Page 81 of Play It Off

That’s how Nico describes it, anyway.

It’s Sunday afternoon, and we’re currently at the house, pleading our case in front of a jury of our peers, because that’s what it feels like. Gavin and I are on trial for keeping our relationship secret, but we’re wasting our time since it feels like everyone’s minds are already made up. They don’t approve of what we did, and they’re never going to let us forget it—case closed.

That’s according to Nico, who’s acting like he’s the representative for everyone, while Gavin and I sit together on the love seat, facing our friends. And my brother, who hasn’t said a single word since we arrived, and that was twenty minutes ago.

The look on his face makes me uneasy. I don’t think Gavin likes it, either, though he hasn’t said anything. He keeps glancing over at Coop, waiting for him to speak, but he doesn’t. Of course he doesn’t. I think he’s enjoying seeing us twisting in the wind, waiting for his opinion to drop.

The longer he goes without speaking, the more worried I become. Yes, this is normal for him, but I can’t stand the suspense. I’d rather know he hates me than sit here and wonder about it.

Finally, the voice of reason—a.k.a. my new bestie, Everleigh—starts talking.

“Look.” She smiles, her gaze dropping to the spot where Gavin and I are clutching each other’s hands. “I think it’s adorable that you two are together. It’s about damn time. But I don’t understand why you had to keep it from all of us. We’re your friends.”

“Your family,” Coop finally says, his voice rough as gravel.

I wince. The guilt trip finally worked, as I knew it would. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about us, Ever. That we didn’t tell any of you. I wanted to, but I have to admit ... there was something freeing in letting go of all of that worry and stress over wishing Gavin would notice me. Pretending to avoid him was so much easier, and it worked out because you all thought I didn’t want to be around him, when really I didn’t feel the need anymore because we were together a lot of the time. I know it doesn’t make much sense, but it worked for me. For us.”

“When did you guys even see each other?” Frank asks, his tone hostile.

“Mostly at night,” Gavin says, glancing over at me with a faintly dirty smile. One that makes me blush.

“That’s why you stopped coming over on game night,” Nico mutters, shaking his head. “You were fucking around with Sienna.”

“Hey,” Gavin snaps. “Watch your mouth. That’s my girlfriend you’re talking about.”

“Yeah.” Coop reaches around Ever and lightly slaps the back of Nico’s head. “And that’s mysisteryou’re talking about.”

Nico ducks away from Coop’s still-seeking hand. “Come on, Coop. You haven’t had much to say. Are you telling us you don’t have a problem with the two of them sneaking around for months and not telling us about it? That one of your best friends is now supposedly in love with your little sister?”

Coop goes quiet again, and the entire room fills with tension as we wait for his response. My palms are sweating, and I squeeze Gavin’s hand, leaning my head against his shoulder. I don’t want to lose my brother’s support, but I know we disappointed him. He has every right to feel that way and ... yeah. We’re terrible humans.

“I get why they did it,” Coop finally says, shocking all of us. “Gavin is under a lot of pressure. It doesn’t matter that we’re a team and he’s only as good as the rest of us make him, but he’s the unspoken leader, and all of the media watches him. Criticizes him. It’s actually pretty fucking unfair if you ask me.”

“Thanks, Coop,” Gavin starts, snapping his lips shut when Coop glares at him.

“I’m not finished.”

“Right.” Gavin lets go of my hand and starts scratching the back of his neck. He only does that when he’s anxious. “Go on.”

“Anyway—all the attention is on Gav, and that’s a lot for him to deal with. If he wanted to keep the relationship with Sienna secret so there were no prying eyes spying on them, I understand. I’m just glad you guys finally came clean with us.”

“Only because they were forced to,” Frank reminds us. Gee thanks, friend. “That Uber driver even recorded audio of the two of them together last night.”

“Wait, what?” Gavin leaps to his feet, stalking toward Frank and holding out his hand. “I wanna hear it.”

Frank fumbles around with his phone and hands it over to Gavin, who turns up the volume. Yep, I can hear him, rambling on drunkenly. Making his declaration.

“He doesn’t care.” Oh, Gavin’s voice on the recording is even louder than I realized last night. “Do you care that I’m in love with Sienna Cooper?”

“Not at all,” the driver responds. “You can love whoever you want.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. It shouldn’t matter. I don’t know why we’re keeping this a secret, baby. Everyone deserves to know how we feel about each other.”

My heart swells to about three sizes larger than normal when I hear the sincerity in his voice. Those sweet words that threw me for a loop when he originally said them. Unable to stop myself, I reach for him, delivering a kiss to his lips, whispering against them, “I love you too.”

He cracks a smile. “I didn’t even say it just now. That’s a recording.”

“And it’s the sweetest recording I’ve ever heard.” I touch his cheek, our gazes meeting. His beautiful blue eyes are sparkling, and all his earlier anxiety seems to have melted away. “I love you so much. I’m so glad you’re mine.”

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