“Woohoo!” Felix cheers. “We’ve got ourselves a new roomie, boys!”
A slow grin spreads across Gabriel’s face, and before I can say anything else, his lips crash against mine. The kiss is hungry, desperate, and full of relief, like he’s been holding his breath waiting for me to say those words. His hands slide down my body, gripping my hips as he pulls me closer, and I can’t help the soft moan that escapes me.
“We’ll see you guys later,” Gabriel says between frantic kisses.
Everyone laughs and cheers and tells us to get our asses upstairs. So we do.
Within seconds, we’re stumbling toward the stairs, our lips never breaking contact. Every inch of me is on fire, my body aching for him. By the time we reach his bedroom—our bedroom—my shirt is halfway off, and Gabriel’s hands are roaming over my bare skin, leaving a trail of heat in their wake.
“I love you,” he groans against my lips as he lifts me, my legs wrapping around his waist. The strength of his arms holding me steady makes me feel weightless, like nothing in the world can touch me as long as I’m with him.
“I love you, too,” I breathe, my voice barely audible over the sound of my racing heart.
Gabriel carries me to the bed, his hands never leaving my body, his lips trailing down my neck, over my collarbone, and lower. Every touch, every kiss feels like a promise. We’re together. We’re solid. We’ve been through hell, but we’re still standing. And this—us—it’s the one thing I know I can always count on.
As we come together, everything else fades away. There’s only him, only us, and the overwhelming certainty that this is exactly where I’m supposed to be.
We’re endgame. Always.
JULIO
“Alright, fuck it,” Felix announces suddenly, hopping down from the counter with a sharp thud. His gold chain catches the late afternoon light, glinting as he strides toward the fridge. The kitchen is already filled with the lingering scent of frosting and sugar, a reminder of the untouched cake waiting for us. “Since Cecilia’s upstairs with Gabriel, I say we dive into her celebration cake now. She’s not gonna miss it, and I’m starving.”
Deacon grins, pushing off the sink where he’s been lazily leaning. His hazel eyes light up with that usual mischievous glint. “Seconded,” he says, cracking his tattooed knuckles like he’s ready to dig in.
“Thirded,” Atticus chimes in, already reaching for the stack of plates on the counter. His white-blond hair flops over his forehead as he moves around the room.
I stand back, watching as they pull out the cake with more excitement than grown men should have for dessert. The sound of the knife slicing through the layers of cake fills the air, along with the soft clink of forks being handed out. The smellof buttercream frosting thickens the atmosphere, making my stomach growl, but I can’t bring myself to move.
It’s low-key ridiculous, but maybe also exactly what I need right now—a distraction. Something to focus on that isn’t her. I lean against the wall, arms crossed, my eyes drifting—no,pulled—to the far side of the kitchen. Adriana sits there, perched at the table, phone in hand. She’s been quiet most of the afternoon, more focused on her screen than any of us, like we don’t even exist. Every few minutes, her lips curl into a smile, the kind that makes my gut twist like a knife.
Felix is happily passing out cake slices when Adriana finally looks up, her brow furrowed in that irritated-but-curious way she does when we’re about to do something stupid. “Are you guys seriously eating her cake without her?”
Felix shrugs, handing Deacon a large slice, the frosting thick and white, almost too perfect to touch. “She won’t mind. We’ll save her a piece. Or, you know, we’ll apologize later. It’s easier to ask for forgiveness, right?” He grins, and Deacon chuckles as they dig in.
Adriana rolls her eyes, but there’s a small smirk playing on her lips as she looks back down at her phone. It’s the same smirk that used to drive me insane—when she’d tease me, push me, waiting to see how far I’d let her go before I snapped. But now? Now, that smile, those little games, they’re not for me anymore.
Everyone’s in good spirits. Happy. Relaxed. You can feel it in the air, the sense of relief after everything that went down in court today. Everyone except me.
I catch the way her fingers fly across the screen, the way her thumb pauses, then she smiles again—probably texting Kenji.And fuck, I don’t know why it bothers me. It shouldn’t. But there’s something about seeing her smile at her phone, knowing it’s not meant for me, that sets me on edge.
I shouldn’t care.
I don’t care.
Goddammit.
Felix elbows me, jolting me out of my thoughts. “You’re awfully quiet, man. This is supposed to be a party. You good?”
I grunt, more of a reflex than an actual response. I cross my arms tighter over my chest, my fingers digging into my sides. Felix doesn’t let it go, though. He tilts his head, giving me that look that says he knows exactly what’s going on inside my head.
Pretty sure you don’t, cabrón.
“Go talk to her,” Felix says, nodding toward Adriana, his voice low but insistent. “Smooth things over. You’ve been weird all day.”
“I’m not being weird,” I mutter, shifting my weight from one foot to the other, my boots scraping softly against the tile floor. My hands itch to do something—anything—but I shove them deep into my pockets instead, trying to shake off the restlessness that’s been gnawing at me since I saw her smiling at that damn phone.
Felix raises an eyebrow, not buying it for a second. “Yeah, you are. And it’s pretty obvious why.”
