Page 71 of Daydream

He leans back, his hands reaching to cup my face. “For all you know, I’ve totally misunderstood everything, and I think we’re about to get married. Should we retrace your mental steps to make sure we understand each other?”

I groan. “Do we have to? It’s too embarrassing to say out loud again. Maybe I should have just joined a convent right out of high school.”

“You’re not allowed to be embarrassed; it’s one of our rules. What did you call it? Your touching and vulnerable speech. Let me slim it down. Experience one: I make you so horny that it’s making you reassess your whole life.”Give me strength.“Experience two: you want to do something about those urges with someone, ideally me, for the first time instead of just yourself and your sex app. And experience three, which is actually inexperience three: you’re nervous about trying things you haven’t done before.”

“Bingo.” If this was a game show there would be buzzers going off. I nod enthusiastically, because he’s said it far better than me even though I think he was trying to make me laugh. “Basically, I’m an inexperienced triple threat and it’s pretty busy in my brain currently.”

“We can handle it, Cap. We’re a team, so you have all the time you need. You already have the advantage that I am so much better for you than Will ever was. And I have a really great idea for getting rid of all the thoughts in your head. You just need to lie back and take off your pants. I can definitely get you to be chill for five minutes.”

It’s the mood lightener I need, and I’m so grateful that we can have these types of conversations in a healthy way. With Will they always turned into arguments. I beam at him. “Your problem-solving skills are unmatched, but I think this time I’ll pass, thank you. And no, I’ve been managing a family since birth. I haven’t had a chill day in my life. My natural state is to think of every eventuality.”

“Me and another woman can be crossed off your list of eventualities. Waiting isn’t the big deal Will has made it out to be, I promise.” The elevator dings loudly outside the room, followed by the sounds of multiple voices, making them very early. “Letme kiss you and show you how much I’m not interested in other people.”

He closes the gap between us quickly, kissing me with the determination of a man with something to prove.

And right at that moment is when the bedroom door opens.

Chapter Twenty-OneHENRY

AURORA SLAMS THE DOOR CLOSED,blocking out the sound of gasps, many of which I don’t believe are genuine.

“I didn’t know you were here!” she yells through the door. “I was giving a tour!”

Halle’s hands are pressed against her mouth to cover her shock. I want to kiss her again, but I’m not sure this is the time. I clear my throat. “It’s a good thing you didn’t take off your pants.”

She nods in agreement. “I think you might be right. This is so embarrassing.”

I want to tell her being embarrassed is breaking a rule, but people always say some rules are allowed to be broken, so I’m going to give her this one. “They thought we were lying when we said we’re just friends and not hooking up anyway. Does that make you feel better?”

Her hands move from her mouth to her forehead as she shakes her head. “No. That doesn’t make me feel better at all.”

“Is it because you’re worrying about what people think of you?” She nods, dropping her hands to my hips and placing her head on my chest. “Okay, well, don’t do that.”

“Telling me not to worry about something doesn’t make me not worry.” I silently stroke her hair to comfort her, because I’m out of advice. Eventually she lifts her head to look at me. “I’m being dramatic. It’ll be fine, we can just laugh it off, right? We’re still just friends, so we haven’t been lying to them.”

Hmm. Don’t like that. Is that what she thought I meant when we talked about no labels? I brush it off. “And I know all their secrets, so if they’re annoying, I’ll just start dropping them.”

“And how do you know all their secrets?” she asks.

I shrug. “People tell me stuff. I think it’s because they know I don’t care enough to gossip about them.”

“Or maybe it’s because you’re a great friend and a really good listener?”

Once they get their excitement out of the way, I know my friends will be cool with Halle. They all really like her. If they don’t chill out about it, I’ll cause chaos for everyone. Kris and Bobby, because Bobby hooked up with Kris’s sister and he doesn’t know; Robbie and Lola, because they argue every week about her moving back to New York when she graduates; Mattie and his toxic ex, who he swore he’d block but is talking to again; and Emilia and Poppy, who break up every time they have a fight, but don’t tell anyone because they get back together the next day. I have years’ worth of people telling me things I don’t want to know.

“It’s definitely because they know I don’t care enough to gossip about them.” She grumbles and throws herself back onto the mattress. I climb onto the bed beside her, nearly sliding off because of the pajama material against the bedding. Lying next to her, I lean in to kiss her cheek, and these damn pajamas tighten against my arms as I move. I’m so hot and I haven’t even done anything. “Did Aurora not want to pay for silk or…?”

Halle chuckles. “Some vegetarians don’t wear silk, so I didn’t want to get it wrong. Look it up; it’s a very interesting information hole to be stuck in.”

“I know how silk is made. I just forgot she was a vegetarian. You remember everything about everyone; I don’t know how you do it. You’re a good friend to her, Halle. She’ll definitely protect you from the others if they get too excited.”

She sighs, rubbing her face against her hands. “Let’s just get it over with. It’s fine, please don’t spill all their secrets.”

“You got it, Cap.”

IN AN UNUSUAL TURN OFevents, nobody said anything when we exited our bedroom.

Not one single thing.

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