A Drop of Pretty Poison: A Brother’s Best Friend Romance (Pretty Poison Trilogy Book 2)

Let the record state that Mali is making a liar out of me. I was a completely unwilling participant. Okay, that’s a lie, too. I didn’t exactly object when she told Hayes and Cam that we had to go to her job to take care of a massive issue. But come on. There’s only so long we can help them work on that bar before we start to lose our minds.

The only thing that makes it all worth it is seeing how happy it makes Hayes. Sometimes, while we’re hanging out at his house, he gets lost in talking about all the ideas he has. Seeing him talk about something with that much passion makes me smile. Because he deserves all the best things.

And I deserve to take a break from paint, spackle, and all things renovations.

“This one,” Mali says, holding up what’s supposed to be lingerie but really just looks like scraps of lace fabric strung together.

I shake my head. “Absolutely not.”

“You would look so hot!”

My arms cross in front of my chest. “Are you saying I don’t look hot otherwise?”

She narrows her eyes at me. “Oh, yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying. You’re a complete toad. It’s a wonder you scored one of the hottest guys in town.”

“Great!” I throw my hands in the air. “Now you’re calling my boyfriend hot, too. Some best friend you are.”

The look she gives me tells me she’s totally over my shit right now, but all I can do is laugh. After I’ve spent the last hour listening to her try to talk me into wearing “something slutty” as she put it, she can take a little payback.

“I hate you so much,” she tells me.

But I smile sweetly back at her. “That’s so cute. You even lie to yourself.”

She flips me off and goes back to browsing the store. What she doesn’t realize is that nothing in here really interests me. I’m not a lingerie kind of girl. Honestly, I don’t even know that I have the confidence to try it. Not that I’m insecure. But everything with Hayes makes me nervous—in a good way, but still nervous.

“Okay, what about this?” Mali suggests.

I turn around with the no already on the tip of my tongue but stop when I see what she’s holding. It’s sexy, but in a cute kind of way. The white lacy fabric looks soft to the touch, and instead of looking like my clothes got mauled by a bear, it’s more of a bathing suit type. I purse my lips and walk closer to get a better look, and Mali is practically gleaming at the fact that I haven’t turned it down yet.

“When would I wear it?” I question.

She stares back at me, her mouth opening and closing before she decides on what to say. “Are you serious? Before you have sex. When the fuck else would you wear it?”

My eyes roll. “No. I know that. But I mean like, for what? Because it’s a Tuesday?”

“It’s Thursday,” she corrects me.

I huff. “You know what I mean!”

“Lai, you’re putting too much thought into this. It’s just something to wear that Hayes would love and would make you feel good about yourself.”

“He makes me feel good about myself.”

She chuckles. “Gag me. Stay on the topic, please.”

Grabbing it from the bottom, I pull it up to have a closer look. It really is pretty, and even if I don’t wear it right away, at least I’ll have it for when I want to. His birthday is next month. That would be a good time for it.

“Okay,” I cave. “I’ll take it.”

And that’s when a brilliant idea comes to mind.

I need to go shopping for something else.

IT’S LATE BY THE time we get back to the bar. I half-expected Hayes to text me a few times, asking where I am and when we’re coming back, but he’s been relatively quiet. It isn’t until we go inside that I see why.

There’s a stack of empty beer cans strategically placed into a pyramid. It has to consist of at least thirty cans, and that’s not counting the random ones lying around. Being as it’s just the two of them, you can imagine the state they’re in.

Mali and I stop right inside the door, just in time to see Cam ride his skateboard into the tower. The whole thing collapses, but the best part is when one of them gets caught under the wheel and he busts his ass. Hayes loses it, laughing until he’s short of breath and crying. And Cam? I think his ego is more bruised than his body.

“What are you doing?” I ask, more amused than anything.

Cam stands up and runs his fingers through his hair. “Nothing. Just…you know…chillin’.”

He’s trying to seem nonchalant but he’s failing miserably. Especially when he goes cross-eyed as he looks at me. I give him a knowing look and he shakes himself out of it, blowing raspberries at me with his tongue. Then he tries to kick one of the cans and falls flat on his ass again.

Mali’s hand comes up to cover her mouth as I pinch the bridge of my nose. Hayes is practically wheezing over in the corner. I don’t know what I expected to come back to, but it definitely wasn’t this.

“What the hell happened after we left?” I ask through a laugh.

“Funny story,” Cam slurs. “We were exhausted. And overworked. We were exhaustitworked.”

