“Easton Wade.”
“That tone used to piss me off.”
“It should scare you now.”
“Meh.” He shrugged. “I know you love me, so it doesn’t.”
“You’re stealing my phone.”
“I’m protecting your sleep.”
“That’s very authoritarian of you.”
“That’s very awake of you.” He unlocked the screen with the smug confidence of a man I had apparently trusted with my passcode at some point during the night, which felt like a separate emotional emergency. “Group chat name is currently Operation: Don’t Be Weird About Them.”
I stared at him. “Who made it?”
“Bliss.”
“That tracks so hard it needs a helmet.”
He scrolled, his mouth twitching. “Charm objected and suggested They Finally Stopped Being Idiots. Ryan reacted with a thumbs-up, Briggs sent thirteen confetti GIFs, Cade said, Please stop texting until morning, and Bliss said, Morning is a state of mind.”
I grabbed the pillow and covered my face. “I’m moving.”
Easton tugged the pillow away. “You’re coming to breakfast.”
“With them?”
“With the crew.”
I stared at him. “You realize they’re going to stare at us like we’re a science experiment.”
He grinned. “I know.”
“You’re enjoying this.”
“I spent seven months acting like I didn’t want to hold your hand in public, Aura. I’m going to let them watch me love you out loud.”
That took the fight clean out of my mouth.
He saw it. He always saw too much when he was close enough to touch me, and instead of making it heavy, he kissed me, soft and quick, still smiling against my lips like he knew exactly how badly he had just shaken me.
“Breakfast with the crew,” he murmured, “and tonight I’m picking you up for a real date.”
“A real date?”
“Yes.”
“We have had sex in questionable locations, but not dates.”
“Terrible brand. We’re fixing it.”
“That feels dangerously healthy.”
“Don’t panic. I’m still me.” His hand slid into my hair, careful with my braids even when he was being playful. “Baby, just wait and see what I have in store.”
That should have sounded cheesy. On anyone else, it would have. From him, with his morning voice and his hand in my hair and his body warm against mine, it landed somewhere between promise and threat.
