“Yeah. Look. We had our suspicions about your mother, and your dad, for that matter, because we knew she’d had contact with him. And then there was you… Anyway, now isn’t the time or place to go into details, but we’d heard about your dad, and it seemed suspicious that you’d left home the same day it happened, and then West found out you’d been in contact with your mother.”
“That’s because I needed to get closer to her so I could come here to investigate!”
“We know that now. As soon as you told me last night why you were here, I was sure of it. You know, West and I have believed you’re most likely innocent for a while now, but it took these two dicks a while to catch up.” He jabbed a finger at Zayde and Caiden, who, while I was talking, had left the sofa and was crouched on the floor next to Zayde’s chair, facing me, his expression shuttered.
“There’s no way you were putting on an act just now. No one can act that convincingly,” Cassius continued.
“You’re not alone anymore.” Weston kissed the top of my head. “You have me. I’m appointing myself as your official brother now.”
“And me. Not the brother part, but we’re now officially friends. Maybe even fuck buddies.” Cassius nudged me, and I laughed, feeling like a weight had been lifted.
“I don’t think you could handle me, Cass. But thanks. And thanks, West. I’d really like that.”
“I could handle you. I’m very good with my hands. And did I mention the size of my di—”
“Shut the fuck up.” Caiden finally spoke. “No one wants to hear about your dick.”
“Rude,” Cassius muttered, but he was grinning.
“We’ll help you, and in return, you help us,” Zayde told me, and I nodded.
“Sounds fair.”
“Cade?”
Everyone looked at him as he got to his feet, crossing his arms across his impressive chest and staring down at me. “One thing straight, Snowflake. This doesn’t mean I like you. I don’t. Don’t expect us to be friends. But the Four will have your back, and we expect you to have ours. Understood?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Sorry, what the fuck did you just say?” His eyes narrowed.
“I said. Yes. Your. Highness.” I enunciated each word clearly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cassius collapse back on the sofa, laughing.
“I’m so glad I was here when you said that. His face!” He succumbed to hysterics again, and Caiden shot a look of pure ice at us both.
I shook my head at Cassius. “I really don’t know what was so funny about that, but as long as I’ve amused you, I guess.”
Finally, he managed to calm himself and lumbered to his feet, pulling me up with him. “Now you’re one of us, let’s forget all the heavy stuff for now. I’m gonna cheer you up by showing you around our house properly.”
I followed him out the door as he mumbled something about a hot tub, leaving Caiden standing there, his arms still folded and his brows pulled together in a frown, staring after me.
FIFTEEN
“Afternoon! You’re back later than I thought you’d be.” Kinslee looked up from her laptop screen. She’d covered our kitchen table with books, papers, and her laptop.
“Busy? Want a cuppa?” She nodded, turning back to her screen, and I dumped my bag in my room, then filled the kettle with water and set it to boil. “In answer to your comment, I had brunch with the Four before I came here.”
Pulling out two mugs from the cupboard, I waited for Kinslee’s brain to catch up with my words. I heard a sharp intake of breath, then a loud screech, and I turned around, grinning at the shock on her face.
“You what? You had brunch with the Four? How did that happen? What’s going on? Are you friends with them now? Wait, are you fucking one of them? Or all of them?”
“Slow down,” I laughed. “Let me finish making our tea and I’ll tell you all about it.”
Sitting at the kitchen table, my hands wrapped around a steaming mug of tea, I gave her a rundown of the situation, minus the parts about my dad and my suspicions about my mother. Her eyes grew round and her mouth dropped open, and she peppered my story with her interruptions.
“The Four in suits, with those tattoos underneath? I would have come on the spot!”
“Dog fighting? That’s barbaric!”
“You kissed Caiden Cavendish?”
“You’re so lucky. If I’d slept with Cassius, I would’ve made the most of it.”
“I want to be dickmatized by that boy.”
“Zayde. Cooked. You. Brunch. Zayde, possibly the sexiest, but definitely the scariest man I’ve ever seen in my life. He can cook? Fuck me sideways.”
“So you’re all best mates now?”
I finished recounting what had happened with a shake of my head. “Not exactly. Caiden explicitly stated that we weren’t friends and he didn’t like me. The others? I’m not completely sure, to be honest. I still get the feeling that they’re just waiting to catch me doing something bad. But I think they’re thawing out. I hope so, anyway. And because the others have said they’ve accepted me now or whatever, whether they mean it or not, Caiden’s going along with them.”
“You need to have hate sex with him. So hot.” She fanned herself dramatically.
“No thanks. Yeah, he’s sexy, and from what I could feel of his dick when I was grinding all over him last night, it’s biiiiig. But that doesn’t excuse the fact that, one, he’s not interested, and, two, he’s an asshole, and he proved that again to me this morning with his comments to me. If the Four are the kings of Alstone College, he’s King Asshole.”
“True. But I still think you should. Have you even slept with anyone since James?”
I shook my head. “I—”
“Whose hoodie is that?” Kinslee interrupted me, jabbing an accusing finger at me.
“Uh. It’s Caiden’s.” I could feel my cheeks heating as she raised an eyebrow at me.
“Oh, I see. And how, pray tell, did you end up wearing it?”
“I was cold, so he let me borrow it.”
“Uh-huh. Right.” She gave me a knowing look over the top of her mug. “Let me guess. Was he wearing it at the time?”
“Maybe. Anyway, can we please stop talking about him now?”
Kinslee huffed but relented. “Come on. Help me brainstorm for my assignment. It’s enough to take anyone’s mind off their problems.”
“Go on, then.”
The next day I struggled through my university lectures, not really able to concentrate. The weekend’s events kept playing on my mind. After my lectures ended, I headed to the library, knowing I needed to at least attempt to work on the assignment that was due at the end of the week.
There were a few students around, but most had left campus for the day now that classes were over. I reached the back row of the stacks and stopped, taking a moment to look out of the window. From my vantage point on the top floor, I could see lights flicker on all over the campus, as the sky began to darken with the setting sun.