Chapter 16
“Are they always like this?” I ask Finn, peering into his and Spencer’s living room like it’s a wildlife exhibit sponsored by ABBA.
“Pretty much, yep.” He leans in the doorway beside me, calm, the way a man who has already made peace with chaos and purchased decorative throw pillows would.
Spencer, Alex, and Jules are dancing around, shrieking the “Mamma Mia” chorus like it owes them money. Someone thought a drinking game would be a good idea.
This all happened before I got here. Apparently, they decided on the spandex rule. Anytime someone is wearing spandex, we have to take a shot, which felt harmless at first, until the fourth pair of glitter leggings entered the chat.
I joked I’d be wrecked by the end of the night; turns out past me was a prophet. My sway is attempting to pass as dancing. If I keep nodding to the beat, maybe I’ll look sober. I do not look sober.
“Another spandex sighting!” Alex yells. Everyone cheers. Shots happen.
The shot fairy is ruthless.
“I’m really glad you’re back,” Finn says quietly, watching the others attempt a three-person cartwheel with a horrified look on his face. “Because if I had to endure this alone, I can’t say I wouldn’t do something drastic like… turn off the internet.”
I give him the “damn!” face.
He lifts a hand. “I know. Excessive. But I’ll do what needs to be done.”
“Still cruel.”
He winks at me. “I know.” I bark out a laugh, and he joins in.
“How have you been? Honestly?” He was the only one I told about Pierre… well, and now Dom.
I can’t believe I told Dom how much of an idiot I was. I mean, who wants to date the person gullible enough to treat a red flag like it’s festive décor?
“I’m good,” I say, then grimace. “Medium good… Discounted good.” I finally settle on. “I’m just glad to be home. Los Angeles was never a good fit for me.”
“Me neither,” he chuckles.
Spencer points at Finn and me. “You two, on the floor! Dance or drink!”
“I’m already dancing,” I say, which is generous considering I’m doing more of a controlled teeter.
Finn deadpans, “He’s doing interpretive tightrope walking.”
Spencer finally relents, but I think it’s because Finn threatened to withhold sex. We compromise on doing the world’s laziest shoulder groove.
“I keep replaying it,” I blurt, still moving, because motion makes confessions feel like part of the dance.
“With Pierre. Every time I try to push it out of my mind, my brain is like, ‘Nope!’” I hang my head.
“How could I have been so foolish? How did I not see the signs? I don’t know, it’s stupid. ”
“It isn’t stupid.” Finn’s voice turns careful, like stepping on glass. “The kind of people who want to love sometimes… open the door too wide. That’s not a flaw. That’s an invitation to love. He abused it. That’s on him.”
I laugh, snort. “I took the door off the hinges and put out a welcome mat that said ‘Please Manipulate Me.’”
Jules skates by in socks, grabbing our hands and forcing us into a three-person spin, followed by immediately collapsing onto the couch.
“Okay,” I announce to the ceiling. “Here is my grand plan: I’m still going to publish a cookbook, but instead of using my family recipes, I’m going to use the recipes of my found family.”
Everyone stops dancing. Finn grins at me, wide.
I spit out the story as fast as I can. “My old boyfriend Pierre stole my grandmother’s recipes and landed a cookbook deal using them.”
“What the fuck?” Alex says. “Who would do that?”
“Right?” I say sarcastically. “So I came back home with my tail between my legs. But—” I hold up my hands.
“I’ve come to terms with it. That and the whole fancy chef thing were never really me.
But I don’t wanna stop cooking. It’s still what I love doing, and…
I still want to publish a cookbook. Dom actually had this great idea… ”
“Ohhhhh,” they all say in unison at the mention of Dom.
I roll my eyes. “Shut it… Anyway, he had this great idea to still showcase family. My found family.”
Spencer gives me a gentle smile. “Well, I think it’s a great idea. Plus, I don’t care what happened in Los Angeles, I’m just glad you’re here and agreed to be the chef at Dragonfly. Wait! You’re still gonna be the chef at Dragonfly, right? I mean, I know I won’t always have you, but…”
I hold up my hands. “I’m not going anywhere. I like where I am.”
He smiles, and I can see the relief wash over his face.
“But you and everyone in this room owe me a recipe.”
“Deal,” they all say.
Then one of the three yahoos sets off a rogue confetti cannon, making the ceiling fan sneeze glitter. What the fuck?
Spencer howls, “GREEK CHORUS FORMATION!” and the room surges back to its nonsense.
I look over at Finn, and he just shrugs. “I love him.”
“Who’s watching Mazie?” I ask, wondering how Spencer’s head is gonna fare in the morning.
“Olly and Jasper.” Finn snorts. “Jasper refused to come upstairs. He said, ‘Not until she apologizes.’”
