Page 53 of Their Cruel Play
I shake my head. “No, Mom is here. If I scream, she’ll hear me.”
“I wasn’t planning on making you scream, kitten.” His eyes warm as he presses a kiss to my lips. Chuckling at themisinterpretation, I lean into his warmth and part my lips to deepen the kiss.
“Harper?”
I pull away and turn at my mom’s voice. Oh, shit.
Mom shuffles in. Her robe is tied around her waist, and she has on slippers that scuff the floor with her steps. Her eyes are a little sleepy, but I’m sure she saw that kiss. I don’t even know what to say.
“Eli, right?” She gestures to Eli.
“Yes, ma’am.” He gives her a look that’s like a little boy with his hand caught in the cookie jar. But he straightens like he’ll own it.
Mom makes an acknowledging grunt as she pours some coffee into a mug and puts it in the microwave to warm it up. She leans against the counter with her arms crossed.
“So, is that part ofhanging out?” Mom arches an eyebrow.
What do I even say?
The microwave dings before I can form an answer. She gets her coffee and blows on it before taking a sip.
I glance at Eli, and he shrugs. This is my reason to give.
“We went out to breakfast together.” Yeah, that’s not really an excuse. More of a statement. “With the others. Eli was just dropping me off, and I was worried because of the guy outside the window, so he offered to come in.”
“Is this who you are now, Harper?” Mom sips her coffee and holds it in both hands, while she gives me a look I haven’t seen since I was eight years old and lied about breaking a glass. Not that I had anyone else to blame but myself, but I figured I could brazen it out.
I blow out a breath. That need to confess everything weighs on my heart. I could just tell her the whole truth, and she could see I’m in way over my head and probably drowning, but I won’t be sure until I’m dead at the bottom of the lake.
“Harper isn’t like other girls, Ms. Davidson. We’re all pretty smitten with her to be honest.”
Smitten.My brows furrow. That will make my mother’s bullshit trigger go through the roof.
“Harper is her own person. Always has been.” Mom takes a sip, keeping her gaze firmly on Eli. “She knows her own mind. I’m glad that someone else has discovered how special she is.”
Eli brushes his fingers against my hand. “We all recognize how special she is.”
His eyes soften as he looks at me. My heart thumps in my chest. Shit. He’s just saying this to placate my mom, right?
Mom clears her throat. “So just to be clear. You’re still hanging out with all five guys. Kissing is part of it. And they’re all on board with that.”
My mouth opens and closes. A little wave of courage flows through me. At least, enough to utter, “Yes.”
Mom nods. “Are you all being responsible?”
“Your daughter is the only one we’re kissing, if that’s what you mean.” Eli straightens.
Even I flinch a little at kissing, because I’m pretty sure we all aren’t talking about just kissing.
Mom rubs her forehead. “Okay. I’ll get a handle on this. It’s just different from what I’m used to, but that doesn’t make it wrong. As long as you’re happy with the arrangement, Harper?”
It’s a question and it’s not. I glance at Eli. My mind goes back to Caden, Luke, Jack, and Nico. Even if I could only have one of them, I’m not sure I would be happy. That I wouldn’t long for the others. Get jealous when they were with other girls.
I take Eli’s hand and squeeze it. “Yeah. I am.”
“Are you all dating then? Or is there a different term for it?” Mom arches an eyebrow again.
“We’re still trying to figure that out.” Eli strokes his thumb over my hand. “We talked about it at breakfast. None of us havereally dated before. Harper is our girl. We don’t know if that makes her our girlfriend or not, but we’re definitely devoted to only her.”
