True Blue (Imperium Coast #1)

Chapter 25

25

I flick through the menu on the TV, trying to find something to watch as I wait to go meet the boys after their class. After the success of our first dinner out together, and the subsequent apology sex with Axel back at their suite, we’ve been spending more time out doing normal things the last few weeks. We’re supposed to go get sushi after their class, but that leaves me on my own for the next hour now that I’m done with school for the day.

The lock jangles open as Mira comes into the suite, stomping her boots against the little slush rug I got when it started snowing. She leans down to pull off her boots, dropping her bag in the process. I bite my lip, realizing this is the opportunity I’ve been waiting for to start to mend things between us, but nervous it’s already too late. Mira is a huge part of Bentley’s life, and I don’t want her to hate me since I plan to keep him around for a while.

“Hey,” I call out and her head snaps up, looking at me in surprise. I smile, trying to stuff down the flurry of nerves in my gut.

“Hi,” she says slowly, looking around as if she might find another person.

“It’s just me.” My palms start sweating as she takes off her coat and then grabs her bag off the floor. “I was just looking for something to watch before I meet people for lunch. Do you want to watch something with me?”

She freezes on the way to her room, mouth popping open. “Um, yeah, sure,” she says, shuffling her bag a bit. “Just give me a minute to change.”

I nod, smiling widely. Nerves jump around in my stomach, but I ignore them, tapping my nails against the remote.

Mira disappears into her room, and I continue surfing, trying to find something we can put on together. When she comes back out in a baggy sweatshirt and leggings, I smile again, wondering if I look like a lunatic or as relaxed as I want to be. She comes around the couches, plopping down on the one next to the couch I'm on and drags the fuzzy blanket off the back to drape across her lap.

“What are we watching?” she asks tentatively.

I fiddle with the remote. “Not sure, I haven’t been able to find anything interesting yet. There’s too many choices.”

“What do you usually watch?” Her fingers play with the blanket, twisting it around as she watches me flick through movies and shows on the screen.

I shrug. “A little of everything really. There isn’t really one genre I usually lean toward.” She nods and I panic a little as things lull. “Unless something has Tony Markell in it. I’ll watch anything he’s in.”

“Ugh, same!” Mira squeals, turning toward me. “Did you watch him in that baseball movie a few years ago?”

I roll my eyes toward the ceiling. “Hell yes. Those pants?” I groan. “Amazing. I genuinely tried watching baseball after that, but the lack of contact made me realize I just liked him in the movie, not the sport.” We both laugh, and my nerves start to settle.

She sits back, getting comfortable. “So, is that your type? Like he’s hot, but I prefer brunettes over blondes.”

“Is Swedish supermodel my type?” I snort. “Yeah, I guess in an ideal world. But I do tend toward brunettes in reality.” I picture Axel and Bentley, trying to decide which is more “my type.” They both have their differences. Bentley’s wavy dark chocolate hair always laying in a casually messy way and curling around his neck versus Axel’s unruly straight honey strands that seem to stick out from his head at all different angles but never seeming to look haphazard or styled. Bentley’s broad muscular build versus Axel’s wiry lean beauty. Cloudy hazel eyes next to deep endless brown. Not to mention their personalities. They are sometimes total opposites and other times exactly the same. All of it appeals to me, not a single comparison coming with a clear winner in my mind.

I tap my thigh. “I think my type is very loosely defined.”

“Well, what about Christopher ticked your boxes?” She doesn’t ask it maliciously. Her tone is genuinely curious. But I suddenly realize how difficult the answer might be.

I fiddle with the remote again, looking down at my hands in my lap. “I don’t know, honestly. I kind of dated him because my mom thought we made a good match.” For her career, I add silently in my head. “I’m much more attracted to who I'm seeing now. So far, they tick all my boxes.” I stifle a laugh. Layla has been pestering me for details about how things are going with Bentley and Axel, but since I told the boys I didn’t want anyone outside of our bubble to know, I've been keeping everything under lock and key. She’s not stupid, seeing how happy her brother and I have been lately, and I haven’t complained about Bentley in at least a month so I know she can probably put two and two together and get some form of bigger picture from it.

But it’s still nice to just brag about the guys to someone.

