Page 135 of Love Not Qualified

They all burst into laughter and I took a moment to look at them. Even if I didn’t want to come at first, I didn’t regret it a bit now. Around her friends, I felt just like I was surrounded by family. Despite what happened in the past between Haelyn and me, they didn’t hold any grudges.

And that night, I realized that coming in sweatpants in a dirty pub wasn’t as bad as I thought. I just had to have the right people around me.

FIFTY-THREE

HAELYN

“Stop being so nervous. They are going to love you.” Tristan kissed my head.

I was standing in the middle of the living room downstairs, with my hands resting on my hip bones. My eyes scanned the surroundings and I tried to mentally check if everything was in place.

Christmas Tree. Check.

Tinsel and lights on the ceiling. Check.

The red blanket on the couch. Check.

Fake snow around the tree. Check.

Red napkins and table cutlery. Check.

Artificial trees at the entrance. Check.

There was something missing. I could feel it.

“Oh my God.” I suddenly turned around, searching for the missing piece.

“What?” Tristan asked from next to me, his brows furrowed.

“I forgot to put the ‘Ho ho holy shit, it’s Christmas’ sign at the entrance.”

Where the hell did I put it? I remember the exact moment I had it in my hand before I went to put red paper tissue in the bathroom, but then it all went black.

Think. Think. Think.

My boyfriend—still getting used to calling him that—watched me as if I had grown another head. He opened his mouth, then closed it right back. “You know what? I don’t want to know.”

Mentally, I rethought the entire map of places I’ve been to today. I didn’t have much time to figure it out, so I turned to Ryker for help, even if I knew there was a slight chance for him to know where the hell I put the cursed thing.

With my hands in my hair, I threw him a desperate glance. “Ryker, do you know where I put the sign? Your family will be here any minute.”

Ryker was chilling on the couch with his legs parted open and an uninterested look in his eyes. After a week of living with him, I still couldn’t adjust to the pure indifference he had in life, but I had to accept him as he was.

Yet I could see he was trying his best despite him not wanting to show it. When I first saw him, the roots of his hair began to grow and today, he shaved it all back down.

While I wasn’t a big fan of bald heads, it looked good on him in contrast with the piercing in his nose.

Ryker got up from the couch, not looking at me, and walked to the door with his usual stern face, then opened it and pointed at the sign hanging on a pin.

I sighed in relief, touching my heart with my palm. My shoulders relaxed as I offered him a smile. “Thank you.”

He closed the door and retook his seat on the couch, right before I felt Tristan’s arms hugging my waist. Tristan kissed my neck and I was too stiff to allow myself to relax fully.

Of course, he felt that. It wasn’t like I was hiding it either. “What are you so worried about?”

I exhaled, whirling on my toes to see him.

Remembering Ryker was standing right next to us, I dropped the hands that were about to circle around Tristan’s shoulders and took a step back.

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