Page 96 of Unforgettable

“What do you think?” he added with another kiss. “Want to meet the parents?”

I tossed my head back and laughed. “Reed, I’ve met your parents hundreds of times. It would hardly be like taking any other girl home to meet your parents.”

“You’re right, because you’re nothing like any other girl.”

Josh snorted on my other side, and I glanced over at him. My heart clenched when it dawned on me that Josh’s parents were dead. There wasn’t anyone in his life—besides his brother—that he’d “introduce” me to, whether it was a pointless introduction or not.

“Is something funny, Sunshine?” Reed quipped, and I groaned internally. With all the fucking fighting, I swore I was going to lose it on them.

Before a full-on argument broke out, I cut in. “It was kind of cheesy, Reed. But either way, I’ll be there.”

He smiled and kissed me, lingering just long enough to make me want more.

“Speaking of parents,” Josh began, slipping his hand under the blanket and finding my upper thigh. “Adam made it to California before all of this shit started blowing through?”

For a second, I lost the ability to speak. Reed’s hand ran idle circles along my shoulder, which was now exposed since I traded my sweatshirt for a tank top, and Josh’s hand was squeezing my thigh. His thumb dragged back and forth against the soft fabric.

“Yes, he texted me a few hours ago that he touched down and he’d gotten a ride to their house. He’s already in love with it, so I’m sure he’ll come back here making plans to move there.”

“Would that be the worst thing? Get him away from all the shit he can’t seem to sort out?” Reed asked.

Although that seemed like the best idea for my sanity, it was the exact opposite. With Adam in the same city, I had—or at least pretended I did—some sort of control or say. It was easier to stage interventions when his idiocy reached new heights or he needed me to bail him out.

It would have been infinitely more difficult to get him out of trouble if he was thousands of miles away.

“I don’t know if I could handle that.”

“Maybe,” Josh added, giving my thigh another reassuring squeeze, “a little independence would do him some good?”

It was a question, but also not one at the same time. They were both fairly outspoken on my relationship with my brother—I was too overprotective of a kid that didn’t give a fuck. I knew they only had my best interest in mind, but that didn’t change mine.

Being his big sister meant I was there. No matter what.

“Anyway,” I said, immediately changing the subject. “What do we want to watch next? I’m thinking a romantic comedy.”

They both stifled their sighs, and I smiled for real.

“Can I?” Josh asked, holding out his hand for the remote.

Hesitantly, I placed it in his hand and waved for him to continue scrolling. “I get full veto power, though,” I confirmed, and he nodded.

“He’s going to pick something fucking sappy,” Reed murmured next to me, and Josh’s hand, still on my thigh and dangerously close to a place I was eager for him to be, tensed.

Fuck.

“If I do, it’ll be because it’s a good movie.AndAmanda has to agree, remember?”

“Okay, how about this? You pick one, I’ll pick one and then Amanda can choose.”

Josh scoffed and continued scrolling. “She already agreed to let me pick, so why don’t you just sit over there and eat your damn popcorn quietly? What was it you said to me the other night? That you’d pay me to keep my thoughts to myself. Well, I’ve got a twenty with your name on it in my wallet if you do just that.”

“Okay, well, I think a romantic comedy sounds great, and we’re going to pick…” I yanked the remote out of Josh’s hand and scrolled quickly through the section. “This one. Oh, perfect, I love Sandra Bullock.”

Neither of them commented on my choice, and I tried my best to relax back into my comfy cocoon, even with the tension hanging around us.

After witnessing them argue for days, I’d finally come up with a plan to ease the tension. Or at least I hoped it would because if it didn’t ease the tension, it was bound to make it a million times worse—there was no in-between.

I’d dissected and scrutinized each argument since they began a few weeks before. It wasn’t a coincidence that they hadn’t been able to see eye to eye on virtually anything after they agreed to the stupid dates. The last thing they agreed on was pursuing me. And since then, tensions have been flaring.

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