I glare at each other and Aria stifles a laugh, covering her mouth. "Did you guys just agree on something?"

"I'll die before that happens." I smart.

"She-devil." His eyes glint and I snicker at the comeback that's more like a compliment to me. Then his face flips like a light switch, eyes softening when he finally kisses Ria for a moment before pulling away. "Hey, baby."

"Hi, Ashes." She grins, arms going around his neck and pulling him in for another kiss.

I watch them in amusement, my brows raised. I've never seen two people more in love than them. They've been through hell and back to be together so I guess they deserve to be obnoxiously cute. Still, the kiss drags on for a solid minute and I huff up at the ceiling.

"Can you guys stop eating each other's faces? I'm already trying not to throw up."

They pull away and Asher flops down on the bed beside Ria, pulling her legs into his lap and absentmindedly massaging them. He can never keep his hands off her for too long. It's sickeningly adorable. "What the fuck happened to you?"

"Hangover. More of a bitch than you are." I chirp.

"Guys." Aria groans. "Can't you just admit you care about each other but both of you are allergic to feelings so you act like assholes to cope?"

Asher and I exchange a horrified look, gagging simultaneously. Of course, Aria hit the mark on that one but we'd never admit it. Asher and I also share the same kind of pride that makes us hard-headed so naturally, we always butt heads. I love the fucker as much as I hate him. I've never had a brother but I'm pretty sure this is how it works.

"I need a hangover remedy breakfast. Let's hit a diner for some greasy goods." I stand up, groaning.

"But I had plans for my princess." Asher's lip curls and the look on his face makes it all too clear he wants Aria for breakfast instead.

"Your dick can wait." I deadpan. "The jackhammer drilling into my skull? That can't."

"Cockblock." He glares.

"Best friend thief." I glare back.

"Oh my God." Aria explodes standing up. "Now I have a headache. Come on, we're getting food before you rip each other's heads off."

"Ha!" I pump a fist triumphantly. "Suck it."

"She could've been." Asher mumbles.

"Dude." Aria and I groan, shoving him while he sniggers proudly. Do men ever fucking grow up?

We make our way downstairs, heading for the front door. Too bad Aria's family isn't home. I fucking love those people and they make me feel like I'm part of them, which is one of the greatest things anyone can do for me in my books. I'm used to living my life in solitude and sometimes I forget how nice it is to just be around others that have your back.

"We should go to the diner Greta owns." Asher suggests.

"Greta?" I ask over my shoulder.

"Delilah's mother." Aria clarifies and I nod. "She used to be head chef and business went crazy because of her outrageous food so when she saved enough money, she bought the place."

"Cool. Has she always been a chef?"

"No. She used to be a maid for Jaxon back when he was a single father."

"No shit?" I feel my brows rise. Nothing hypes me up more than women who bust their assess to make the most of their lives. As a woman who's trying to do the same, I respect the fuck out of that.

"Her and Delilah both." Asher adds. "When Jaxon's boxing career took off and he eventually made millions, he provided for them and helped them get on their own feet as best as he could. Without worrying about financial responsibilities, Greta finally focused on her passion for cooking and now she's here."

I look pointedly at Aria. "Where the fuck did you find these people? Because the world I live in is full of assholes."

She laughs softly, her head resting on Asher's shoulder. "Not these people. Trust me."

I consider that. I'm wary of everyone I meet and assume the worst out of them on instinct. I'm just built that way after the life I had, after the monsters I've had to face. But if Aria says she trusts these people, then I decide to give them a chance at least because I trust her.

"Carpooling?" Asher asks as he heads for his car parked in the driveway next door. Did I mention him and Aria are neighbours? As if they weren't perfect enough.

"Nah." I take the remaining steps to my Harley and hook my leg over the seat. "My baby and I will follow you."

He shrugs and takes Aria's hand, the two of them walking away. Asher doesn't waste any time whispering something in Aria's ear that makes her giggle and push him away. I roll my eyes but can't deny my smile. Fucking lovebirds.

The drive to the diner is pleasantly short which is good news for me and my grumbling stomach. I swear it sounds like a war zone in there and I'm grateful the loud engine of my motorcycle drowns it out. I can't get into the diner fast enough, practically shoving Ash and Ria out of the way. Okay—maybe not practically. I do shove Asher who scowls at me, his usual frown deepening when I snicker.

