43. Deacon
Chapter forty-three
Deacon
A few hours later, the house was quiet. The only exceptions were the crackling fire in the living room and Drew texting like a madman beside me.
“Who are you texting at this hour?” Mom demanded. My dad, half asleep, sat next to her with a glass of bourbon in his hand.
Drew looked up slowly from his phone. “It's just a friend. I’m calling it a night, though. I’ll see everyone in the morning.”
A collection of “Merry Christmas” and “Goodnight” filled the room as Drew headed upstairs. I glanced down at Lyla beside me. She sipped her wine and raised her eyebrows, letting me know that she was up for whatever I wanted to do next. Eventually, we’d have to head up to my room, and my mother made it perfectly clear that she was welcome to stay with me. In her defense, my Aunt Claire did end up using the guest room. My mom would’ve escorted Lyla to my room herself if I hadn’t dropped her bags in front of my bed.
“I’m going to call my mom to say goodnight.” Lyla patted my thigh. “I’ll see you up there?”
I nodded, trying not to seem surprised when she kissed me. It was sensual but sweet enough that having my parents sit across from us wasn't awkward. Lyla said goodnight to both of them and once she cleared the top of the stairs, I waited for the questions to come.
When neither of them said anything, I leaned forward and threw my hands out in front of me. “Nothing?”
My mom practically jumped off of the couch. “She’s wonderful , Deacon.”
“She’s a pretty girl.” Dad tipped his glass to me and quickly added, “Smart, too. A woman who reads is a woman who can change the world. She told me all about how she wants to open a bookstore.”
“ So ambitious,” Mom bragged.
“We barely knew anything about the last girl,” Dad admitted with an apologetic shrug. “We know you liked her, but you always dimmed yourself to accommodate her. Lyla challenges you, and there is nothing better than a partner who will never let you settle.”
The last girl. Cassie had officially claimed a new title in my parents' memory. Cassie and I dated for three years! If I told my parents that Lyla wasn’t staying for breakfast tomorrow morning, their disappointment would be more transparent than when I told them about Cassie.
Dad was right about Lyla. She was pretty and smart, and she’d never let me settle. Lyla would change the world someday—she sure as hell changed mine.
When I got to my room, Lyla was already in my bed. I loved how it wasn’t awkward to have her here. We spent so much time together back at school that a different location didn’t matter.
“Did you need anything to sleep in?” I asked, stripping off my shirt. “Anything I can get you? ”
She put her phone down to look at me. “Is five-star service always provided at Hotel Scott? Or are you just extra nice to houseguests that you like?”
“Oh, definitely just because I like you.”
She glanced around the room. “No TV?”
“It’s in the closet.” I slipped on a fresh shirt and opened the doors, revealing the TV on my dresser. “My dad has a thing about putting holes in the walls, and I didn’t have any other space for it.”
“So five-star services and fancy closet TVs. I might never leave.”
“Then don’t.” I meant to think it, but I was pretty fucking sure I just said that out loud.
Not a real relationship, no lying, fuck around in private, and no love. The rules weren’t that hard to follow. I knew this wasn’t real. I never lied to Lyla, the fucking around in private was irrelevant, and there was no love. I loved Lyla the way I loved any of my friends. If I had to place them in order, she would be first, but what difference did that make?
Lyla crossed her arms. “Why didn’t you tell me about your room?”
“This room?”
“No, goofy. Your room at school.”
I sat on the edge of my bed and tossed her the remote. “I don’t know. I have a tendency to try and figure things out on my own.”
“I know you do, but we’re friends , Deacon. I would’ve totally offered to let you stay with me. It was the first thing that crossed my mind when Drew told me.”
Maybe I wouldn’t give Drew shit for putting me on the spot. “Really? ”
Lyla’s lips slowly curved into a sexy smile. “We don’t lie, remember?”
God, I wanted to kiss her again. The number of times I ached to reach out and do the little on-screen touches was beginning to concern me.
“Yeah.” I sighed. “We don’t lie.”
Lyla’s eyes followed the line of trinkets that lined the top of my bookcase. “Can we please discuss the chess ribbons next to your basketball camp trophies?”
“What about them?” I challenged. “Got a thing against chess?”
She bit her lip to keep from laughing. “I didn’t know another board game could outshine your Monopoly skills. Were you, like, cool in high school?”
I crawled across the bed and slid under the blankets beside her. “I was very cool in high school.”
She squinted. “And did all of the cool kids have random bear items too?”
I squeezed the sensitive spot above her left hip, and she burst into a round of giggles.
“Bears have been my favorite animal since I was a kid!” I exclaimed. “If I ever go to Jane’s house, we are so doing a deep dive into your bedroom.”
“She did invite us to the zoo. Maybe we can take a trip there, and you can tell us all about the bears.”
The mattress shook as Lyla burst into hysterics over her smart-ass comment. I looked at her and laughed. She held her stomach, rolling onto her side, and I knew she was scanning the room for something else to ask about.
Lyla fired off more questions, and I gave her my best answers. Talking with Lyla about the trophies, gifts, and memories of my childhood made me see them in a different light. It was nice to revisit a time when things were simple—before life became complicated with grief and unwanted experiences.
Sitting in bed with Lyla, I wanted to bottle up this moment as another memory. I didn’t have an item to place on a shelf, but it didn’t matter. Lyla’s presence was enough, and there wasn’t a single part about her that I didn’t want to keep.