“I think Ben likes you too,” I grit out, the words feeling like ash on my tongue.
Landon hums but doesn’t respond, settling back on the couch and crossing an ankle over his knee.
He already looks comfortable here. Like he belongs.Those goddamn strings.
A beautiful sky blue joins the green, softening the edges of its harsh strokes.
When Ben knocks on the door, Landon nearly jumps out of his skin, which startles me too.
I jump up, opening the door for Ben. He’s got a backpack slung over his shoulder and an easy grin on his lips. “Hey, Cotton Candy,” he says, brushing past me and into the living room before I can even say a word.
That stupid-ass nickname. My stomach flips violently. Ugh. I hate it here. “Stop calling me that,” I say, shutting the door.
“Sure,” Ben says smoothly. “What should I call you instead? Now keep in mind it has to be equally adorable and fitting.”
Landon laughs. Fucking traitor. I thought we had just found some common ground.
“Parker,” I say slowly. “You can call me Parker. It’s fitting, since it’s my name. And also adorable because it’s mine.”
Ben looks at me with a grin. “I don’t know. Just doesn’t have the same hit as Cotton Candy, but I can try to come up with someone else, my little paintbrush.”
“What?” Landon says, laughing harder now.
“Yeah, what? That’s even worse somehow.”
“Maybe that’s my plan.” Ben waggles his eyebrows at me. “Come up with worse and worse names until you realize that Cotton Candy is the best.”
Landon clears his throat, looking past Ben to stare at me with those damn earnest brown eyes. “I’d like it noted thatIhave never called you Cotton Candy.”
I nod solemnly. “And that’s why you’re my favorite person in the room.”
Landon’s surprised but pleased smile has my heart rate spiking. Thankfully, Ben’s outraged gasp has me coming to my senses. I can’t help what the strings of fate want to do. But I can help how I let them have power over me.
“What are we watching tonight?” Ben asks, making himself at home on my couch beside Landon. As always, it’s a treat to watch the pink flush crawl up Landon’s throat and settle on his cheeks.
I sit down beside him. “Don’t you have to study?”
“Yeah, but I can listen and study.”
“Can you?” Landon asks.
The cheeky grin on Ben’s face has me smiling too. “Sure. I have two older brothers and a younger sibling. I’m incredibly good at multitasking.”
“Alright then.” I settle back on the couch, turning the TV on.
Twenty minutes later, Landon and I are entranced by the twisting, turning episode I’ve chosen, and Ben has moved from the couch to the floor, his textbook spread out before him with a notebook filled to the brim with notes. He’s tapping his highlighter on the table, eyes bouncing fromhis work to the TV.
I feel a little tug in my chest as I watch him, long legs stretched out under the table, concentrating hard as he works. I try to ignore him. Him and Landon both. It’s a nearly impossible task. They’re too big. Too commanding. Their presence in my home and in my space feels too comfortable and right.
Icanignore the fluttering of my heart and the flipping of my stomach, though. I can ignore the way Landon is beautiful sky blue, casting a bright, clear glow wherever he goes. I can ignore the way Ben is blinding yellow, actual sunshine in human form.
I can, and I will.
Chapter 10
Landon
The first game of the season is always a trip. The energy is unmatched, the roar of the crowd like nothing I’ve ever felt.
