Felicity’s mouth gaped. “What—?”
“Yeah,”—I rubbed my nape—“not my finest moment. I was driving by, saw my girl with another guy, and reacted. I’ll be groveling for a while, but at least I got to meet the two of you.”
Felicity pressed a hand to her chest. “You’re adorable, Amir. So adorable. I think I like you.”
A laugh burst out of me. “No one’s ever called me adorable.”
“Not even when he was a baby,” Zadie added. “He was born with a menacing scowl.”
I shook my head at her. “You don’t even know how right you are.”
Zadie raised her eyebrows. “Don’t you need to get going? I thought you were busy today.”
“Actually, no. Not until tonight. I have the whole day free.” I had planned on spending it studying, but that had lost its appeal the second I’d tucked Zadie under my arm and claimed her as my girl.
“Well, we were about to take a tour of campus. Zadie was going to show us where all her classes are, then I have to hit the university shop to buy some swag for my husband. I promised I’d bring him back a hat.” Felicity reached around and patted my arm. “If that doesn’t sound too boring, you are more than welcome to join us. I’m sure Eli would appreciate not spending his entire day with just two women.”
I gave Zadie’s rigid shoulders a squeeze. This girl wanted me away from her family, but I was already hooked on my role as her doting boyfriend. Now wasn’t the time to bow out, even if she poisoned my dinner tomorrow. “There’s really nothing I’d rather do.”
A few hours later, I was fully immersed in the Elks-Night family. Eli was chill as hell, and Felicity was as sweet as Zadie, but without the shyness. Although, around her mom and brother, Zadie blossomed. I got the feeling she felt truly comfortable and safe with them. Several times throughout the day, she’d be laughing, enjoying herself, then she’d catch my eye and her light would dim.
We’d be talking about that, because I didn’t like it at all. If she was giving other people her light, I wanted it too. That light should’ve been mine.
I also learned that Felicity’s husband, Max, was seriously ill with leukemia. Felicity put on a brave smile when she was explaining his treatment plan, but there was a stillness that fell over the three of them that told the truth: they were all afraid of what was to come.
Now, we were in the food court of the student union, grabbing a coffee before her mom and brother had to head out. Zadie and I were in line to order while Felicity and Eli hunted for a table.
I was being stared at. I’d caught Zadie’s eyes on me several times, always with a pensive stare.
“What?” I murmured. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
She twisted her lips. “I’m thinking you’re either a sociopath and you’ve been faking it with my family all day, or underneath all your armor, you might be a decent guy.”
“The only thing I’ve been faking is our relationship.” I slid my hand along the small of her back, dipping down into her back pocket to cup her ass. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed playing your boyfriend, though.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You feel me up whenever you want anyway.”
“Not nearly as much as I want. I should get a gold star for how much I hold back with you.”
She rolled her eyes, then made the outline of a star in the air with her pointer finger. “You get an invisible star. It’s the best I can do.”
I snatched that shit out of the air and tucked it in my pocket.
“You know what I liked about today?”
“What?” she asked.
“The way your mom and Eli looked at me because they thought I was with you. There were no expectations beyond treating you right. And when they saw me treating you right, they were all smiley and bright.” I lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know. The way I grew up, people I knew, none of us had that. So yeah, it’s been cool to get a taste of it.”
She opened her mouth, then closed it right away, turning her head.
“Nah, Zadie. You have something to contribute and I want to hear it.” With my knuckle, I hooked her under her chin and turned her head toward me again. “You have something to say?”
“Not really.” She chewed on her bottom lip, averting her eyes.
“Talk, mama.”
Huffing, her big blue eyes flicked up to mine. “I was just thinking you act like having people who support and care for you is a pipe dream, but, Amir, you’re here. You’re in this school because you’re incredibly smart and you work hard. You could have a girlfriend with a nice family if you wanted. But I don’t think you want that. If you did, all you’d have to do is snap and it would be yours.”