Hayes gasps. “I know how to twerk!” Oh God. “Really! Devin taught me!”

He gets up, putting his hands on his knees and starting to twerk. It’s surprisingly not as bad as I thought it would be, but there’s something about his long, lean form hunched over and doing pelvic thrusts that absolutely destroys me. Mali scrambles for her phone while I watch him lose his balance and fall face first to the floor—turning his head just in time.

“I’m okay!” he calls out but doesn’t bother moving from the floor. “Oh, this is comfortable. Why haven’t I done this before?”

“No,” I whine. “Don’t fall asleep on the floor. I’m going to take you home.”

Cam goes over and lies beside him. “This is comfortable. We should hang funnels from the ceiling and make it a lay-down bar.”

“Good idea!” Hayes drunkenly agrees.

Mali snorts. “People would think they’ll get a blowjob or some chick riding cowgirl while they drink.”

Both their eyes double in size as their heads whip toward each other—smiling like idiots and nodding. Then Cam turns toward Mali and sighs heavily.

“You can’t be that hot and have better ideas than me,” he tells her. “It’s not fair.”

She smirks, popping a piece of gum into her mouth. “I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m not.”

“All right,” I say, putting an end to this. “You’re not opening up a sex bar.”

Hayes pouts. “Why not?”

“Because I’m not about to let you around naked women all day.” I grab both his hands and pull him upright. “Time to get up. We have to drop Cam off at home and then I’ll take you to your house.”

“Boo!” Cam groans, giving me a thumbs down. “You’re not the boss of me.”

“No, but technically, Marc is,” I counter. “Should I call him?”

Hayes and Cam gasp and look at each other before forming a united front against me. Cam crosses his arms over his chest while Hayes glares at me.

“You would tell Dad on us?” Hayes asks indignantly.

Mali chuckles. “Damn. If I had known they were going to be this fun, I never would have made an excuse for us to get out of here.”

“Mali!” I hiss through gritted teeth.

Both Hayes’s and Cam’s jaws drop, and Cam shakes his head. “You lying liars who lie!”

“For the love of fuck,” I grumble at my best friend. “Was that really necessary?”

“Absolutely. Look at them!”

She’s enjoying this, and I get it. The two of them rarely get this drunk, and when they do, it always gives us material to hold against them later. It’s my favorite part. But right now, I want nothing more than to go curl up in bed with Hayes.

“Well, for that, you can be the one to get Cam home,” I tell her.

Rolling her eyes, she shrugs. I help Hayes stand up the rest of the way and catch him as he stumbles. With an arm around him, I glance at Cam once more before leaving with Hayes.

“You’re really pretty,” he slurs. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

Jesus Christ. “Yep.”

He exhales sadly. “Damn. He’s really lucky.”

I walk him over to his truck and slip my hand in his pocket to grab his keys. He jumps at the contact and spins around, putting his hands up.

“Whoa. How will your boyfriend feel about you touching me like that?”

Seriously, this is the last time I leave the two of them alone for a few hours. Like, ever.

“Hayes, baby,” I say sweetly. “You are my boyfriend.”

His eyes light up. “Really? Me?” I nod. “That’s fucking sweet!”

If he wasn’t so damn adorable right now, I’d probably be pissed. But all I can seem to do is chuckle as I get him to climb into the passenger seat.

A task that takes three attempts, mind you.

Making sure his seatbelt is buckled, I walk around to get in the driver’s side. He’s already passed out with his head against the window by the time I pull out of the parking lot. But at least this way he won’t need me to stop so he can puke.

As I drive back to his place, I think about how tomorrow night is going to suck. Since Hayes moved into his own house, I’ve been sleeping at his place. My parents think I’m at Mali’s—that she’s been helping me with new ideas for work. But tomorrow, I have no choice but to sleep at home. And I’m already hating it.

IT TAKES SOME TIME, but I manage to get Hayes inside and up to bed. Though, I did consider leaving him on the couch. If I didn’t know I won’t get to sleep with him tomorrow night, I would have. There’s still the dilemma of getting him undressed, but I decide to change and tie my hair up first.

The stairs were enough of a workout. I can only imagine what this will be like.

He doesn’t move as I take his shoes off, but the second I start to undo his belt, he wakes up. His brows furrow as he looks at me, then he smiles.

“Hi.”

I giggle softly. “Hi. We have to get you undressed.”