Mira’s nose scrunches up, face souring. “Sorry, I forgot you’re seeing someone new now. Not another one of your mom’s picks, I hope?”

I laugh, shaking my head. “Definitely not. My mom probably won’t approve of who I'm dating now.” I bite my lip. We’re going to get to a point in this conversation where she asks to see him or asks who it is I'm seeing. Part of me doesn’t want to lie to her since that will just bite me in the ass when the three of us eventually tell her. But I don’t want to tell her without checking with Bentley that he’s okay with it. She is his best friend. If he told Layla about us before I was ready, I would be pissed.

“Why not? Is he scary or something?”

“No.” I laugh. “Nothing like that.” I bite my lip again, mulling over how much I should tell her. “My mom’s just very particular about our family image. She’s a politician back home so everything I do reflects onto her. Can’t do anything that might impact her career.”

Mira nods. “I get that though, not being able to do things without thinking about how it will affect your mom. My parents fight sometimes, and everyone keeps telling me it’s not my job to try to keep the peace, but I can’t really help it. I don't want to do anything to upset them.”

I smile sadly. “We can’t always live for them though, right? Layla drills that into me all the time.”

Mira laughs. “Bentley’s definitely one of the people reminding me of the same thing.”

I grin, remembering who I ran into in the hallway the day I tried to sneak back in after sleeping with Bentley and Axel for the first time. “That guy I saw leaving our suite a few weeks ago one of the other ones?”

Her cheeks turn pink, eyes falling back down to her lap. “Harley is one of them yes, but it’s...complicated.”

“Hey, it’s fine, whatever is going on with you guys.” I hold up my hands. “I don’t need to know the details.”

She scans over my face, fingers digging into the blanket again. “He’s my brother’s best friend. I know he cares about me, when he tells me stuff like that, but I’m not really sure where things are going.” She sighs. “Bentley doesn’t approve, and I can’t really tell anyone else in our circle since they all know Ramsey.”

“I’m dating my best friend’s brother,” I blurt, stomach churning as I realize what I’ve just said. “Trust me I get how it can be complicated.”

Her eyes grow wide, and she smiles. “You’re with Axel?”

I nod. “Yeah, we’ve been seeing each other for the last month or so. It’s still new so we’re going slow.” Sort of. I already know Axel won’t care that I told Mira we’re together. He’ll probably jump up and down on the spot when I tell him.

She leans forward. “Does Layla know?”

I shake my head. “We haven’t exactly told her, but they’re twins and she’s my best friend. I’m pretty sure she knows and is just waiting for us to tell her.” Mira nods, leaning back and looking pensive. “She’s tried pushing us together before though. Axel’s not really subtle with his affection and she knew he liked me probably before I did.” I feel light, being able to talk about him, though the niggling feeling to say something about Bentley too dwells in the background.

Mira laughs. “Yeah, I like Axel. You guys are paired up with Bentley on that big history project, right? How’s that working now that you’re with Axel?”

I roll my eyes. “Keeping him on task has been a little tricky.” I think back to how we had to bribe him to finish his draft for the essay with a tandem blowjob and how quickly he suddenly found the motivation to finish. “But it’s working out. They both want to get a good grade and know how much this is important to me since the course counts toward my major.”

Mira nods. “Yeah, Bentley takes his grades seriously. But he’s a brain so it doesn't take much effort for him.” She shakes her head, still smiling all the same.

“I’ve noticed that,” I muse. Glancing at my watch, I realize I need to leave to meet the boys soon.

“Time to head to your lunch plans?” Mira pulls her legs up, loosely circling her arms around her knees.

“Yeah, sorry.” I stand up, stretching my limbs.

“No, you’re fine. Go.” She waves a hand at me, and I pass her the remote before going into my room to put on some socks and grab my side bag. Mira sits in the same spot when I come back out, now starting some show that looks a little familiar. I put on my coat and boots, pulling my fuzzy earmuffs wide to fit them over my curls without crushing them.

Before I leave, I glance back at Mira, smiling. “We should hang out more. This was fun.”

She smiles, nodding her head fast. “You know where to find me,” she jokes, nodding toward her bedroom.

I nod, feeling warm. “I’ll see you later then.” I leave the suite, heading down to the lobby, excited to tell the guys I made the first step toward fixing things with Mira.