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Shae pats around the countertop for her shirt, and I spin to find it on the floor while sucking my fingers clean.

I mean…priorities.

So with Shae still shaking and sitting on the island and me crouching to retrieve her shirt from under the rolling coffee cart is how Yenn and Ezra find us.

We all freeze like we’re cast in a bad B-list movie.

“Y-you’re supposed to be with your family for the holidays!” Shae shouts, pointing a trembling finger at Yennifer.

Yenn bursts into howling laughter, bent over at the waist and grasping her knees for support.

Ezra, on the other hand, looks perturbed. Frowning, his eyes move from me to Shae.

“For real? Shae, we all live here,” Ezra says. “Well, except for this guy. And didn’t we make a rule not to fuck in the common places?”

“We weren’t fucking!” Shae exclaims, and Ezra gives me a pointed look before dropping his eyes to where my dick is trying to burst through my pants.

“Yo,” I grind out, covering myself.

“Yeah, you’re not my type. But back to you, Shae,” he says, giving me an eye roll. “Don’t play in my face like that.”

“You’re supposed to begone,” Shae squeaks.

“Okay, but why does that even matter? We still don’t fuck on kitchen islands, Shae Olivya Rivers!” Ezra shouts.

“Say, bruh,” I growl, taking a big step toward Ezra and pushing Shae behind me. “You need to chill.”

Ezra doesn’t flinch, nor does he back down, but he does blow out a big breath, rolling his eyes until they land on Shae. I want to gouge them out for simply looking at her with anger.

No one upsets Shae.

Yenn stops cackling, and when the tense moment breaks, she moves a step in front of Ezra. I can tell she’s trying to appear stern, but she fails, a broad smile pointed in Shae’s direction.

I unfreeze myself, going to Shae and dropping her shirt over her head.

“My bad,” I say, looking at Yenn and Ezra directly over my shoulder. “This is my fault, and I got carried away. I live alone, so I’m used to having free rein of the space.”

Silence falls around us—Yenn’s smile dips, Ezra’s face retains its irritated position. When I turn to look at Shae, she looks…troubled.

“I’ll clean up,” Shae says, stepping away from me to move shit around beneath the kitchen sink. When she pops up with a Lysol bottle, she liberally sprays down the granite, depositing so much cleaning solution that my eyes start to burn.

“Sorry, guys,” she grumbles, head down as she grabs a wad of paper towels.

Yenn sighs, hooking her arm around Ezra’s.

“No biggie, bestie!” she says brightly.

“No biggie? Yenn!”

Yenn shushes Ezra, pulling him away from the kitchen. I hear them bickering under their breath as they leave.

“Well, that was fucking awkward,” Shae says with a strained laugh. She continues wiping the counter. “Anyway, I’m sure you gotta go, yeah?”

I move behind her, wrapping my arms around her middle, and she freezes.

“What’s going through that beautiful brain, Sweetness?” I murmur in her ear. Her shoulders drop.

“Nothing,” she rushes to say.