Page 38 of The Swap Masquerade

“God, I shouldn’t like hearing you call me that so much. It seems wrong.”

“So wrong, it’s right,” I quipped, making him laugh.

“Are you on your way to your parents’ house, right now?”

I sighed, my mood suddenly taking a nosedive. “Yeah. Is it bad that I’m dreading it?”

Gavin’s voice softened. “I think it’s understandable. You feel a lot of unwanted pressure when you’re there.”

“I know, but it still makes me feel bad. I love spending time with Mom and Trey, and even my dad. I love them and I miss them if we go too long without seeing each other, it’s just…”

“Complicated. I get it. Most families are, but hopefully, things will get better once you graduate and are able to be more open about how you feel.”

“Ugh. How much longer?”

“Twelve days, sixteen hours and oh, roughly four minutes,” Gavin replied.

I chuckled as I turned into my parents’ driveway and parked my car. “I’m here now. I better go.”

“Yeah, me too. These papers aren’t going to grade themselves,” he grumbled.

“Isn’t that why you have a T.A? Why isn’t Terrance grading them for you?”

“He offered, but he’s got finals coming up that he needs to focus on, so I said I’d handle them.”

I grinned. “Has anyone ever told you how sweet you are?”

“Only my mom and Nana, but I think I like hearing it from you even better.”

“Well, I’ll be sure to say it a lot then.”

“Thank you. Call me later. Let me know you got home safely, okay?”

My heart suddenly felt too big for my chest. I love him. The thought shocked me at first, but then it settled around me like a truth that had always existed. I was deeply and totally in love with Gavin Holt. It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him, but I decided something that intense should probably be said in person. Plus, it was scary, not knowing if he felt the same way. “Will do,” I whispered instead.

We hung up, but I was still smiling as I made my way up the sidewalk and into the house. “Somebody looks like he’s in a good mood. How are you, baby?” Mom grinned at me as I walked into the kitchen. She’d been cutting up pieces of melon and putting them in a fresh fruit salad, but she set the knife down so she could give me a hug. I hugged her back, enjoying the familiar scent of sunshine and Dove soap that I always associated with my mom.

“I’m good. Your flowers look amazing, by the way.”

Her eyes lit up. “Thanks. They’re really coming up nicely this year, thanks to the great weather we’ve been having.”

“Where are Dad and Trey?”

“Your brother’s in his room and your dad’s out back, manning the grill. He should be about done with the burgers, so would you mind getting Trey for me?”

“Sure, no problem.” I gave her a peck on the cheek then sprinted up the stairs and knocked on Trey’s door.

He answered it, dressed in a pair of shorts and an old Bradbury Eagles shirt I’d bought him when I first started college. How’s it going, squirt?” I reached out and ruffled a hand over his head, but he batted me away.

“Why are you so annoying?” he grumbled, but the twitch of his lips told me he wasn’t actually upset.

“Because I’m your brother. It’s all right there in the sibling handbook. Look it up if you don’t believe me. Page eighteen.”

“God, you’re such a dork.” He gave me the look that teenagers had been perfecting for centuries and only they could pull off. It said, “‘everyone around me is insane and I’m the only normal human left on the planet.’”

“Takes one to know one. Come on, Mom said I needed to get you downstairs for dinner.” In one quick move, I lifted him off the ground and threw him over my shoulder, making him screech. He weighed a bit more than the last time I’d carried him that way, which wasn’t surprising considering he’d probably been five at the time, but I still managed to hold onto him and carry him down the stairs.

He thrashed about, smacking my backside with his hands, and screaming at me, between fits of laughter, with demands that I put him back down. Meanwhile, I was laughing so hard I didn’t notice our parents standing at the bottom of the stairs until I practically ran into them. They both looked confused by all the commotion, but where Mom was smiling through hers, Dad wore a frown.

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