He nods. “Okay, but then you have to leave.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I have a girlfriend.” It looks like he’s trying to focus, but it’s not going well. “And I’m sure you’re great, but she’s the only one that’s allowed to ride my dick like a rodeo.”

“Well, that’s good,” I say through a laugh. “But H, I told you. I am your girlfriend.”

He thrashes his head from side to side and then stops, eyes widening like he realized how bad of an idea that is.

“Hayes,” I say, taking his face in my hands. “Look at me.”

His gaze meets mine, and it takes a moment to process, but then his face lights up. “You are my Laiken!” He scrambles with his belt and shoves his pants and boxers down in one go, freeing his cock—which is definitely suffering from whiskey dick at the moment.

“Hop on, cowgirl! This bull is all yours.”

I fall onto the bed, unable to contain myself as Hayes smiles proudly back at me. “It’s a great bull, babe, but you’re too drunk. There’s no way you’re getting that thing up. How about we get some sleep first, and we’ll have sex in the morning when you’re not as likely to vomit all over me?”

He pouts as I pull his boxers back up, but once I slip into bed and cuddle up next to him, he wraps his arms around me and falls asleep with ease.

I WAKE IN THE morning to the feeling of soft kisses being pressed against the back of my neck. Hayes slips his hand under my shirt, sliding it up to tweak my nipple between his fingers. I arch into him and moan quietly.

“Good morning,” he murmurs.

Honestly, I’m surprised. I thought he would be more hungover than he is.

“Morning,” I say breathlessly. “Someone woke up on the right side of the bed this morning.”

He hums, pressing another kiss just behind my ear. “How could I not? I get to wake up next to you.”

I chuckle. “You’re quite the sweet talker for someone who didn’t even remember who I was last night. Though, it was good to hear you say I had to leave because you have a girlfriend.”

“I did not.” All his teasing stops and he groans against his pillow. “Tell me you’re lying.”

I turn over in his arms to face him. “You did. I believe you said that I’m the only one who’s allowed to ride your dick like a rodeo.”

“For fuck’s sake.”

I could go on to tell him that he told me to hop on while his dick was completely flaccid, but I don’t think his ego could take another hit right now. Not when he already looks mortified.

Grabbing my phone, I notice a text from Mali letting me know she got Cam home safely, and another from my mother making sure that I don’t forget my grandmother’s birthday dinner tonight. Dread runs through me at the reminder. Don’t get me wrong, I love my grandmother. But I also love sleeping in bed with Hayes, in a place where we don’t need to worry about anyone but each other. And the idea of sleeping without him is not my favorite.

“Ugh,” I whine. “I don’t want to move from this bed.”

“So, don’t,” Hayes suggests. “Let’s stay here and ignore the world together.”

God, it’s so fucking tempting. It feels like we’ve been constantly on the go lately. Between my job and Hayes working on the bar, we haven’t gotten much time to just enjoy each other. But as much as I’d love to take him up on that, it’s too late to cancel the private lessons I have scheduled this morning.

“I really wish I could, especially knowing I’m not sleeping here tonight, but—”

“Wait,” he interrupts me. “Why aren’t you sleeping here tonight?”

I turn my head to look at him. “I have my grandmother’s birthday dinner. I told you that already.”

“No, I know. I just thought you’d come here after.”

“I would, but I don’t know how late it’ll run, and I’m not sure my parents will believe me if I say I’m going to Mali’s again. They’re probably already suspicious after the last week and a half.”

He doesn’t look happy, but he gets it. “Is it bad that I just want to keep you to myself in here?”

I shake my head. “No, because I want that, too. I’ll come over tomorrow morning before you go to practice, though.”

That’s the other thing that sucks this weekend—our schedules do not match well. I won’t see him all day today, or all night tonight, and then tomorrow I only get the morning and overnight with him. If Mali wasn’t already on me about our codependency issues, I’d cancel going to dinner with her tomorrow so I could have more time with him.

But she would annihilate me.

“If I’m still sleeping, feel free to wake me up with a blowjob,” he murmurs tiredly.

Rolling my eyes, I kiss his cheek and sit up. It isn’t until he tries to do the same that he hisses, holding his head in pain. I smile as he realizes the mistake of drinking so much with Cam last night.

“I was waiting for that,” I tell him, smirking playfully. “I’ll get the Advil.”

He hums as he lies back down. “See? You can’t go anywhere. It’ll be like leaving me here to die.”

“I could always call your mom to come take care of you.”

His eyes fly open as I stand next to his side of the bed. “You wouldn’t dare.”

