“Dakota’s room,” Chasm agrees, looking up at the ceiling as he shoves his tie into the pocket of his slacks. “The hedge maze at school. Also, the handicapped bathroom at school.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Parrish growls out, climbing onto the bed and then looking over at me. “Get in here with me.” He pauses again and then looks up at my face. “Did they tell you they were both virgins beforehand? Even Chasm. All his whore talk is just a game.”
“Go to hell, Parrish,” Chasm snaps at him, flipping his friend off with both hands. Parrish actually chuckles at that which is a good sign. The chuckles stop abruptly as Chas strips off his jacket and dress shirt, revealing his inked arms and chest. He kicks around the blankets on the floor, making a nest beside me.
On the other side of the bed, Maxx strips off his own bow tie, jacket, and shirt, turning around to grab some folded blankets off the top of the desk. I can see his angel wing tattoos in glorious detail.
My eyes turn back to Parrish.
He stares at me.
Maxx flicks off the lights.
My eyes go immediately to the ceiling, to the glow-in-the-dark stars plastered across it. They glow faintly and pleasantly from above as we settle into the blankets. Parrish does not start off back-to-back with me as he said.
Instead, he curls his body around mine and tucks me close.
It feels so damn good that I don’t even care if we get caught.
“Start from the beginning, Pear-Pear,” Maxx says, and Parrish sighs, his breath warm against my ear.
“Well,” he begins running his hand up my side and kneading my breast gently through my top. I bite my lip to keep quiet. “Dakota and I had sex—about five times in a row—and then she went back to her room. After that, I laid down in here, and then … I don’t remember anything until I woke up in the wine cellar. Not a goddamn thing.”
We talk as long as we can before we hear Tess coming. Parrish and I frantically turn away from each other, putting our backs together.
She makes an annoyed sound when she finds the door is closed, and then I hear her footsteps as she pauses at the end of the bed. Whatever she thinks of seeing me under the covers with Parrish, she says nothing, retreating back to her room.
As soon as she’s gone, we start all over again. Maxx kicks the door closed from his spot on the floor, Parrish turns back to cuddle me, and we keep going.
He tenses up at the stories of Chasm and me, Maxx and me. He goes stone-still when he hears about the incidents at school. He’s disturbingly stiff and silent when he learns about his bio mom, Caroline. But his hands never stop playing across my body, touching me, kneading, caressing. I don’t mind. Actually, I love it a little too much maybe.
We talk well past the sunrise—even if it’s impossible to see past the fancy automatic shade that Parrish has over his window. When we actually fall asleep, I’m not sure, but Parrish is more or less caught up, and so are we.
He doesn’t know anything we don’t. In fact, all he knows is that a masked man was the one orchestrating everything. He wasn’t even aware that it was Amin Volli—he doesn’t have any classes with the guy—until we told him.
Underneath the covers, Parrish and I reach back and clasp each other’s hands, clinging to one another in secret.
When I finally do crack my tired lids the next day, I can see the clock on Parrish’s far wall (it’s just a basic, battery-powered thing with a dragon on its face, nothing that Justin could use against us).
It’s nearly four in the afternoon. Holy shit. I turn over, and then startle when I see that Tess is sitting on the bed staring at us.
She smiles at me, so I guess everything is okay.
“My two missing babies,” she says softly, and my heart stutters. Please don’t say that. Don’t refer to us like that. “You kids are my heart,” she tells me, just as Parrish sits up slightly and notices his mother at the foot of the bed.
“Don’t be creepy, Mom,” he mumbles, so sleep-tousled and cute that I could scream. I still can’t believe he’s actually here; it doesn’t feel real. “What are you doing?”
“Your brothers and sisters really want to see you. I know you need your sleep, but Maxx made breakfast. You should come down and eat.” Tess leans over to peer down at Chasm on the other side of the bed. “Time to get up, sleepyhead,” she says, more cheerful than I’ve ever heard her.
She stands up and pads out the door, her hair mussed, her glasses on, her quirky writer persona in full force.
