I let out a shaky laugh, my eyes stinging. “Thank you,” I murmur. “Both of you. I know this isn’t easy, and it’s a lot to digest.”
“Don’t get it twisted,” Hollis announces. “We’re still goin’ to tease you relentlessly, but we’re not goin’ to disown you or anythin’.”
I nod. “I can handle a little teasin’.”
“And I can’t exactly betoomad at Remi for keepin’ this from me since I fucked his boss on the down low for a while.’
“Hollis, my gosh,” I say on a sigh.
“And Finn secretly fucked his nanny,” he adds. “We’re quite the family, huh.”
We all share a laugh, and just like that, I feel a hundred pounds lighter.
I can breathe again.
Twenty-Eight
Remi
My head snaps up at the sound of someone knocking on my front door.What the hell?Who could possibly be here? It’s after nine, and I’m about to go to bed.
Padding across the floor, I check the peephole, my nerves on high alert. My shoulders relax when I see a familiar face standing on my porch, and I unlock the door, pulling it open.
“Ever heard of callin’?” I drawl and step aside as Hollis strolls past me.
“Why would I need to call?” he asks, arching a brow as he stuffs his hands into his pockets. “Worried I might…catch you in the middle of somethin’?”
“What?” I snort. “No. You should’ve called because it’s late, and I could’ve been sleepin’.”
“Mmhmm, right. Sleep.”
My eyebrows pinch together in confusion, and I cross my arms over my chest. “Uh, are you alright?”
“I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be fine,best friend?”
I can’t help but chuckle.Why is being so weird?“Maybe because you’re kinda actin’ sketchy?”
Hollis saunters into the kitchen, grabbing himself a glass out of the cabinet and filling it with water. He rests his ass against the edge of the counter as he gulps it down, his eyes trained on me. A shiver rolls down my spine at the weight of his stare. I don’t think he’s pissed off or in a bad mood. If anything, it seems like he’s in a more teasing, humorous mood… But that still doesn’t answer why he showed up here unannounced this late at night. Out of the two of us, he’s always been more of an early bird than me. It’s the rancher in him. He should be asleep, not chugging tap water in my kitchen.
“Where’s Lukas?” he asks.
“Sleepin’,” I reply slowly. “It’s a school night. Shouldn’t you be in bed already?”
“Couldn’t sleep. Too much on my mind.”
I wait for him to elaborate, but he doesn’t. “Care to share with the class?”
“Would you?” he counters, biting back a smile. “As yourbest friend, I’m here if you need to…talk about anythin’. All ears, buddy.”
“You’re talkin’ in fuckin’ riddles, Hollis. What the hell is goin’ on?”
He shrugs. “I would just hate for there to be secrets between us.”
“Uh, there are no secrets.”
A quiet thread of unease pulls tight in my chest at where he could be going with this. Hollis hasn’t said much—hasn’t accused me of anything—but the way he’s looking at me makes the skin on the back of my neck prickle. It feels like I’m taking a test I didn’t study for.
“Are you sure?”
