She looked at me with expectation on her face, as if she wanted me to say something, so I did. “You had something on your mouth. I was being a friend and helping you out.”
Those sea-green eyes danced with amusement. “Oh, is that so? Thanks for being such a good pal.” She ran her tongue over her lips, making a real show of it. My cock twitched in my pants, thoughts of her sucking me overtaking every ounce of common sense I had. “We’ve been in here too long. I’m going back out.”
“Hungry to get back to your summer fling with Felix?” I didn’t mean to say the words. I really didn’t. But they slipped out without warning and my shoulders tightened with anxiety.I’m a fucking idiot. I ruin everything.
She didn’t look angry. She didn’t look upset or annoyed at all at my rude comment. She brought her fingers to my hair, ruffling it and running her nails through it. It sent goosebumps down my body and she leaned in closer, standing on her tiptoes so her mouth touched my ears. “I never agreed my birthday orgasms had to be givenonlyby you.” She patted my chest and left me in the kitchen, alone and with a semi-boner.
Fuck.
Chapter Fifteen
Kenzie
The assholes had lied to me. They’d told me they didn’t do presents for birthdays, yet, when the card games wound down around midnight, they presented me with a college swag bag filled with T-shirts, a sweatshirt, fun socks, a notebook and a hat. Callie pulled me in for a hug, squeezing me harder than Greta did, and held on. “I’m glad you’re here, Kenzie. This campus is wonderful. You’ll have ups and downs, but you’ll get to experience things you’ll never forget for the rest of your life. Happy birthday.”
“Thank you,” I said into her hair. It was an oddly emotional thing, coming from her, but I appreciated it and patted her back. “This was so nice, guys.”
“You haven’t even seen the shirts.” Zade picked up one and tossed it to me. “You got a different shirt for each of us. We expect you to rotate what you wear between games. It’s only fair. You shouldn’t have to wear your brother’s dumb jersey all the time.”
“Actually, there is somethingbetterin there she might want to wear,” Callie said without hiding her amusement. “I got you an official shirt from the Zwillows Pillows group.”
“Fuck off,” Zade groaned, jumping from his chair into a fighting stance.
I laughed real hard at that and immediately put the shirt on. Zade’s face flamed red and I twirled around, everyone else laughing. “This is incredible.”
“Glad you like it. It was TJ’s idea,” Aaron said, clapping him on the back. “He makes a lot of stupid decisions, but this was a good one.”
“The coolest part for me, coming here for school, was getting all the gear and feeling a part of something.” Tanner shrugged but his eyes never left my face. “This campus is my home and I know you’re looking for one too.”
“Ugh, I just love our little family,” Greta said, throwing her arms around me and Aaron in one gesture. Poor Felix and Carter looked on, half-smiling and half-drinking their beer with awkward expressions. We probably looked real weird.
“Thank you all. This was the best birthday in a long time. Maybe ever.” I smiled at all of them, even the two newcomers, and yawned for the finale. “It’s been great, but I need to sleep.”
“Ha, yeah, we should head out. Thanks for letting us hang, guys. Callie, Greta, your place is awesome.” Carter high-fived the guys and Greta and Callie. When he got to me, he gave me the biggest puppy-dog eyes I’d ever seen. He grabbed my hand and kissed the back of it. “Happy birthday to my future queen.”
“Uh, thanks?”
“Ignore him. He’s an idiot,” Felix said, shoving him to the side. “It was nice meeting you, Kenzie. Hopefully I’ll see you around sometime soon.”
“For sure,” I agreed, and didn’t hate it when he went for a hug. He smelled nice and clean. “Thanks.”
They took off, a prolonged silence filling the room until they closed the door, and all five of them stared at me with crazy expressions. “What?”
“Oh my god, he can be your fling!” Callie said, jumping up and down. “He’s super cute and—”
“Right? He’d be perfect for a little fun,” Greta added. “He checks all the boxes—nice to look at, polite, strong arms. What’s the issue?”
Aaron and Zade stood straighter and I found my excuse to leave. “I’ll let the four of you deal with this fun situation. I’m heading back. Tanner, are you going back to the house too?” I hoped I didn’t sound desperate when I asked, because I wasn’t. I was more curious…that was all. “I don’t want to walk back alone, so if you’re going out, I’ll get an Uber or something.”
He took a while to answer, those gorgeous eyes a little hooded. His gaze moved from my shirt to my face and he nodded. “I’m heading back. No need to call a service.”
“Cool.” I picked up the gift basket and gave my brother and his crazy crew the biggest smile I could. “All this, the food and presents…it’s everything. You’re…thank you.” My throat felt full, my voice mirroring the emotion. “Take care.”
Tanner took the basket from my hands and led the way out through the door and down the stairs. The summer night had the perfect smell, like a storm was coming. The air was cooler than normal and the sounds of the cicadas seemed to match the lightning bugs floating in the air. Peaceful. Pleasant. Comforting. I swore the knot it my chest loosened.Is this what it’s like, being normal?
And happy?
Yeah, I think it is.
