Page 107 of After All This Time

“Motivational speaking.”

“I’m hanging out with Grayson and Xander too much, which is pretty easy to do since I live with them.”

She tilts her head on a slight angle, grinning which lights up her face like the sun on full blast. “I didn’t know you lived with them. That must be fun.”

“Oh, it’s a fucking joy. They’re always threatening to kick each other’s asses whether it’s over text or in person.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but they do this shit all the time, so I’m used to it. Living with them is like having a bunch of toddlers running around the apartment.”

She’s laughing so hard her entire body is vibrating like a speaker on full blast.

“You know if I had to pick between Grayson and Xander to live with, it’d be Xander. No question.”

She giggles. “Awe, poor Gray.”

“Xander’s a lot more chill when it’s just me and him. He doesn’t drive me as crazy as Grayson does. Don’t tell him I said that. Although, he probably knows how much he annoys me so I guess it doesn’t matter.”

She sits there, studying my face and body language.

Yeah, I need to tell her the truth before summer ends.

If I don’t, I never will.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

dani

“What do you want to eat for dinner?” I ask, getting off the chair.

“What are our choices?”

“Maybe if you get your lazy ass off the chair and look in the fridge, you’ll find out.”

“Well, excuse me.” He gets up from his chair and walks over to the refrigerator. He opens the door and weighs our options. “There’s turkey, eggs, cheese, lettuce…”

“Stop listing shit and pick something.”

“Calm down, woman.” He grabs a package of tortellini out of the deli drawer, presenting me with it like the adorable dork that he is. “Is that okay with you?”

I walk over to him, leaning on the island behind us. An idea is brewing in my head.

“A woman on a mission,” he blurts out.

I raise an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“You do this thing with your face when you’re fueled up.”

I fold my arms. “I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.”

“You’re doing it right now as we speak.” He cages me in, his strong arms creating a forcefield around us. “Your eyebrows furrow and your lips flatten out into a straight line.”

“Whatever. I’m a woman on a mission to make dinner. Unless you want to skip straight to dessert.”

I cannot believe I just fucking said that.

He bites down on his bottom lip.

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