Jackson rolled his eyes. Cranky much? “Okay let’s do this.”
I’d never had a relationship meeting before. Okay well, Justin and I had a meeting of sorts about our fake-hookup and I guess Eric tried as well. Was that how all relationships are? Business arrangements?
My feet bounced with nerves and I couldn’t help but feel the heat coming off Hayden’s leg. He was always so laid back and when he ran his hand down my thigh, helping me settle, I leaned into his chest and exhaled.
Oliver cleared his throat. “Although Heaven has made it clear that she doesn’t care how we act with one another in public, with the stalker pics on Fakestagram and some of the other harassment at school, I think it may be best to downplay things some.”
“When we’re at school,” Anderson clarified. Unlike Hayden, his hands were in his lap.
“Right.”
“Why?” I asked. “It’s not going to make a difference. Whoever is doing this is intent on making me look bad. I don’t care anymore.”
The guys all shared a look—one I couldn’t quite place until Oliver spoke again. “After your trip the hospital we made a decision. You’re our biggest priority. We can take a back seat publicly until you’re better and until we flush this bastard out. No one wants to give you added stress.” His eyes held mine. “None of us want to go through that again.”
“I’m fine.”
Hayden’s hand clenched mine. “You are fine, babe, we just want to keep you that way.”
It was one thing to have someone sacrifice for you. It was another to have four. My heart pounded, but not with anxiety. No, this felt different. Alive. Hopeful.
“Then how do you want to do this?” I asked.
Anderson shifted next to me. “You’ve been seen most with Jackson. At school, the party, and the library. It makes the most sense for you to date him.”
Jackson gave me a quick wink and a sly grin.
“How about I just not have any boyfriend publicly.” Again, they looked at one another, this time bursting out in laughter. Hayden kissed my temple. “What? Why is that so funny?”
“There is no fucking way we’re letting you walk around town without at least one of us having a claim on you,” Jackson replied. My stomach turned into a wave of butterflies. “If you’re with me, it makes more sense for the others to hang around with you too.”
“People need to know you’re not available,” Anderson. “And less vulnerable.”
I nodded in understanding. They were right. I didn’t need to fight off the perverts anymore. “And the rest of the time?”
“We do we,” Hayden says, nose grazing my ear. It was a play off the popular saying “You do you.” It fit us perfectly.
“Okay,” I said. “As long as everyone is okay with it.” That statement is directed at Anderson. He’s the one prone to jealousy.
He nodded his agreement and even added, “I think it’s a good idea, Heaven. For you, the rest of us will cope.”
Jackson leaned down picked up the controller, this time getting a pass from Oliver, who’d moved to turn on the television. Anderson reached for his drink on the table and a bag of chips, leaning into the end of the couch. His leg was still pressed against mine.
The video game had half of Hayden’s attention while I had the rest, his hand running absently up and down my leg. I waited for something else—something to change, but it didn’t. Anderson offered me the bag of chips. I drank from my Coke. When Jackson kicked Oliver’s ass in whatever space exploration game they were playing, he hopped up, ran over and kissed me in victory with salty lips.
And like that we eased into a group. A unique but tight group. They were no longer the Allendale Four.
We were now the Allendale Five.
*
Turns out, all three of my new secret boyfriends really liked me being their dirty little secret. There was something about fooling the whole school into thinking one thing about me and Jackson when three entirely different relationships were going on right under their noses. The hardest was Anderson, who I spent an excruciating hour with every day, but couldn’t touch. The tension just built and built. Holycrap, it built.
The simple concept of his proximity made me simmer and burn, but I soon realized it was a straight boil for Anderson. That boy was hot for me and I liked it.
Which is why, right now, I wasn’t fighting off the advances of Anderson’s mouth and hands. Spending lunch with him, but not with him, was hard. Sitting through Chemistry where I could feel the heat roll off his body was harder. Randomly running into him at the coffee shop after school? Impossible to resist. So here we were, in the back hallway, going at it.
“Jackson’s waiting,” I breathed between kisses. The front of the shop was packed with students. Any one of them could walk back here without notice. It was unbelievably hot.