Quinn pops her head out from the kitchen. “What kind of couple shoot was this again?”
“Engagements, back-to-back.”
“Oof,” Miles mutters from the floor, where he’s surrounded by what looks like seventeen half-used washi tapes. “Nothing says everlasting love like visible saliva.”
I drop onto the rug beside him. “Thank you. That’s the validation I needed.”
From the kitchen, Quinn calls out, “Hot chocolate’s almost ready. No one spill anything near the pages this time.”
“That was one time,” Hudson says.
“You knocked overtwomugs,” Daphne fires back.
“And now your pages have that vintage look, you’re welcome.” He leans over and smacks a kiss on his fiancé’s lips.
“Guys,” I groan. “No more kissing, my quota is met for the day.”
Quinn comes in with a tray of hot chocolates, covered in whipped cream and marshmallows, and my stomach makes itself known again.
“Pizza is also on the way,” Miles says, hearing my growling.
Daphne’s phone rings at that moment. “Hey, Liv, you almost here?”
My ears perk up at the sound of her name. Over a week has passed since the diabolical dinner, and the kitchen still smells like smoke, but we’ve slipped into something that almost feels like routine. She goes to class, I work, we’re home around the same time, and then I cook too much food and pretend I’m not hyper-fixating on the hums of appreciation she gives every night. Being around her is easy, but every so often she laughs, and there’s that same pull I felt outside Scoop Dogg and when wewere in the kitchen together, there’s something there that feels impossible to ignore.
Daphne gets up to answer the door, and there she is, cheeks pink from the cold, hair pulled back with a few pieces falling loose around her face, and four pizza boxes in her arms.
“I come bearing gifts,” she says, breathless. Daphne takes the boxes, revealing Liv wearing one of my hoodies and leggings that hug every curve she has. Something about her being in my clothes tickles my brain just right, and I can’t tear my eyes away. Daphne asks, “How was your day-date this week?” Damn, I didn’t even know she had another one already lined up.
Liv lifts her thumb, then twists it so it points down, the sleeve falling over her hand as she blows a raspberry. “I cancelled it.” I’m not sure why the side of my mouth twitches at that.
Hudson takes the boxes from Daph and eyeballs her hoodie. “Isn’t that Jay’s hoodie?” Her sheepish smile spreads as she glances around the room, and her eyes land on me for a second, and I swear to god they twinkle because she knows exactly what she’s doing wearing my clothes. “Hey, roomie.”
“Hey, I came straight from work.”
She laughs that musical, raspy laugh. “Good to know.”
The words are there, I know they are, but one look at her, and they scatter like dice rolling across a table. She looks really pretty tonight, and not just because a part of my brain is malfunctioning seeing her in my clothes. “Nice hoodie.”
“Thanks, I found it lying around the apartment, figured it was fair game.” She winks at me, and a little seed of interest plants roots further into my chest. The familiarity that she’s able to create between us has been as easy as breathing, and I like it, maybe a little too much. It probably hasn’t helped that she’s also enlisted me to get her out of situations with other guys. The hero complex that Hudson told me I have is well and truly satiated with her around.
Then, before I get the chance to talk to her again, the room erupts with motion, grabbing paper plates, shifting supplies, and moving Rosie’s own little scrapbook of sticker chaos a safe distance from the food. Liv sinks onto the floor next to me, crossing her legs as she grabs a slice of pepperoni.
“Did I miss anything important?”
“We were discussing whether glitter borders are timeless or tacky,” Miles says, mouth full.
“They’re tacky,” Daphne says immediately.
“Timeless,” Hudson counters, reaching for a second slice already.
Liv chews thoughtfully, then leans toward me. “Are there… rules I need to know?”
I swallow a bite of pizza, feeling her soft apple scent and warmth around me, and nod. “Unspoken ones. But yeah.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Like?”
“Don’t steal tape from Hudson, it’ll end in him crying like a baby. Don’t suggest Comic Sans even as a joke, Quinn will not allow it.”
