Page 28 of Just Our Secret

He glanced up, one brow raising. “Okay.”

Clearing my throat, I started to speak, but across my mind flashed a few of the phrases I’d forbidden myself to say out loud.I slept with your sister. I’ve wanted your sister since we were in high school.

Fuuuck. No. No.

“Dude, what is with you? Did you pull an all-nighter last night or something?” He and Liam gave each other a look that told me just how weird I was being.

Not quite an all-nighter. As much as I’d wanted a round two, we’d both been exhausted. “Yep. Just tired. But, so, I want to talk to you.”

He waved out his hand in ago-aheadgesture. “Be my guest.”

“Right. Yeah. So I have been wanting to talk to you about this for a while, and it’s become more of an issue recently, so I think it’s time I tell you—”

“Uncle Wade, what is the difference between indigo and purple? Because my teacher said it’s indigo in the rainbow, but it looks like purple to me.” Liam tilted his head to one side so far, he was almost looking at me upside-down.

I opened my mouth, wondering if Connor could see my pulse hammering out of my neck like it wanted to punch through and make me bleed out.

“Good question, Liam. Is indigo the same as purple, Uncle Wade?” Connor looked at me with a stupid, fakely fascinated expression.

“I’d say indigo is a little more dark blue, but I hear you, Liam. It’s so close to purple.” Good God, could I sound any more idiotic? I prayed Andi wasn’t witnessing this from the kitchen.

“I’m pretty sure it’s between blue and purple on the color spectrum and comes right before violet in ROYGBIV,” Andi said a second later.

Damn it.Of course she heard it, and she knew I was nervous. But I hadn’t interrupted my own thoughts with a debate on blue and purple. I couldn’t be blamed for her son’s color curiosities.

For his part, Liam shrugged like he still wasn’t sure and said, “Well, that’s what your face looks like, Uncle Wade.” He smiled and went back to his cars.

I coughed and scratched at the bruised spot on my cheekbone. It wasn’t all that bad but must’ve been bad enough for Liam to comment. “Oh. Well, cool.”

“Yeah, you should’ve iced that after it happened, man. I’m surprised Andi didn’t take better care of you.” Connor shook his head like he couldn’t believe it.

Thing was, she did take care of me. She let me taste her and touch her. She came for me, twice, and rode me like her favorite pastime was sitting on my cock. So… yeah, she forgot the ice, but the woman took great fucking care of me.

I glanced up just in time to see Andi giving me that look again, and all the heat softened to a dull ache.

“Anyway, I feel like you should know something,” I tried, hating how hedgy and mysterious I sounded. But really, how do you tell your best friend you’re in love with and banging his sister?

Maybe by not saying you’rebanginghis sister, you dipshit.

“Is it that you’re a weirdo? You’re finally going to own it?” Connor tried, not bothering to give me his attention while he fastened together more track for Liam’s cars.

“Debatable, but no. It’s—”

“Is it that you have a big fat crush on that sexy as hell Dr. Kriss and you are going to run off together and start a commune where you can study sociology?”

Andi’s uncensored cackle rang out right along with my laugh. “You’re an idiot. Sociology has nothing to do with communes. I have no idea why that’s in your head. And Dr. Kriss is like seventy.”

“Just think of the experiments you could run in a commune, though. It’s a closed system, essentially. It’d be all kinds of fascinating. You can test the effect of clothing on… human interaction. Or whatever weird shi—stuff you want to know.”

“So it’s a naked commune?” I asked, chuckling at my ass of a best friend.

“Obviously.”

“Well, no. I’m sorry to break it to you, but I’m not going to be moving to a naked commune with Professor Kriss. I think her wife would object, anyway.”

He gave a please grin. “Or she’d be thrilled to welcome you into—”

“All right, lasagna is ready!” Andi’s interruption couldn’t have been better timed.

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