Hour by Hour (Games & Diversions #2) Read Free

entrance into Foxx’s estate, I feel almost self-conscious—as if I’ve brought the noise with me and I can’t shake it out of my clothes.
    The white pillars that frame the house nearly shine with an ivory gleam. The banner by the front door says “Welcome.”
    Strange . This is the first time that I feel nothing of the sort.
    I’ve been to this house a thousand times… but never under these circumstances.
    Not when I know that there’s at least one person there who isn’t looking forward to my entrance. Not when I don’t know what awaits me.
    It’s always been the three of us: Foxx, Chris and me. Thieves aspired to be as thick as we’d become.
    But now the balance was being upset. Foxx is building his own family.
    And it’s never been more evident than it is now—as I walk up the polished cream steps to what used to be a second home… to bear gifts… at his soon-to-be sister-in-law’s blowout.
    I knock on the front door, not knowing if the other sister-in-law is lying in wait to knock my head off of my shoulders.
    The door opens quickly and I am pulled into an embrace before I know what’s happening. Kat .
    “About time you came,” she grins, releasing me. “We were afraid that you weren’t going to show.”
    I almost say my first mind’s thought. I was out, steam-pressing the city sounds from my clothes because if I didn’t, you might see that I really don’t belong.
    I don’t say it.
    Instead, I grin widely, shaking my head. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
    She nods knowingly at me, looking curiously at my face as my eyes wander over her long wavy hair.
    A blood-red light covers the walls from floor to ceiling. It enshrouds everything in front of us. It’s like walking into a photography dark room, and it gives the house a supernatural feel—both spooky and sexual.
    “What’s with the lights?”
    “What?” Kat innocently replies, doing a three-sixty on her feet. “Oh, these ? They’re cool, aren’t they? They’re meant for the party.”
    “They’re meant for a sex club.”
    Kat gasps, looking back up at the walls beside me. Foxx appears almost out of thin air, rubbing her arms from behind.
    He reaches in to slap hands with me, but when he steps back, he glares.
    “Don’t listen to Griff, baby. They’re party lights.”
    I scoff at Foxx. “Yeah, this will be one hell of a party. All of Ana’s friends will step into the house and think they’ve wandered into some type of orgy-fest. They’ll think it’s the best party they’ve ever been invited to.”
    Foxx nearly knocks me all the way into the kitchen to avoid causing Kat any more panic.
    I sit on a nearby stool as he pours a drink for me into a red Solo cup. He grabs the liquor from a locked cabinet, and I see why once I take a look around at what’s left out for the “kiddies.”
    Soda, light beer, and fruity wine coolers.
    Sissy shit.
    I don’t take a sip of the vodka until Foxx sits down beside me.
    “Seriously, Foxx?” I say, nodding upward. “The lights?”
    He laughs, bowing his head. “I know, man; I know. Kat thought they were cool for the party. I didn’t have the heart to tell her.”
    “Or the balls.”
    Foxx throws a swift elbow to my ribs, nearly knocking my stool over. Ouch. Fuck.
    He scoffs. “Yeah, right, Griff. If I didn’t have any, there’s no way I could survive this relationship. Man, these Lexington women, I tell ya… Even Ana. ”
    He shakes his head, laughing, letting blonde strands of hair fall forward.
    “Nah, Kat’s tough… but she’s not Elena -bad.”
    I stiffen, pulling my cup mechanically to my lips before taking a forced swallow.
    Great. I had to get with the sister that has her own level of ruthlessness.
    Foxx checks his watch.
    “In fact,” he says. “Elena should be showing up with Ana sometime within the next hour.”
    I take a look around. “Well, where are all the kids? The students?”
    Foxx stands from his stool. “Don’t worry; this place’ll be packed with