“I told Jere I’d help you guys get groceries and then make you dinner.” She crosses her arms. “He and Jax picked me up after their last class.”
“So, they’re here too?” I wonder; my heart is still running a marathon in my chest.
“They’re outside getting the groceries,” she continues. “Zeke, too; he just got home.”
So much for keeping this to ourselves.
“What’s going on here?” Zeke wonders, his arms full of grocery bags.
He glances from Declan to me to Brinley. Then back to me and my red face before his eyes land on the pillow Declan is using to try and conceal himself.
“Holy shit.” Zeke smiles. “Are you guys doing it?”
Declan groans.
“Bro, I didn’t think you had it in you. I thought you’d just jerk off in the bathroom forever.”
“Gross,” Brinley says at the same time Declan says, “Of all days you decide to make an appearance, you had to choose today?”
“I do live here.” Zeke heads into the kitchen and drops the bags on the counter.
“You do?” Declan turns to face him. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in weeks.”
“Maybe you’ve been too busy to notice.” He winks at Declan, and my head falls back against the couch.
“And apparently, my best friend has been too busy to tell me she’s sleeping with my brother!”
I groan and cover my face with my hands. This is definitely not how I saw tonight ending.
“I knew it when you came to Greystone with a hickey after the Halloween party,” she continues. “You two thought you were so sly.”
Declan gets off the couch and sits on a kitchen stool. The same stool we concluded our very short study session almost two hours ago.
“Not that it’s your business,” he begins, “either of you. But we aren’t sleeping together.”
“You’re not?” Brinley wonders.
“No. We’re taking things at our own pace.”
“So, you’re dating?” Zeke asks. The way he says it almost seems like a jab. Like dating is a bad thing.
I get up and take the stool next to Declan. He looks at me as I sit down as if to ask if that’s what we’re doing… dating. We haven’t put a label on it up to this point. It’s not like we’re saying we’re boyfriend and girlfriend… just dating, right?
“Yeah,” Declan says hesitantly. “I guess you could call it that.” He coughs. “We’re dating.”
Zeke is quiet for a moment before a smile takes up a large portion of his face.
“My mom is going to be so fucking excited. She’s all for a slow-burn romance, but the anticipation has been killing her. Literally.”
Brin smacks him on the back of the head. “Not funny.”
“Sorry.” He shrugs. “Just a little bit of dark humor.”
“Is that where you’ve been the last couple of weeks?” Declan asks. “With your mom.”
“Sure. So, this relationship—” Zeke pulls out his phone and selects the voice memo app, shoving it in our direction. “—how did it start? When did it start? I need details.”
He presses record.
