“I have emotionally complex boundaries.”
“You have hang-ups with better marketing.”
I stare at him.
He stares back.
I hate that I almost laugh.
“I hate you,” I whisper.
“No, you don’t.” His mouth brushes mine before I can decide if I want to argue or bite him. “Speaking your language, Pip? You’re the only friend I’m getting benefits from.”
My pulse trips over itself so violently it should file a workplace injury claim.
He doesn’t smile when he says it.
That is the worst part.
He just looks at me like the statement is obvious. Like it has already been true for a while and he is only now informing me because I have been emotionally unavailable to the facts.
“And I’m off the market,” he says, voice dropping. “Whether you’re ready to call me yours or not.”
Oh.
Holy shit.
My chest goes hot and tight and weirdly breakable all at once. I stare up at him, too awake now, too aware of his hand at my waist and his knee pressing into the mattress beside my hip and the fact that he just said the most boyfriend-coded thing I have ever heard without asking me for anything in return.
He doesn’t demand a confession. Doesn’t ask what we are. Doesn’t make me promise him some shiny title I am not ready to hold without panicking. He just tells me where he stands. And apparently where he stands is directly on top of every excuse I have left.
“That was a lot for four in the morning,” I manage.
His mouth twitches. “You’ll survive.”
“Debatable.”
“You survived worse.”
The words are simple, but they land deep.
Not pity.
Never pity.
Just fact.
I look away before he can see too much, but his fingers find my chin and bring my face back to his.
“Hey,” he says.
I blink at him.
“I’ll talk to the guys after practice. You go to class at eleven. I’ll meet you back here after. Then we sit down with Aura and Charm and make sure everyone knows what to watch for. When you tell your family they’ll be less likely to twitch if they know you are taking safety precautions.”
“You make my emotional collapse sound like a Google Calendar invite.”
“It basically is one now.”
