Page 11 of Strip Bare

"Playing the part."

It was actually... nice to hold his hand. I'd had hook-ups in the past, but nothing that lasted longer than one night, and I'd never had a real relationship. Just a few casual dates here and there. I’d assumed I wouldn't be one for PDA or hand-holding but with our hands firmly clasped, I found I didn't ever want to let go.

A familiar dark head of hair approached us from the other direction, eyes glued to their phone, and Saylor immediately perked up.

"Xander!"

His cheeks immediately coloured a light pink when he saw her and I rolled my eyes as he scooped a palm over the strands of hair framing his face that were too short for the bun he'd tied his hair back into.

"Oh, hey." He stopped for a second, like he wasn't sure if he was supposed to continue on or join us. "I'm ah, actually heading to the gym and then the library to study. But I'll catch you later?"

Saylor looked slightly disappointed as he walked around us, until he stopped next to her and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. "See you for dinner at seven."

Kit and Bryn chattered on with my parents as we strode around the park, but I was fairly sure Saylor didn't hear anything they said. Her eyes were glazed and dreamy and had been that way since we'd seen Xander.

"I've got to get back and do some studying actually," Bryn said when Kit suggested stopping for lunch. "But it was lovely meeting you."

I pouted at her and she smirked, the expression so similar to Kit that it took me aback a little. Well, there went my buffer.

We decided to head back to Cocoa & Rum, it felt a little less student-y than The Box and the food was decent enough just for a quick bite. Thankfully Harley wasn't working, so I didn't have to worry about him blowing our cover... or watching him flirt with Kit again.

My mom beamed around as we sat by one of the larger tables next to the glass window. "Oh, Leo, this is gorgeous! I didn't really take it in last night, we were too excited to see you. Do you come here a lot?"

I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

An arm slid around my shoulders and I tensed as Kit leaned in close. "He's being modest. Leo comes and studies here while I work to keep me company."

I leaned forward to grab the menu on the table, despite having the damn thing all but memorized. Kit's arm fell away, just as I'd intended, and I felt like I could breathe a little easier. Yes, we had to sell this if I wanted to keep my mom from meddling in my love life. But I didn't want to wind up with my heart broken and our friendship fractured because I'd let myself lean into him for a bit too long, or forgotten that kissing him wasn't real.

Saylor was sat at the side of the table, with her back to the room, and I decided it would save Kit and I a lot of unnecessary attention if I just diverted it to her instead.

"So what would you even want to study if you came here?"

She shrugged and I tried not to make my relief obvious as my parents focused on my sister. "I don't know, business or something probably."

"Radclyffe is more well known for its focus on the arts," Kit said and I nodded.

"Exactly. You could go anywhere to study business."

She raised one cool, blonde eyebrow at me and I mimicked the movement until we both stared at each other challengingly. "Of course. But Radclyffe has you."

"Ah, sibling love," Kit remarked and my dad chuckled when we both shot him a glare. "Bryn and I are the same sometimes. I didn't want her to leave California to be with me, but it's been nice having her around." He turned to me and I pulled back a little so our faces weren't as close together. "Don't you agree?"

"Yeah," I said vaguely, not even sure what he was really asking me as my eyes fell to his mouth. I swallowed hard and told my eyes to look away, to look at literally anything else. They didn't obey.

Kit's lip ring flicked as he pressed it against his tongue, his mouth tipping up into a smirk as my parents resumed grilling Saylor.

He had a small freckle just under his bottom lip and I didn't think I'd seen it before, but it held all of my attention until all I could think about was tasting it with my tongue.

Warm lips found mine and I jerked back in shock. My mom glanced over curiously, and I let out a shaky laugh. "Just a bug."

I deliberately didn't look Kit's way again, not until his phone started buzzing and he cursed.

"What's wrong?" We hadn't even ordered drinks yet and I felt like we'd been sitting at the table for an age.

"It's Bryn, her place has flooded."

"Shit. Is she okay?"

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