Page 56

WAVERLY

K eene talked me into staying for supper. Apparently, the five members of the household took turns cooking, and tonight was his night. When I entered the kitchen with him, he grasped my waist and lifted me onto the counter, where I was supposed to sit and watch.

“Don’t get too excited.” He tried to downplay his skills. “It’s just spaghetti. All I do is brown the beef, boil the noodles, then mix them together with a jar of sauce.”

But I was impressed, anyway. And every time I tried to jump down to help, he shooed me back up onto the counter. That is, until the boiling water started to overflow while he was searching the cabinets for spaghetti sauce.

“Shit,” he muttered, whirling around, only to find me already there, pulling the pot off the burner.

“Got it,” I announced, smiling over my shoulder at him.

He blinked at me before smiling back. “Okay,” he decided as he came up behind me to wrap an arm around my waist and kiss the side of my neck. “I guess you can help after all.”

So I did. And it was a blast.

I’d never had so much fun cooking. But Keene made everything entertaining.

I wasn’t used to actually cooking with someone. I only did it when Mom and Dad were away and needed a stand-in. And the only help Gates had provided on those nights was to stick his head into the kitchen and demand, “Is it ready yet?”

But I loved cooking with Keene. He cracked the strangest jokes that made me roll my eyes and groan over his corniness. And he liked to touch and kiss at the most unexpected moments. I felt like I was living on top of the world by the time we actually sat down with the rest of his roommates to eat.

“Hey, this is pretty damn good,” he announced with surprise after taking his first bite. “Best damn spaghetti I ever had. Way to go, Waves.” He lifted a hand to me for a high five and cheered, “Teamwork makes the dream work,” as I good-naturedly slapped my palm against his.

When I texted my mother to let her know I was staying for supper, she asked a bunch of questions, wondering what kind of sickness Xander had and if it was contagious.

I knew she was worried about me getting sick too, which filled me with guilt for lying to her in the first place, but it was also annoying.

She had no faith in me and didn’t think I could take care of myself for one measly day.

It was almost making me feel resentful, even though I knew I’d never say anything to her about it.

She’d only cry and talk about my suicide attempt, putting me right back in my place of shame and depression, knowing I didn’t deserve her trust.

So I dealt with the questions and gratefully slipped my phone away when she finally stopped asking them and hung up.

But then, over dinner, Xander asked if I wanted to stay after the meal and watch a movie. And I didn’t want to say no. It felt right being here. Normal. I wasn’t ready to go home. So this time, I texted Dad that I was staying a while longer but that I’d still be home by curfew.

God bless my father, he merely answered,

Okay. Have fun. Love you.

And that was that. After we finished eating and the kitchen was cleaned, Xander and I filed into the living room, followed by her three male roommates, who wanted to join us.

Oaklynn was the only resident absent, but Damien claimed she was working late, so the five of us settled in on the two couches.

It was obvious Damien Archer was the master of the house, and not just because he owned it.

He’d made sure Alec and Keene did the dishes and behaved when they got rowdy.

When Xander said she wanted popcorn, Damien nudged Alec, telling him to go make her some.

He was a quiet authority with hypnotic whiskey-brown eyes, and I liked him.

I mean, he’d never have Keene’s buoyant energy, but there was a definite steady, safe vibe about him.

Even though I was officially here as Xander’s guest for the movie, Keene monopolized me by tucking me under his arm and cuddling me close.

The opening credits had just finished playing when the front door opened, admitting a new occupant. I assumed it would be Oaklynn returning home, but a different familiar figure swept inside, bringing a gust of crisp, February air with him.

“Brr.” Thane Eisner shuddered as he rushed to shut the door behind him. “Windy out. And it’s bringing in a cold front with it.”

“Hey, hey! Eis the Wise,” Keene called, lifting a fist in greeting. “What’s up, man?”

Thane paused in wiping his feet on the doormat to send Keene a short frown. “Dugger,” he greeted soberly. “You never returned my call.”

When I glanced up at Keene’s reaction, I saw him blink in utter confusion. “You called?”

Thane lifted his eyebrows expectantly before drawing out the word, “Yes. Nearly two weeks ago.”

Keene seemed baffled for a moment before his expression cleared. “Oh,” he said, finally remembering. “Yeah. That.” Sweeping out a dismissive hand, he tsked. “No worries, man. Problem solved. It’s all good now.”

Thane didn’t look convinced. “So you and Ohrley have talked since then?”

