23. Deacon
Chapter twenty-three
Deacon
When Drew rolled up to my apartment on Friday afternoon, I tried to explain to him that Kroger would be a shitshow. The aisles flooded with locals and students who were doing last-minute shopping. I hated including myself in the second category. If we had stuck to my plan, we would’ve settled for beer and wine from a gas station tonight and brought in the hard liquor tomorrow.
“Should we get two bottles of Jack or three?” Drew scanned the whiskey section and picked up a bottle of Crown Royal. “Or should we get two bottles of this?”
“Jesus, Drew, you really think we’ll need that for the whole weekend?” My phone vibrated in the back pocket of my jeans. “Get what you’re getting and meet me at the register. Lyla’s calling me.”
“Lyla’s calling me,” he teased as I left the liquor section.
Once the door closed behind me, I answered the phone. “Hey, baby.”
Nice off-screen moment, Deacon. No one was around, and I was still throwing out pet names.
“Hey, do you have a second?” She was whispering, which meant this call concerned our agreement, and her roommates were home.
“Yeah, what’s up? ”
“We never talked about what a full weekend together looks like. You’re not gonna, like, follow me into the bathroom or anything, are you? Try to sneak a peek while I’m in the shower? Get touchy in your sleep? When I change, are you gonna—”
“Lyla, hold up.” I laughed, holding up my hand even though she wasn’t in front of me. I didn’t take her questions personally. Lyla made it clear she never stayed the night anywhere, and I wanted to make sure she wasn’t doing something she didn’t want to do. “I’ve stayed at your place plenty of times. Have I ever done any of those things?”
“But you’ve never stayed the entire weekend! Like, what should I wear to sleep in? When I shower, are you just gonna come in, brush your teeth, and act like you do it all the time? Am I going to have to watch out for you?”
“Watch out for me? Lyla, I’m not a serial killer. Wear whatever you want and pack whatever you want.”
She chuckled softly into the phone. “Now that I’m saying this out loud, I realize these are stupid questions. I’m sorry I called. Go back to whatever you were doing.”
“First of all, don’t ever apologize for calling me. Second, they’re not stupid. And third, we don’t lie. If you don’t want to stay tonight, that’s totally fine. All you have to do is tell me.”
“No, really, I’m fine.” She sounded more like herself. “Honestly, talking with you helped.”
I smiled at the last part of her sentence. The bell above the liquor store rang behind me, and Drew strolled out with two giant paper bags.
“Still on the phone, huh?” A mischievous grin spread across his face, and he shouted into the phone, “Hi, Lyla!”
She giggled. “Who was that? ”
I shoved Drew out of the way, and he veered off as we passed the chip aisle. “Drew. We’re at Kroger getting stuff for this weekend. Did you need anything?”
“Nah. Charlie and I will stop at a gas station on our way over. We should be there around seven.”
“Don’t forget a suit for tomorrow. And tell the girls they need to have their own pool if they want to get wet.”
“There is so much happening with that sentence.” She laughed. “ The girls ? Is that who my roommates are to you now?”
I shrugged. “They’re the girls!”
“Who all want to get wet, apparently? I don’t know when you picked up this talent of making everything sound dirty, but I’m not mad about it. I’ll make sure the girls remember to bring their pools tomorrow.”
I smirked, wishing she was in front of me. “Atta girl.”
Lyla and Charlie arrived later that night, and I wanted to get the introductions out of the way. Drew knew Lyla by name but had no idea what she looked like. Part of this was because we didn’t have many pictures together, which I needed to bring up to her later. Cassie stalked Instagram like it was her profession, and our lack of photos wasn’t necessarily a good look.
Lyla walked in looking amazing like she always did. Her hair was down and curled, and she wore a white top that rested just above her belly button and jeans that hugged her curves. She carried a gray leather jacket, and when she scanned the room looking for me, I made sure she wasn’t looking long.
One thing I didn’t mind during this whole fake relationship was kissing Lyla Brooks. I missed kissing Cassie, but kissing Lyla sent a spark through my nervous system. It was like taking a shot of espresso right before a road trip. It gave you confidence and made you feel prepared for the long road ahead.
“Can I?” I asked once I got closer.
“Yeah,” she said like I didn’t even need to. I always would, but she knew exactly what I was talking about.
I cupped her chin and angled her mouth to mine. She smiled right before I kissed her, and when she let my tongue slide past hers, I pressed my free hand against the wall behind her to steady myself. It was slow, and we took our time. It was the kind of kiss new couples had when they went an entire day without seeing each other.
Lyla pressed her lips together in a satisfied smirk. “Top tier, Deacon Scott.”
I smiled. “Top tier what?”
“Boyfriend-girlfriend shit.”
I shook my head, kissing her one last time before standing up straight. I turned to lead Lyla over to Drew, but he had already beaten me to it. He could never wait for anything when we were growing up either.
“Lyla Brooks.” Drew smiled, holding his hand out to shake hers. “I’m honored.”
Lyla shook his hand. “You must be Drew. I was excited when Deacon said you were coming up!”
She reached behind her, and right before she swung her duffle over her shoulder, I grabbed the strap .
“I’ll take that, baby.” I pulled the bag onto my shoulder and gestured toward the pong table. “Go show Drew how you kick ass at pong. I talked a big game, so don’t make me look bad.”
“Hell yeah! I’ll get us the next round.” Drew sped over to Nathan. I could throw Drew into a room full of nuns, and he would have everyone laughing at an inappropriate sex joke. He met Nathan a few hours ago, and it looked like they had been friends for years.
Lyla handed me her jacket. “Can you take this too?”
I tucked the jacket under my arm and caught her hand before she could walk away.
Her mouth curved into a mischievous grin, and she studied me carefully. “What?”
“Just making sure you’re good, that's all. I wasn’t sure if there would be a bag or not.” I smiled when she rolled her eyes. I didn’t even know who Lyla Brooks was a month and two weeks ago. Now, I couldn’t help but smile when she was in front of me.
“I’m good, Deacon. I promise. Now be a good boyfriend and get me a drink from the fridge so I can kick some ass with your brother.”
“A good boyfriend?” I challenged.
“Good boyfriends get rewarded, and I’m staying here tonight, remember?” Lyla winked and dropped my hand.
My lips parted as I watched her walk away. Maybe Lyla was right a few weeks ago. One of my favorite things about her was that she left me speechless.
Charlie’s voice came from behind me. “I’m impressed by the way. ”
I turned around, and Lyla’s performance made sense. She never missed an on-screen moment. I cleared my throat. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve known Lyla since freshman year, and she’s never stayed overnight somewhere.”
Since Charlie wasn’t offering a reason as to why Lyla never stayed anywhere, I moved forward with the conversation. “I told her she could change her mind. I have no problem walking her home if that’s what she wants to do.”
Charlie shrugged. “I threw some extra clothes in her bag so I can stay here too.”
“Andre?” I suggested playfully.
Charlie peered over to where Lyla and Drew stood at the table. “Either him or your brother.”
My lips pressed into a hard line.
She shrugged unapologetically. “He’s pretty.”
The nerves began to settle in my stomach, and I left the party to put Lyla’s stuff in my room. I wasn’t nervous because Lyla was staying over. I liked that I made her comfortable enough to stay. I was nervous because as much as I missed Cassie, I was excited that the girl laughing with my brother in the living room had agreed to stay over.
I wasn’t officially breaking our rules, but wanting to spend time with Lyla was probably in the fine print somewhere.