Brody looked chastised, but he also had a determined set to his jaw. “Can we go somewhere…else? To talk.” His tone made it clear he wasn’t really asking.
Aamee swept her purse off the coffee table like she didn’t have a care in the world. “Sure.”
They started toward the door, but when Brody went to walk past me, I reached out and gently grabbed his arm.
When he looked at me, I said, “You know you can trust me, right?”
I could understand that it wouldn’t be optimal to have any guy living with his girlfriend, but I couldn’t deny that it stung a little that Brody seemed to have reservations about Aamee living with me. I’d never betray him or Sophia by messing around with Aamee. Not to mention the fact that that girl scared the shit out of me.
Brody gave me a small smile. “I know, man. I just have some things to make clear to her.”
I nodded once, his words making me relax a little.
He and Aamee left, and everyone else followed soon after. Sophia and I thanked them all for coming. It was truly amazing of them all to drop everything and help us out every time we’d needed them.
When the door closed behind the last person, Sophia turned the lock before spinning around and slumping against the door. “We need to talk.”
Were there any words more dreaded than those? I doubted it.
Chapter Four
S O P H I A
Drew’s face paled, and he looked like he was about to bolt.
“What’s wrong?” I asked him, slightly alarmed by his expression.
“I’m a little nervous about this talk. I know you probably don’t love the idea of me living with Aamee.”
I let out a brittle laugh. “That’s an understatement. You deciding to live with my archnemesis without discussing it with me first is definitely not my favorite part of today.”
He closed the distance between us in an instant, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me close. I loved being nestled against Drew’s solid chest, especially now that he wasn’t battered and broken anymore. He was strong and sturdy like he’d been when we’d first met.
I looked up to see his warm brown eyes focused on me. I drifted a hand up to rub along his square jaw, a hint of dark stubble scratching against my palm.
God, did I love this man.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Today was such a good day, and then it got all fucked up.”
“That’s not your fault,” I reassured him.
“No, but I didn’t make it any better by saying I’d move in with Aamee. Though…she’s not really your archnemesis anymore. She was clutch at your hearing.”
I sighed and buried my face in Drew’s chest. Part of me kind of hated how helpful Aamee had been in the student panel’s decision to let me stay in school. Feeling like I owed her something—even if it was just my respect—was a nightmare.
“I know,” I finally mumbled.
“And I’m not at all into her. Not to mention I’d never do anything to betray you or Brody. You know that, right?”
“Yes.”
“So…it’s okay?”
I looked back up at him. “What if I say it’s not?” I had to know, even if the answer had the potential to hurt me.
He shrugged as if his answer was no big deal. Like my heart hadn’t stopped beating until he responded.
“Then I move back in with my parents. It won’t be the end of the world.”
A breath of air whooshed out of me as I clung to him. “Okay, you can live with the Antichrist.”
“Do you mean Aamee, or is that a pet name for my mom?”
An abrupt laugh shot out of me. “Aamee.”
He settled his chin on my head and hugged me tighter. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. I have requirements.”
“Oh yeah? And what would those be?”
“You have to report back on any and all juicy gossip about Aamee.”
I felt more than heard his chuckle as his chest rumbled beneath my ear.
“Done. What else?”
“You have to get a picture of her without makeup on.”
“That’s…maybe a little creepy.”
“Sacrifices must be made.”
He laughed again. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“Fair enough.”
“That it?”
I drew my face back a bit so I could look at him. “Don’t forget about me.”
His eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “Why would I do that?”
I hated how insecure this was going to make me sound, but I also needed to put it out there. Sometimes a little reassurance could go a long way.
“We’ve lived together the entire time we’ve been dating. I don’t want our relationship to fizzle now that we’re not around each other all the time. Like out of sight, out of mind.”
Drew brought one of his large hands up to cup my cheek. “It isn’t possible for me to forget about you. I think about you all the time, and we live together. You’ll be even more on my mind when I don’t have the luxury of seeing you as often.”
“Promise?”
He brought our foreheads together. “Promise.”
We stood like that for a moment, just enjoying sharing each other’s space.
But then a smirk spread across his lips. “I could show you if you want.”
“Show me what?” I asked a little breathlessly because the look on his face gave me an idea of what he meant.
“How obsessed I am with you.” His hands drifted down my back and cupped my ass, giving it a firm squeeze. “How impossible it would be to ever forget about you.” He shifted closer, pressing the bulge in his jeans against my belly. “How much you mean to me.”
His lips descended on mine.
The kiss was immediately out of control and consuming. It was a claiming kiss—one meant to leave an impression.
When I needed to pull away so I could take a breath, I whispered, “Yeah, you better show me.”
“My pleasure,” he replied with a lascivious grin before pulling me toward the bedroom.
I was fairly certain it would be my pleasure too.
Chapter Five
D R E W
I should’ve known better than to go apartment hunting with Aamee.
I was a smart guy, but she must’ve caught me in a moment of weakness when she’d asked me to check out a few places with her. I should’ve just told her my budget and left the rest of it to her. The whole scenario was beyond strange to begin with. Tack on a blond Kardashian wannabe in heels and some sort of wide-brimmed hat, and it was downright insane.
This was the third place we’d seen, and though all of them would’ve been fine with me, Aamee hadn’t loved any of them.
“We need a pool,” she said. “Don’t any of these places have pools?”
“I don’t know. You’re the one who saw these places online. I’m just along for the ride.”
“Well, you’ll be living there too. Don’t you care?”
“I care,” I said. “Just not…that much. As long as the place is big enough for the two of us, relatively close to Rafferty’s, and isn’t infested with rats, I’m probably on board with it.”