Page 135 of A Little Complicated

Dylan laughs but throws her arms around us in the middle of our family room. When I nearly trip over one of the boxes, we all laugh a little harder. I like it. A lot, actually. Because I don't feel so alone anymore. The house doesn’t feel quiet. It feels lived in. Like together, we can make it an actual home.

Letting me go, Finley rubs her hands together. “Okay, so once we’re all finished unpacking, I was thinking we should go to one of the infamous Game Nights I’ve heard so much about. What do you guys say? I’ve been dying to attend one of these as soon as Griffin let it slip.”

“When did Griffin let it slip about Game Nights?” Dylan asks.

Finley picks at the split ends of her dark, shiny hair and avoids Dylan’s gaze. “I may or may not text your brother on occasion.” With a flick of her wrist, she tosses her hair over her shoulder and adds, “But it’s not like it’s a big deal or anything.”

“Does your older brother know you text his best friend behind his back?” I quip.

Finley’s perfectly filled-in brows dip, but she waves me off. “What Everett doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

“Yeah, because that’s a super smart idea,” I note. “Keeping secrets from everyone.”

“Like you’re one to talk,” she replies. “A little bird told me you’re hiding a doozie.”

Dylan preens beside me, and I shove her in the shoulder. “Dylan!”

“Hey! I didn’t saymuch. Besides, we both know when we say a secret is safe with us, we mean everyone but each other, right? And all I said was I’m clearly your favorite cousin since I was the first one you told.”

“Uh, who says it makes you her favorite?” Finley argues.

Lifting her hands, Dylan smirks and steps back. “Hey, the proof is in the pudding.”

“Baloney. What proof?” Finley asks Dylan.

Dylan gives me the side-eye, waiting for me to spill the beans. I scrunch up my face, blurting out, “Fine! I’ll tell you everything, but only if you promise to keep it between us.”

Finley zips her lips, tosses the imaginary key away, and waits.

“For real, this time,” I say, giving Dylan a pointed look.

“Yeah, yeah. I know,” Dylan replies.

Satisfied, I take a deep breath and announce, “You already know Archer and I were taking a break, and we were kind of keeping it between us because we didn’t want to stress our families out.”

“Yeah, we know. Now, get to the juicy stuff,” Finley prods.

“Mystery Man popped back up on her radar,” Dylan tells her.

Sitting up a little further, an intrigued Finley asks, “Wait, the guy from senior year?”

“Yup,” Dylan answers for me.

Finley’s jaw drops. “The Mystery Man Cherry-Popper showed up again this summer?”

“Please don’t call him the cherry-popper,” I groan, covering my face with my hands.

“Did he, or did he not take your virginity?” Finley prods.

Flashes of the night I found Maverick on the roof after a game of Truth or Dare assault me. I collapse beside Finley on the couch and let my hands fall to my lap. “No comment.”

“That’s a yes.” Dylan slaps Finley’s feet off the coffee table and sits her ass in front of us. “But I think the real question is…are you finally ready to announce Mystery Man’s true identity? Because we’re bound to find out when we catch him sneaking out of your bedroom with us all living together.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” I mutter. “After the shitstorm I created, I’m not sure what’s going on with Mystery Man, but I’m done hiding things from you guys. I’ll tell you who he is on one condition.”

“Yes?” they answer in unison.

“You guyshaveto promise to keep this between us. And I mean a cross-your-heart-and-hope-to-die kind of promise.”

---