Page 88 of Method Acting

Right?

Chase slid the tray onto the table and handed me my coffee. “Here, babe. Careful, it’s hot.”

I wasn’t sure when or why this babe or baby business had started, and I had to remind myself that Elijah loved the terms of endearment.

“They only had apple muffins and chocolate muffins left, so I got you both,” he said. “I’ll have whichever one you don’t want.”

Oh.

Well, that was kinda sweet.

“Thanks.”

I opted for the apple, for no other reason than I knew he loved chocolate muffins, and his smile and shoulder-nudge when I left him the chocolate muffin told me I’d made the right call.

“Do you work tonight?” he asked quietly.

I nodded. “Yeah. Four till close.”

He made a face. “Tate and Jimmy asked me to go with them to the bar tonight.” He pulled the bottom off his muffin. “But if you’re working?—”

“You should go with them,” I said, pulling the bottom off my muffin too. “You haven’t seen them much lately.”

“Yeah, but you?—”

“I’ll be fine. In fact, a night by myself’d be nice.”

He gasped and frowned. “What are you saying?”

“Nothing. Just a night by myself would be nice. I have to work, and when I get home, I need to hit the books.”

“I could help you study.”

I snorted. “Yeah. Our definitions of help are wide and varied. And maybe having my bed to myself tonight means I might actually get some sleep.”

Someone cleared their throat, and Chase and I both turned to the table. I’d kinda forgotten where we were, being caught in one of our private conversations again, and everyone was staring at us, cameras rolling.

Shit.

Chase, completely unfazed, laughed. “He hogs the bed anyway.”

I shot him a look. “Oh please. You...”

I trailed off because I realized saying anything incriminated me even further.

He popped some muffin in his mouth, smiling as he chewed. “You were saying? I what?”

“You need to shove more muffin into your mouth and stop talking.”

Chase laughed again, his eyes alight. I swear, the more I insulted him, the more he liked it.

“I was just saying,” Didi said, signaling with her eyes for us to play along. “There’s a party on Saturday night.”

“Oh,” Chase said. “We can’t. We have a dinner thing for my mom’s birthday.”

Which I’d forgotten all about. I really needed to start a calendar for all of Elijah and Dominic’s fake appointments.

“Oh yes, we do, that’s right,” I said. “Did you get her a gift yet?”

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