Thinking back to what had been going on two weeks ago, I bit my lip in worry, hoping Keene wasn’t still on the outs with one of his closest friends because of the secret I’d forced Parker to keep.

Snorting, Keene scowled at Thane before saying, “No. Because he hasn’t come around since then?”

“So why haven’t you gone to him ?” Thane countered.

I remembered the seven from back in my days at the center. They’d been one uniform pack, but it had always been obvious Parker and Thane were best friends the same way Alec and Keene were, while Damien, Hudson, and Foster kind of just floated around between them.

Of course, Thane would side with Parker, and I could tell Keene knew that too. His arm tensed around me before he said, “Why do I have to be the one to make the first move?”

“Because you know how stubborn he is,” Thane countered.

“And I’m not allowed to be stubborn?” Keene shot back, clearly ruffled.

Without thinking, I set a hand on his chest, on the lower side, just wanting to calm him.

He glanced at me in surprise, and I instantly felt his muscles relaxing as he covered my fingers with his own.

Across the room, Thane lifted his hands in surrender and said, “Fair enough. Good point. I’ll leave it alone.” He glanced at the popcorn Xander was passing to Alec as the rest of the room waited for Thane to finish talking so they could unpause the movie.

“You guys already eat supper?” he wondered, looking a little disappointed.

“Yeah, but there’s a container of leftovers in the fridge if you want some,” Damien told him. “Just leave enough for Oaklynn.”

“Hey, thanks. Don’t mind if I do.”

As Thane headed toward the kitchen, I shuddered, worried again about Keene and Parker.

But Keene glanced down at me in concern and rubbed my arm, asking, “You cold?” Before I could answer, he snapped his finger and pointed at Alec who’d just restarted the movie. “Yo, Younger. Toss that blanket over here, will ya?”

He did, and Keene reached past my face to catch it before he made a production of flipping it open, draping it over me, and tucking in the corners to keep me warm. But all I could focus on was how much this guy made my ovaries melt.

I set my head on his shoulder, loving this moment; he hummed out a sound of pleasure, pulling me closer and kissing my hair, only to growl in annoyance and lift his hand to flip off someone on the other end of the couches.

I glanced up to see a grinning Xander lowering her phone as if she’d just taken a picture of us. When she winked at me, I rolled my eyes and put my head back in the comfortable nook where it had been.

Thane returned, eating steaming spaghetti from a bowl. “Mmm. This shit is good. Xander must’ve made it.”

As he plopped onto the sofa between Damien and Alec, Keene gaped at him in clear offense.

“Uh, ex cuse me,” he uttered, pointing at himself. “Waves and I made it, thank you very much.” He pulled me close and kissed my temple. “It was my night to cook, not Girl Union’s.”

When Thane lifted his brows in interest and glanced curiously at me, Keene added, “Oh hey. I haven’t introduced you yet, have I? This is Waverly Frank.” Motioning a finger between me and him, he grinned proudly. “She and I are trying out the boyfriend, girlfriend thing.”

Alec paused the movie and spun to gape at him. “You’re what ?”

Keene blinked at him before slapping his knee. “Oh shit. I forgot to update you. Yeah. As of today—” Glancing at me, he squinted. “What was it, about seven—eight hours ago?”

When I shook my head with no idea how many hours it had been, he waved a dismissive hand and returned his attention to Alec. “Anyway, we decided, what the hell, let’s see what monogamy and dating and all those relationship strings were like for a change.”

“I—I—” Alec gaped at him before Xander looked straight at me and demanded, “Is he serious? You’re, like, dating -dating?”

Keene threw a pillow at her. “I’m serious.”

While Alec darted a dazed look back and forth between Keene and me, murmuring, “Huh,” Xander turned back to me for confirmation.

“Frankie?”

I nodded, confirming it, and Thane leaned forward to lift his fork in cheers. “Well, congratulations,” he said. Smiling in welcome, he sent me a head bob. “I’m Thane, by the way.”

“Oh yeah.” Keene jumped in to point at Thane. “Thane Eisner,” he finished the introduction. “He’s the counselor at South Central now.” Glancing at Thane, he added. “That’s where she went to high school.”

Nodding, I sent Thane a shy smile. “You must’ve filled Miss Qualls’s place,” I realized. “She told me she was retiring after my senior year.”

“Yeah.” Thane nodded with an affectionate smile. “I did take over her role. Such a lovely woman.”

“Yeah,” I agreed, remembering all the times I’d been in her office to hide out when the rest of school had gotten to be too much.

Tilting his head, Thane squinted at me in concentration before saying, “You look familiar.”