He grins, his voice husky when he says, “Promise?”
“Absolutely not. Where’s the fun in that?”
James laughs, and damn, do I like the sound. “Fine.”
“Lead the way, brat,” I say, then follow him in. The place is more lived in than the other house, a bench by the door with shoes. He doesn’t have his on, so I take mine off as well.
Nash and Sadie are sitting on stools at the kitchen counter, laptops and schoolbooks in front of them.
“Hey, man!” Nash slides off the stool and heads our way.
“I brought dessert,” I tell him too, showing him the cake and watching his eyes glow, like he’s never been given a gift in his life. I know that’s not true, know that James would do anything for him and has given him more than he’s probably ever had, but before James, these two really cool kids didn’t have anyone in their lives who cared for them like this. I’m honored I get to do things for them now.
“That’s fucking awesome. Thank you.”
“Chocolate is his favorite,” Sadie says, having come over too, but lingering closer to James. He puts his arm around her, resting a comforting hand on her shoulder. She’s clearly shyer and quieter, but even from talking to James, I can see how the bond between him and her has grown.
“Mine too. What about you? What’s your favorite?” I ask.
“Birthday cake,” Sadie replies.
“Oh, man. I might have to change my answer,” I say, and all three of them laugh. I feel James’s gaze on me the whole time, warm and confused and…happy. I’m glad for that. I’m happy too.
“Okay, let’s get dinner ordered. We wanted to wait until you arrived since I don’t know what you like.” James heads to the counter, where his cell is sitting.
“I’ll eat anything. If it’s food, I’m down,” I reply.
He quirks a brow at me. “You’redown, huh?”
“Sorry, old man. That means I agree to something. I’m good with it.” I wink at him, and he surprises me by flipping me off.
I’m not the only person he surprises because Nash says, “Whoa. Where did that come from?”
“I’m not as…stuffy as you think.” James does the most ridiculous thing and pokes his tongue out at Nash. It’s so cute, so out of character, and it kills me not to be able to walk over to him, pull him close, and suck said tongue.
“I like Canadian bacon and pineapple,” Nash says instead of replying to James.
“That’s…my favorite too,” James admits, the two brothers looking at each other, maybe seeing a little of themselves in their sibling for the first time. It doesn’t matter that it’s something small. It’s a start.
“So you’re both weirdos,” I tease when Nash doesn’t say anything.
“The sweet and savory are good together,” he defends.
“I agree,” James replies.
“Look at you, being so wild in your pizza taste. Who knew?” I joke, and for the second time, he gives me the finger, which I would also like to suck…and my mind really needs to get out of the gutter.
“Sadie likes just cheese,” Nash says.
“I can pick whatever you get off. You don’t have to get something special for me.” She leans into Nash, who’d walked over to stand beside her.
“We’re absolutely getting something special for you.” James smiles her way.
“I’m good with just cheese. I’m on team Sadie for the pizza.”
James claps his hands together. “It’s decided, then.”
He orders while I chat with Nash and Sadie. “Tell me about today,” I ask him, and he does, rambling on in this way I’ve never seen Nash do. He’s gotten a lot more talkative with me over the last week, and we’ve talked more about James too, me doing my best to try and open lines of communication between them without coming down too heavy and pushing him away, but right now, he’s beyond talkative; he’s almost giddy when he tells me about making the team and that a couple of the guys he thinks are cool have made it too.
