My eyes snapped to Zane, understanding passing between us. He was wary about how quickly things were moving with me and Harleigh, and I didn’t blame him. He was first and foremost my best friend. But I also knew he’d welcome her back into the fold without question. Because she’d always been mine. And therefore, she’d always been his too.
“Harleigh trusts him, that’s good enough for me,” I said, pushing down all the reservations I had.
Zane snorted, seeing straight through me. “We’ll assume he’s friendly… for now.”
“You guys want pizza?” the guy in question called.
“Hell yes.” Kye bounced over to them, unaffected by Miller’s big, excessive house.
It wasn’t as big as Harleigh’s old man’s place, but it was still impressive to three kids who had been dragged up in The Row.
“Where did you say your parents are again?” I asked him, moving over to the pizza.
Harleigh joined me, wrapping her arm around my waist and laying her head on my arm.
“Hungry, B?” I asked her, aware of Miller watching us.
“No, but you should eat.”
“Oh yeah?” My brow lifted, innuendo dripping from my words.
Her cheeks flushed, eyes widening with surprise and something I wanted to believe was lust, too.
“Gross,” Chloe muttered, shouldering past us to get to the pizza. “Thanks for this,” she said to Nate.
“No problem. As for my parents, they’re out of town with my brother until tomorrow night.”
An idea started formulating in my head. “You cool with us hanging out here tonight?”
“Nix,” Harleigh said, tugging at my hoodie.
I dipped my head and brought my mouth to her ear. “It’s not like I can bring you back to The Row or you can bring me home to daddy dearest.” She went rigid at the mention of her father. “We can hang out here tonight, figure out a plan…”
I needed this. I needed tonight with her. One night before shit undoubtedly hit the fan.
She pulled back to look me in the eye, searching my face for what, I didn’t know. Her gaze flicked over to Nate, and I fucking hated that he was somehow involved in this. But I wasn’t letting my stubbornness prevent me from taking advantage of his hospitality.
“You guys in?” I asked everyone else.
“Sounds good to me,” Celeste said. “Mom and Dad are out of town for the night anyway.”
“What about Max?” Harleigh asked.
“Max will be off doing whatever Max does. It’s cool. I’ll tell him we’re stopping over at Miles’s house. Right, babe?” She glanced at Mulligan and he gave her a nervous smile.
“Sure.”
“Sounds good to me.” Miller shrugged. “It isn’t like I usually have anyone to hang out with when they’re away. It’s kinda neat to have company for once.” Miller grabbed another slice of pizza and headed for the couch.
“What the fuck?” Zane caught my eye, and I shrugged, glancing back at Miller.
He wasn’t looking at us though. He was staring off at nothing. But Chloe joined him, whispering something to him that made him smile.
“Oh fuck no,” Kye muttered.
“Good luck with that, bro.” I chuckled.
“Why do I feel like I’m missing something?” Harleigh pinched my side, and I dropped a kiss on her head.