Page 106 of Hide and Seek

“You’ve lost him to the dark side,” Felix says with a smile as Jace and Myles start talking excitedly, their voices hushed and their heads bent together.

I lean back against the couch cushions. “Nerds are gonna nerd.”

“I heard that,” Jace calls over his shoulder. “And nerds rule the world, right, Myles?”

“Right,” he agrees.

“Where’s Xave?” Felix asks as Jace and Myles start geeking out over whatever is on Jace’s screens again. “I thought he was coming over tonight?”

“He is, but Jordan and the boys needed him to take care of some things first, so he’ll be by later,” I say.

“So I take it you guys are officially together now?” Felis flicks his gaze to Myles’s back.

“We are.”

“Good.” He grins. “Because the pining was getting annoying.”

“I don’t pine.” I give him a flat look.

“You were totally pining.” He looks up at Killian. “Right?”

Killian shoots me a smirk. “So much pining.”

I flip them both off.

I didn’t tell anyone except Jace about my plan to reveal myself to Myles. I’ve filled both Killian and Felix in on what’s been going on with the threats against both Myles and Felix but didn’t tell them many details about what’s been going on between us beyond that we’re hooking up.

I knew for sure they were okay with the idea of Myles being one of us after they both jumped in to help when he was being accosted earlier, and when Killian helped me deal with the guard after.

Their easy acceptance of him shows how transparent I’ve been, and how obvious, since neither of them even blinked when they saw him in our room tonight. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to admit that to them.

Soft laughter behind me draws my attention to Myles and Jace, and more of those weird feelings from earlier fill my chest at how well they’re already getting along.

My family will always be the most important people in my life, but that family now includes Myles, and it means everything that they think so too.

“So, was that a typical Friday night for you guys?” Myles asks as we walk down one of the many paths on campus.

“For the most part.” I glance over at him. “Why?”

He shrugs, but an embarrassed smile lifts the corners of his lips. “I kind of assumed you’d spend your weekends partying and doing all the stuff that college kids are supposed to do.”

“We do when there’s frat events or business going on, but parties aren’t my thing. Jace’s either.”

“No?” He shoots me a surprised look.

“Do you want to know a secret?” I ask in a hushed voice.

“Yeah, of course.” He leans in like we’re about to share state secrets. “What is it?”

“I don’t like people,” I tell him. “Don’t like being around them, don’t like dealing with them, and I don’t trust anyone outside of family, so I don’t drink or get high around anyone but them.”

“Really?” He shoots me a surprised look. “But I saw so many tagged videos and pics of you acting like a stereotypical frat guy when I was doing a deep dive on you. It looked like you were having a blast.”

“That’s because I’m good at faking it.” I meet his eyes so I can see his reaction when I tell him this next part. “Most of my life isan act. Every day, I put on a mask, and I play the part, and I do the things, and I act how I’m supposed to, but it’s all fake.”

He tilts his head to the side like he’s thinking hard about what I said. “That tracks with what I read about people who are like you and Jace. I do that a lot too in my real life, but I don’t really interact with people on a regular basis, so it’s only a sometimes thing for me. Doing it all the time would be so exhausting.”

“It is,” I agree.