Hunter’s hand teases the edge of my shorts, but he stops when the doorbell rings. “Ignore it. They’ll go away,” Hunter says, pressing his lips to my stomach, and his fingers slip under the band again.
Oh my god.
I freeze, remembering the plans I’d made for tonight, and I don’t want them to go away. “Stop,” I choke out, pushing Hunter back, and he looks confused as I pull my shirt back into place when the doorbell rings again.Shit, I can’t believe I forgot.Bailey probably did text me, but I have no idea where my phone is now.
“Who’s at the door?” Hunter asks as I grab his shirt off the floor, tossing it at him.
I twist my hair back into a messy bun, trying to make it not obvious what we were doing. I glance at the door, wondering how I’m going to explain this. Hunter’s combing his fingers through his hair, making it look like I wasn’t just dragging my hands through it.
“Please, please, please don’t kill me,” I beg, moving to kisshim briefly before rushing toward the front door.Fuck, this is awful timing.
I interrupt Javi asking Bailey if he can push the button again when I open it.
“Hi, sorry about that,” I say, smiling at Bailey when Javi leaps forward, wrapping his arms around my waist.
“Kait! Have you seenFinding Nemo? It’s my favorite movie because what if I turn into a mermaid like Thalia and Mira say, and then I can go find them in the ocean. Do you want to be a mermaid too? Are we making brownies?” he rambles, and I’m honestly amazed at how many words he strung together in a single breath.
I hug him back, a quiet laugh escaping me. “Wow, I have seen Finding Nemo, and I would love to be a mermaid. I have the right stuff to make special brownies with cookie dough and Oreos,” I say, and Bailey shakes his head.
“Sorry, he was excited,” he says, and I don’t mind at all. I’m just glad he’s settling in.
“Is this your house?” Javi asks, peeking around me, and I step back so they can come in.
“It is my house. Thanks for coming over to hang out,” I say, feeling my heart rate start to calm. I reach to tickle Javi’s sides, but my smile fades when I see Hunter slipping on his shoes. His gaze is trained on Bailey, and everything he said is running on a loop in my head.
It’s fucking comical how ironic it is that Hunter shares something incredibly vulnerable with me and then Bailey shows up. I know Hunt said he would try to work on it, but I’m not sure he imagined starting tonight.
“Um, B, do you mind taking Javi to the kitchen? I’ll be there in a second?”
Bailey nods, his emerald gaze sweeping over me. Why do I feel like I was doing something wrong, and I’m in trouble for getting caught?
“Sure, let’s go, Javi,” he says, but his body language is giving off an entirely different vibe, telling me something’s wrong.
It used to be the three of us together all the time, and now I’m being pulled in two different directions.
I turn toward Hunter, hoping he can see I didn’t mean for this to happen. When I reach for his hands, he pulls back. “I’m gonna head home,” he says, and I wish I knew what was going on inside his head.
“Do you want to stay?” I ask, hoping Hunt might give Bailey a chance. “I heard what you said, and this isn’t me picking Bailey over you, I promise. He called earlier, and I invited them over for a movie night.”
He hesitates, scratching the back of his neck. “Kaitlyn?—”
“Please stay. It’ll be fun.”
“Okay. I’ll stay,” Hunter agrees, exhaling a quiet breath. I smile, leaning up to kiss his cheek.
“Thank you. I’ll even let you put whatever toppings you want on your brownies,” I tease, pulling him toward the kitchen where Javi has already set himself up with a stool next to the counter.
“Are you making brownies with us?” Javi asks, looking up at Hunter. Whatever truce they had before Hunter left has seemingly disappeared in the time he was gone.
Bailey isn’t helping matters by resting his hand on Javi’s shoulder while eyeing Hunter with a warning.
I want to scream because this isn’t a great start. Convincing Hunter to stay wasn’t supposed to turn this into some sort of pissing contest.
Hunter smiles, offering a fist bump to Javi while I gather ingredients for the brownies and the pre-made cookie dough out of the fridge. “Is that okay with you? I like to put frosting on my brownies. I have a sweet tooth.”
“Like a tooth that’s sweet?” Javi tilts his head, a smileforming on his face, and he bumps his fist against Hunter’s.Maybe we can all be friends again. I don’t think it’s too much to ask for?
Hunt laughs, shrugging. “It means I like sweet things like candy.”
