28. Lyla
Chapter twenty-eight
Lyla
I peeked over my shoulder and saw Daddy Deacon still fast asleep, lying on his back with his right arm over his head. His left arm draped over his smooth and sculpted chest, and I looked away before my mouth started watering.
Apparently, he wasn’t just stripping his shirt off in front of me—he was sleeping shirtless, too.
I slid out of bed, careful not to wake him up. He had gone a little overboard last night, taking shots with Drew and kissing the top of my head as often as he could. I knew they were thank-you gestures. Cassie texted him shortly after we left Bar 149 to say she was happy to see him happy, and I read right through that girl code.
I saw how she looked at him last night, blue eyes practically popping out of her perfect tan complexion and polished fingers that kept inching toward his on the table. Two types of girls wished their exes happiness: girls who were genuinely done with the relationship and had emotionally moved on, and the girls who wanted the guy they missed to think they were okay with them moving on. If Cassie made it seem like she was okay, they could both be surprised when Deacon got back with her. It could be their second chance.
I took a quick shower and changed into clothes that didn’t smell like Deacon’s cologne. It was hard to stay focused when part of me wanted to take some of him back to my place with me. The familiar scent of cedarwood and lavender was beginning to feel like my own personal bottle of calming spray, and that was a fucking red flag in my book.
Not a real relationship, no lying, fuck around in private, and no love.
I repeated the rules in my head. They weren’t hard to uphold, and I wasn’t in danger of breaking them, but as more time passed, this relationship was getting easier to fake. It showed in the pictures we posted and how we acted around other people. My relationship with Deacon wasn’t real, but my friendship? It felt like the most natural thing I’d had in a very long time.
Deacon even encouraged a possible prospect for Mr. October last night. His name was Brady, and he was an accounting major. He had dark blue eyes and made me laugh, so I put him in my phone as Brady Blue Eyes and filed him away.
Since the living room was still empty after my shower, I decided to do a coffee run. Drew paid for a lot last night, and I figured I could thank him with his favorite morning drink—an iced matcha with blueberry and oat milk.
It was a chillier morning, and since all I had for warmth was my leather jacket from last night, I swiped one of Deacon’s Champion hoodies. I brought the material that hung over my hands to my nose and took a deep breath. My shoulders relaxed as the scent I just washed off in the shower returned to me at full force.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I smiled at my mom’s picture.
“Hey, Jean Bean!”
I rolled my eyes. “Mom, could we not? That nickname will never be as cute as you want it to sound. ”
“Honestly, Lyla, I don’t really give a shit what you think of the nickname. It’s for me, not you. What are you up to?”
I paused for dramatic effect. “I am walking to get coffee.”
“And are you walking alone ?”
I knew what she was really asking me. “Deacon isn’t with me. He went a little too hard last night, so I’m surprising him with a pick-me-up. His brother is in this weekend.”
“You met one of Deacon’s family members before I could even meet him?” Mom sighed, and her wheels were turning. “I should plan a trip there. When is Parent’s Weekend?”
“Ha!” I exclaimed before I ran across Main Street. “You will do no such thing.”
“Your dad gets to come to campus!”
“For Thanksgiving, and campus will practically be empty.”
“Well, it’s bullshit that he gets to meet Deacon before I do,” she spat. “If you won’t let me see you . . . you should come home next weekend! We can do lunch and go to the zoo—”
“I am not forcing Deacon to come to our house so he can go to the zoo.” I chuckled at the offer, knowing Deacon wouldn’t hesitate for a second if I asked him to take a road trip to Cleveland.
“Well, I love the picture you guys posted last night.” I could hear Mom’s smile return as she spoke. “I think I’m going to hang it on our fridge. You guys really do look cute together.”
“I’ll think about coming home, okay? But I just got to Grounds, so I’m gonna go.”
Mom filled me in on her next book idea before we hung up. There was no line for coffee, so I was in and out of Grounds with my drinks in just a few minutes.
I sipped my iced chai latte and noticed that more people woke up before noon on Sundays than I thought. I’d never admit it to Deacon, but the morning stroll was kind of peaceful. It allowed me to think about asking him to come to Cleveland without getting into my head about it. Perhaps some fresh air did do a girl good.
I tried to be quiet when I entered the apartment, but it didn’t matter. The guys were awake, slowly moving around like sloths as they attempted to recuperate after a wild night out. Deacon was sprawled out on the couch while Drew wandered into the kitchen.
“I brought coffee,” I offered, placing the drink holder on the counter.
When Deacon’s eyes remained closed, I placed his iced black coffee in the fridge for later. Drew dragged his hands down his face, and I handed him his drink.
I smiled, and his eyes narrowed. “Iced matcha with blueberry and oat milk. Deacon mentioned it was your favorite.”
Drew nodded reassuringly. “Thanks, Lyla.”
The three of us spent the next few hours drifting in and out of sleep. I blamed the shots from last night, not the Twilight marathon I forced upon them. Not everyone appreciated a fabulous vampire phenomenon, and I didn’t wake Deacon up to ask him his opinion on Bella and Edward’s meet-cute.