16. Kaitlyn #2
Bailey nods, his emerald gaze sweeping over me. Why do I feel like I was doing something wrong, and I’m in trouble for getting caught ?
“Sure, let’s go, Javi,” he says, but his body language is giving off an entirely different vibe, telling me something’s wrong.
It used to be the three of us together all the time, and now I’m being pulled in two different directions.
I turn toward Hunter, hoping he can see I didn’t mean for this to happen. When I reach for his hands, he pulls back. “I’m gonna head home,” he says, and I wish I knew what was going on inside his head.
“Do you want to stay?” I ask, hoping Hunt might give Bailey a chance. “I heard what you said, and this isn’t me picking Bailey over you, I promise. He called earlier, and I invited them over for a movie night.”
He hesitates, scratching the back of his neck. “Kaitlyn?—”
“Please stay. It’ll be fun.”
“Okay. I’ll stay,” Hunter agrees, exhaling a quiet breath. I smile, leaning up to kiss his cheek.
“Thank you. I’ll even let you put whatever toppings you want on your brownies,” I tease, pulling him toward the kitchen where Javi has already set himself up with a stool next to the counter.
“Are you making brownies with us?” Javi asks, looking up at Hunter. Whatever truce they had before Hunter left has seemingly disappeared in the time he was gone.
Bailey isn’t helping matters by resting his hand on Javi’s shoulder while eyeing Hunter with a warning.
I want to scream because this isn’t a great start. Convincing Hunter to stay wasn’t supposed to turn this into some sort of pissing contest.
Hunter smiles, offering a fist bump to Javi while I gather ingredients for the brownies and the pre-made cookie dough out of the fridge. “Is that okay with you? I like to put frosting on my brownies. I have a sweet tooth.”
“Like a tooth that’s sweet?” Javi tilts his head, a smile forming on his face, and he bumps his fist against Hunter’s. Maybe we can all be friends again. I don’t think it’s too much to ask for?
Hunt laughs, shrugging. “It means I like sweet things like candy.”
“Do you want to be my friend?” he asks, the question so innocent it makes my heart melt.
“Yeah, I do,” Hunter says, casting a nervous glance at Bailey.
I’m not sure whatever silent conversation happens between them, but I’m already nervous about having the twins in the same room.
I just need them to get along for the next couple hours for Javi’s sake at least. He’s innocent in all this.
I clap my hands together, drawing everyone’s attention. “Let’s get this show on the road. Javi, you ready to be my sous chef?”
“Can he be a sous chef if we’re baking instead of cooking?” Bailey asks, raising an eyebrow at me.
“I can be whatever I want,” Javi sasses, hopping off of his stool to grab my hand.
I hold back my laugh because it’s obvious he’s spending a good chunk of his time with Mirabelle and Thalia based on that statement.
“Can we really mix brownies and cookies together?” he asks, his dark eyes wide as he looks up at me.
“Of course we can. It’s my favorite kind to make.”
Hunter slides his arm around my waist, pressing a sweet kiss to my temple.
The gesture should have me leaning into him, yet the only thing I can focus on is the weight of Bailey’s stare on me.
I don’t know why I feel guilty being in Hunter’s arms, but I do.
I don’t want to flaunt my relationship in front of him. It doesn’t feel right.
“Do you believe in mermaids?” Javi asks Hunter, giving me the chance to slip away, grabbing my phone from where I spotted it on the counter next to the speaker I brought down .
I hide my laugh as Hunter answers. “Of course I believe in mermaids. Everyone in my family does,” he answers, and Javi beams.
“What color would you pick for your tail if you could be a mermaid?”
“Easy. Green.”
“What color would you pick, Kait?” Bailey asks, and I’m not sure why he’s asking. My answer has never changed.
“Orange,” I answer, picking my favorite color.
“You and B would match! He wants an orange tail too,” Javi adds, his eyes sparkling. I try not to read too much into it.
“What would you pick?” I ask, clicking on a playlist I made earlier after making sure there was nothing explicit for me to accidentally corrupt Javi’s mind with.
I preheat the oven before spinning back around in synchronization with the beat drop of the music to face the boys, and Bailey has a rare full smile on his face. “Smooth moves, Price,” he teases to my delight, and I can’t help laughing as I curtsey in response.
“Thank you, Walker.”
But I don’t fail to miss the way Hunter tenses out of the corner of my eye.
Javi crashed hard after his sugar rush and fell asleep curled up against my chest. I tucked a blanket around us since he shivered at one point.
Hunter is sprawled out next to us, his head resting on the blanket covering my thigh for a pillow.
It’s cute hearing his soft snore, but it’s left Bailey and me alone as the only ones awake.
“He’s nervous for his surgery next week,” Bailey says, drawing my attention to him .
“It’s a scary thing to go through,” I whisper back, careful not to wake up either one of them.
“I’m just glad he’ll be better.”
My heart clenches at the realization once Javi’s better, Bailey might leave again. “Can I ask you something?” I ask, stealing a glance at him.
“Do I get to ask one back?” Bailey counters.
“Sure.”
He spreads out, angling himself toward me since I’m a little trapped. “Ask me whatever you want, Kait.”
Bailey’s expression is wide open, just like the day in his room when he nearly had me pinned against the wall.
“Are you going to stay after the surgery?” I hate how hesitant I sound, but I’m afraid to know the answer. With how sure Hunter seems that he’ll leave, I have to know.
“Yes,” he says, and I’m so damn relieved by his answer I could cry.
I wait for Bailey to ask his question, but he remains silent as Javi curls his fingers around my shirt.
“Are you going to ask your question?” I ask, and he shakes his head.
“I’m going to save it for another day.”
Again, another vague answer. “Okay.”
I turn away from him, trying to focus on the end of the movie.
Instead, I think about how nervous he sounded on the phone with me earlier, without considering the real reason why.