The next morning,I woke up with a startle. Cass’s arm was wrapped around my shoulder, and our feet were tangled together at the end of the bed. It took me a second to remember the night before and realize that we must have fallen asleep.
Damn it. It felt so, so good to be there with him. I could smell him on the sheets, and his breath was warm on the back of my neck. It grounded me, rooting me in his touch and the security I now felt when I was with him.
But that didn’t mean I got to stay. I kissed his arm lightly, grabbed my glasses, and then crawled out of bed and snuck into the kitchen. I was only there a minute, drinking water and staring out the window as I tried to wake up, until I heard the bathroom flush.
“Oh hey,” Leo said, wandering out. “Morning.”
I stared for a second like I had been caught, then puffed out a slow breath.
I really was good at sneaking around Leo, even after all those years.
“Morning,” I said. “You’re up early.”
Leo stood on his toes, looking over the counter. “Cute undies.”
My cheeks warmed as I laughed. I had picked flattering underwear, for obvious reasons. I held my glass in the air, then waved it. “I was just getting some water. I’ll come back down in a minute, and we can make breakfast before you go?”
“Yum, breakfast,” Cass said, emerging from the bedroom in his boxers and a gray robe I’d only glimpsed a couple times before. “Should I make an omelet?”
Leo laughed. “Oh, you make omelets now?”
Cass shoved the back of Leo’s head as he walked by. “If you came to visit, you’d know that.”
I ran upstairs to compose myself and put on a pair of pants before Cass looked at me the wrong way and I was stuck with an erection again. The morning was beautiful, and the birds were calling outside, and when I peeked out the window, I saw the morning dew glisten on the grass. For some reason, that made me think of the time I spent in the house as a kid, and I felt sad that Leo was leaving.
When I got back downstairs, the guys had turned the kitchen upside down making breakfast. Leo had the sleeves on his T-shirt rolled up as he attempted to improvise waffles, sending clouds of flour into the air. There was a carton of eggs sitting out next to some cups of coffee, and Cass was standing over the trash can and slicing the green parts off of strawberries.
It was nice to see the two of them together. I remembered how important their friendship used to feel to me. Even when Leo and I were fighting, the time I spent with Cass felt like I still had a connection to him.
After we all had eaten our full of way too much breakfast food, I gathered the plates. “I’ll clean,” I said. “You should get your stuff together, Leo.”
“Right.” He glanced at his phone. “I should make a call before I go, too.” He drank from his mug, then set it down with the phone. “That reminds me, Cass, I almost forgot.”
Cass leaned back on the counter. “Forgot what?”
“I was talking to a friend who was a music agent last week. I told her what happened with you and Twice Shattered. She says now would be a great time to capitalize on their success, even if you’re going in a different direction.”
Cass frowned. “Capitalize on what? What the hell does that mean?”
I dropped the drain plug in the sink, then flipped on the hot water. I knew exactly where Leo was going, and I was sure Cass would hate it.
“She said she’d represent you. There’s always a couple big label bands looking for a new drummer or a backup for a tour.”
Cass sighed and drummed his knuckles on the counter. “Leo…”
“What?” Leo asked. “That’s a huge opportunity. Even if you don’t want to tour with Twice Shattered, maybe there’s another band you do want to tour with.”
“I’m fine just like I am,” Cass said, his voice tired. “Nothing wrong with the way I’m making a living, Leo.”
“Right,” Leo pushed, “but you could just talk to my friend. She wouldn’t charge you anything to just talk to her, and maybe when you hear more—”
“Leo,” I interrupted. “He said he didn’t want to.”
Leo frowned and looked at me. “Oh no,” he said. “Are you two teaming up on me? I knew you were getting too comfortable with each other. I should have never stuck you in a house together.”
Cass gave me a relieved smile, then smirked at Leo. “Yes,” he said smugly. “Shawn and I are teaming up on you.” He stood, then threw his arm over my shoulder, squeezing me tight. “Isn’t that right, Shawn?”
I swallowed to stop myself from quivering. “It’s true,” I said, then blurted out a laugh as I finished my sentence. “We’re a team.”
