“I’m terrible at that,” Luke admits.
“You’re good at plenty of other things,” Brad assures him, hooking his arm around his man and tugging him close.
“You’re just being sweet,” Luke says, “but I don’t mind sweet.”
They share a kiss, earning a cringe from Seth, but despite how apprehensive I was about Brad spending time with Luke, I must admit, it’s clear they really care about each other.
“You wanna turn?” Cody asks me, tearing off another piece of breadstick.
My competitive streak kicks in, and I have to get fartherthan Brad, so I get up and walk a few feet away from the table. I nail it, and the garlicky goodness is less of a treat than the swell of pride in my chest from the victory.
“Show-off,” Brad teases as I return to my seat.
I’m surprised at how much that silly game makes me smile, but it’s a nice distraction from the thoughts racing through my head.
Cody pops a few more breadstick bits into Seth’s mouth, trying with marinara sauce, then cheese. Seth gets a little cheese on his chin, which Cody wipes off with his thumb. “Dirty boy,” he teases, which makes Seth beam before he bites at Cody’s thumb, making him burst into a laugh. If I didn’t know these guys better, I’d think Seth and Cody were dating, but this is just the way they are.
After we finish with the pizza, the waiter comes by with a mini chocolate cake with a candle on it and ice cream. We sing happy birthday, and I wait for presents to come out, but no one’s making a move.
“You’re not opening presents?” I finally ask.
Cody tilts his head. “I didn’t want you to feel any pressure, so we opened them before coming out.”
“Oh, well, I wasn’t gonna skip your gift.” I retrieve a wrapped package from my coat. As I pass it to him, he wears a playful smile. I shouldn’t be nervous, but as he digs in, my anxiety intensifies. He discovers the MicroB to USBC cord, his forehead creasing as he turns to me. I explain, “You said you needed one to connect your iPad to your external hard drive, but that you probably wouldn’t bother, so I didn’t know if you already got one. But the gift receipt is in theretoo.”
His eyes widen with his grin. “I can’t believe you remembered that.”
I shrug. If he knew the other things about him I remembered for the Saints, he’d be pissed, not impressed.
“That was very thoughtful, Alexei. You really didn’t have to.”
“I was happy to do it.”
I notice Seth eyeing me, offering a warm smirk. It’s the sort of moment that twists at the guilt in my chest like a knife.
As suspicious as I initially was of the Sinners, between getting to know them and how Cody saved my life, I know the Saints are wrong about them. Maybe they are recklessly fucking with magic and unleashing monsters into our world, but they’re not bad guys. At least, I don’t want to believe they are.
I imagine a world where I could go back and just be friends,realfriends. Because I know, regardless of what I do now, if they knew the truth, there’s no way they could ever forgive me.
It’s a painful awareness that I consider for a few moments too long before I hear, “Hope I’m not too late.”
The voice catches my attention, and I turn to find Matteo approaching the table. His scruff’s grown out a little more, his hair even more disheveled than when I’ve seen him the past few days. But somehow the guy manages to make rough look sexy.
Still, it worries me. As relieved as I am that he’s not tryingto drag me into a cult intervention, maybe he would have been better off not knowing the truth.
“Hey, man,” Brad says, hopping up from his seat and giving Matteo a hug. “Thought you might not make it. Where you been?”
“Long story short, I was in the library, but I haven’t been sleeping great recently and wound up passing out on a desk. A security guard woke me up, and I had to show my student ID. Just a mess.”
“We can make room for you over here.” Brad indicates the empty part of the bench on his side, but Matteo’s already heading toward me.
“Don’t worry,” he says. “There’s space right here. Alexei doesn’t mind, do you?”
Fuck. I scoot over to accommodate him.
“I like this scruffy look you’ve got going on,” Cody says.
“Cody’s always extra attentive when I get a little scruffy,” Seth adds.
