“Just as psycho,” Jay added.
“Just as immature,” I said when they all gave me an expectant look.
“You all forgot the most important one—just as hot as me.”
“Can we change the subject from Daniel to literally anything else?” Liana glanced over at me. “Are you okay? Want me to kick the boys out so we can talk?”
Daniel nodded. “Yeah. We should give you two some alone time.” He leaned into me, pressing a quick kiss to my cheek. “It’s gonna be okay, Nov. King’s okay, and y’know what, even with this shitshow of an arranged marriage, we’ll be here for you all the way. Volksy’s not so bad. I mean, it could be worse. It could be someone like Bellingham.”
Jay, whose body had stiffened against my side at the mention of Anton, huffed out an amused breath. “You talk about Bellingham more than Shaw talks about his girlfriend, and they’re practically married at this point.”
“What are you insinuating?”
“Nothing. Just an observation.” He looked down at me. “Do you want me to leave you and Liana in peace? I meantwhat I said earlier. You can use my room for as long as you need, and no one will disturb you.”
I nodded. “If you don’t mind, then…yes. Thank you, Jay.”
“Anytime.” Lowering his head, he placed his mouth to my ear. “Remember what else I said earlier. You’re strong. Don’t forget that.”
I inhaled a deep, shuddering breath, and before I could overthink it, I turned, brushing my lips over his. It was over as quickly as it had begun, but it sent sparks dancing down my spine.
Jay drew back, his gaze dark and hot, and I couldn’t look away.
Until Daniel cleared his throat. “Please. Promise me something. Don’t ever look at each other like that again when there are other people to witness it.”
Jay’s tongue swiped across his lips, his eyes still boring into mine. “Huh?”
“The eye fucking. It’s giving me a second-hand boner, and also, do you know what will fucking happen if Volksy sees? We will all be dead. All of us. I told you to stay away from her.”
“Then you sent me into the maze after him,” I pointed out, finally tearing my gaze away from Jay’s and turning to Daniel.
“Yeah, because I was worried about him,” he muttered, and something inside me warmed.
“You’re a good friend,” I said, because he needed to hear it. He gave me an uncharacteristically sweet smile that widened into a grin when Liana hugged him.
His grin grew bigger when he turned to Jay. “Come on, Banks. Let’s go raid the fridge and chill out with some weed, yeah?”
They climbed off the bed, padding across the bedroomto the door. Jay stopped with his fingers closed around the handle. “Come and find me or Dan, or text, if you need anything, okay?”
“Okay. Thanks,” I murmured, and he nodded.
“So…” Liana began when we were alone with the door closed and locked. “You and Jay? Tell me everything. And I know this goes without saying, but you can trust me.”
I twisted my hands together. She was right—I could trust her, but this would be the first time I’d tried to articulate everything aloud. “I don’t really know where to begin, but I’ll try.” I paused. “Actually, Vesper should hear this too. You’re both my best friends, and I don’t want to keep it from her. If I’m telling you now, I only want to say it once.”
“Let’s phone her now.” Liana tapped at her screen. I huddled up next to her as she pulled up Vesper’s contact details, and we waited as the phone began to ring.
Vesper’s smiling face filled the screen. “Lia! Nova! This is weird. I was about to text you both. I’ve been procrastinating, making a list of all the shows on tour next year, and there’s quite a few in Oxford, or Bristol if we can’t get Oxford tickets. What do you think?”
“That would be good,” I said. “But can we talk about that later? I have something to tell you both.”
Her eyes widened. “Ohhh…this sounds serious. Let me get comfortable. Give me a second.” She disappeared from the screen, and I took the moment to swipe one of Jay’s pillows and shove it behind my back. I bit back a groan. It wassocomfortable.
I realised I hadn’t even noticed Jay’s bedroom, too preoccupied with everything else that was going on. Now, I took in the details, and it hit me all over again that he’d allowed both me and Liana into his private space withouthesitation. With no strings, just the assurance that we could stay there for as long as we needed.
The room was welcoming, despite the size, the high ceilings, and the large windows. The walls were painted in a deep teal, and the furniture was all warm, polished wood. The luxurious bedding on Jay’s huge bed and the large rug on the floor, all in hues of grey, white, and teal, softened the space, and there were several framed old movie posters on the wall that shouldn’t have worked with the elegant Georgian decor but somehow did. I wondered if Jay had decorated it himself. It was unlikely, given that it was a student house, but the posters and the bedding were all him.
I wanted to curl up in his bed and stay there. With him.
