Brady protests, tries to grab my arm to hold me back, but I’m pretty quick when I want to be and manage to evade him. As I come in the back, they’re walking in the front door. “Hey, Chase,” Blake calls. “Come be a boy and take some of these bags from me.”
“We went to a bookstore,” Easton adds cheerily.
Well, at least he’s in a good mood from all appearances. “How many bags are there?”
I give an involuntary wince for Landon when I see both of their arms loaded down. Good thing that man is obsessed with his wife. This definitely gave the credit card a workout. I take the multiple bags from the co-conspirators, barely suppressing a grunt from the weight. Leaving these two unsupervised poses a unique threat, it seems.
Blake brushes by me, rubbing my shoulder a few times on her way. “That we did, lovebug. We earned it, and I’m not taking any criticism about my actions at this time.”
Despite myself, I chuckle fondly at her antics. “Noted. You went to that cute place by the plant shop, didn’t you?”
Man, she can tear that little bookstore the fuck up. I know whoever owns that joint loves to see her coming. Blake gives adelighted little squeal. “Easton is in love with it, just like me. Now I finally have someone to appreciate the beauty.”
“I nevernotliked the place. All I ever said was they had cute stickers.”
Easton laughs like he’s already heard what she has to say about this one. “How dare you? You’re in a place filled to the brim with books with queer main characters and you like the stickers? Horrifying. That’s got to be against the gay bylaws or something.”
We’ve had this argument before. “Okay, I don’t know who gave you the rulebook and skipped me, but I’d like to file a complaint. And another thing, I’m pretty sure I’ve made myself clear that I’m glad the bookstore exists. I just don’t read as much as I used to, so I’m not going to drop a ton of money on books to sit on a shelf forever. Decoration-only books go against my moral foundations.”
Easton shakes his head and shares a look with Blake. “You may not like how many of these are coming to live with us then.”
People really do not listen to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Brady slinking in. “They don’t count as decor books if they’re for you. Only if I were to get them.”
Honestly, I’m glad for the lighthearted mood. If Easton had come back with that thousand-yard stare that scares the shit out of me, it would have killed me. If Blake could hear my thoughts, we’d argue again. A part of me knows that she wouldn’t have let things get really bad for him, but I’m not sure how to trust that completely either. He’s mine. No matter what. My most important job is making sure he’s okay.
I help Blake lay out the books on the kitchen island to sort through while trying to remain casual, watching Brady inspect Easton and murmur quietly back and forth. Not that I’m nosy or anything, but damn. He’s my boyfriend, I’d also like to know how things went.
Blake thumps my arm with a thick hardcover. “Stop being nosy. He’s okay.”
My eyes roll hard. “I hate when you get in my head like that.”
“Then you should stop wearing your thoughts all over your face.”
I scoff. “Emerson said that recently.” Quieter, I confirm, “But it went good?”
She shrugs one shoulder. “It sucked, Chase. Of course it did. But that doesn’t mean he’s not coping. That boy would do anything for you, including trying to heal himself so you don’t end up hurt again.”
Suddenly, the distance between us is too great for me to bear. I can’t do it anymore. Easton looks up with those gorgeous ocean eyes just as I make it to him. The world around us dissolves into nothing. There is only the center of my universe and my need to get my hands on him. Easton makes a soft, surprised song when I pull him to my chest. His shock fades quickly, recovering in time to meet the kiss halfway.
Those long fingers knot into my shirt, and I consider the practicality of gluing myself to him. He breaks away with a warm smile. “Hi, my love,” he whispers about a millimeter away from my lips.
“Hi, sweetheart.”
Those tricky little words that sit at the tip of my tongue gain strength. Until Brady breaks the moment. “Ugh. I need new friends. These ones are too coupled up.”
Easton dissolves into a fit of giggles against my chest while I flip my best friend the bird. “You talk a lot of shit for someone who’s favorite movie isFifty First Dates.”
He gasps in outrage. “Okay, first issue: do not talk shit about my relationship with that movie. It is fantastic, and you love it when I put it on. Second issue: I’m allowed to be bitter aboutbeing the only one here who hasn’t found their person. Y’all are disgusting about it, and I want my turn, damn it.”
My eyes roll, exasperated despite how much I missed this. “It’ll be the best day of my life. I’ll mark it on my calendar as the day you officially stopped moping about being single like you aren’t the worst serial dater ever.”
Blake chimes in, “Okay, but that is so true. How are you ever going to find your soulmate when you don’t ever see the same girl more than a couple of times?”
Brady snorts. “Like I wouldn't know by then. You guys underestimate me.”
I gape, along with everyone except him. His level of delusion is honestly impressive. “No way you’re claiming that you can tell that quickly if a girl is your future wife,” Easton says.
He shrugs nonchalantly as he goes through the motions of cooking dinner for the group. Oh, shit, I should probably contribute to that. I give Easton one last kiss before joining Brady in whatever the hell he’s planning. Wordlessly, he passes me an onion to chop. Our rhythm never fails to comfort me when other aspects between us feel a little rocky.
