Page 107 of Midnight Muse

“You’re very welcome,” she replies, pleased. She’s having no trouble at all tonight, picking her slice back up with her free hand and taking a bite. I watch her swallow, wishing she was doing that around my cock instead.

Head, meet gutter. Now get the fuck out of it.

I clear my throat, fighting the heat that threatens to climb from my throat to my cheeks when I catch Slate, Ace, and Rory all looking at me, their eyes sparkling with amusement.

I suppose I better speak up before any of them dares to say anything about the way I was staring at Quinn.

I decide that ripping the Band-Aid off is the best way to go. It’s not so much as a planned sentence as it is me nervously blurting out what my father has done, but it gets the point across just the same.

“My father’s bought the building and is evicting all of us at the start of summer.”

I wait for the cries of outrage, the pizza slamming back into plates, the groans and glares, but nothing comes.

No one seems all that surprised by my news.

“Isn’t anyone going to say anything?” I ask, more confused than ever.

The last time I talked to the guys about this, my father was only looking into the building. It hadn’t been a confirmed notion, but maybe they’ve used all this time to wrap their heads around the idea that this might become a possibility.

I look between Ace and Slate.

Ace shrugs. “We kind of figured this was going to happen.”

“Yeah, man,” Slate chimes in. “Your dad is a total prick.”

Stupefied, I look at Rory, who ducks in her seat, squeaking. “Quinn kind of filled me in about it already.”

I look at Quinn, eyebrow raised.

She shrugs innocently. “Sorry!”

I’m pretty sure no one is expecting me to burst out laughing, which is why they all startle in their seats when I do.

“Sorry,” I gasp through my laughter. My stomach hurts and my trembling has calmed down. “I’ve been a nervous wreck all day and you all knew? This is great.”

Ace shifts in his seat like I’m scaring him. Maybe I am. Maybe I don’t know what else to do besides laugh at this utterly fucking shitty situation that’s happening all because of me.

“Knox,” Quinn starts, trying to pull her hand from mine, but I won’t let go. “It’s okay. We’re all going to be fine.”

“Nothing’s going to change except that we won’t be living next door to each other anymore,” Rory promises.

“And we have no plans of letting you go, man,” Slate says, finally having dropped his pizza to his plate. His full attention is on me, and his chocolate eyes are serious, something I haven’t seen often in one of my best friends. It’s almost as jarring as I thought my admission would be. “You’re stuck with us.”

“Stuck with you?” I ask, and I don’t like how insecure it comes out.

The sounds of my friends’ acceptance ring around the table. Each one is an assurance that has my shoulders dropping their defenses and my heart surging with happiness.

“Yeah.”

“Yup.”

“Of course!”

The only person who doesn’t answer is Quinn, and my heart races double as I turn toward her.

She’s looking up at me with so much love in her eyes it makes it hard to breathe. She’s perfect, everything about her from her annoying questions when we first met to the bottoms of her toes. I’ve spent too much time with my head up my ass when it came to her, and I’m never going to let that happen again now that I have her. I’m never going to let her go.

“Yes,” she says softly, lovingly. It’s apparent she feels the same about me. “There’s no getting rid of us because we love you, Knox. And we’ll choose you over some silly apartment building with a sketchy elevator any day.”

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