Page 61 of The Chad Next Door
For the next hour or so, we either kiss like we’re not sitting on the porch in full view of any kids who may still be out trick-or-treating, or we sit beside each other and talk. There’s nothing I like more than talking to Chad, and everything about our conversation feels easy. We talk about Todd; Chad fills in the details of Todd’s embezzlement as much as he can while I tell him what I learned about him being Link and Zelda’s dad. And we talk about the money that my grandparents have given to the kids. I mention my own account, which contains its own little fortune and was news to me when Phoebe told me about it two days ago, and Chad shocks me into silence when he tells me how much he has saved up over the years. It suddenly makes sense why he could afford two houses and doesn’t need to work.
We talk about the future without putting things into any certain terms. I think we’re both still a little on edge, and saying anything definitive out loud feels ominous.
Houston is the first to leave, his pretty (and apparently questionable) date in tow, and he looks at me with interest when they hit the porch. It’s a little strange, seeing him in person after seeing him on TV more than once—especially because he’s still wearing that tutu, which is now splattered with food—but he looks so much like Chad that it somehow makes him feel more real. He may be attractive, but he’s got nothing on his older brother.
“Is my house still a disaster?” Chad asks.
Houston gets a cheeky little grin on his face as he glances at the closed door. “You taught us too well. I’m pretty sure it’s cleaner than when we started.”
“Good.”
His eyes flick over to me again, taking me in with keen eyes. His strength may be in athletics—hello, giant muscles on display—but I have a feeling Houston is just as smart as his brother. “Are you going to introduce us?”
I want to smack Chad for smirking the way he does. He’s going to have way too much fun with this, but I know he won’t change his mind on keeping me to himself tonight. “Nope.”
I’m tempted to introducemyself, but then Chad squeezes my hand. Grinning, I cuddle in closer and accept my fate to remain anonymous until he’s ready to learn how to share.
Houston, on the other hand, doesn’t like the idea of me remaining nameless, and I can tell he wants to argue as he looks between Chad and me. But the blonde girl with him nudges him a little. I recognize the look in her eyes, and even if Chad thinks there’s something sketchy about her, she is clearly mad about Houston. (Probably why her costume tonight is a baseball uniform.) She may not be what I would have pictured at his side, but her girl-next-door look fits really well with the larger-than-life athlete she clings to.
“Well, we’re headed out,” Houston says with a shrug. “Are you going back to Laketown?”
That’s something that wedidn’ttalk about, and yet Chad looks at me with a sparkle in his eyes. I have a feeling he has something brewing in that head of his, though I have no idea what it might be. Honestly, I don’t care where I am as long as the kids are happy and Chad is with me. But where we live fits inside that “definitive” sphere that feels so precarious right now.
Still, I can almost hear his thoughts as he searches for my own.What do you think?
I bite my lip before I start laughing.I’m not having this conversation in front of your brother, I try to tell him, though I highly doubt that’s the message I conveyed because Chad is twisting his mouth in such a way that I can’t think about anything except kissing him.
“We’ll see,” he says, which is the best answer either of us can give right now. Then he turns to Houston’s date. “It was nice to meet you, Darcy Paxton.”
Oh, there’s definitely something there, and though Houston doesn’t seem to notice, Darcy does. It’s small, but her expression shifts into something slightly fearful, and I know Chad notices because he tenses beneath me. It’s all so subtle, but I have nothing to do right now but watch, and I’m suddenly deeply interested in Houston’s dating life in a way I shouldn’t be.
“See you around,” Houston says, and then they’re gone, climbing into a big charcoal truck and driving off into the darkness.
I sit up. “What was that?”
Chad is already pulling out his phone. “She’s lying to him. I don’t know what about, but it could be dangerous.”
“You think she’s trying to take advantage of Houston’s status or something? His money? He’s rich, right?”
Pausing whatever he’s looking up on his phone, Chad looks at me out of the corner of his eye. “You’re not his type,” he says.
I roll my eyes. “Just do your thing, Bigfoot. I only have eyes for you.”
“Is it weird that I like it better when you call me old man?” He shudders before resuming his search. “I can’t believe I just said that.”
Ten minutes later, during which I do my best to distract him but am ultimately unsuccessful—I give him points for staying focused even when I nibble on his earlobe—Chad growls a little and glares at his phone.
I look at his screen, but it’s just a bunch of words that I am too lazy to read through. “What did you find?”
“She’s not who she says she is.”
“Her name isn’t Darcy Paxton?”
“No, it is, but…” He seems more confused than anything now. “I can’t decide if this is a bad thing or not, honestly.”
“Are you being vague on purpose?”
“Yes.”
