Page 120 of Altius
Cal’s knees popped as he stood up, collected everyone’s dirty plates, and carried them into the kitchen. Wyatt was quick to follow with the toppings and empty glasses.
Observing their teamwork with gleaming eyes, Kelsey sprang up, grabbing my wrist as she rushed past, dragging me toward the staircase.
“Kels, what the—”
“Zip it.”
Cal and Wyatt leaned out of the kitchen, watching us climb the stairs with similar expressions of amused confusion.
Striding across the walkway, Kelsey pulled me toward her room—only to veer sideways at the last second, flinging the guest room door open and pulling me inside.
“Wake up,” she ordered Jacobi, turning on the overhead light.
My best friend and I both recoiled.
“Turn it off!” he cried, yanking the sheet over his head. “It burns, it burns.”
“Don’t care.” Kelsey pulled the covers off the bed without mercy, leaving Jacobi with only his boxers for warmth.
“What the hell, Kelsey?” He reared back, eyes blazing, ready to grapple with her to reclaim the bedspread.
“It’s an emergency.”
“Nothing is more important than letting a broken-hearted man sleep off a bender and bad sex!”
Rolling my eyes, I grabbed a chenille blanket from the accent chair and chucked it at him. “Take a deep breath.”
“Oh, don’t you start,” he said, swatting at the blanket, unable to make heads or tails of it. “Not when you’re the queen of self-destructive—”
“Jacobi.” I clapped my hands once to draw his attention, then took a few steps toward the bed. “Take a literal deep breath, you moron.”
After he finished draping the blanket over his head like a babushka, Jacobi gave me a perfunctory sniff—and froze.
“Wait. You’re wearing spray.” He scrambled across the mattress, snagging a fistful of my shirt and holding me in place while he sniffed my wrists and neck. “Ooh, that’s not post-workout Wyatt stink.”
Kelsey dropped his bedding on the mattress and sat down, crossing her arms with satisfaction. “I think it smells like someone tried to erase the evidence of a make-out session. How about you?”
“Either that or her New Year’s resolution was to faceplant in a hedge maze.” Jacobi grabbed my shoulders, using them as leverage to rise on his toes, staring down at me with devilish delight. “Was it good? I bet it was good.”
I shook my head. “There’s nothing much—”
“Overruled,” he said, dropping back to the floor and guiding me to the bed by my shoulders.
“But—”
“It’syouandWyatt,” Kelsey said with emphasis. “That’s the exact opposite of nothing.”
Forcing me to sit down, Jacobi plopped beside me, still wearing the blanket like a ridiculous hood, and gripped both my hands tightly, commanding, “Out with it.”
“You guys—”
“Ten seconds,” he said, intense brown eyes boring into mine. “Or I holler for Wyatt to get his fine ass up here.”
Kelsey gave me a knowing look. “And you know he’ll spill. He can’t wait to brag after holding his own against Cal just now.”
“What?” The pressure of Jacobi’s hold rivaled the tightest of handcuffs. “Oh, honey. You’re not leaving until I knoweverything.”
And he meant it.
