I hadn’t really seen the twins since the day after the party. I’d spent the week mostly with Ash when he wasn’t at practice, and with Ava when he was. Things were . . . good. Things were really good, and even Quinn and I were doing great.
The screech of chairs being pulled back had me looking up, and Jett and Gray sat down across from me. I felt the warmth at my side as Ash sat beside me.
“Hey,” I greeted him. He gave me a light kiss, pulling me into his side with one hand, opening a premade salad with the other. “Ooh, what have you got?” I asked him, leaning over to inspect his salad.
“Don’t touch his food.”
“Enough,”Ash growled. “I mean it, Gray. That’s enough.”
I heard Ash’s rebuke, but I couldn’t keep my mouth shut, as I looked at the brothers with narrowed eyes. “I asked him aquestion.”
I looked between the two twins and decided to settle this once and for all. I didn’t give a hoot that we were in the cafeteria. “You’re protective of him, I get it. I really do.” I ignored the sigh from beside me, but Ash stayed quiet. “Actually, you’re protective of everyone you care about, and that is really admirable.” I sniffed. “I wouldn’t expect it of you, either of you, because you work so hard on being colossal jerkfaces.”
I heard Ava’s gasp and then a giggle, and I ignored that too.
“But you can both stop with the attitude.” I held their stares. “Ash told me everything I need to know, and trust me, that took guts for him to tell me. I know that. Irespectthat. And you know what that should tellyou?” I carried on, not giving them the chance to speak. “That should tell you both thathetrusts me, and that should be enough for you.” I turned my head to look at Ash, who had started eating his salad, and he gave me a wink.Encouraged, I turned back to the twins. “I askedmyboyfriend what he was having for his lunch. It’s a question people ask each other every day. It’s not an attack. It’s not to make him feel anything other than his girlfriend saying, ‘What are you having for lunch?’” I sat back. “So both of you, do me a favor. Get off my back and be thedecenthuman beings everyone at this table assures me you are, because so far, I’m not convinced they’re telling the truth.”
Gray and Jett watched me. They exchanged a look, and then both of them shrugged.
“Fine,” Gray said, opening his own lunch. “No need to be pissy about it.”
Jett was already eating. “Yeah, Mia,” he said around a mouthful of food. “Why are you being so dramatic?” He grinned, and I threw my scrunched-up napkin at him.
“Don’t eat with your mouth full,” I scolded. “It’s disgusting.”
The table was silent for a moment, and then Ava asked Quinn why she didn’t make Ava’s lunch. That started a whole conversation between the four of them, and I leaned back, moving closer to Ash. I felt the kiss on the side of my head, and I looked up at him.
“Was that too much?” I asked softly.
He shook his head, his gaze tender. “I don’t think you can ever be too much.”
I smiled at him and settled into the curve of his side. I looked back at the table and saw Gray watching me. He gave a slight dip of his head, and I nodded back. I doubted we’d be friends, but at least the open animosity could stop.
Jett held his bag of chips out to me. “Want one?”
I shook my head. “No. Thanks.”
“I’ll take one,” Ash reached out, and I slapped his hand away.
“No.” I frowned at him. “He’s testing you, and you failed.”
“No, he’s testingyou.” Ash gave his cousin a smug grin. “Youpassed.”
I glanced at Jett, who looked pleasantly surprised.
“You all suck,” I grumbled, but there was no heat in it, and they knew it.
Conversation turned to the upcoming game and then to this afternoon’s classes. When Ava announced it was time to head to class, I was surprised that the time had passed so quickly.
“I’ll walk you,” Ash told me, taking my hand.
We left the cafeteria, and I glanced back at the table where the others were still gathering their things, laughing, nudging, like they’d been doing it forever.
“That was actually . . . comfortable,” I said, surprised at how true it felt.
Ash dropped my hand and slung his arm over my shoulder. “It was.”
I slipped my hand into his back pocket, grounding myself. “You know, there may be hope for us all yet.”
