25. Bridger
25
brIDGER
“ I think I found you a house,” Saige tells my parents as we all gather in my living room— my former living room. My sister leans against the back of the couch as Corbin sits on one of the barstools, his foot bouncing on the rung.
“Really? Where?” Mom says, her face brightening.
Saige nods, her eyes darting to mine for reassurance, and I can’t help but smile because I can’t believe it either. Two days ago, we’d been sitting on a bench in the middle of the afternoon and now we’re about to jump headfirst into this new phase of our lives.
“Here,” I tell them simply.
“What? Where will you go?”
“Are you moving in together?”
“When did you decide this?”
Holding up my hands, I laugh, completely unable to separate the onslaught of questions that are fired at us.
“I’m moving in with Saige.” Looking at my best friend, I add, “If she gets sick of me though, I call dibs on your couch.”
Corbin laughs and reaches out his hand. “You know it, but I don’t think you’ll need it.” Pulling me in for a one-armed hug, he adds, “I’m happy for you, man.”
“Are you sure?” my mother asks Saige. “We don’t want you guys to rush?—”
“It’s what we want. And we’re excited to have our family close. My parents live up north and they travel a lot, but my cousin lives here with his daughter and girlfriend and I’d love to settle down and enjoy having y’all here.”
My mom is now full-on crying as she hugs Saige, and I have to blink back the tears too because seeing my girl like this is like the sun coming out after a rainstorm. It’s beautiful and welcome and unexpected, and I’m so thankful to be a part of it.
“Since we’re sharing good news,” my sister says, a bright smile plastered on her face that doesn’t reach her eyes, “I accepted a temp job up in Vermont for the next few months.”
“I thought you were doing that remote thing?” our father says, his brow furrowed.
“I am, but this is a little different—more of a challenge and they need me on site while they get up and running.”
“But you’ll be back?” I ask cautiously, careful not to look at Corbin as I do.
“Yes, I’ll be back after the summer,” she confirms as Saige pulls her into a hug.
“Well, congratulations. You’re going to kick ass.”
Lettie’s shoulders sag in relief, and it’s like we all jump into celebratory mode.
Everyone except my best friend, who stays on the periphery as we ask my sister questions about the job and where she’ll be staying. Saige requests maple syrup, and Lettie’s smile feels genuine for the first time since she made the announcement.
“Lettie, can I talk to you?” Corbin rasps, the words hoarse and almost pained as he stares at her. “Please.”
I hold my breath because to my parents and everyone else, nothing has changed between them.
“Sure,” she says flippantly before following him out the back door.
Saige turns to me and mouths wow , her eyes wide, and in any other case, it would be funny, but I know my best friend is hurting.
And dammit, my sister is too.
“Well,” my father says, “that was bound to happen sooner or later.”
“Mm-hmm,” my mother agrees as I gape at them. “Oh, don’t look at us like that. Corbin has never been as subtle as he thinks he is.”
“Thought me almost dying would have been the push they needed,” my father states matter-of-factly.
I pinch the bridge of my nose and let out a long exhale. “Too soon, Dad, way too soon.”
Saige wraps her arms around my middle, her warmth seeping into my bones and calming the panic my father stirred up in my chest.
“How about I order pizza, and if you’re up for it we can talk about how we want to handle the transfer of the house?” Saige asks cautiously, but it’s exactly what we need.
“That’s perfect,” I murmur against the top of her head as I press a kiss to her hair. “Invite Wells, Haven, and Vienna and make it official.”
“I’ll probably need a week to recover after all this socializing,” Saige deadpans and it’s not a joke. This is a lot for her.
“I promise to help you reset,” I tell her before pressing a soft kiss to her lips.
“Well, let’s do this so we can get to that.”
Ma’am, yes ma’am.
SAIGE
Lettie and Corbin never came back to the house. Bridger’s texts to each of them had gone unanswered, but I made him promise that we’d wait until tomorrow before sending out a search party. He could be worried but he wouldn’t be able to unsee his best friend and his sister naked.
I’d walked in on my cousin and Vienna enough to want to bleach my eyeballs, and I didn’t want Bridger to suffer the same fate.
“Haven was a big hit tonight,” Bridger says, trailing his fingers up and down my arm as we lie in bed. He’d run a bath as soon as we stepped in the house, the hot water and showerhead helping to melt away tension that had settled in my bones.
“Your parents were smitten,” I confirm, my heart full from seeing them all together tonight. Neither Wells nor Vienna seemed to be surprised that Bridger was moving in with me. Haven, on the other hand, had done a cartwheel and then begged him to teach her how to play the guitar.
“I was nervous,” he admits quietly.
“About your parents meeting Haven?”
“No.” Laughing softly, he adds, “About what Wells and Vienna and Haven would think about us. They’re important to you, and I just wanted them to look at us and think she found someone who deserves her. ”
“And what about what you deserve?” I ask, hooking my leg over his and rolling him onto his back, his cock hardening between us. His smile is content as he tucks a piece of hair behind my ear, the gesture sweet and gentle.
So him .
And I can’t resist, leaning in to press a kiss to the underside of his jaw.
Then another.
Until I’m licking down the column of his throat and sucking gently as his pulse hammers and his hands grip my waist.
“I mean, I definitely deserve whatever you’re doing right now.”
“This is just a bonus,” I say, moving down his body and sucking the head of his cock into my mouth.
“Well, hell, Beautiful, I hit the jackpot.”
I snort, releasing him with a pop . “You say the sweetest things.”
“All for you, baby.”
He grins and then moans as I swallow him to the back of my throat because this man is mine and I’m going to enjoy every inch of him.