I freeze, one hand braced on the dresser, my breath caught somewhere between panic and resolve. I can’t see the door from here, but I hear it open. And then?—
“It’s about time,” Darby’s voice says, sharp and way too close. “I’ve been banging for five minutes. What are you doing, bro? It’s like eleven in the morning. Do you ever answer your phone?”
My stomach drops to my feet.
“Darby?” Grey says, and he does a terrible job hiding his surprise. “What—what are you doing here? I thought you were in?—”
“Chicago,” she cuts in. “Yeah. So did I. Turns out internships suck and couches are overrated.” She keeps talking, breathless, like she always does when she’s wound up. “I would’ve gone to Kari’s, but she’s not answering her phone, which is weird. And Iwasn’t about to barge in on her parents. That house is already a pressure cooker.”
Footsteps cross the living room.
My heart pounds so loudly I’m sure they can hear it through the walls. Every fear I have flashes through me at once—losing my best friend, her thinking I betrayed her, that I crossed some invisible line I can’t uncross.
But then something else cuts through the noise. I don’t regret this. Not the night. Not the words. Not Grey.
I smooth my hair again, slower this time, and straighten my shoulders. I don’t want to hide. I don’t want to be a secret tucked away behind a closed door.
Darby’s still talking. “And I can’t go back to my old place with Lola and Logan. Three’s a crowd. If you know, you know.”
“I… I do know,” Grey says, and there’s hesitation there now. A pause. “Darbs, I kind of—uh—I kind of have someone here.”
Everything goes quiet.
My breath catches, but this time it isn’t panic that fills my chest. Okay, maybe a little panic. This situation isn’t something Grey and I had the chance to discuss.
I glance down at myself, making sure everything’s covered, and take a deep breath. Whatever comes next, I’m not shrinking. I’m not running. Grey and I are standing in this together.
I reach for the bedroom door handle.
12
Kari
I make it exactly three steps into the hallway before I stall.
Grey’s voice carries from the living room, a warning. “Darbs, I’m serious.”
Darby doesn’t miss a beat with her unmistakable snort. “Oh, please. I’m not stupid, bro.”
I press my back lightly to the wall, heart thudding, half-panicked and half… curious. I shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but it feels like one of those read-the-room moments.
“I mean it,” Grey says. “I’ve got someone here.”
Darby laughs. “Yeah. I gathered.”
I inch closer, peeking around the corner just enough to see Grey standing near the couch—shirtless, barefoot, hands on his hips. He’s sexy as hell but looks… exposed. Not just physically. Emotionally. Like he’s being protective.
Darby keeps going. “You’re half-naked in the middle of the living room, you’re not dripping wet, which tells me you weren’t in the shower, and you don’t sleep in unless you’re sick or dead. So unless you’ve suddenly taken up interpretive nudity, I’m gonna guess you aren’t alone.”
My lips twitch despite myself. Good ole Darby. Says it like it is.
Grey rubs a hand over the back of his neck. “Darbs?—”
“I know,” she cuts in, softer now. “You’re serious.”
There’s a pause. The air feels thick even from here. Grey glances down the hallway. Our eyes meet. My stomach flips. I lift one shoulder in a helpless shrug and mouth,Now what?
Before he can answer?—
