33. Reese

I was hoping to get in on tossing the ball around, but when I step outside, it’s like I’ve wandered into the middle of some sort of tableau. Josh is standing off to the side, his hands on his hips, that trademark worried look on his face.

Cody and Mitch are hovering near Skyler, who looks downright pissed. He looks around, realizing he’s in the spotlight, and his cheeks flush red. “I’m good.”

But his tone suggests otherwise. It suggests that he’s irritated.

Embarrassed.

Snagging his glasses from a pile of leaves, he climbs to his feet and stomps up the sidewalk.

He barely makes eye contact with me as he brushes past, letting the screen door slap shut behind him. Cody winces, glancing over at Mitch, who’s rubbing the back of his neck. “I swear I didn’t see it.”

“You couldn’t have.”

Cody slaps his arm.

Josh closes the distance, looming over me. “Why don’t you go help him?”

Skyler barely looked at me when he went past. I highly doubt he wants me chasing after him. I shove my hands into the pockets of my zip-up. “Why me?”

“Because you are literally the only one that could get near him right now. You know how he gets.”

I do know how he gets. He has a tendency to peel off from the group when he’s going through a rough patch. Josh crosses his arms, giving me the best silent-guilt trip known to man.

With a gusty sigh, I shrug. “Fine.”

I’m torn as I step back into the foyer. It takes my eyes a second to adjust from the bright sunlight to the cool, dim living room. Skyler’s nowhere to be seen. Part of me wants to run after him, make sure he’s okay. The other part isn’t so sure I’m the one he wants to see. From the way he’s been ignoring me, it’s almost like something is off.

Padding into the kitchen, I glance around. Erin looks up from the cinnamon rolls she’s pulling out of the oven.

“Skyler come through here?”

She shakes her head. “Not unless he’s very sneaky.”

“Okay, thanks.”

I step back into the hall and make my way upstairs. If he didn’t go straight to the kitchen, he probably went upstairs to gain as much distance as possible.

Sure enough, when I peek into the hall bath, I find him standing by the sink, trying to look at the cut on the back of his head. He catches sight of me in the mirror’s reflection. The anger in his dark eyes eases and he even manages a lopsided grin. “Can’t take me anywhere.”

“Such an attention hog, Skyler.”

I smile, easing into the small bathroom. “Sit.”

With a sigh, he flips the lid shut on the toilet and sits. This puts his eyes right at chest level, which would probably be more exciting if I wasn’t wearing an oversized hoodie. My thighs press against the outside of his leg as I gently comb through his hair. I find the bump in question, a shallow cut slices across it. “It’s not too deep. Won’t need stitches or anything.”

“Well, that’s something I guess.”

Getting a washcloth wet with warm water, I turn back, trying to read his expression. “Are we good?”

I start carefully dabbing blood out of his hair.

His eyebrows briefly crease together. “What? Yeah, of course. Why?”

“I don’t know.”

My voice has a playful lilt to it. “Maybe because you’ve been ignoring me?”

“Ignoring you? Did you want me to sit on Mitch’s lap, too?”

“I wasn’t sitting on his lap.”

I pause, scowling at him.

“Close enough.”

He scowls back.

“Is that jealously I detect, Skyler?”

His hands slip up the backs of my thighs and he tugs me closer. “Not in the least.”

“So, you wouldn’t mind if I dated Mitch?”

His hands sail up over my butt. “Would you mind if I started dating Parker?”

I try to picture him with my sister, and jealousy surges through me. “Ew. No.”

“No, as in, you don’t mind?”

I toss the washcloth aside. “No, as in, don’t even think about it.”

“Okay.”

He grins, pulling me onto his lap so that I’m straddling him. “Same goes for Mitch.”

“It wouldn’t have been an issue if somebody hadn’t been ignoring me.”

His hand slips under my hoodie and traces up my spine. “This again.”

He ducks his head, brushing his lips along the column of my neck. “I was trying to keep it on the low.”

“Because you’re ashamed?”

His head pops up, and he waits until I meet his gaze. “No. Not even close. Why would you even think that?”

I pull my gaze away, focusing on the way his dark hair curls by his ear. “I don’t know.”

“Babe.”

He says that one word in a throaty, deep way that vibrates right through my chest. “The only family in this county who is nosier than mine is yours. And we happen to be in a house full of nosy, well-intentioned family members. Unless you want to explain the finer details of our arrangement…”

“God, no.”

He chuckles, pressing his lips to the top of my head. “Then you’ll have to forgive me if I try to avoid drawing attention to the two of us.”

His thumb traces the line of my jaw. “They wouldn’t understand, Reese. You know that.”

He’s one hundred percent right about that. In the past, that might have sparked doubt in me. Intellectually, I can recognize that the agreement Skyler and I have is going to wind up hurting someone. Maybe both of us. But the idea of cutting out now, before we see it through, is too painful to even consider.

Skyler ducks his head, lips hovering over mine so that I feel the soft brush of his breath feathering over my skin. Scooting closer on his lap, I press my mouth against his and part my lips for him. He groans quietly. I think I sigh, too.

Whatever this is, it’s too good to give up.

Not yet.