Page 118 of Becoming Us

“It’s a little small, but sure. If you’d like,” I said, and he held out his fist for me to bump. Brice and Jaden were younger, definitely wilder than their older cousin.

“You ready for the set next week?” Jaden asked.

“Debut time,” Brice sang.

“Yeah. Nervous, I guess,” I said with a laugh.

Atty’s hands came to rest on my shoulders, his thumbs pressing down in a comforting squeeze.

“I bet. That opening’s going to be sick,” Jaden added.

My stomach flipped. Paxton clicked his tongue at them, a silent warning.

“Oh right, never mind,” Jaden muttered, then drifted over to the couch and flopped down.

Laughter burst from the backyard, loud enough to catch everyone’s attention. Holly was still smiling, while Colin and Sophia cracked up over something I couldn’t hear. Ezra let out a low, annoyed sound, took a swig of his beer, and stomped up the stairs and out of view. Paxton took a step after him but didn’t follow—just lingered there, torn.

It was like watching a soap opera unfold in real time. I should probably ask him about it, though. Ezra looked upset.

I met Holly’s gaze. It softened the second our eyes locked. It took me a beat to realize why.

Atty had looped his arms around my shoulders again, his chest warm and steady at my back as he chatted with Jaden about beach versus court volleyball. His thumb was hooked through the chain around my neck—a habit of his I loved. Sometimes he tugged it, sometimes he just twirled it between his fingers. Always gentle. Careful.

Holly gave me the sappiest smile—completely unguarded—and something inside me went soft. All the way to the tips of my fingers.

Yeah, friend. I got the guy back.

Day by day, Atty and I started easing out of our skittish, eggshell-walking phase. The affection between us wasn’t one-sided anymore. It wasn’t just me clinging to him, desperate to feel like I belonged to someone. It was both of us. Balanced. Sometimes we touched like this, other times it was knees brushing while we sat or fingers linked while we walked. It was everything I used to dream of having with him. Now it was ours.

She knew exactly what it meant for me to be here. To be okay. To be loved, not just fiercely, but gently. The way I never thought I could be. No wonder she looked on the verge of happy tears before taking a long sip of her wine and turning back to the conversation around her.

We had really come a long way.Ihad come a long way.

And for the first time in what felt like forever, I wasn’t afraid of what came next.

I leaned back into Atty, letting the weight of that land somewhere deep. I’d ask him tonight.

Couldn’t keep pushing it back forever.

After everyone had left and Ezra had turned in for the night, Atty and I finally got to fixing my room. We were making the bed, just about ready to call it a night too. Thankfully, he’d brought his bag from the club and had no work tomorrow, which meant he could stay over without having to run back for his things.

I pulled one of the corners tight and tucked it under the mattress. Atty was working on the pillow covers. It felt like a domestic twilight zone.

“Thanks for helping,” I said as I moved to the next corner.

He let a pillow drop to the carpet and grabbed another. “Of course. This place is really nice.”

“I know. Comfortable, right?”

He nodded. “It feels like you.” Atty finished, smoothing the blanket over the bed.

That made me smile. “I finally got to talk to Sam today.”

“Oh yeah?”

My stomach twisted, just a little.

It’s going to be fine, Noah.