“Uh, pretty good?”
“You sure about that?” I look over at him, trying to read the expression on his face.
“Yeah. It’s good.”
“Any complaints? Concerns? Things we should adjust?” Am I playing fair? Maybe not. I think this is how the conversation would go, even if I didn’t overhear him this morning.
“Uh…” He looks down, like he’s focusing on his footsteps.
“Be honest,” I say. “I’m serious. If things between us are going to continue, we have to be able to talk to each other.”
“I don’t want to be a secret.” The words tumble out of his mouth. I was expecting them, knew it was what he was going to say. It still hits me in the face.
“You want to tell your family?”
“I do.” Oliver slows down a bit, coming to a complete stop at a corner. “But I also want to tell people in Cardinal Falls. Your friends. I don’t want to be dating only behind closed doors.”
I’m a big chicken. It’s been Oliver this whole time, shoving me forward in this relationship. What he’s asking for is such a small thing, something that shouldn’t cause my chest to constrict like I’m being squeezed to death.
“Yeah, okay. When we get back? We can tell them together when we see them again.” I hope to God my voice sounds more sure than I feel right now. I can do this for him, though. He deserves it. More importantly, we deserve it. When I left home, knowing my parents wouldn’t want me to come back, part of that was an agreement with myself not to hide.
This might be different circumstances, but it’s still the same. I’m asking Oliver to hide a part of his life from people he cares about. Hell, it’s what I’m doing to myself, too.
“Are you sure? I don’t want you to feel pressured.” Oliver bites his bottom lip, and I can’t help but lean in and kiss him.Right here, in the middle of the neighborhood. Will anyone see us? Unlikely, but it still feels like a small step forward.
“I’m sure. And we can tell your family today if you want. As soon as we get back.”
“About that.” He sighs. “They already know.”
“All of them?” My eyes go wide. I knew they had guesses, but I thought only Jane knew the full extent.
“I mean, probably? Daniel kind of heard us last night.”
Suddenly, I’m a little woozy.
“It’s not a big deal, really.” Oliver puts his hand on my arm and gives it a quick squeeze. “Please don’t freak out.”
“I’m not.” Not really. It’s more embarrassing than anything. “I guess we can skip that part.”
“Yeah, but we’re still going to tell the guys. Right?”
“The next time we see them.” Which I hope is soon, so I don’t have a chance to lose my nerve. “Now come on, we have a run to finish. If we aren’t back soon, I think your niblings will come looking for us. You owe them several rounds ofCandy Land.”
“Ugh, I never should’ve agreed to that. Maybe we should try running for a few hours.”
“Hours?” I raise an eyebrow. Oliver’s come a long way, but hours is probably a stretch.
“Fine, but you’re playing, too. It’s part of the boyfriend’s job.”
Boyfriend. I like it.
CHAPTER 23
OLIVER
“How can I help?” I ask when I pull up in front of Matthias’s house. They’ve either gotten a lot done, or Frank has surprisingly few things. I think it might be the latter. Lucky for him, Matthias has everything he could ever need.
“Grab anything you see out here and bring it in. We’ll figure out where everything goes later.” Matthias claps me on the back as he speaks. I still can’t get over how great all of Aaron’s friends are. Maybe they’re a little bit my friends, too. Frank definitely is, but that’s different. It’s Nathan, Tyler, and Matthias that I worry about. Hopefully, after today, they’ll be firmly planted in the pro-Oliver camp.
