Page 23 of The Amazing Alpha Tau Fratmas Experience
I took a deep breath, and this time the words didn’t get stuck. I pushed them out with enough air behind them to launch a windsurfer, and they only wobbled a tiny bit. “I love you.”
Trey stared at me silently, and all my insecurities rushed up to the surface. But then he grinned, wide enough to make creasesappear at the corners of his eyes, set his phone down, and said, “I know, baby. And I love you.”
The relief almost knocked me flat.
Trey reached out and curled his fingers around my wrist, familiar and warm, like he’d done a hundred times before.
Because nothing had changed.
Except also, everything had. And that was fine.
As I got up and went to fetch the coffee, I fought a smile and might have lost.
Which, just this once, was also fine.
Trey and I spent the morning in bed, reading and talking. I drank my coffee. He drank half of his and left the rest to go cold. Every time he heard a noise from downstairs—a door slamming, a laugh or a shout—he twitched with the need to get up and go check, but he stayed in bed with me. Marty sent a text just before lunchtime to say that he was the last one out, and then, finally, the old house was silent.
Trey pushed the comforter back and I didn’t try to stop him this time. He dressed and headed downstairs. I padded after him, still in my robe, and watched with amusement as he tried to make it look like he wasn’t checking that the guys had cleaned up properly. He totally was, though, unless there was some other reason for him to open every drawer in the kitchen and close it again.
“Looking for something?”
He hummed and headed for the living room. I sat on the couch as his gaze raked over the walls, the floor, and finally settled on the coffee table. He lifted a corner of the tablecloth and let out a sigh.
“It’s just a table, Trey.”
“It’s over a hundred years old.”
“And now it has character.” I straightened up and tugged the tablecloth back down. “Besides, Marty says he’ll fix it.”
“That is not the reassurance you think it is.”
“No,” I agreed. “But watching him try will be entertaining. And he did do a good job of Fratmas.”
Trey smiled. “Yeah, he did.” He scanned the room again, nodding to himself, and then drew a breath. “Okay, I’d better finish packing.”
I stood, my stomach fluttering unpleasantly. “Okay. But come here first.” I held out my hand.
He raised his eyebrows, still smiling, and let me reel him in.
Kissing Trey was something I did every day, but it always felt like new. Today, knowing I wouldn’t see him for almost a month made it bittersweet. I tried to commit every detail to my memory—his scent, the pressure of his mouth, the slide of his tongue against mine—as though I was a prisoner about to embark on a life sentence who would never get to experience this again. I closed my eyes and leaned into the way his fingers dragged through my hair, and he hummed in approval.
We deepened the kiss until it could have gone either way, and then Trey pulled back with a small regretful laugh. “I have to pack, baby.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. I guess I know where your priorities lie, don’t I?”
He smacked me on the ass as he left the room, and I pretended to be outraged.
I hung around in the living room for a while, breathing in the quiet and the calm but thinking fondly of the night before, when everything had been bright and loud and messy. It gave me an ache in my chest that could have almost been mistaken for a genuine emotion when I thought of how a bunch of the guys hadput their plans on hold, or changed them and come back to the house, just so they could celebrate Christmas with me.
Or Fratmas.
Whatever it was called, it felt nicer than I knew how to deal with. I almost wished Marty had left some of the mess behind, just as a reminder while I was staying here alone. But then I’d be stuck cleaning up, so on balance, maybe not.
“Hey, Scout! Get up here!” Trey called.
I went upstairs to see what the problem was. Although maybe there was no problem. Maybe he’d finished packing and wanted to fool around before he left, which I could definitely get on board with.
But when I walked into the bedroom, I was greeted by the sight of Trey holding two of my hoodies. “You want me to pack one or both of these?” he asked.
