Zac’s eyes don’t leave the pile of flowers at the base of the tree as he silently climbs out of the car and crosses the road, shoulders hunched.
I follow, wrapping my arms around his waist from behind and resting my chin on his shoulder.
“Did you know him?”
He shakes his head. “No, but his girlfriend’s brother was in my year level.”
He turns and buries his head in the crook of my neck, his body shaking.
“You’re okay,” I whisper, my chest tightening as I hold him. A tear slips down my cheek, but I don’t bother wiping it away. “You’re still here.”
The smellof curry wafts from the kitchen, making my stomach rumble when I step inside, Zac following close behind. When he closes the door, I back him against it, grip his waist, and kiss him.
“I’m sorry in advance for whatever these two arseholes have cooked up in there,” I murmur against his lips.
His forehead creases. “It smells edible.”
I grin, grab his hand, and pull him towards the kitchen. “It’s not the food I’m worried about.”
We pause in the doorway, and my jaw drops.
Zac lets out a snort of laughter. “What the fuck is this?”
Dane’s standing at the stove in a floral apron, stirring a giant pot of what I assume is the curry, while Jasper’ssetting the table. There’s a vase of flowers in the middle that I’m pretty sure they picked from our neighbour’s front yard.
My idiot housemates grin at each other.
“We wanted the first family dinner to be special.”
I shoot Dane a filthy look as I drop into my chair. Zac greets our teammates with a bro-hug before taking the seat next to me. My knee bounces under the table, and he squeezes my thigh, but I can’t relax; tension thrums through me. This is so awkward. I don’t know how to act with him around them.
Dane brings the food to the table, and the four of us pile butter chicken onto our plates. It smells delicious, and the other three guys hoe into it like they haven’t seen food in weeks, but I push my food around my plate, unable to eat with my stomach swirling.
“So, Kincaid,” Jasper says around a mouthful of food, “what are your intentions with our boy, Noah, here?”
“Lay off,” I growl.
But Zac just chuckles and nudges my shoulder with his. “They’re just messing with us.”
No one seems to notice my internal panic. Their conversation carries on like I’m not sitting here with my skin prickling and heat engulfing me from the inside out.
I’m not ashamed of who I am. I just don’t know how tobeme.
“Are you okay?” Zac murmurs, gripping the back of my neck and squeezing.
I flinch and immediately feel like an arsehole when I see the uncertainty in his eyes.
“I’m fine,” I grunt, shovelling food into my mouth. It’s tasteless, turning to paste.
Jasper and Dane exchange a look, but neither says anything.
I hate myself. These guys are my closest mates. They’re not judging me. Not judgingus. They’re trying to be supportive, but I just can’t shake my old insecurities.
“I’m fine,” I repeat, leaning back in my chair. “This is just weird.”
“It’s only weird if you make it weird,” Dane says with a shrug.
“You’re really okay with us?”
