Page 61 of Totally Geeked

Gordon laughs. “I know, strange, right?”

“Totally. So is Niki coming?”

“She’ll be up in a minute,” Gordon says, putting his phone back in his pocket.

“That was quick,” I say.

“She was waiting for me downstairs. We were on our way out when I got Noah’s text. Dick move by the way. Didn’t Dad ever teach you what happens to kids who cry wolf?”

“They get their brothers to show up at their dickhead interventions?” Noah asks, all serious.

Gordon just shakes his head and goes to meet Niki at the door.

Harrison pulls me to him and kisses me soft and sweet.

“You were amazing. Have I told you lately that I love you?” he asks, and I kiss him again.

“It never gets old hearing it.”

“Get a room,” Gordon jokes, walking back in with Niki by his side.

“Oh, we have one. It’s just there. Would you like us to—”

“Nope, just kidding. Okay, can we focus on dinner please before I throw up and can’t eat anything?” Gordon laughs, and Harrison releases me.

“I’m sure we could show you a thing or two. Tell us the truth, Niki, he needs a little help, right?” Harrison asks, and Niki blushes but doesn’t miss a beat.

“Oh no, he’s good, trust me. He knows how to push all the right buttons, if you get my drift.”

“Okay, now I’m going to throw up, can we please just eat?” Noah asks, claiming the seat at the head of the table and holding up his bowl. “Me first, please.”

I go to grab the pot from the stove, but my wrist is a little weak from being in the cast, and it’s heavy. Gordon is watching me from the table, and I catch him shift his chair like he’s about to get up.

“Harrison, could you carry this over for me, please?” I ask, and Gordon smiles. I might not need someone to look after me, but I’ve learned that it’s okay to ask for help when you need it, too.

Chapter twenty-three

Harrison

I one hundred percentthought that Gordon was going to storm out of here when he stood up, but turns out my idiot best friend managed to see the light after all, and though he hasn’t exactly given us his blessing, he can at least see this is real, what Arlo and I have.

Niki seems great, too. He’s had a few girlfriends over the years, not that I got to know many of them. He didn’t bring them around the team, and I doubt they ever meant enough to him to introduce them to his brothers. These guys are his everything, and I guess that’s what made it so hard for him to trust that I won’t hurt Arlo. Or at least that I won’t intentionally hurt him.

“That was good, right?” Arlo asks, placing the last of the bowls in the dishwasher after everyone’s left.

“I think so. He was pretty much back to his normal self by the end of the night.”

“I can’t believe it worked.”

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were checking me out all last year,” I say, tossing the dish towel at him.

“Because that’s what a guy wants to hear, ‘hey, sooo I was sort of checking you out for months and drawing you and have like loads of pictures all over my apartment,’ not stalkerish at all,” he laughs, tossing the cloth back. “Now hurry up and wipe over the table so I can show you what I bought.”

“You bought me something?”

“I bought us something, but I’m kind of nervous for you to see it now.”

I swipe the table in a haphazard zigzag with the cloth, toss it into the sink, and grab Arlo by the waist swinging him around.

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