I hand him the medicine and the glass of water I grabbed from the bathroom. “Yeah, I didn’t think you’d want that. Take these and go back to sleep for an hour. Something tells me I don’t think Cam will be at the bar early this morning either.”

“Oh, God,” he groans. “The banging of hammers!”

Yeah, now he’s starting to understand the consequences of his actions.

EVER SINCE I’VE BEEN spending every night with Hayes, my bedroom just doesn’t feel the same. It lacks the comfort that it used to bring me. It still looks exactly as it always has, but it’s missing something.

It’s missing him.

I sound crazy. I know that. We’ve only been dating a few months, openly for less, but I love him. I’m hands down, without a doubt, desperately in love with him. And I won’t ever apologize for diving all in with him.

“Cam! Laiken!” Mom calls. “We’re leaving! Let’s go!”

“Coming!” I shout back as I head down the stairs, only to see Cam wince.

He stares at me in a way that shows how hungover he is. “Must you yell?”

I grin sheepishly and mumble an apology as I slip past him. Our parents are waiting for us by the front door, all dressed up and ready to go. My mom smiles as she sees me and tucks my hair behind my ear.

“You’re so pretty,” she tells me. “It feels like I never get to see you anymore.”

The sadness in her voice hits a soft spot. I mean, it’s not like she went out of her way to spend time with me when I wasn’t spending every possible moment wrapped up in Hayes. But it’s nice to know that I’m missed.

“I’ve been meaning to go get a pedicure,” I reply. “We could both go next week.”

A smile spreads across her face. “I’d love that, sweetie.”

Cam finally saunters into the living room, taking his sweet ass time, and the four of us head out.

I don’t remember the last time all of us were in the same car. Sitting in the backseat has a way of making Cam and me feel like children. Then again, it could also be the fact that Cam acts like a child when we’re sitting back here.

“Put your window up,” he murmurs. “The wind is giving me a headache.”

“No. You know the backseat makes me nauseous,” I tell him.

“Your face makes me nauseous, but you don’t see me complaining.”

“Well, your best friend seems to like it just fine.”

My dad sighs. “Is the arguing really necessary? You’ve hardly been around each other lately.”

Fuck.

I can already tell by the look on my brother’s face that I’m going to regret bringing Hayes into it. He grins deviously and tilts his head to the side.

“Yes, dear sister,” he drawls. “Where have you been lately?”

The last thing I should do right now is poke the bear, but the arrogance plastered all over his face is grinding on my nerves. I glance down and scream, swatting at something that isn’t actually there. Cam’s hands fly to his head, and he looks absolutely miserable, which means my plan worked exactly how I hoped.

“Sorry,” I say to my parents. “I thought I saw a bug.”

They chuckle to themselves, but I’m too busy at watching the way Cam glares at me. He’d never out the fact that I haven’t really been at Mali’s because he’d catch hell for knowing about it and not saying anything sooner. He may get some kind of revenge later, but at least for right now, the win is mine.

Checkmate, brother.

YOU WOULD THINK THAT when making a product that goes on your lips, they would take into consideration what you’re going to touch with those lips. Clearly, they haven’t done that. If they had, I wouldn’t be scrubbing my grandmother’s lipstick off my cheek like I need to remove a whole layer of skin to get it off.

She’s the sweetest lady, and for a long time she was my favorite person. But the number of times she feels the need to kiss my cheek is unnecessary given the fact that I’m grown now. No matter how much older I get, she still treats me like the six-year-old little girl who thought the bowl of expired candies on her kitchen table tasted good.

Dinner was nice, though, and getting to spend time with my family was great. But I couldn’t help wishing Hayes was there. It never even occurred to me to invite him. Not that my parents would have gone for it anyway. Nan has met Hayes numerous times but reintroducing him to her as my boyfriend is a step that I’m sure they don’t think we’re ready for yet.

As I finish removing the red stains from my cheeks, I climb into bed and grab my phone off the nightstand. A text from Hayes is already waiting for me.

This bed is too cold without you.

Says the guy who loves it when the sheets are cold.

I watch as the three dots appear, until his response comes through.

But I love you more.

Before I can type my reply, Hayes’s picture covers my screen.

Facetime Call.

Hitting accept, my very exhausted, and very shirtless, boyfriend appears. Just looking at him like this makes my bed feel so empty. He should be here. Or I should be there. But being apart is not it.

Not for us.

“God, how do you do that?” he asks.

My brows furrow. “Do what?”

