Page 81 of The Other Brother
My skin tingles under his fingers, and I close my eyes because I don’t want my expression to betray me. I don’t want these oversized feelings to escape in a way I can’t control.
My eyes fly open when someone pounds on the door.
“Cody.”
Shit. It’s Mel’s voice.
She hammers on the door again. “Are you in there?”
Cody’s eyes are wide, startled.
“Uh… yeah, I’m here,” he croaks.
I hear the door handle turning, and adrenaline pumps through me.
“Why is your door locked?” Mel demands, rattling the door handle.
I’m expecting Cody to freak out. But instead of worry, amusement spreads across his face.
I blink.
“Use your imagination, Mel,” he calls back.
There’s a pause. I can only imagine Mel’s face as she stands in the hallway, trying to process what that means.
“Do you have a visitor?” she asks finally.
“That would be an affirmative.”
“Well, tell your visitor they’re welcome to stay for breakfast.” I can hear the smile in her voice. Her footsteps thud away.
I’m expecting Cody to lose his shit any second now. But his expression stays strangely nonchalant.
“You want me to jump out the window?” I ask.
He looks at me for a long time. “Do you think Mel will freak out if she finds out about us?” he asks finally.
“Uh… yeah. Probably. Definitely.”
He rolls over onto his back and talks to the ceiling. “I guess the more important question is, do you care?”
“What?”
“Do you care if Mel knows?” he asks.
My pulse races. “No.”
He shrugs. “Then I don’t think you need to jump out the window.”
“You’re seriously okay with Mel knowing about us?” I clarify.
“She’s going to find out sometime,” he says. “I’m sure she’ll keep it to herself if we ask her to.”
Okaaay. I so didn’t predict this reaction. “Are you sure? Like completely sure?”
He gives a careless shrug. “After last night and this morning, I’m feeling a bit reckless.”
He leans over and kisses me. It’s a good persuasion tool.
