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Summer

I put a cup of coffee and a pastry on the bedside table for Connor. I runed both so they should stay warm and fresh until he wakes up. Last night, even after a large sandwich, Connor deemed me still too drunk for intimacy. So we cuddled in bed until we both fell asleep.

Quietly, I dress in yesterday’s clothes, careful not to wake him. His first class isn’t until later today, and he looks so peaceful.

By the time I get home, Alice has already left for class. I quickly change into my uniform and grab my phone before running out the door. I drop into my seat next to Alice, breathing hard after my sprint across campus.

Alice looks at me expectantly. “Well?”

“What?” I ask.

“How’d it go?”

I open my notebook. “Connor is perfect.” I exhale. “And I need to distance myself from the stranger.”

Alice watches me. “Because you find his voice sexy?”

The truth plays on my tongue. I try to lock it down, but it’s there and begging to be spoken. If I can say it to anyone, I can say it to Alice. I lower my voice and say, “Because I find him sexy.”

“Oh.” Alice sits back a little. “You didn’t tell me that.”

I sink down in my chair, nausea churning in my stomach.

Alice nudges me. “Sum, it’s a crush. Everyone has them. You’ve not done anything wrong, and anything you did was because of my influence.”

Right. A crush. It’s just a crush, and those mean nothing. I love Connor. That means something. It means everything .

“I never want to hurt Connor.”

“Summer?” I look at her. “Do you have feelings for this guy?”.

“Feelings?”

Alice nods. “Like… romantic ones?”

I shake my head. “No, I love Connor.” It’s just a stupid crush, and it has more to do with that stupid part of me searching for something. “The stranger just… understands me. Or at least, I think he does. He did… I don’t know.”

“And you feel like it’s wrong?”

I think for a moment. “It feels too,” I pause, trying to think of the word, “intimate.”

Alice nods. “I mean, that makes sense. Especially considering you’re even more emotionally constipated than I am.”

I glare at her but ask, “It does?”

“Yeah, Summer. I know you. You don’t have feelings for him, but he knows you on a level that even Connor and I don’t. It feels like you should feel more for him because of that. Am I headed in the right direction?”

“Something like that.” I sink into Alice’s tidy truth instead of searching through my much messier one. “I’m going to distance myself from him.”

“You going to tell him why?”

“I probably should, right?”

Alice shrugs. “I mean, will he understand?”

“Maybe he won’t care.” I hope.

“I somehow doubt that, little fae .” Alice mimics his voice for the pet name.

I spend the entire class thinking about how I’m going to tell the stranger that I need to take a step back. I’m so distracted when I get to the canteen that when Connor appears in front of me, I walk into his hard mass of muscle.

“Hi, babe! I’m owed kisses,” he says, catching my arms and steadying me.

I smile and push up onto my tiptoes to kiss him. From behind him, I can hear Rafe sigh in disgust.

“You were gone this morning.” Connor pouts.

“I knew your first class was later, and I didn’t want to wake you.”

“But I wanted kisses.”

I grin and kiss him again. Connor wraps his arms around my waist and fits me against him, deepening the kiss. Rafe makes gagging noises, and I pull back before he hurls his lunch up.

“Does that make up for it?”

Connor purses his lips. “Not quite, but getting there.”

Zach and Zane make mock kissing noises. I hold my hand out and twist it slightly. I can’t see them around Connor’s big body, but I hear the clunk as their heads knock together. In unison, they groan in pain. Connor laughs and turns to face his brothers. I smile wickedly at the twins, who are rubbing their heads where they collided. Connor helps me into my seat before sitting down next to me.

“You suck,” Zane grumbles.

I make my eyes go wide and pout my bottom lip in fake sympathy. “Oh, no! Did you have to face the consequences of your own actions?”

Zach flips me off, and Connor laughs, pulling me closer to him. I tuck myself against him and brush a kiss against his neck. He glows brightly in happiness, and I bask in how easy it is when we’re together.

