Page 29 of Late Nights

I moved to get off him, but his hands on my waist gripped tight.

“Wait, I was just teasing,” he said in that infuriatingly sexy chuckle. “Kind of.”

“Need I remind you who won the last game?” I pointed out.

“Now that I know your cheating ways, I won’t be so easily distracted next time.”

My grin was one of happiness and anticipation. One, because there was going to be a next time. And two, because I couldn’t wait to see how else I could prove him wrong. “We’ll see about that.”

“Maybe I’ll use my own ways of distracting you.”

A shiver of pleasure raced through me, my brain already coming up with some more favorable ways he could distract me. Although, pathetically, sitting next to him was distraction enough.

“I’d like to see you try,” I challenged.

He rolled us back so that I was beneath him, and in one smooth motion stood, taking me along with him. I barely came to his shoulder.

“Done,” he said. I looked up at him now, just seeing the outline of his features as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. “Good night, Demi.”

He stepped to the side and walked past me to his bedroom, the door shutting behind him with a soft click. I instantly missed the warmth of his body against mine. If he hadn’t gotten us off the floor, I would have stayed lying with him in this hallway for the rest of the night.

A week had passed since Cannon and I had run into each other in that dark hallway. Everything and nothing had changed. We’d had no more close encounters besides when we were playing video games and the no-touching boundary lines would get blurred. He’d also taught me how to make a few breakfast items like pancakes, scrambled eggs, and waffles. It had somehow become our routine to cook in the morning and end our night on the couch, playing either Mario Kart or Call of Duty, which I had made huge strides at, I might add.

I’d also just finished my first week of hair school, and it had been amazing—liberating, even—to be working toward my own goal. Going to school all day and working at the bar four nights a week, while also fitting in studying, was a lot, but I didn’t want it any other way.

As I stood in front of the door of my childhood home working up the courage to knock, I could only hope I could convey my newfound happiness to my parents. I’d decided to drive separately from West, Halle, and Cannon, just in case I needed to make a quick exit. An escape plan was crucial in being able to come to this family dinner.

Continuing to stare at the door, I wasn’t sure I was ready to do this. I didn’t even need to knock, I could have just walked in, but after being kicked out, it didn’t feel right anymore. For the first time in my life, coming here felt foreign to me.

It had only been two weeks since I’d shown up on West and Cannon’s doorstep, but the apartment already felt more comfortable to me than this house. I’d been living in a lovely bubble. One I had a feeling would pop once I entered the house.

I pushed back my shoulders and took a deep breath, my go-to move in pulling off more confidence than I had. Lifting my hand, I lightly knocked on the door, hoping no one would hear it so I could claim no one had let me in and then leave.

The door swung open, and there stood my mom, unshed tears in her eyes.

“Demi,” she stepped forward and pulled me into a crushing hug. “We’ve missed you so much.”

I hugged her back. I’d missed her too. Guilt swept through me at having ignored her calls and texts.

“Hi, Mom.”

She pulled back, holding me by my shoulders as her gaze checked every inch of me. “Are you okay? I’ve been so worried about you.”

“I’m fine, Mom,” I sighed, but I was smiling at how she always fretted over me. No matter how old I got, she reminded me I would always be her baby.

“Has West been taking good care of you?” she asked, the serious look in her eye telling me that if I said anything but yes, she’d be giving my brother a talking to.

“Yes,” I assured her. Not that I’d actually seen very much of him. Cannon had been the one taking care of me, but I kept that to myself.

She let out a breath of relief and put her arm around me as she guided me toward the dining room. “Now, let’s get you fed.” She acted like I had been living out on the streets with no hot meals and no safe place to stay.

I couldn’t slow my steps or postpone the inevitable since my mom was pushing me forward. She wasn’t actually pushing me, but it felt like we were speed-walking toward an oncoming train and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

Turning around the corner, there sat West, Halle, and Cannon at the dining table, my eyes meeting each one of them before finally landing on my dad at the head of the table. His face was unreadable, which for some reason made me feel even worse. Maybe I had hoped to see some kind of remorse for being so sharp with me, or maybe sadness at how he’d reacted. But I should have known that Victor Vanderhall didn’t keep his emotions on his sleeve.

Juju, my mom’s dog, came rushing toward me, tail wagging and tongue lolling out of her mouth. At least someone was excited to see me.

“Hi, Juju,” I said sweetly, kneeling down and petting her for a few moments.

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