Page 11

11

E veryone had gathered in the living room to underscore the craziness of my current life.

Henry quacked loudly as she hopped around Cole’s feet. Mase held Sunny tucked into his chest, while Stephen and Marco lined up to toss another strawberry half at Cole. I seriously considered just closing the door again and waiting outside for Kenzie.

I wasn’t a quitter, though. So instead, I made sure both ducks were accounted for before joining the insanity. Marco let loose with the strawberry, Cole dodged it, and Henry made a diving catch.

Mase shook his head. “I’m taking Sunny downstairs—I don’t care what Eva said about the playdate.”

I cocked my head. “Playdate?”

All eyes turned to me, and Marco set down his next strawberry. “Eva explained to us how important it was for Henry to get some quality time with her baby, and Stephen wanted to see his god-duck. He was supposed to play with the ducks while Avery took the rest of us out to brunch, but her dad needed her at the last minute for a house renovation thing. The playdate may have gotten out of hand when we all joined in. Really, it’s Cole’s fault.”

Cole sent him an incredulous look. “Right under the bus, huh?”

Marco was fairly new to our group, but he’d shown no qualms about jumping in with both feet. “You were the one who said Henry could teach Sunny how to catch strawberries.”

I entered the fray and snatched the bowl of strawberries away from him. “ I’m the one who taught her that trick.”

Henry waddled over, greeting me with a quiet quack as usual. She rubbed her head against my leg, but I knew she was eyeing the bowl in my hand.

“Hey, baby girl, I missed you too.” My relationship with Henry wasn’t quite as close as Cole’s, but I loved the damn duck as much as he did.

When I’d invited Kenzie over yesterday, I’d assumed I’d introduce her to the roomies, give the ducks some cuddles, then scoot her on up to my room where I’d reluctantly tell her about Kane’s newest lies. What came after, to my highly active imagination, involved getting her to make the same sexy noise she’d made when she bit into her queso burger last week.

My imagination was a dick sometimes. I’d been battling X-rated dreams about her since the first night, but having her in my texts and in my head shifted them from nearly random hot girl to Kenzie lying next to me with her leg curled over mine, Kenzie with her mouth against my skin, Kenzie looking down at me between her legs with her blue eyes blazing.

I was doomed if I took her upstairs alone. No way was I breaking my rules, even for her. We’d have to stay here among the chaos and talk about the encounter with Kane without giving away our little ruse.

Sellers had probably been right to bow out. I should have known the moment I got Eva involved everything would go off the rails, especially with Stephen visiting too. Luckily, I still had time to clear the extra people out before Kenzie arrived.

I handed Henry a strawberry chunk and surveyed the large group. “Do you all have to be here?”

Mase snorted and started toward the stairs with his duck squawking.

“Not you.” I threw out. “Sunny really should spend some time with her mom.”

He sent me an arched look and carefully set Sunny on the floor so she could run over to me and Henry. Then, to no one’s surprise, disappeared down his stairs. Mase used to at least observe the chaos, even if he didn’t actively participate in it.

Cole stared after him for a long second then sighed. “Yeah, I see it.”

I met Cole’s worried gaze and nodded, but now wasn’t the time to discuss our concerns about Mase’s mental health. Marco could be a horrible gossip, and Mase was intensely private. He also tended to swing first and ask for explanations later. I liked my face right where it was, thank you.

Henry quacked at me, demanding another strawberry, so I absently set a handful on the floor at my feet before rising to look back and forth between Stephen and Marco.

“Sooo,” I drawled out. “You guys leaving any time soon, or…”

Stephen rolled his eyes. “I’m sleeping on your tiny couch. Where am I supposed to go?”

“Here’s an idea. You could stay with Marco for once.”

Marco shook his head. “Dorm rules.”

Cole scoffed. “You’re a senior. Why are you still in the dorms? Plus, we have two empty rooms here. I know Gavin would let you move in, and Mase wouldn’t even notice another roommate.” He glanced over at me. “Right?”

I tilted my head and considered the ramifications. Gavin, who owned the house, didn’t live here anymore, but Cole wasn’t wrong. I liked Marco, and it would make Stephen’s visits way easier if he wasn’t spread out all over the living room. Plus, part of Mase’s problem might be the loss of his late-night gaming outlet on the couch. Before I could cast my vote, Marco overruled me.

“I appreciate the offer, but I’m happy to live in the dorms as long as my parents are paying. And they are.”

Stephen caught his hand and dropped a kiss on his cheek. “I think it’s cute and very fiscally responsible.”

