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She smiles, her eyes fluttering closed when my hands creep even higher up her back. “Don’t tempt me. Not only are your shirts super comfortable, but I kinda like the way you look without them.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Mm-hmm.” I feel her lips curve upward against mine.
Our kiss starts off slow and soft. Sweet. Then turns into heat and intensity.
A throat clears behind us. I pull away reluctantly, dropping my hands, then glancing over one shoulder.
Sydney smirks at us between sips of water. For the most part, my sister has been supremely cool about me dating her best friend, so I try not to make it more awkward for her.
“You guys done?”
I steal one last kiss, squeezing Cassia’s hip before I step away. “For now. Text me back, Cas.”
I grin at her, then head down the hallway, only pausing to grab my bag before continuing toward my bedroom. Or the place where I rarely sleep, rather. I haven’t spent more than one night straight here since January. Gone at school or camp or staying at Finn’s. It feels like living in a hotel.
I toss my bag on the bed, unzipping it and starting to sort through the empty water bottles and extra socks I need to clear out. Cassia isn’t the only one who’s put off packing. Most of my belongings are dirty or jumbled or both.
There’s a soft knock on the doorframe. I glance up to see Sydney standing there.
“Hey. Just wanted to say Welcome Home.”
I smile. “Yeah, you too. Theater program was good?”
Sydney glances away, so quick I barely catch it. But then she’s nodding and smiling. “Yeah. It was great.”
“You sticking around for long?”
“I have a week before classes start. Not sure yet. You’re leaving Thursday, like Cassia?”
I nod. “Unless you want me to stay…”
“I’m twenty, Holden. I don’t need a babysitter.”
“Fine. It was just an offer.” I toss a sweatshirt into my open suitcase, a half-hearted attempt at packing. I’ll take everything in here with me, so it’s just a matter of getting it all from Point A to Point B. Pembrooke to Richmond College.
“I just meant, there’s no reason for you to stay. But thanks.”
I nod.
“Uh, Cassia and I are going out for ice cream. Do you want me to bring you back anything? Or you could come…”
I hear the reluctance in the second offer, even as she makes it. Our group dynamic shifted at the start of high school. Changed again during Cassia and I’s senior year.
I know Sydney is happy for me. For Cassia. She pushed me to fight for her during one of my many fuck-ups. But I also recognize that me dating her best friend must suck sometimes. If she and Finn got together, it would be very weird for me.
So I shake my head. “Nah, I’m good. Thanks. You guys have fun.”
Sydney nods, relief flashing across her face. “Okay. See you later.”
“See you.”
A few minutes later, I hear the front door shut.
Leaving me with a lot of laundry and troubled thoughts.
CHAPTERTWELVE