The scent of waffles and pancakes and bacon greet me immediately and I groan out loud, earning me odd looks from customers. Fuck them. A girl needs to eat.

I spot an available booth at the very back and make a beeline for it. I can only sit in booths and it's even better when it's as far away from the rest of the tables as possible. I get there at the same time as some other dude and toss him my bitchiest look, eyes narrowing and mouth pinching at the corners. He fearfully backs away and leaves like his ass is on fire. Satisfied, I grin and plop down.

"Did you just scare a grown man away to get us this booth?" Asher questions, sliding in across from me and Aria sliding in beside him.

I nod casually. "Yup."

"Nice." He offers a rare grin. I can't believe the fucker has a dimple and never shows it, constantly brooding instead. I'd kill for one. "He was at least twice your size."

"Backbone must have been this big though." I bring my thumb and index finger real close, pinching one eye shut.

Ash snickers. "You're fucked up, Lenny."

I hold a hand to my chest. "That's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me."

Aria bursts out laughing, making some comment about how she's convinced we're long lost siblings and I have to grin because I was thinking the exact same thing only moments ago.

Her eyes shift behind my shoulder and she waves. "Just who we were looking for."

I turn around and find a middle-aged woman walking towards us. I instantly like her just by looking at her. She has beautiful blonde hair, a warm smile, and curves that could give me a run for my money. Even in her chef attire she's outrageously gorgeous and has an inviting presence, like the mother that everyone loves.

"I was wondering when I'd see you stop by." Her smile broadens as she comes to our table. Her moss green eyes shift to mine and her hand settles softly on my shoulder. I force myself not to stiffen. I hate being touched but I know she's just being nice. "I'm not sure I recognize you. What's your name, honey?"

"Lenny." I hold a hand out that she shakes. "I take it you're Greta?"

"Last I checked." She winks. "I've heard an awful lot about you. Aren't you just the prettiest thing?"

"Aw." I melt and wrap my arms around her midsection. I love hugs. It's fucking weird because I hate all kinds of touching but I'm a sucker for hugs. I'm aware that it makes absolutely no sense and yet, that's how I roll.

Greta laughs and her arms come around my shoulders, holding me to her. I look seriously to Ash and Ria. "I love her. I want to keep her in my pocket forever. Can I?"

"Suck up." Asher coughs into his fist.

My eyes narrow on him, ready to rip him a new one, but Greta beats me to it. "Hush, boy. She can certainly keep me in her pocket if she wants. Don't make me call Greg and have him smack you upside the head."

My smirk widens when Asher actually slumps in his seat, looking put-out. It's no hardship for him when Aria starts kissing his face all over and his shit-eating grin makes a return.

"How do you know Greg?" I tip my head up to look at her.

Greg is the head coach at Fighter's Den gym and a former professional boxer. He's also a fucking amazing person because, from what little I know, he helped the fuck out of Asher back when shit exploded a few months ago. According to Aria, he'a sacrificed his life multiple times for all of his students just to make sure nothing happens to them. I've only met him once but I think I want that man to adopt me.

"He's my boyfriend." Greta supplies, filling in the blanks.

I let her go to rear back with a dramatic gasp. "Shut up! Dude, your boyfriend is stupid hot."

Greta snorts, quickly covering her mouth when a laugh escapes her. Her cheeks are an adorable pink as she nods. "Yes, he is."

"His muscles are outrageous and those blue eyes? Je-sus. He's like a mountain."

"Amen to that." Greta smirks and I throw my head back in laughter. I can see right away how she'd be good for the brooding and stoic man. "I'm one lucky woman."

"Correction." I hold a finger up. "He's the lucky one. Look at you—I want an ass like that when I'm your age."

She's really blushing now, even as she waves a hand in front of her to ward off my compliments. "Food's on the house today for you three so order what you want."

I clasp her hand and look her straight in the eyes. "Will you and Greg be my parents? I swear I'll be good."

Asher and Aria start sniggering into their fists when Greg himself walks right up to the table just as I've made the debatably odd request. He looks baffled as fuck, eyes landing on me. "The hell did you just say, darlin'?"

I shrug, not at all embarrassed. "Can you blame me?"

