Page 143 of Prickly Pair
Austin chuckled. “Night night.”
Was this going to be our lives forever? I wanted it to be. I wantedthis.More than anything else.
I stared at the ceiling, listening to our breaths and the way they fell in sync. Matthew soon started snoring, and Nick’s breaths deepened as he fell asleep too. I’d never felt more at home than I did right now, in this bed, in their arms, wanted and loved. This was where I belonged, where we all belonged.
But did they want this too? Did they want this as much as I did?
Hope was a butterfly in my chest, its wings beating against my ribs.I love them. I had a sneaking suspicion they loved me back. But did they love each other? Even with Nick and Austin now wanting each other . . .
“You’re thinking so hard right now,” Austin whispered against my ear. “What’s wrong?”
I’m scared this will all fall apart. I’m scared I have everything I’ve ever dreamed of and it’ll all be taken away.
“Nothing is wrong,” I murmured. “In fact, everything is perfect.”
And that scared me.
Austin’s hand rubbed my hip gently, his lips pressing against the top of my head. “Go to sleep, baby. You’ve got us.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, and nodded, holding onto that feeling of hope with all my might.
Maybe, just maybe, thiswouldbe my forever.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Austin
The first therapy session had been more of an onboarding thing, but the second one had been fucking brutal. I wasn’t sure I’d ever cried that fucking much. In a way, I felt like I was paying for my own emotional torture, but it was worth it. It was worth taking care of myself so I could take care of others.
Nick had shattered something inside me. Maybe it was my resolve. Maybe it was finally letting go of the past. We’d spent hours talking about why we didn’t “like” each other, and god dammit, I was in love with him. Just as much as I was with Evie and Matthew.
I just had one more problem to take care of before I told them.
I spotted Phil in the lobby at Whynot Stay and charged up to him. He spotted me, and his eyes widened, but before he could take off—I grabbed his shoulders.
“Who the fuck are you?” I growled.
Phil went very still. People were staring, but I didn’t care anymore. I was two seconds away from putting this man through the wall.
“You fucking harass my girlfriend,” I snarl. “You try to intimidate my friends. You’re not a real debt collector. Who the hell are you?”
He shoved me back, and he had a surprising amount of strength for someone who looked scrawny. “Do you have an office?”
I didn’t trust him. “We can step out onto the porch,” I said. “Or go out back. You pick.”
“Out back,” he growled.
I released him, shoving him through the lobby. He walked ahead of me, and I used the moment to pull up the big group chat we had now. It’d grown from our original group—now with Levi, Madi, Nick, and Matthew. Four people we’d been missing from our lives all along.
Myfamily.Maybe everyone didn’t have the Whynot name, but they were Whynots. Even Nick. Especially Nick.
But instead of texting them, I directly texted Mateo. Everyone could be mad at me later, but I couldn’t have them all swarming this guy.
Me
Found Phil. Taking him out back of Whynot Stay. Can you film us?
Mateo
