“I know.” He tugged on her hair and wore a teasing smile on his lips.
She rolled her eyes playfully just as Zayden hung up the phone. He commanded the living room the moment he walked in, standing front and center with his arms crossed over his chest and a brooding expression on his face. “We’re staying here.”
“What?” Kai threw his arms up dramatically in the air and fell back into one of the armchairs. “How the hell are we supposed to stay here when there’s not even enough space for all of us?”
“Maddox says the sofa pulls out into a bed.”
“Tell me you’re joking right now.”
Sonnet tugged her bottom lip inward to keep from laughing, but she couldn’t deny her happiness at the fact that they got to stay here. “I can take the sofa bed if it makes things easier.”
“No,” Zayden said all too quickly in his dominant, alpha tone that let everyone know he meant business. “We’re giving you the master bedroom. You deserve to have the space, and I’ve already made up my mind on it. As for the rest of us, we’ll haveto partner up and just rotate between the second bedroom and the couch.”
“Partner? Up? Do you hear yourself right now?”
Jude groaned and sat on the other side of Sonnet, dramatically placing his head in her lap and covering his ears. Strands of his slightly curled hair fell over his eyes. “Make the whining stop! I can’t take it anymore!”
Kai threw a pillow at Jude and missed him. “Damn.”
“Enough!” Zayden began to pinch his nose. Again. What number was that today? Sonnet was losing track. “Look, we’re going to make this work, so shut up and be happy because we’re on vacation, dammit!”
“Whoa.” Jude looked up at Sonnet and Felix. “Has he ever lost it like that?”
“Shh. Let him talk,” Sonnet scolded, offering Zayden an encouraging smile and awkward thumbs up, which made him pinch his nose harder, but she saw the smile hiding in the corner of his lips.
“Let’s figure out the buddy situation now so we can unpack, relax, and have a good start to our vacation. Who wants to buddy up with whom?”
“I’m not sleeping next to you, that’s for sure,” Kai scoffed.
Felix looked apologetically at Jude. “Well, I don’t think I could sleep through a night with Jude’s snoring.”
“HEY! It’s not that bad!”
“Don’t forget his nightlight,” Kai added. “I didn’t bring a facemask to block out the sun.”
Jude pouted and curled himself into Sonnet’s stomach. She laughed and gently played with his hair as she watched the boys bicker back and forth, practically throwing each other under the bus.
Zayden cleared his throat. “Okay, okay. It looks like there’s a clear divide. Felix and Kai will bunk together, and I’ll take Jude.”
“Take me?” Jude faked a sob. “You make me sound like an unwanted orphan.”
“You’re not unwanted, but keep your pants on, or you can sleep outside on the patio chairs.”
“You know how wearing pants to bed overstimulates me.”
“Oh my god, how are we going to last a month together?” Kai asked.
Everyone erupted into bickering again, and Sonnet loved it. Maybe they couldn’t see it, but there was deep love in this pack. Sparks shone so bright, it was like fireworks exploding between each other.
She knew something was broken, too, but repairable. Maybe that’s what Felix was hinting at earlier, their inability to trust that they belonged to each other for better or for worse, but she could show them. She could love them unconditionally and hopefully from it; heal whatever wounds still bleed.
Chapter 19
My head hurts.
A bedroom arrangement shouldn't be that difficult. You all should want to spend time together.
I know, dick. You don’t need to always remind me of how fucked everything is between us all.
