Page 74 of Fauxmance

Hayden muttered something under his breath, but I couldn't hold back a smile.

"That's better than cute," I said. "Nice to meet you. I'm Magnolia."

"Ooh, and she's polite, too," he said. "I like her already."

"Take it down a notch, Alvarez," Hayden said.

But Santino ignored him, coming over to the couch and sitting next to me. I had to slide closer to Hayden to make room. Not that I minded.

"Tellme something, M. Can I call you, M? Nicknames are fun," he said.

Hayden groaned while one of the other guys chuckled.

"I'm good with M," I said.

"Awesome, you can call me Uncle Titi."

"She isnotcalling you that," Hayden said.

"Okay, okay, no need to be touchy."Santino'seyes landed on me, and he smiled. "So, tell me, M. Is it serious between you and my roommate?"

Before I could answer, Elliot jumped in. "He brought her here. Didn't he? That says a lot."

"Good point," Santino said.

Ryker, who was the tallest and most muscular by far, shrugged his broad shoulders. "If she was the important thing from earlier, that could mean something, too."

Santino held out a hand to his friend. "Agreed."

"But I thought Hayden had sworn off girls."

"He did," Elliot said. "I guess that's done now."

Santino gave a sage nod. "Considering the compromising position we found them in, I'd say it is."

"You guys suck," Hayden said, but the words lacked any venom.

"We're just curious," Ryker said.

"Very curious," Santino echoed. "You brought a girl to the apartment for the first time. When we walked in, you were this close to starting a massive make-out session."

I didn't know if he was right, but part of me wished they hadn't walked in when they did.

"Too bad you interrupted us," Hayden muttered, and my cheeks went up in flames.

Santino waved that off. "Anyway, I'm waiting for an answer. Serious, not serious? What's the deal?"

Hayden sighed and looked at me. "Magnolia's my girlfriend."

"And Hayden's my boyfriend," I said.

For some reason, that made him smile.

It was a small thing, just a small lift at the corners of his lips, but I noticed.

Which meant I was paying way too much attention to his mouth.

Shaking myself, I looked to Santino and shrugged. "Does that answer your question?"

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