“Look so damn gorgeous even when you’re going to bed.”

I chuckle, rolling over and propping my phone up. “You should have seen me before. There had to be at least three lipstick marks on each cheek.”

He hums tiredly. “Someone needs to tell Nan that the only person allowed to mark you is me.”

“Jealous of my grandmother now, are you?” I tease.

But his eyes soften as he looks at me through the screen. “Baby, I’m jealous of anyone who gets to be around you while I can’t be.”

My breathing stutters, the same way it always does when he says things like that. It’s like he has direct access to all my heartstrings, and he’s wrapping each one of them around his finger.

“I miss you,” I say honestly.

A small smile spreads across his face. “I miss you, too.”

We both lie there, just staring at each other the only way we can right now. It’s not nearly close enough, but it’s better than not being able to see him at all. I’m starting to think maybe Mali has a point.

“Is it a red flag how codependent we are?” I question.

He barely considers it for a second. “Not to me.”

Well, that’s all that matters.

The two of us stay on Facetime—not really saying much but both needing to know the other is there—and I manage to finally doze off to the sound of his breathing.

SATURDAY MORNINGS ARE SUPPOSED to be the one morning I have to sleep in. With the guys having an early practice, it pushes my lessons back by at least two extra hours. During the playoffs, it’s even longer. But no matter how hard I try, I just can’t seem to stay asleep once the sun peeks above the horizon.

It’s like my body knows that Hayes isn’t beside me.

So, after a quick shower and a stop for donuts, I head straight for his house. I’m half expecting him to still be asleep when I get there. Waking up early never has been his thing. But to my surprise, I open the door to find him in the kitchen, brewing a pot of coffee.

He turns to look at me, and the moment I put the box of donuts on the island, he crashes into me and wraps his arms around my body. It’s all the confirmation I needed to know that he missed me just as much as I missed him. And even with everything Mali has been saying about one night apart every now and then being healthy for couples, I don’t care enough to stop.

Being around him makes me happy. Why does that have to be a bad thing?

“I brought donuts,” I say, not moving.

He breathes me in and kisses the top of my head. “I see that. Thank you.”

“I don’t want to let go yet though.”

“Good,” he answers through a chuckle. “Because I don’t either.”

We stay there, sharing lazy kisses and just being close until the coffee pot beeps, signaling it’s done. Only then do we let go, but the way he keeps glancing over at me tells me he hasn’t had enough yet.

I hop up onto the island and pull a donut out of the box, while Hayes sits on one of the barstools. He looks up at me with that perfect smirk on his face, and I just know he’s thinking about how he ate me out in this very spot. My thighs press together involuntarily at the memory.

“I couldn’t sleep last night,” he tells me as he grabs his own donut.

“No?”

“Nope, and it’s all your fault.”

A frown forces its way through. “My fault?”

He takes a bite and nods. “Mm-hm. So, I’m going to need you to make arrangements to be here every night for the foreseeable future.” My jaw falls open as I stare at him. “May as well bring all your shit with you, too. Thanks.”

I sit here, gaping at him and wondering if I heard him wrong. The words that just came out of his mouth were spoken with such casualness that you would think we were talking about what we have planned today. Not some major life choice.

When he notices I haven’t said anything, he looks up at me. “What?”

“D-did you just ask me to move in with you?”

“No,” he says with a mouthful of donut, and my stomach drops for a second. “I told you to move in with me. There’s a difference.”

My brows raise as I chuckle. “Oh, well in that case, I’m going to pass. You know, in the name of women everywhere who don’t let men tell them what to do.”

He rolls his eyes playfully, dropping his half-eaten donut into the open box and standing up. His hands come to rest on either side of me, his face only inches from mine, and the way he licks his lips has my attention so locked on him, it’s pathetic.

“Laiken,” he says seriously. “Will you please move in with me so that I don’t have to spend another cold and lonely night without you for the rest of my life?”

My heart is trying to beat out of my chest as I smile. Trust me when I say that there is nothing I’d love more than to live here with him. Making this place ours. Our own little space where the smell of his cologne and my perfume constantly linger in the air—I want that so bad. The yes is right there on the tip of my tongue. It would be so easy to say it. But…

“I’d love to,” I tell him, and his grin widens as he exhales. “But I can’t. My parents would literally off us both. I mean, we’ve only been together for a few months. I can only imagine the conniption they would have if I told them I was moving in with you out of wedlock.”

