Holding On To Heaven (Allendale Four 2)

“My dad is really up in my business, too. It sucks.” Although I didn’t think he’d gone so far as to pay off Amber for dirt on me. I planned on asking her though.

“So maybe if we do this, they’ll back off?”

“Do what?”

“Hang out together. Post a few photos—”

“No!” I shouted, garnering a few looks. “Sorry, I just don’t do social media. Ever.”

“Maybe just a few sent to our fathers? Let them see we made friends? Maybe they’ll ease up.”

I eyed him skeptically. “What are your expectations? Because I’m not sleeping with you. Or kissing you.”

He blinked. “Wow. Okay. That wasn’t my intention, Heaven. I think hanging out a few times on campus, and if they come to town, we can have dinner or something.”

“No social media.”

He held up his hand. “None. I promise.”

“Okay, we can do a few things, but not a lot. I’m busy and I’m sure you are too. Next time my dad comes up we can have dinner.”

He smiled wide, relieved. “I think that’s a great idea.”

Noah held out his hand—offering it for me to shake. I’ve made deals like this before and they’ve gotten me nothing but trouble in return, yet I grasped it anyway, finding myself once again playing with fire.

17

Now that Noah and I had a plan, I knew it was time to tell the guys what was going on. The last thing I needed was for them to come across the two of us talking on campus and get protective.

It was Friday night, the day after Anderson’s record-breaking swim meet and the party with Noah, and I was stuffed into a corner booth with the guys at The Griddle, a twenty-four-seven breakfast place.

I sat in the middle, surrounded by my handsome, starving boyfriends as they inhaled plates of food. I had my own small stack of pancakes and a side of bacon, but seriously, these guys’ stomachs were bottomless pits.

Oliver groaned, dropping his fork, leaning back to rub his belly. Jackson stabbed the last piece of sausage off his teammate’s plate. Hayden shoved in eggs and bacon because he’d recently gone low carb, and Anderson just ate everything in sight.

“You want that?” he asked me, about the half of a pancake left on my plate.

“No.”

He picked it up with fingers and licked the syrup off with his tongue.

Jesus.

Invoking the son of God’s name reminded me of what I needed to tell them. “Okay, so I have something we need to talk about.”

All eyes shifted to me and I squirmed a little in my seat.

“First of all, I need you to listen and not react. Let me explain everything before you freak out.”

“Wait? I need to be prepared to freak out?” Jackson asked. “What am I freaking out about?”

“I swear on my mother’s life, I didn’t do anything,” Hayden said.

“You’re not freaking out,” I said. “That’s the whole point.”

“Let Heaven talk,” Oliver said, rolling his eyes. “Lay it on us.”

I smiled at him gratefully and took a deep, steadying breath. “You know my dad is a bit…controlling.”