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He kisses my cheek. “I wouldn’t dare joke about getting to scream for you.”
I choke on the chip I just put in my mouth. Corrin feigns concern as he pats my back.
“Goodness, baby, that’s not like you. You’re not one to choke.”
The group of men turns their focus our way at the offhanded comment. Everyone except the diva of distraction I could use help from at the moment. Star is too focused on the tablet Zach gave her to notice though.
“Baby?” Uncle Kelvin repeats.
Smith jumps in next, albeit not in a helpful way. “How much choking have you witnessed Austen experiencing? Zach is also a trained paramedic. He might be able to assess and help.”
Zach, in turn, howls with laughter. Tennyson and Bailey follow him in their fits. Even my normally stoic uncle breaks into a wide grin.
“He’s not talking about…” Zack wheezes out the words between laughter. “Different choke.”
Smith’s eyes grow big. “Oh. Um. Well. When did this develop? I was thinking this was more for fooling your parents.”
“They were part of it in the beginning,” Corrin admits.
“And now?” That comes from Tennyson.
I raise my hand, then speak before anyone can point out the faux pas. “Can we talk about something else? Literally ANYTHING else?”
“Of course, baby. What do you want to discuss?”
I groan when Corrin uses the endearment again. He might as well have put a glowing neon sign above our heads. These guys aren’t going to let anything go with him being so obvious.
“How about I try to solve the puzzle?” Uncle Kelvin says as he starts to hold up fingers. “First, Corrin had to deal with people trying to set him up. Second, Austen had the same issue, except he was getting hit on directly and hated the distraction. Third, the idea of fake dating came up to fool everyone around them. It explains why Corrin’s social media went from band and business only to featuring Austen in every other post. And fourth and finally, you two faked it so much it became real. Did I win?”
My jaw drops open. “What — how?!”
Tennyson throws his head back and drops a twenty on the table. “That was worth it, Uncle K. He looks so confused. Just like that time you told him he couldn’t dissect frogs for the entire ninth grade class.”
“I was going to be paid,” I argue. “Plus, they would still need to do the report. I was only going to do the physical part.”
Our uncle lifts a hand, the universal sign he wants us to stop arguing before it gets out of hand. It’s a motion he rarely had to do growing up. In fact, I think he’s done it more since we’ve become adults.
“You two are both grown adults. So long as you have an open and honest communication amongst one another, then we all have no say in what you do. I only hope that whatever happens doesn’t affect this group. I quite enjoy having friends to hang out with that are closer.”
After that, the topic switches to a discussion about the friendship of the group and how we can spend the week together to make the most memories. Star is only with us for half the week before joining her grandparents for the other half. It means we’ll have to adjust what is and is not kid-friendly based on that detail.
It doesn’t matter all that much to us, though I know Smith will relax more without being on parent duty. Corrin, too, for that matter. He’s always got Star in his line of sight when she’s around. I don’t even know if he realizes he’s doing it. The instinct is natural.
“Do you want kids?” I ask abruptly once we reach our room alone.
He freezes halfway to the bathroom. Turning, he furrows his brow. “I mean, probably. I love Star like she’s my own, so I hadn’t given much thought otherwise. Plus, I figured I’d want my partner’s input before making a final decision.”
I nod. “That’s smart.”
“Do you want kids?” He asks me back.
“I’m honestly not sure. It’s not the end of the world if I don’t.”
The answer seems to satisfy him. I only say that because in the next second, he makes me lose all thought about anything but him when he whips his shirt off.
“How do you feel about fucking me tonight?”
My back hits the door hard and my knees wobble. “I feel good about it. I want it. Yes. Let’s. We should.”