Marco beamed. “Thank you. Since Reece wants us gone for his new girl’s introduction—despite the curiosity potentially killing me—why don’t we go get brunch without Avery. She can meet us when she’s done hanging drywall or whatever.”

I raised my brow. “She’s hanging drywall ?”

He shrugged. “Or whatever. Should we grab Eva?”

The last question was directed at Stephen, and I realized Eva had never actually followed me inside. How much time did she need to wait for us to calm down? Suspicion hit me all at once, and I saw the same inkling come over Stephen.

She wasn’t waiting for us .

He dragged Marco toward the door at a fast clip. “Yeah, let’s grab her.”

I appreciated his immediate support. Unfortunately, they didn’t quite make it in time. In slow motion, the door swung open. Eva entered the house arm in arm with Kenzie, and I swallowed hard at her broad, borderline evil grin.

“Reece, look who I saved from verbal assault by Mrs. Lipnicki.”

My gaze immediately swung back to Kenzie, who was blushing slightly and trying to mask her discomfort with a fake smile as she took in the living room full of people. I definitely should have warned her. This was a classic asshole boyfriend maneuver.

I knew I should immediately rescue her from Eva’s clutches and possibly escape before Eva sniffed out our secret, but seeing her again after a week stopped me in my tracks. The rest of the room disappeared as a burst of feral excitement zipped through my blood.

She wore the same type of outfit as the night of the Kappa party. Blue shorts with a simple white V-neck shirt. It shouldn’t have been sexy, but I would forever associate her girl next door look with the taste of her.

And she was here for me.

Kenzie’s gaze finally landed on me, and the surprised, slightly hungry, flare in her eyes hit me like a sack of bricks to the chest. With all the interfering conversations and duck craziness, I hadn’t had a chance to change from my workout clothes—shorts and a t-shirt ripped at the sides.

I had a lot of skin on display, and Kenzie’s gaze slowly slid down my body in a way that felt entirely too physical for public consumption. She licked her lips, and I had to clench my fists to keep from throwing her over my shoulder in front of everyone and carting her upstairs.

The gesture would work to convince everyone we were together, but it would also plant me squarely in the danger zone of destroying our deal. Once I’d had enough of her, what then? We wouldn’t be able to keep up the charade, and I needed her to convince everyone I could make decisions with parts other than my dick.

Eva cleared her throat, thankfully breaking the moment, and ushered Kenzie farther into the room. “She said you invited her.”

I understood why Eva was both suspicious and delighted enough to wait outside for Kenzie to show up. She’d helped me get rid of many clingy overnight guests while she lived with us. Not every woman meant it when she said she was okay with one night only. The prospect of me having a girlfriend who I wanted to see more than once probably short-circuited something in her brain.

It certainly did mine.

Cole clapped my back, snapping me out of my daze. “About time. Reece never brings women home to meet the family.”

I shrugged him off and pulled Kenzie away from Eva, looping an arm around her shoulders. “Everyone, this is Kenzie, my girlfriend.” I ignored the gasps and Eva’s happy dance. “Kenzie, that’s Eva, Cole, Marco, Stephen, Henry, and…”

With a frown, I realized Sunny was missing. Again. She’d definitely inherited her escape tendencies from her mom.

“Where’s Sunny?”

Eva stopped shimmying to check the floors. “Is she downstairs with Mase?”

We all looked toward the basement stairs, but the door was still mostly closed. She could wiggle past the opening, but the crack wasn’t currently big enough for a duck to fit through.

Kenzie pressed her lips together, holding in a smile, and nodded toward the kitchen counter clearly visible in our open concept house. “Is that her?”

Hidden in the shadows between a box of cereal and another of protein bars, Sunny was quietly pushing the treat jar toward the edge of the counter where Henry waited.

Eva groaned. “Dammit, Sunny! What are you doing?”

Her little head whipped toward us as if she’d thought we were too busy to notice. Marco and Stephen burst out laughing, and Cole only shook his head. Eva stomped over to the ducks, Kenzie forgotten for the moment.

I took advantage of the ducks’ distraction to whisper in her ear. “Tell me now if you want to escape.”

Her smile softened with a quiet chuckle. “No, it’s fine.”

“Okay, but if this all gets to be too much, the safe word is kumquat.”

Eva snatched Sunny off the counter and glared down at Henry. “You, little miss, know better. And you…” She turned her ire on us. “Why do you have another glass treat jar? You know what happened the last time.”

