Will gave a small, breathless chuckle.
“Yeah,” he said, without even opening his eyes. “I’m thinking aboutyou.”
----- ?⋅?⋅? -----
I followed Will into the breakfast room, my cheeks still burning and my heart hammering way too fast. The way the morning sun poured through the windows made it impossible to pretend that last night hadn’t happened.
Not that I wanted to.
I just wished it wasn’t so obvious.
Kalani was already there, half-curled up with a cup of tea, looking sleep-rumpled but sharp-eyed. She caught sight of me and Will, andraised one perfect eyebrow. Aran sat across from her, nursing a coffee and wearing a grin so wide it should have been illegal.
Will brushed his fingers against mine as we passed, a tiny grounding touch. But it didn’t stop the way my whole body felt like it was vibrating with nerves.
“Morning,” Will said casually, sliding into the chair beside Aran.
Kalani smirked into her tea. And Aran, of course, didn’t waste a second.
“Someone had a good night’s sleep,” he said,winkingright at me.
I choked at his words.
“Kalani told me you didn’t make it back,” he said, eyes gleaming. “I figured you must’ve had an accident.”
I blinked. “What? No! Why—?”
He leaned in, grin widening. “How else do you explain falling into his bed?" His voice dripped with mock seriousness. "You must have tripped. Hit your head.” Then he lost it, laughing so hard he nearly spilled his coffee.
Will, already red, stood up so fast his chair screeched back. “I’m getting juice,” he muttered, fleeing toward the buffet.
I buried my face in my hands.
“I’m sorry, Kalani,” I blurted. “I didn’t mean to leave you hanging.”
“Relax. We’re just happy for you,” she said.
“Speak for yourself,” Aran choked out. “I’m traumatized.”
Kalani sipped her tea, eyes twinkling. “Don’t worry about it. You needed that. And Aran was off playing with his new 'friends' at the club anyways.”
Aran snorted. “Yeah. Friends. Sure.” He raised his mug in a mock toast. “Phase one’s done. I'm officially in debt. Got to ‘settle it’ tonight.”
My stomach twisted. It was real. It was happening.
“So. Are you two a thing now?” Aran said, changing the topic.
“I… don’t know?” I said.
Aran, of course, wasn’t done. “If he ever hurts you—“
“Aran!” I squeaked.
He shrugged innocently. “What? I’m just saying. I’m surprised it took him this long anyway,”
He leaned closer, voice dropping. “Did you know that he called dibs on you the first day you met?”
I chuckled. “Wait. Seriously? You can’t call dibs on aperson!”
