“Danny,” I warned. “Can I please have one day before you start harassing me about this? If you have a problem with me staying here, just tell me. Otherwise, I’d like to keep her in the dark for as long as possible. I have enough to deal with right now.”
He stretched, looking pleased with himself. “All right, all right. I’ll leave you to it then.”
“You’re not going to give me a tour of the house?” I asked.
“What for?”
“So, I know where things are…”
He frowned. “Uh…you walked through the living room. Bathroom is across the hall. The kitchen is right over there. Liam, Lexie, and I are upstairs.” He pointed behind him at the staircase. “Tic’s room is in the basement, but don’t go down there unless one of us tells you it’s okay. That’s our studio space, and I don’t want you touching stuff.” His eyes moved about the room as he thought. “What else do you need to know? Don’t you have a five hundred IQ or something? I’m sure you can figure out where the fridge is.”
I blinked a few times. “That’s not even—never mind.”
The front door pounded open, and several voices began filling the house.
“Aye, Danny boy!” a deep voice shouted. “Where you at?”
“We brought pizza!” another added.
My stomach began to do spins on itself. I knew everyone, except Lexie, but I hadn’t seen them since high school.
“Is your sister here yet?”
“Whose car do you think that is, idiot?” a kind voice retorted.
“Of course you jackasses walk in as soon as all the heavy lifting is over!” Danny called.
The first face I saw appear around the corner was a familiar one. The light stubble on his chin and leaner facial features couldn’t disguise the only friend of Danny’s I had ever really liked. Milton Tickett. Everyone called him Tic because of his incessant need to move his hands and tap his fingers on everything like a nervous tic, but I could never bring myself to call him that. I loved his name. It was unique and cute, like him, and didn’t sound like a bloodsucking bug.
“Milton!” I smiled, peering over my brother’s shoulder.
Danny snickered into his fist.
Milton coyly waved once, making me giggle.
“Hey, Avery,” Milton said.
He had always been on the shy side, but I’d thought he would’ve grown out of that by now. I kind of liked that he hadn’t.
I hesitantly approached him for a hug, but he quickly wrapped his fully tatted arms around my shoulders and pulled me into him.
“Damn, Avery. I don’t remember your jeans being this tight in high school.”
“Gross, Nikko.” Danny’s face scrunched at another familiar voice behind me.
I turned as Nikko sucked in a breath through his teeth, looking me up and down. He was just how I remembered him—same strong build, rich skin, and shaggy hair. He had a confidence about him that was alluring to a lot of girls, but it was never enough to tempt me. My brother had been friends with him since we were kids, and I knew him too well.
“Can I get one of those?” Nikko asked, holding out his arms, seeming harmless. Unfortunately, his condescending smile hadn’t changed either.
“It’s been a while.” I nodded, keeping my feet where they were.
He had this habit of placing his hands where he shouldn’t, and I wasn’t about to see if that was something he had outgrown.
Nikko dropped his arms and smirked. “Yeah. What has it been? Four, five years? Are you eighteen yet?”
It was a question he had asked me since I was fifteen, and I hated it every time.
I shoved my hands in my back pockets and noticed a face I recognized resting against the doorframe of the kitchen, staring down at his phone. My whole body flushed with heat.
