“Understatement of the year, but yes.”
I side-eye him. “And I’m guessing I have you to thank for her being here?”
He sheepishly looks down. “I mean, we needed someone here who isn’t afraid to lay into you. It was a tactical move. I made an executive decision.”
“That teaching position has really gone to your head, hasn’t it?”
“Aye,” he mock-pouts. “I resent that.”
“Sure you do, old man,” I smirk.
He stands up, pretending like he’s leaving. “I’m not going to take this abuse.”
Just as he goes to walk away, I tighten my grip on his hand and pull. He doesn’t fight it. Instead, he spins back around and falls into me, connecting our lips for the first time in weeks.
Everything in my body comes alive as his mouth moves against my own. He brings his hand up to rest it on my cheek, and I know he’s needed this just as much as I have. As he breaks the kiss, he rests his forehead on mine.
“God, I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too,” I breathe.
He goes to kiss me again, when Delaney, Knox, and Zayn come back.
“Good news,” Delaney starts, acting oblivious to what she just walked in on. “The doctor said you’re free to eat as soon as you’re hungry. So, I grabbed all your favorites.”
Knox pours out a bag onto the table and my brows furrow as I look at it all.
“Delaney, these are all your favorites.”
She crosses her arms over her chest. “Yeah, well, I’m still mad at you.”
“You and me both,” Lennon’s voice booms through the room, and all of a sudden, I have a strong urge to move to another continent.
I look at my sister. “I take it you called her?”
Her expression turns devious. “Yep.”
“You,” Lennon says to Asher pointedly. “Move.”
He mouths a sorry at me and releases my hand to get out of her way. She marches up to my side, then glances out the door before smacking me over the head. It intensifies my pounding headache but it’s nothing more than I deserve.
“Have you completely lost it? I mean, really. Do I need to knock some sense into you?”
I shy away from the loudness of her tone. “No more knocking anything please. It hurts.”
“She has a bad headache, and they can’t give her anything for it yet,” Asher explains.
Lennon turns on her heels and zeros in on Asher. “Don’t even get me started on you.” She pushes him back with a hand to his chest. “Yeah, I saw those pictures from Friday night. PR date or not, don’t be a douche. Just because you’re my teacher doesn’t mean I won’t lay your ass out.”
It’s almost comical, seeing Lennon at five foot one and a hundred pounds soaking wet threatening Asher, but it wouldn’t surprise me if she actually did it. That girl is a damn firecracker.
“I have a better idea,” I suggest. “You could hug me and tell me you’re glad I’m okay.”
She glares at me. “No.”
Instead, she walks over to the windowsill and climbs up, curling into a ball and leaning against the wall. When she refuses to look at me, it becomes clear—she knows.
COLBY SHOWS UP AN hour or so later, with flowers and chocolates, because “Asher doesn’t know how to apologize.” It earns an elbow to the stomach from his best friend, but I find it amusing. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss Colby. He’s always been one of few people who didn’t treat me like they need to tread carefully. Even now, he cracks jokes about how if I wanted a good time, I should’ve just called him. Lennon and Delaney may not see the humor in it, but it’s comforting to know he’s not looking at me any differently because of this.