Greg blinks like he's trying to make sense of the conversation but he must be used to this level of crazy because he shrugs. "At this rate, all of my assholes and their girls are our children. Guess this wouldn't be any different."

"Spit shake." I tell him seriously, spitting on my palm and holding it out.

He eyes my hand with mild disgust. "I'm good. How about you guys just order your food? And, uh, darlin'? Wash your hands."

I almost blurt out an inappropriate daddy joke but I have a feeling that'll get me smacked so I nod dutifully and head to the back of the restaurant where the bathrooms are.

As I soap up my hands, my mind wanders to the part of me that felt pathetic for making that joke, asking those two to adopt me. I haven't had parents in a long time, not since they died in a car accident when I was only ten. I cherish the memories I have with them because they were the only parents I had. The people that came after them...I suppress the rising bile in my throat.

"Snap out of it." I tell my reflection quietly, wiping my hands with a paper towel. "You're a fucking badass. That's not your life anymore."

It takes a moment to get myself together but it's a moment I allow because I'd rather suffer in silence than be out of sorts, unable to keep up this tough girl facade I'm so good at. It helps my confidence and more importantly, I don't get asked any stupid questions because people are usually too afraid to ask me. That's why I act like a total bitch sometimes. It's just easier to hurt the world before they hurt you.

I close my eyes to ward off the thought of my parents and...

Fuck.

"They're gone." I whisper irritably. Why can't I snap out of it? "Those three are fucking gone, Len. Chin up."

I pull in a few controlled breaths and when I feel like myself again—or the Lenny I'm so good at being—I put my usual smirk back in place and strut right out.

There you go, I nod to myself. Good girl.

"Missed me yet, fuckers?" I call to our table.

Asher and Aria shake their heads at me, not a suspecting face in sight that I'm hanging by a thread on the inside. Just the way I like it. Unfortunately, I didn't count on an unexpected third person hovering beside the booth and my cool smirks immediately slips off.

It's him again. Wolfe.

Just fucking great. Why is he everywhere all of a sudden? I never know what to expect from him and I hate that. I hate not being able to read people because it goes against all my survival instincts and I hate that he's the hardest fucking person in the universe to read. First it was him playing knight in shining armour, then him showing up at my bar, and now this. Who is this guy?

"You." I say drily when I'm in earshot.

I come to stand right in front of him and even in my stiletto boots, I have to tip my head back to look at him. I'm an average height of five foot six but compared to Mr. six foot five here, I look like a garden gnome. He blinks at me and there's a flicker of surprise in his gaze. I can't tell if it's because he didn't expect to see me here or he didn't expect me to be so bold. Either one is fine with me.

I let my gaze roam over him, blatantly checking him out. He might get under my skin and annoy me with all the mysterious vibes he's got going on but that doesn't mean I can't admire how hot he is.

He's not the kind of hot like Asher and his friends are with their pretty boy looks. He's hot in a real and flawed way. His face is composed of harsh lines and creases from his constantly angry features. There's nothing pretty about him so he may not seem good-looking to girls who prefer douchey model men but I like his face. A lot. Not to mention his body is total fucking perfection. Insanely tall and broad and covered in tats, sleeves on both his arms that travel all the way to his hands. I think his hands are the biggest turn on. They're so masculine. Huge, big-knuckled, and calloused, his fingers adorned in rings. I wouldn't mind having those fingers inside of me, no matter how much he gets on my nerves. Actually, his fingers can totally get acquainted with my nerves if he's ever up to it.

I scoff at the last thought. I know how hot I am. Of course he'd be up to it if he's the sleeping around type. If not, well, a girl can admire can't she?

My eyes drag back up and I meet his intense gaze. He looks kind of annoyed and kind of...turned on. My lip curls.

"You stalking me, big guy?" I teasingly murmur, taking a step closer.

His face as stoic as ever, absolutely nothing giving him away. Still, I'm observant as hell so I don't miss the little jump of muscle in his cheek and I know he's trying to keep his facade intact. And why would he be doing that if I'm not affecting him? Because I am.

