Page 37 of Trust Me Always

“Okay,” Chase finally whispers. “In that case, am I walking you out of here, or am I leaving you?”

My throat starts to feel tight, and I can see Alister crossing the room in my peripheral, so before he can get to me, I meet his stare, speaking to Chase. “Walk me out.”

Alister’s shoulders fall, and he shakes his head. “Cameron, don’t go.”

I offer a tight smile. “See you in class.”

I move ahead of Chase.

“Cameron.”

We both ignore him, stepping out into the hall. This time, he doesn’t follow.

Chase tethers his hand with mine, and I let him steer me tothe front corner of the house, knowing where we’re going before we get there.

He takes the keys from his pocket and opens the door leading to Mason’s studio suite, our safe spot here now that Mason mostly spends nights with Payton and the baby—not that it wasn’t our safe spot the last few years, even when the room belonged to Noah. It just happens to be empty more often than before. I drag my ass up the narrow stairwell and push myself against the wall when I reach the final door. Chase steps up, pushes it open, and freezes. But before he can tug it closed once more, I press on the frame, and it whips open with a bit of a crash, and I realize why he was going for a stealthy backpedal when I’m met with Brady’s naked back.

Oops.

He whips around and only when his torso twists do we spot the girl sitting on the counter in front of him. He scowls at first, then looks down at my shirt, Chase’s lack thereof, and steps back. He deposits the girl on her feet and smiles down at her. “Rain check?”

The giggly girl nods, unoffended, and lets out a little yelp when he swats at her booty.

As she passes us, she gives Chase a seductive grin and winks at me. “Nice catch.”

“Thanks,” I say, laughing lightly when Chase does as well.

I shrug, and we push inside.

Chase moves into the mini-hallway, and I drop down on the foldout couch that’s still made into a bed from movie night the other night and close my eyes.

When I open them, Brady is standing there with a bottle of water and Chase is pulling a fresh shirt over his head.

“I’ll come back up and check on you when things die down downstairs,” he says.

Brady kicks his shoes off, undoing his jeans and chucking them to the side. “Don’t worry about it. I’m cooked. I’ll stay.”

I raise a brow at the beast. “You were five seconds from getting yours. You sure you don’t want to go find that before she finds someone else?”

Brady smirks. “I did my duty. She’s prepped and primed. Someone will have a great time, and they’ll owe me one.”

I scoff, tugging the blankets up over myself until I’m tucked in to my neck.

“Speaking of getting some…” He raises a brow.

I look to Chase, but he shakes his head, unwilling to tell my dirt for me.

“I’ll see you guys later.”

He starts to take off, and I panic, flying up out of bed. “Oh my god, Ari!”

“Paige picked her up, and they went to get something to eat. She’s taking her back to the dorm and making sure she gets inside safely before taking off.”

I settle instantly. Of course they made sure she was good. That’s what we do.

Clearly.

Brady climbs into the bed, his body nearly too big to fit, so he’s forced to sit up. He hauls me closer so I’m half lying on him, half beside him, and starts scrolling through Netflix.

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