Page 106 of Class Clown

He shook his head with a chuckle and moved back behind Hailey, resting his hands on her shoulders as she smiled up at him and said, “He’s becoming such a marshmallow.”

“You’ve been a good influence,” I replied, launching forward to hug her close. “I’m so happy to be back.”

Nico and Hailey got in their introductions and we all made our way to the front door where Brooks had stood, observing it all in the way he often did. He did a great job of keeping us on the right side of the prison bars.

I gave him a light hug, and hooked a thumb over my shoulder at Nico who was standing close behind me. “I didn’t even kidnap this one. He came willingly.”

Brooks smiled. “What a relief.”

“He’s house-broken, and I can vouch for his good hygiene practices,” I continued.

Brooks looked over my shoulder to Nico. “That’ll be a nice change of pace.”

Meredith swatted at Brooks playfully. “I told you, perfume counts for at least one shower a week. You really need to drop it.”

Brooks grabbed her hand and tugged her into a hug, pressing a kiss to the top of her head and then sniffing it loudly. “You smell like an angel.”

She wriggled out of his hold, a telling smile on her face, as she rolled her eyes. “Let’s go. Everybody inside. Brooks has cookies, and Nico is probably ready to be grilled by all of us.”

Brooks stepped outside and gestured for all of his guests to enter his house. As Nico passed, he shook Brooks’s hand and gave him a nod.

“To be fair, I spent the last ten hours grilling him,” I called to everyone.

“And?” Aryn asked.

“He passed,” I replied. “I’ll give you a very detailed report when we’re alone. For now, we should skip that part and just eat cookies.”

My friends graciously did that, settling into the furniture in Brooks’s living space as he led Nico to the spare room. I followed along, leaning against the doorjamb as Brooks gave him a quick rundown of where things were, and handed him a house key.

“I really appreciate this, man,” Nico said to him. “I’m a stranger, and I know that.”

Brooks shrugged. “You spent a week with Meredith and impressed her. I don’t need any more recommendation than that. She’s a tough egg to crack.”

Nico nodded and dropped his things on the bed. I stepped aside to let Brooks back out to join the group.

“So, that’s everyone,” I said, coming further into the room. “You’ll have to meet Lizzie and Jackson another time.”

“It’s cool that they all showed up here. They obviously love you,” he responded with a small smile.

My throat grew lumpy and I swallowed as the truth of that ran through me. They did. And they were going to love him too, I knew it.

I knew another thing too.

Before he had a chance to see it coming, I kicked the bedroom door shut behind me and braced my hands on his chest to push him against the wall across the room.

“Ha ha,” I said. “You didn’t suspect a thing.”

His smile was slow, but it filled up his face as he chuckled. “I let my guard down.”

My hands slid down his chest and around his waist as I stepped closer. He followed suit, running his hands lightly up and down my arms before pulling me in. I tilted my face and kissed him lightly at first, before ramping it up a bit at his warm response.

Kissing Nico had only gotten better over the past weeks. He engaged with me in whatever mood I met him with. He kissed playfully, thoughtfully, and occasionally gave me peeks into some deeper emotion than I’d expected, pouring sweetness through the contact that left me feeling like the most precious thing in his life.

As the kiss progressed, I released the last of my fears. This wasn’t something silly and fun, with me in the haphazard driver’s seat. This was real and the acceptance of that brought with it an unexpected joy.

I pulled back, laying my head on his shoulder and pressing my nose under his chin. “I think you should know that I’ve decided I am in love with you,” I whispered.

His breathing was unsteady as he responded, “Thank goodness.”

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