Page 118 of Sincerely, Your Enemy

The smell of bacon reaches us a moment later, making my mouth water, and I smile at the sound of our friends laughing in the distance.

TJ stops right before we enter the kitchen, squeezing my fingers tighter and casting a glance in my direction. “You ready?”

I nod. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

He smiles. Then, he’s turning the corner and pulling me with him.

Most of our friends are gathered around the kitchen island when we come in. Except for Xavier and Aveena, the two of whom are standing in front of the stove and stirring the ingredients for an omelet. We said we’d take turns cooking this morning, so these two are on breakfast duty for the time being.

Dia has her elbows rested against the counter, while Finn has his arms wrapped around her from behind. Theo, Chance, and Aaron are sitting around the kitchen island, bickering. They don’t see us right away.

“Guess who just agreed to be my very serious, very official girlfriend?” TJ says loud enough for everyone to hear.

Dia is the first to notice us, her jaw dropping when she zeroes in on our hands.

“I knew it!” she squeals.

The others notice us a heartbeat later, and our friends’ faces light up one by one. Except for Aaron—I get it. I was flirting with him yesterday, asking him about his trip, only to come down and announce that I’m dating one of his friends the next day. That was a dick move. On the other hand, it’s not like I’d promised to marry the guy. We never even kissed. But I still shouldn’t have flirted with him to make TJ jealous.

Dia separates from Finn, making a beeline for me. “I knew something was up when I saw you two filthy animals come out of the observatory last night.”

She opens her arms for a hug, and I walk into her embrace.

“Wait, you were in the observatory? When did that happen?” Aveena asks.

“After you went to take that nap and never came back,” Xavier explains.

She throws her hands up. “What else did I miss?”

“We played chubby bunny, and Theo got twelve marshmallows to fit in his mouth before he threw up in the chips bowl.” Chance offers up a troubling piece of information.

Aveena crinkles her nose in disgust, her joy merging with disgust. “Next time, just say nothing.”

Aveena is next in line for her congratulatory hug. In the meantime, TJ gives bro hugs to all the guys except for Aaron, who’s been watching the scene unfold in silence.

“I thought you two were just messing around,” Chance says.

TJ stretches his arm out around my neck and pulls me flush to him to press a kiss to my forehead. “We were. But then I realized I’d be a fucking idiot not to lock that down before another guy realizes how amazing she is and tries to steal her away from me.”

“You know what this means, right?” Dia blurts out.

TJ and I glance at each other, equally confused.

“Triple date!” Dia claps her hands like an overexcited kid.

I laugh. “Wehaven’t even had a proper date ourselves, so we should probably start with that.”

“What about us? Are we invited to this triple date?” Theo cuts in.

Aveena scoffs. “Couples only, sorry. Maybe if you manage to convince Ashley to stay in town longer than a week.”

“Hey, I did my part when I got her to take two more weeks off. What else am I going to do? Lock her up?” Theo pauses. “Wait, that’s not a bad idea.”

Aveena laughs, calling her future brother-in-law bonkers—at least, I think he’ll be her future brother-in-law. He and Ashley share a connection that’s proven to be unbreakable over the years.

Just like that, our news is ancient history. The guys resume with their usual bickering and arguing, and it isn’t long before TJ and I are appointed as the next people to monitor breakfast.

I’m usually a decent tutor.

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