My mouth curved before I could stop it. “Your sexy girl?”
His hand slid along the sheet beside my ribs, his thumb brushing the bare skin at my waist where the blanket had shifted. “Testing it out. With Clarke off the table, I gotta come up with something.”
“And how do you think that went?”
“Pretty well. Your pulse jumped.”
“You’re on top of me. That is a biased trial.”
“I’m a pre-law partner now. I understand bias.”
I laughed into my pillow, and the sound came out sleep-rough and embarrassingly happy. His face changed above me, not enough to make the moment heavy, but enough that I felt it in my chest. He looked at me like my laugh was evidence he had been waiting for, like hearing it in daylight meant we had survived something he still wasn’t ready to name.
I reached back and pinched his thigh.
He flinched. “Violence before breakfast is a strong choice.”
“You woke me up by disturbing the bed.”
“I’m putting you to the test.” He shifted off me, then rolled me with one firm hand at my hip until I was on my backand he was over me again, all broad shoulders, sleep-warm skin, and smug hockey-boy focus. “Get up. We’re meeting everyone for breakfast.”
I blinked. “Everyone?”
“The crew.”
“You woke me up for a public couple launch?”
“I woke you up for waffles.”
“Liar.”
His mouth brushed the corner of mine. “And a public couple launch.”
“That’s more honest.”
He kissed the other corner of my mouth, smiling when I tried not to lean into it. “We made this shit official last night.”
My heart did something stupid and soft. I covered it with suspicion. “Did we?”
“Very official.”
“Was paperwork filed?”
“Unfortunately, half the emotional support committee was involved.”
I groaned and pushed at his chest. “The girls.”
“The girls, the guys, probably Hannah by now, and if Briggs had access to a press release template, campus security would be informed before lunch.” Easton dropped beside me and reached for my phone on the nightstand. “You’re welcome, by the way.”
“For what?”
“The new group chat.”
I froze. “The what?”
He held the phone up but kept it out of reach because he had survival instincts and long arms. “I silenced it around four this morning because holy shit, they can be a lot.”
I lunged for it, but he just lifted it higher.