“What could she possibly have done? She’s a baby.” But then I remember the other night, and there are endless possibilities.
“Oh, the last time they babysat her, she pooped on him. I guess it was explosive.”
“Ewwwww,” I say, and we both chuckle.
“So, how are things going with you and Dom?”
“They’re going good,” I say, ducking my head, being all shy, which is not like me at all.
Finn bumps my shoulder, grinning. “Just good?”
I try not to let my smile give me away. Jesus, I’m like a high-school girl with a crush.
“He took me to meet his aunt last week,” I admit.
Finn’s brows shoot up. “Wow, that’s basically meeting the parents.”
I nod my head. “I know.”
“So… you guys dating?”
“Fuck if I know.” I scratch my jaw. “We haven’t talked about it. Honestly, the whole reason we started hanging out was because he was letting me use his washer.”
“Oh, I see, our washer was only good enough for you until a hotter model rolled in,” Finn says, scandalized. “What’s it got that we don’t? Extra steam cycle?” He cocks his head. “I bet it gives blow jobs. We cannot compete with blow jobs.”
I shove him, laughing. “I figured you and Spencer could use your machine back without me constantly hogging it. And I was always worried I’d wake Mazie.”
“Please,” he snorts. “That kid could sleep through a marching band.”
“It’s not… look, Dom’s just… easy to be around.
He makes space for me. I guess maybe I subconsciously saw an opening and went for it.
He’s the only person who can make laundry feel like a date.
” I turn to face Finn. “He’s been letting me in,” I say.
“Like, actually talking. Not the charming, deflecting thing. The real stuff. He talked about his dad for the first time. He didn’t tell me everything, but he told me some.
And I know this sounds weird, but I feel like he let me in physically.
” It’s very hard to describe that without giving TMI.
Finn’s smile softens. “Uh-huh. Sounds like more than a washer situation.”
Ringing my hands out, I shrug. “Maybe.”
“Then maybe ask him where he stands in all of this. Where his head is at,” he says. “Worst case, you go back to mooching off our spin cycle.”
I huff a laugh. “I knew you’d miss me.”
“Not as much as Mazie misses the chocolate you sneak her.” He winks. “But close.”
Gasp! I’ve been caught.
My phone vibrates. It takes considerable exertion to reach into my pocket and retrieve it while on the world’s largest couch.
I finally get it in my hands… Victory.
DOM appears on the screen in all caps. When I swipe, his voice is deep and grumbly. “Beckett?” Mmmmm, my favorite.
“Good evening, sir,” I say.
He sighs, and I hold in a laugh. “So, how is your night of musicals going?”
“Did you know,” I ask around a hiccup. “That you can turn ‘Mamma Mia’ into a drinking game? Spandex equals shots.”
“How many shots have you had? And are you staying hydrated with water?”
“Relax, Officer Safety. It’s not like I have far to drive.”
“Beckett,” he warns, and yeah, there’s that protective growl that goes straight down my spine and takes up residence in my dick. “Put Finn on.”
I grin. “You want to speak to my supervisor? Sir, I’m twenty-seven and my GPA was excellent. Well, not excellent. Probably not even good if I’m telling the truth. I was never very good at school.”
“Beckett.”
“Fine, hydrating as we speak. I even ate some carbs. Is pizza carbs?” I yell to no one in particular.
He hums, satisfied but still bossy. “Good, now put Finn on.”
“God you’re bossy,” I tease, smiling into the phone.
Lovesick puppy, party of one. I mean… not… not lovesick, that would be foolish. “If you miss me, just say you miss me.”
Dom’s quiet on the other end of the phone. I freeze. Shit, why did I just say that? I’m sure he doesn’t miss me. Why, in my buzzed state, do I think that everyone misses me?
“Little mouse.”
I suck in a breath. His voice is all low and commanding, and my cock gives a little jerk.
I hand the phone to Finn, and he cocks his head. “Here,” I say, but it comes out more mouselike. Huh, fitting.
Finn takes the phone from my hand. “Hello?”
Ohhh, I’m in trouble… Fuck, I hope he adds this to my edging punishment total. I laugh at the thought of the word punishment. I mean, if I’m begging for it, how much of a punishment can it be? It’s not knowing when that’s the issue. He makes me hard every time we’re in the same room.
I grab my dick and adjust my growing erection. Maybe it’s every time I hear his voice.
I’m so busy thinking about erections—my erection, his erection—that I don’t even notice they’ve stopped talking until Finn hands me back my phone.
I look down, seeing the call ended as Finn slaps me on the back and heads into the kitchen.
I feel disappointed the call ended, which is foolish, but I’m an expert at foolish. It’s not like I expected him to sit on the phone and talk to me until we both fell asleep. I can’t call him. I mean, are we even at the point where I can just call him for no reason?