Page 41 of Break the Ice
“I’ve got to be useful at some point…”
“Well, I’m cooking tonight, so—” Jayden pauses when his hand brushes mine.
The warmth of his touch rushes through me, colliding with the weight of Elijah’s on the small of my back. When I glance at him, he’s watching me with a deep-set frown. Sulky lips pressed together.
“So…?” Christina croons, cutting through the silence.
“That’s that,” Jayden retorts, picking up his pace and walking ahead towards Elijah’s SUV.
Elijah’s hand presses deeper into my back, and when I look up at him, his eyes are narrowed on Jayden’s back.
I’ve never felt so guilty in all my life as when he brings his gaze to me and smiles. It’s small and closed lipped, and my first instinct is to burrow deeper into his side. To chase more of the physical closeness I crave.
Even if I can’t stop myself from stealing another glimpse of his best friend.
CHAPTER 13
JAYDEN
The apartment is only ever this lively when my family visit. Even when the guys come over, it stays reasonably chilled. Matheo is the raucous party host, and Dylan does the family friendly gatherings at his place—for obvious reasons.
Tonight, the music is louder than usual, playing the Teddy Swims vinyl Christina picked out when we were going through the record collection I’m slowly building. It’s becoming a kind of hobby like Eli with his trading.
There’s nothing as homey as reading a book with the soft crackle of the record in the background. Better than the snap and pop of a fire in my opinion. It might have been the best sound before Finley’s and Eli’s laughter filled the air.
“Why are you laughing?” Christina groans. “It’s true. I used to change my sheets whenever I left you guys alone in my dorm.”
“We never went near your bed,” Eli states from behind me where he’s watching the pine nuts on the stove while I chop some fresh sage leaves.
“No, we didn’t,” Finley echoes, her tone tinged with disappointment as she finishes counting out cutlery onto the stack of plates before heading out to the balcony to set the table.
“Could’ve told me,” Christina mutters with a shrug. “Laundry is the worst. If I could afford it, I’d pay someone to do it for me.”
“Doesn’t your dad pay for?—”
“No,” Christina says gruffly. “Not since he cut me off.”
“What? Why? How are you only telling me this now?”
This is the first time this girl has hesitated to speak in front of me. A deep crimson tinges her cheeks as she glances between Eli and me.
“He’s a crappy person,” Finley grumbles while she fetches the glasses from the cabinet I pointed out to her when she insisted on setting the table.
“Sorry,” Eli murmurs. “I didn’t realize… you went to his fundraiser a few weeks ago…”
“Yup. Governor Halliday is still my dad. He has appearances to keep, and I must stay relevant, so he doesn’t forget I exist now that his wife is pregnant...Anyway…”
The silence is so stark that the crackle of the record sounds jarring.
“I’ll do your laundry for you,” Finley says, placing the last glass down on the island counter before engulfing Christina in a hug.
“No offense, babe, but that might be weird.” Christina hugs her back—the two of them are rocking from side to side when she adds, “And I can’t afford you either, so if you’re looking for a job, I can’t give it to you.”
“You don’t need a job,” Eli says, abandoning the nuts. Christina steps back from Finley when he coaxes her to face him. “Do you want to work?”
“The devil makes work for idle hands.”
Elijah opens his mouth to reply—it’s so obvious he’s going to put his foot in it, that I step in.
