Beck’s hand finds mine under the counter and squeezes for a moment. “Okay, we can do that. I enjoyed talking to y’all.”
It flashes across Rory’s face quick, but it seems like he really needed to hear that from Beck. “We loved talking to you. Jensen, it was great meeting you.”
I give his parents a quick smile. “It was lovely meeting you both.”
“Lovely meeting you, dear.” Beck’s mom places her hand over her heart. “You look very pretty.”
This time I squeeze Beck’s hand. “Thank you, that means a lot to me.”
“We’ll talk later, Beck?” Rory asks, and I hold my smile the best I can until Beck nods. “Good, we’ll be waiting on the pictures.”
Beck mumbles a “bye” before the call ends.
I wait in the silence still holding Beck’s hand for a few seconds. “I’m sorry I answered. I was worried?—”
Beck shakes his head. “No, don’t apologize. That was nice. I don’t get very many of those conversations with her anymore. I’m glad you were here for it.”
To think I almost left and missed it. “Me too.”
Walking into the Blues stadium, I know Lucie’s going to lose her shit. There are lit candles quite literally everywhere. Huge flower arrangements and white rose petals scattered on the floor.There’re white drapes covering up the majority of the walls while only allowing glimpses of the snowy stadium.
“Shit. Callie and Emma really went all out,” Beck mutters quietly. “Didn’t Dex and Lucie say low-key?”
I chuckle at the irony. “They should have known who they put in charge of this. It’s their own fault.”
Off to the side, a low whistle comes and my other favorite redhead comes walking up. “Damn, Jen, you look hot!”
“I have to agree.” Callie looks just as stunning in her fitted royal blue dress. I flash her some flirty eyes. “Look at you, got any plans after this?”
It takes no time at all for Will to wrap his arm around her waist. “She very much does.”
“And so do you,” Beck whispers in my ear before he steps up to greet Callie with a hug. “Always stunning, Callie Bear. Will—at least you tried.”
Callie and I each hit him from the side.
“Hey, I was joking.”
“You both look very handsome.” Without much thought, I link my arm through Beck’s. “I do have to ask about the number of candles you have lit in here, though.”
Callie and Will look us both up and down, then look to each other, then back to us.
We probably should have thought this part through a little bit more. I can’t say hiding this whole arrangement thing we’re starting would go over well—especially with this group, I highly doubt we’d be able to keep it a secret for long anyway.
We maybe should have considered Dex and Lucie’s wedding might not be the best place for everyone to see that for the first time. But what was I going to do? Send out a text that says, “Oh, hey, Beck and I are going to try out a roommate-with-benefits situation, everyone be chill about it.”
Callie bites back her smile…let’s just see if she can bite back a comment.“Well, first, I most definitely lost count of how many candles I lit. And second, they’re all in hurricane vases, so all fire jokes can stop now.” She eyes Will. “I followed Olsson’s rules, and I have like three fire extinguishers hidden around.”
Will holds up a hand in defeat. “I stopped when my plans for after this were threatened, Blaze. But also, are we just going to ignore what’s happening here?”
Beck doesn’t miss a beat. “It’s Dex and Lucie’s wedding, dumbass.”
My hand comes to my mouth to stop my laugh. Oh, hell, Will’s gonna kill him one of these days, I swear.
Callie’s lips fold tightly together as she takes Will’s hands. “Okay, come with me, babe. We’re gonna walk away.”
“Gah, I love pissing him off.” Beck chuckles then steps in front of me. “I think we both know we won’t be able to keep this situation a secret, but I’m fine if you want to try.”
Keeping it between us does seem like it will be nearly impossible. Not to mention part of what I think will make this work is that it’s just us playing into our attraction.
