Page 97 of For Your Heart
“You know where the plates are?” Simon asks as he goes to the freezer.
Shrugging, I pull open doors until I find them and pull out four. He’s already cutting the cake into four pieces. It’s not a huge cake, but those are giant pieces.
“No word from Zarek yet?” he asks.
I shake my head. “No. I don’t have his number, so I can’t even call him.”
Simon nods. “I’m going to give it through the weekend. If he doesn’t come back, I’m going to campus to find him.”
There’s a moment where I picture Sammy coming to the gym and almost argue. Instead, I say, “I’ll come with you.”
He smiles at me, licking the frosting from his fingers. “Good. I think that’ll help.”
There’s only two pieces out and two spoons as he sticks the other half of the cake back into the freezer. He hands me a plate and a spoon. “Who isn’t eating any?”
Simon grins. “Come on. Go climb back in Damon’s lap.”
I follow him and he settles into Declan’s lap as I climb back into Damon’s. We situate ourselves and Damon takes the spoon from me, telling me to hold the plate. I do and he scoops a bite, offering it to me. I glance at Declan and Simon to see that Declan has both in his hands, as he’s already feeding a bite to Simon before he takes one for himself.
“Honestly, it’s probably a good thing I already knew how to feed myself before I met the twins. I’m positive I wouldn’t know how otherwise.”
Laughing, I let Damon feed me. We share the piece and then we’re relaxing on the couch. No more talking. Just being together. I’m actually really glad Simon came over. Not just because of all the things he told me but because I’m glad Declan has someone to hold him, even though he’s the one doing the holding.
We stay like that until Declan says, “He’s asleep.”
I shift to see that Simon is sound asleep, curled into Declan’s hold as Declan gently runs his fingers through his hair.
“We still don’t know where he lives,” Damon says, amused.
“You don’t?”
They shake their heads. “No. We know which condo complex, but not even the floor.”
Declan reaches into Simon’s pocket and hands Damon the phone. I watch as he easily gets in with the passcode and then scrolls through the apps until he finds the messenger.
Simon
This is Damon. Simon fell asleep. You want to come get him or we can bring him home? Or he can stay the night.
Quin
He can stay. Thanks for letting me know.
“I feel like we’re discussing custody arrangements,” Damon mutters.
“With how bitter you are toward him, that’s what it might as well be,” I say.
The twins quickly look at Simon, making sure he’s still asleep. Then meet my eyes and I flinch. “Sorry.”
Declan stands, taking Simon with him. Simon isn’t a small man, but Declan carries him as if he always has. Which I would wager a guess isn’t inaccurate.
Damon closes the phone after sending over a quick ‘you’re welcome,’ then tosses it onto the couch. He meets my eyes, moving my hair from my forehead. “Stay the night?”
I glance at the bedroom, biting my lip. “I don’t know if I should.”
“You should,” he says. “I need you to see. I need you to be here with us.”
There’s a part of me that wants to. Because I feel like maybe if I’m here, I can be a buffer between their physical contact. But there’s also a part of me that really,reallydoesn’t want to see it at all. His hand on my face, gently pulls my attention back to him, pulls me from my warring thoughts.
