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The whole surface was covered in food, and it smelled amazing. Clearly, she’d been cooking all morning in preparation for having people over for the game in the afternoon. Most of them were in the other room where the television was, just past the kitchen, but Mitch, Domi, Law, and Iris were all standing around the counter. Well, and Zach was behind Brian and Rae because he’d driven over with them.
“You only knew because I told you,” Rae retorted from next to him.
Brian gave her hand a little squeeze, shooting her a sidelong glance. Everyone was staring at them, and not just because he was in silver and blue while Rae was in red and gold. When he’d pulled out his jersey this morning, he’d thought that she might actually leave him over it, but she’d decided she loved him more than she hated a football team.
He'd had some fun spanking her over the smack talk, though.
They hadn’t told anyone other than Mitch and Domi for a week, wanting to have some time to themselves before having to deal with their friends. Brian was pretty sure Zach had suspected something was up before Brian had given him the news this morning, but he’d been embroiled in his own relationship drama. He and Kincaid weren’t exactly officially back together, but they weren’t not together either.
They weren’t doing the holidays together, and Zach was still living with Brian, but he’d also spent a few nights back at his old place with Kincaid. He swore up and down they hadn’t been doing more than talking for now. Which after seeing Zach and Amy scening last night at Stronghold, Brian believed. They’d both apparently needed an outlet because he’d been rough on her, and she’d cried her eyes out but had also obviously needed every bit of it. Afterward, Zach had cried, too, while he held her.
Then Sam had taken Amy home, Brian had taken Zach home, and Kincaid had already been at home. Today was the first time they’d be back in the same place with all their friends since breaking up, so Brian and Rae were really kind of taking one for the team by announcing they were officially together.
“I knew,” Zach said with a wink, sliding by Brian to get farther into the kitchen, heading for the snacks that were lining the counter in front of Iris.
“Knew what?” A little voice asked as a tiny hand reached up from the other side of the counter to grab a chip. Brian almost jumped. He hadn’t realized Domi’s daughter was also in the room since she was totally hidden by the counter.
“Ana, you need to eat some veggies, too,” Domi said sternly, looking down on that side of the counter. Another little hand reached up to grab a carrot stick.
“Knew what?”
“Knew that Aunt Rae has a boyfriend,” Domi answered her daughter.
“She does?” Ana, Domi’s daughter, came around the counter, chip in one hand, carrot stick in the other, big brown eyes wide. She was wearing a pink dress with a tutu skirt featuring two cartoon dogs, one blue and one orange, hugging each other on the top part of the dress. Her gaze locked onto Brian and Rae’s hands and somehow got even wider. “Rae-Rae! You have a boyfriend?”
“I do,” Rae confirmed, letting go of his hand and crouching down to open her arms. “Can I have a hug?”
Squealing, Ana ran into Rae’s arms, giving her a huge hug. She was a seriously cute kid. Brian had met her quite a few times, but he hadn’t been given a hug yet. As she pulled away from Rae, he held up his hand.
“High five?” That was their usual greeting. To his surprise, Ana gave him the high five, then threw her arms around his legs. She was a short kid for her age, which wasn’t surprising given Domi’s petite stature. Her cheek pressed against his thigh, which made trying to lean down to hug her a little awkward, but he attempted it anyway. “Aw, thank you for the hug, Ana.”
Apparently, being Rae’s boyfriend got him special treatment.
“You’re welcome,” she said to him very seriously, tilting her head back to look up at him with her arms still around his legs. “Treat her right, or I will end you.”
She said it with total seriousness, in her cute little high-pitched voice, which made it a thousand times creepier than if an adult had said it. Next to him, Rae grinned widely. Iris and Domi were both muffling their own laughter. Obviously, he was on his own with the tiny terror.
“I plan to treat her right,” he promised seriously.
“Good.” She nodded and let go of his legs, wandering off toward Mitch and Domi’s living room where the tv was, now munching on her chip. He looked across the counter at Domi and raised his eyebrow. She just grinned at him and pushed the tray piled with vegetables and dip toward him.
“Can you take this into the living room with you?” she asked.
“Sure.”
But he didn’t get a chance to because the rest of their friends were suddenly streaming into the kitchen from the living room, leaving the television behind. Avery was in front, with Nick and Zach right behind her, Kincaid and Mitch bringing up the rear.
“What’s this we hear about Rae having a boyfriend?” Avery asked, her eyes widening when she saw Brian standing there next to her. Apparently, Ana had gone and immediately announced the news to everyone else.
“Hi, I’m Brian, Rae’s boyfriend,” he quipped, waving his hand at them. Mitch snickered and shook his head while the others gaped at him.
Well, this should be fun.
Rae
“Yes, we’re together, yes, it’s for real this time, and no we don’t care what you think,” Rae said, answering the obvious questions. Only the last one was untrue. It wasn’t that it was entirely untrue, but she also wasn’t going to let what their friends think affect her and Brian’s decision, and he agreed. Of course, they cared what their friends thought, though. Just not enough to change their minds.
At least she already knew that Domi and Mitch were supportive. And Ana. God, that kid cracked her up.
