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Parker sighs, shooting me a half-hearted glare. “If I had my octopus right now…”
I crack a faint smile, but it grows when she quickly mutters, “Sorry about him,” then gives her keys to Javi without lingering and swiftly makes her way to me.
“Do youhaveto be such a jerk?”
“I do. It’s the rule.”
Parker rolls her eyes. “Like you care about rules.”
“Hey, Landon.”
“Hey, Hannah. The guys are already at the table, but we haven’t ordered anything yet. Figured we’d wait for you.”
“I may not be able to stay long,” Hannah tells me. “I have a lot of work to do at home, and also I… don’t want to,” she states so honestly, I almost choke on a short burst of laughter.
“Nice hanging out with you, too,” I say dryly.
“It’s not you,” she murmurs, but she doesn’t expand on that since we’re approaching the table.
I don’t care much about Hannah, but I know Parker does, so I take a step back and watch to see which of my friends she doesn’t want to be around. Too late to do anything about it today, but it might be useful information to have in the future.
It’s hard to tell looking at the guys. Malek glances up at her without bothering to greet her, but that’s just Malek. Arden regards her as if she walked up to the table naked, but that’s just Arden.
Despite her prior comment indicating she wasn’t thrilled to be eating with at least one of them, Hannah is the queen of politeness, so she gives both a measured smile as she sits down.
What little interest I had in investigating Hannah’s possible discomfort dries up when I see Parker reach for her phone. There’s enough nervous energy coming off her to power her car, and her hands tremble a bit as she quickly types out a text.
Which begs the question…
Who the fuck is she texting?
Chapter Thirty-Six
Parker
It feels like the surface of my skin is approximately one thousand degrees when we sit down. We have a spot in the air-conditioned dining room, but I’m still feeling anxious from having to see Javi for the first time after not texting him for a few days—and in front of Landon, which could not be less ideal.
He texted me right before I got here, but I was driving, so I couldn’t respond.
“Your stepbrother’s here.”
Quickly, fingers trembling as I type, I answer. “I’m sorry about him. I hope he wasn’t too much of an ass to you.”
I havenoidea how to handle this Javi situation. It feels like I should saysomethingsince we were texting and really seemed to be liking each other, but I can’t exactly tell him why that’s not appropriate anymore, either.
I don’t think Javi would do anything deliberately to hurt me, but I don’t really know the guy that well, either. Even if that isn’t his motivation, if I confirmed this thing with Landon to him, there’s a risk of him saying something to one of our parents about it. He could even mention it in passing while gossiping with a co-worker and it could get back to them that way.
I’ve never had a secret relationship before, but I know it won’t stay a secret for long if everybody knows about it.
I’m guessing that’s why our friends are here now—to act as our camouflage. We can hang out in public without drawing attention since we’re here as a group.
I just hope he doesn’t think this is going to be a regular thing. I can deal with Malek and Arden in small doses, but I don’t want to be besties.
When I finally extract myself from the bubble of anxiety, I look across the table at Landon and find his gaze locked on me. Impossibly, my face heats more. I’m going to melt soon, like a snowman in the sun.
I’m about to look around for anything else to focus on, but, mercifully, the waitress approaches to take our drink order.
Once she’s jotted them all down, she hustles off, and I dare a glance in Landon’s direction. My attention is snagged, though, by a notification lighting up his phone.
