Page 102 of Forbidden Lyrics

“So, uh…” She wags her fingers between Gibson and me. “Is this a thing?”

My face blanches. “Oh. Um.” I look over my shoulder to find a very amused Gibson staring back at me, but he doesn’t say a word.

Which means he’s throwing me to the wolves.

Again.

Jerk face.

“It’s totally a thing, isn’t it?” Reese decides, not bothering to wait for my answer. “Yay! I’m so happy for you guys!” She pulls me into another hug, squeezing all the oxygen out of me with the strength of a pro wrestler.

“Seriously. How long has this been going on? Does River know? ‘Cause if he’s been hiding this from me, I’m gonna kill him.”

“It’s new,” I tell her, peeking over my shoulder again at Gibbs. “Very new. And we’re just hanging out, taking our time, that kind of thing. No labels. No commitments. Doing our own thing,” I repeat. “Right, Gibbs?”

He strides over to me and wraps his arms around my waist, pulling my back to his front before resting his chin on my shoulder. And we fit. Perfectly. A little too perfectly for a bard and a fool, but I’m not about to tell him that.

Reese purses her lips as she watches our silent exchange before shoving her finger an inch from Gibson’s nose. “You hurt her; I kill you. We clear, Sonny?”

“Pretty sure I’m the one who would get hurt,” he mumbles. “But, yes. You’ve made yourself clear. Have you told Dove the good news yet?”

Her face lights up all over again. “I haven’t had the chance. Like I said, it’s been chaos. But River got a role in a huge movie production, and they want me to play his love interest as soon as he’s healed up enough. Depending on how things shake out, we’ll most likely start filming out of state in the next couple of months.”

“Are you serious, Reese?” I squeal.

“I know! It’s a dream, Dove. An absolute dream.”

“I’m so happy for you!”

“And I’m happy for you––”

The front door slams, and we both jerk at the sound before a very inebriated Jake stumbles through it. When he sees us, he shakes his head and heads up the stairs instead of joining us in the kitchen.

The house goes quiet except for his unsteady footsteps creaking through the floor. Another door slams upstairs just as Milo comes through the front door.

Reese frowns, then asks, “Everything okay?”

Shaking his head, Milo stalks toward the fridge and wrenches it open before chugging an entire protein shake like it’s a bottle of beer.

“Should I… Should I go talk to him?” Reese offers, her forehead wrinkled with concern.

Again, Milo shakes his head and leans his hip against the counter, scrubbing his hand over his face as his shoulders hunch in defeat.

“What happened?” Gibson questions.

“The bastard got arrested for having sex in public.”

My jaw drops as Gibson mutters, “Shit.”

“Yeah. And he had a presentation with his professor this morning but missed it.”

“Because he was in jail,” Gibson concludes.

“Yeah.”

“This is all my fault,” Reese whispers, her voice so quiet I’m surprised any of us hear her.

Frustrated, Milo slams his hand against the counter. “That’s bullshit, Reese––”

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