Rafe holds his hand up to shield his eyes. “Can you finish becoming an archangel already? The glow is annoying,” he grumbles.

Connor shrugs and offers me a bite of his sandwich with a wicked grin. I glare at him, and he busts out laughing before taking a big bite.

“Is it annoying when I glow?” Luke asks innocently, a pang of hurt in his voice.

“You don’t glow like Connor does.” The gentleness in Rafe’s voice when he talks to Luke surprises me. I’ve never seen anything to indicate they’re close, but his voice holds deep affection when he speaks to his younger brother. “You’re not becoming an archangel, thankfully.”

“I glow when I’m healing you guys, though,” Luke says.

Zach ruffles his hair. “Only from your hands. Connor’s is seeping from his pores.”

Luke bats him away, his cheeks pink, and Connor flips off his brother.

Zach ruffles his hair again.

“Why are you terrorizing your brother, Morningstar?” Ashley asks as she walks by the table, her lips curled into a seductive smile.

“Me? Never.” Zach grabs her before she gets out of reach and pulls her into his lap. “Hi.”

Zane groans, covering his face. “Ugh, between you and Connor, this is unbearable.”

“This is sexual harassment,” Ashley says, her attention locked on Zach.

Zach’s eyes light, and he drifts his hand down to her ass, groping her. “No, this is.”

Ashley narrows her eyes. “And assault.”

“Then you should report me,” Zach says, squeezing her ass.

Zane groans. “I’m about to report you.”

I watch them and then lean into Connor, whispering into his ear, “Is this what we’re like?”

Connor chuckles. “I think so.”

Zach squeezes her ass again, and Ashley suddenly leans in, kissing him hard.

I roll my eyes and lean in. “Hey, dumb dumb? You can say nothing about Con and me.”

Zach blindly reaches for me and pushes my face away, but he doesn’t break the kiss with Ashley.

“This is hell,” Zane says, sounding as if he is in pain.

Rafe snorts. “You wish this was Hell.”

Beside me, Connor goes rigid. I look up at him to find his gaze locked on Rafe.

“And how exactly do you know what Hell is like?” Connor asks, an edge to his voice.

Rafe holds his gaze for a long moment, his face hard. “I have to get to class.”

I look between them, feeling the tension. I clear my throat. “Well, never fear because Alice and I are going to set up all our lovelorn Morningstars.”

Just as I finish my sentence, Alice drops into the seat beside me. “Yup! I have someone picked out for everyone.”

Rafe growls and stands up. “Stay out of my love life, Legosi.”

“Mine, too,” Zane also growls, but much less ferociously.

“But I can root around in there? Perfect.” I smile, conspiringly.

“You as well,” Rafe grumbles, his mood darkening with every passing second.

“What about baby Luke? He’s single!” Zane says as we all try to ignore Zach as he slides his hand up Ashley’s skirt.

I wink at Luke. “I got you.” Luke flushes a shade of beetroot.

“I think Connor and Zach are coupled up enough for all of us. Give us a couple of months,” Zane says.

I smirk. “Don’t worry. Rafe is my first target.”

Rafe snarls. It’s a deep, terrifying sound that comes straight from his core. The whole table goes completely silent. Even Zach pulls his attention from Ashley and looks at Rafe nervously.

“Rafe. Calm down,” Connor says, shifting his body in front of me.

A storm seems to rage in Rafe’s eyes, and he stares at me furiously. For whatever reason, I don’t back down from his stare. Connor stands up and grabs Rafe’s face, forcing him to look at him. “Calm down.” Rafe’s eyes flicker a little, and then he yanks away from Connor, not looking at anyone as he storms away.

Worried, I look at Connor. He shakes his head and gives me a quick kiss. “Sorry, babe, gotta go handle him.” He grabs his bag and jogs after Rafe.

Zach sighs, watching after them. “Rafe has issues. Don’t worry about it,” he says to no one in particular.