I struggled to keep a straight face, but Eva wasn’t playing. “Sunny figured out the latch. We had to improvise, and since it was Henry the last time, we thought we’d be safe for a while.”

Cole held up his hands. “You know how hard it is to control duck shenanigans.”

She glared at him for a second, then let out a rush of air. “You need to duck proof this place again.”

Stephen left Marco by the door to retrieve the treat jar from Eva and put it on the top shelf in the cabinet. “There. All settled.” Then he wrapped an arm around Eva and not so gently shoved her toward Marco. “We’re leaving for brunch. Kenzie, it was nice to meet you. Reece, you should wear outfits like that more often. Cole, I need to borrow your cowboy hat later.”

He didn’t offer an explanation or respond to Cole’s soft, “Hell no.”

Eva tried to turn, but Stephen’s grip didn’t offer her much leeway. “Cole, watch Henry. She’s feeling feisty lately.”

“I’m on it.” He scooped Henry up with one hand and Sunny with the other, only getting a minor complaint in the process, and started for the stairs as the others filed out the door.

“Wait. Where are you going?” I wasn’t proud of the panic in my voice, but if he left, I’d be alone with Kenzie.

Cole slowed and sent a confused look over his shoulder. “To my room. They can’t get into anything in there, and I thought you might want some privacy?”

The last bit turned into a question I really didn’t want to answer. Kenzie stiffened under my arm, and I quickly convinced myself we’d be fine together in the living room—conveniently forgetting all the times I’d taken advantage of my roommates’ hermit tendencies.

I was very familiar with the couch.

“Yeah. Yes, of course.” I cleared my throat because I was spiraling. “Thanks, man.”

I could feel Kenzie’s eyes on me, and I just knew she was laughing at my distress. On the inside. Because she was too polite to openly laugh at someone.

Cole nodded at Kenzie with his usual good humor. “Nice to meet you. Hope we didn’t scare you away.”

Her tension drained away, and for the first time, I had to fight the rising jealousy of Cole’s easy charm. I was charming. I could be charming like that if I wanted to.

Cole disappeared up the steps, and Kenzie shrugged out from under my arm. “Well, that was fun.”

“Are you okay? You didn’t say much.”

“It was a lot to process, but I’m fine. Eva was really nice outside and warned me there would be a bunch of man-children in here playing with their ducks.” She started giggling before she could get the end of the sentence out. “Think we convinced them?”

I gazed up the stairs after Cole. “Maybe. Cole won’t say anything, even if he suspects. Eva definitely will, but Sunny came through for us there with the distraction. On the plus side, we won’t have to do as much work spreading the word if Marco is involved. Half the school will know by the end of brunch.”

Kenzie sank down on the couch with a groan. “What about you? Are you okay? You looked absolutely panicked there for a second.”

I frowned at the back of her head, then circled the couch to sit next to her. “Not my best performance, I’ll admit, but panic is a little harsh.”

She leaned forward and squinted at me. “What’s with the expression then?”

Under no circumstances could I let her know why I’d panicked.

I held out my arms, then draped one behind her. “Rude. This is just my face. No panic whatsoever.”

Kenzie crossed her arms. “I know what I saw.”

Guilt pricked me at the frustration on her face. She’d spent her last relationship being consistently gaslit, and I didn’t want to play those mind games. Still, the truth was dangerous with us sitting inches apart alone in the living room. My workout shorts didn’t do much to hide my body’s reaction to her closeness, so all she had to do was look down and she’d get a pretty good idea of the thoughts circling in my head.

“Trust me. It’s better if you don’t know,” I tried.

She raised a brow. “Kumquat.”

My jaw dropped. “You’re invoking the safe word because I don’t want to explain?”

“Yes. Against all odds, I trust you. When you won’t talk to me, I get this sticky ball of fear in my gut because I clearly can’t depend on my instincts to tell me who’s safe. What if I’m wrong again?”

The mention of Kane and his bullshit reminded me I’d invited her here to let her know about the new facet of his smear campaign—and my role in potentially pulling the same shit using her to knock him down.

Now didn’t seem like the right time for the reveal. “You’re not wrong.”

“Then tell me.”

“Fine, you want to know what’s going on in my head?” I leaned into her space, gratified when she didn’t back down, even with my lips nearly touching hers. “I’m imagining throwing my fake girlfriend over my shoulder and carrying her up to my very real bed where I’d play out her fantasies one by one until I replaced every memory she had of her asshole ex.”

Her breath caught, and heat flared in her eyes like when she’d first caught sight of me. I could get addicted to seeing the need there. Maybe I already was.