“No shit. You’re dating Jess?” Charlie beams, his brows shooting up in excitement. “We can all triple date. I’m kinda working on Drix.”
“I …” he shakes his head, his hands pumping nervously at his sides. “No, that’s not what I was going to say. I’m not dating Jess, I’m actually dating … Milo.”
The boys stop and stare in shock. “You’re … what?” Colton says, his mouth dropping in shock as Charlie just stares, still repeating Spencer’s last words over and over in his head, making sure he heard them correctly.
Milo steps into Spencer’s side for support but they don’t dare touch, not until they know the boys have fully wrapped their heads around it. “Umm… yeah,” Spencer says. “After Milo came out last week and seeing how open you guys were to it, it kinda gave me the courage to seek him out and you know, we got to talking and … he’s an alright guy.”
Milo scoffs. “I’m a little more than alright.”
Spencer smirks at his comment but keeps his eyes on his best friends. Charlie licks his lips that seem to have gone completely dry while his jaw was on the ground. “I mean, don’t get me wrong here. If you’re into dudes, then that’s cool, I’m just a little confused because I was certain that you were into chicks.”
Spencer shrugs his shoulder. “Eh,” he says. “They’re hot as fuck and all that, but I’m really not that interested.”
I raise a brow. “Is that why you so subtly suggested we skip the whole dating thing and get married on my first day at BSA?”
Spencer laughs to himself. “Yeah,” he says. “I wasn’t interested in fucking you, no offense. I thought you might have been Charles’ illegitimate kid at first and if I was right, you would have had some serious coin coming your way. Figured, I’d lock you down early.”
“The fuck?” Colton laughs.
“Hey,” Spencer argues. “If it was anyone but her, you would have tried the same thing.”
Colton shakes his head and comes to stand right by my side as if to claim me as his own, but in this room, it’s really not necessary. “So,” I say, looking up at Milo and Spencer. “You two are a thing now?”
They look at each other and Milo cringes. “I … I think so?”
Spencer shrugs his shoulders. “It’s still new,” he says, glancing back at us. “But if you don’t mind, I don’t want anyone to know. Not yet at least.”
I crash into them, throwing my arms around the two big idiots. “You know I love you guys, right?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Spencer grumbles, desperately trying to peel me off him but in the blink of an eye, Colton and Charlie are there, pulling him back in and sandwiching me between the four guys.
“You’ve got my word, bro,” Colton says, holding his friend tight. “I’ve got your back.”
Chapter 26
I hitch up my sweatpants while trying to make my way around the living area, cleaning up after the boys as they sit around talking all sorts of shit. “Babe, come on,” Colton groans. “Just sit your sweet ass down and take a break.”
“I can’t,” I tell him, dodging away from him to avoid being caught in his clutches for the third time this morning. “If I get denied for a student loan or financial aid, then I need to be able to pay for college somehow.”
“Loan?” Charlie questions, sounding shocked by the word. “Shit, that’s a word we don’t hear much around here.”
“Forgive me, oh wealthy one, for my pockets are not lined with gold.”
Charlie cringes. “Sorry, Ocean. I didn’t mean that as a stab toward you. It just threw me a bit. I guess it just really points out the differences between your world and ours.”
“No shit,” I tell him, walking around to his side of the massive couch and scooping up his forgotten plate. “Though, I figured the fact that I have to pick up after you slobs was already proof enough of that.”
Charlie shrugs his shoulder. “I guess,” he says. “But I kinda forget about all of that. You’re just part of the furniture now. I see you as one of us. I forget that things aren’t so easy for you.”
“Trust me, I certainly haven’t.”
Spencer gets up and takes his own plate back to the kitchen to be washed and calls over his shoulder. “Why are you applying for loans anyway? You realize that you’re dating Colton Fucking Carrington right? He could blink toward the school and have your tuition paid. Why are you putting yourself through all of that?”
I groan and can’t help but notice the cocky smirk lifting on Colton's lips. “Did you really have to go there?”
Colton laughs, looking over at Spencer in the kitchen. “Say it a little louder for the people in the back,” he says, his eyes sparkling with attitude. “Better yet, just say it again for Ocean until she decides to stop being a stubborn princess and lets me take care of it.”
“We’ve talked about this,” I grumble, cutting past the back of the couch and gently knocking the back of his head with my elbow. “And the answer is still no.”
“Babe,” he groans, putting his hand to his head and falling back on the couch as though my rejection physically wounds him.
I hold back a laugh as I walk up into the kitchen and dump all their crap on the counter before turning on my heel and stalking right back. “I told you, I want my independence. It’s important to me that I earn everything that I have. I don't accept handouts, especially from my boyfriend. It’ll make me feel cheap.”
I stride past Colton and his arms shoot out, locking around my waist before he pulls me down on the couch. “I’m not letting you go until you agree.”
I lean into him, hovering my lips just above his and teasing him with the promise of what they can do. I roll my tongue over my bottom lip and let out the softest groan, one that only he could hear. His eyes trail my tongue's movement, heating with an intense need. “Then I’m not sucking your cock until you agree.”
His lips pull into a wicked grin and the low groan that tears out of him is the most rewarding sound I’ll ever hear. “Baby, that one is going to hurt you just as much as it’ll hurt me.”
“You mean like how allowing you to pay for my schooling is going to hurt me just as much as my fist is going to hurt you.”
“Fuck, I love it when you speak like a lady.”
I pull back and look down into his eyes. “I mean it,” I tell him. “I want to pay for it myself, even if it takes me years.”
His fingers tighten on my waist, holding me to him. “Do you have any idea how hard that’s going to be for me to watch?”
I nod, knowing damn well but I also know that he’s more than strong enough to bear it. “You’ll be fine,” I whisper, dropping back down and pressing a soft kiss upon his warm lips. “I trust that you’ll respect what I want.”
He lets out a huff. “Fine, but just so you know, I’m probably going to bring this up about a million more times.”
“I know, you have some serious self-control issues to work on.”