Admittedly, he's affecting me too. My skin feels like it's on fire and I'm suddenly burning up. I swear my breath picks up as we continue to have our intense stare down. Something passes between us and it's making me hyper aware of him. I can feel the heat radiating off his body, a body that I want to climb like a fucking tree. I may not know what this guy's agenda is, but the physical attraction between us is insane. I've never felt anything like this. My nipples are already hard for fuck's sake and if he breaks eye contact and looks down, he'll see them standing at attention for him through the thin material of my black silk tank top. I cross my arms to tease him into doing just that, pushing the girls a little higher. He doesn't take bait but he does swallow hard, eyes becoming angrier. Interesting.

"Ahem." Aria clears her throat obnoxiously loud.

The moment is broken and Wolfe looks away, jaw pulsing. He offers a nod to Asher who tips his chin back and then he walks away. Just like that. The entire restaurant is gaping at this building of a man, and I find myself doing the same. I eye his tight ass, my teeth latching on to my lower lip as my imagination goes wild.

"What the hell are you doing?" Aria hisses. "Stop giving him your sex eyes! He's not like that."

"Meaning?" I slide back into the booth, brow going up.

"He doesn't entertain girls." Asher clarifies. "He keeps his head down and minds his own business. In some ways he's...shy."

I snort in disbelief. "The man looks like he lifts cars and buses for fun. How can he be shy?"

"It's more like he's a loner. He doesn't interact with anyone besides us guys at the gym and even that is limited."

"So what does he do?"

"Fuck if I know. He's our friend but a total mystery. He likes being alone or working with computers. He loves boxing and scares all of us shitless when he's in the ring. He doesn't talk. That's all we really know."

"He doesn't talk?" I blink at him first and then Aria. This is the first I'm hearing of this and admittedly makes a lot of sense, like when I thought he was being rude for not even explaining why he intervened between me and the guy that grabbed my ass. "How did that not come up?"

"I thought I told you." She looks sheepish.

"Why doesn't he talk?" I ask Asher. "Is it voluntary?"

"Yeah, he's totally capable of making sounds and using his voice box but he just doesn't speak. We don't know why."

"Damn. All this time I thought he was just ignoring me." I'm not sure if I feel relieved or not. I shouldn't even care, right?

"I doubt that." Asher smirks. "You're the first person to ever get under his skin. At least from what we've seen."

God, this whole conversation is so confusing. My brow creases. "Okay, what does that mean?"

Asher looks like he's thinking about it. "Well, Wolfe is a walking talking poker face. He's always cool and collected and level-headed. Nothing shakes him up or makes him react. He's almost robotic sometimes and that's why people don't even bother interacting with him, because they feel intimidated. So to see him lose his shit when that guy touched you and on top of that, knocking him the fuck out? I didn't even know he had all of those emotions."

"Really?" Now I'm intrigued and I lean forward, bracing my arms on the table. I think of everything Asher has told me so far and realize I completely misjudged Wolfe. "I thought he was a womanizing douchebag. I mean he's hot as hell and he didn't even hesitate to become the fucking hulk when I was groped so I figured, this is probably something he's always doing. Playing hero, getting pussy, having a big ego and the works."

Asher laughs. "You couldn't be more wrong. It's him against the world and he doesn't let anyone on his team."

"Interesting." I murmur. "Sounds kind of like me."

"Maybe that's why you guys have this instant attraction going on." Aria supplies.

"You noticed?"

"I thought you were going to start humping him in the middle of the restaurant, Len."

That gets a laugh out of me. She's not wrong. "Well, now I feel bad for misjudging him and acting bitchy. Would you pass on an apology from me to him, Asher?"

"Do it yourself." He shrugs. "He's been looking for a tattoo place to get a piece done on his back and I gave him the name of your shop. He has an appointment on Monday."

My brows go up. He's seriously fucking everywhere, isn't he? Now it's just ridiculous.

"The universe wants this." Aria wiggles her brows.

"Down, girl." I snort.

I have no interest in actually pursuing whatever the hell is happening here, aside from a good fuck maybe, but...the universe might have caught my interest. And that's a start.

_________________________

A/N

How are you guys liking this so far!

I'm going to admit, writing this story is TOUGH. It's just so hard when one of the MC's is mute. I'm trying my absolute best to establish a connection between Wolfe and Lenny in a realistic way. How am I doing? I'm so nervous.

Please VOTE, comment and share if you liked this chapter!

Happy Reading :)