His joy is replaced, but not by disappointment. He looks more thoughtful than anything as he stares into my eyes. God, sometimes I wish I could just read his mind.

Whatever conclusion he comes to, it doesn’t take him long, because he hums, dropping a quick kiss on my lips. “I can work with that.”

Hang on. “Work with what?”

But he doesn’t answer as he grabs his donut and holds it with his mouth before picking up his phone and car keys off the counter. Then he heads for the front door without a second glance.

“H, what does that mean?” Still silence. “Hayes!”

He takes the donut out of his mouth as he opens the door. “Love you!”

And then he’s just gone, leaving me to wonder what the actual fuck just happened.

HAVE YOU EVER TRIED teaching someone how to do something while your brain is laser focused on something else? It’s practically impossible. I spend most of the day in a daze, trying to figure out what the hell he meant by that. I’ve racked my brain for hours, and the only plausible thing I’ve come up with is that he’s going to try getting my parent’s permission to move me in with him. It would be totally out of character for him, but nothing about the way he’s been since we became official has been anything like he used to be—not when it comes to me, anyway.

I’m sitting at dinner with Mali, pushing the salad around my plate while she rambles about how Cam freaked when he realized she drove his Jeep the other night. Normally, I would be completely immersed in everything she’s saying. But normally, I don’t have a bomb dropped on me at breakfast that has me trying to solve the world’s hardest puzzle all day.

Whatever it is he plans on doing, I hope it works. Because even the thought of getting to wake up next to him every single morning makes me feel like I’m floating. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t pictured it while we’ve played house over the last week. I just never let myself believe that was something he wants, too. Never until now.

“For some reason I always thought your brother had an average sized dick, so I was pleasantly surprised.”

I snap myself out of it with a shake of my head. “Wait, what the fuck?”

She leans back and crosses her arms over her chest. “Exactly. You weren’t paying attention to a single word I said.”

“I know it was about my brother and his Jeep.”

“Lai, that was just the lead-in to the story,” she tells me.

I cringe. “Oops?”

“Yeah, oops.” She runs her fingers through her hair. “What’s on your mind?”

I take a deep breath, wondering if it’s better to slowly lead into this or just spit it out. But something tells me trying to beat around the bush with this will only lead to Mali making her own assumptions.

“Hayes asked me to move in with him this morning,” I admit.

Mali is mid sip as the words spill from my mouth, and she chokes on her soda, coughing violently. “Fucking hell, we need to work on your timing.”

“I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m really not.”

She flips me off. “What the hell did you say to that?”

I sigh. “I said no…I think.”

“You think?”

“Yeah. I mean, I wanted to say yes. So fucking badly. But you know how my parents are. They’re lenient with a lot of the rules the church believes they should have us abide by, but living with Hayes when we’re not married? Something tells me that’s not going to make the list.”

“Jesus,” she breathes, leaning back against the seat. “Was he upset?”

“That’s the strangest part,” I tell her. “He wasn’t at all. I explained why I couldn’t, and I thought he would feel rejected, but he just kissed me and told me he can work with that. Then he left and I haven’t talked to him much since. He’s barely even responding to my texts.”

“He can work with that?” Mali repeats back to me. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Exactly!” I nearly shout. “I can’t figure it out, and the fact that he’s barely answering me isn’t helping either.”

She tilts her head to the side as she thinks. “Maybe he does feel rejected, but he understands your reasoning so he’s working on getting over it on his own.”

“Then why would he say he can work with that? What’s that even mean?”

“Maybe that he can work with knowing you’re not exactly saying no, but more saying not right now.”

That’s a possibility that never occurred to me. But if he’s upset about it, I’d rather he tell me than disappear to deal with it on his own. I don’t want him having any doubts about our relationship. There’s no reason for any.

“Yeah,” I murmur. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

She snickers. “I mean, it’s either that or he’s going to propose, but it took that man months just to come to terms with the idea of a relationship. You’re probably looking at five years minimum before he can even Google jewelry stores near me.”

His words from this morning play through my mind.

“Will you please move in with me so that I don’t have to spend another cold and lonely night without you for the rest of my life?”

For. The. Rest. Of. My. Life.

“But hey,” Mali continues, keeping me from falling down that rabbit hole. “You are nineteen. If you want to move in with him, legally your parents can’t stop you.”

I chuckle and give her a knowing look. “Sure, if I wanted to be disowned.”

“Point taken.”

Grabbing a crouton from my plate, I toss it into my mouth—wondering what kind of mood Hayes will be in when I see him tonight.