“Oh, right. You have a roommate now. When do I get to meet this random person you let live with you?”
“In the morning,” Brody says. “And he’s not random. He’s …”
I hold my breath.
“He’s Reed’s boyfriend’s brother.”
Yeah, because that doesn’t make it confusing.
“Reed Garvey? The guy you were totally obsessed with in high school and were going to marry?”
I forget I’m still holding my breath and practically choke while trying to get air into my lungs. Marry? Does Law know about that?
“Yes, that Reed, but it’s the middle of the goddamn night. Can we please talk more at a reasonable hour?”
“Missed you too,” she sings.
“I’ll get you a blanket and pillow.”
Brody appears, sneaking through the tiniest possible gap in the doorway so his sister can’t see me, and silently puts the cat on my lap.
He kisses the top of my head and moves to pull down a sheet, blanket, and pillow from his closet.
After he goes back into the living room, it takes what feels like forever for him to say goodnight to his sister, but they’re farther away now, and I can’t hear what they’re saying anymore.
I stroke Meatball’s fur, more to calm myself than her. She purrs loud and happy-like, and I cuddle her closer.
When Brody does finally come back, he climbs into bed next to me wordlessly and pulls both Meatball and me towards him. His arms go around me, and the cat squirms to get away, no doubt feeling trapped between us. She frees herself and lays her butt down on the end of the bed.
“I’m guessing you heard most of that.”
I nod against his chest.
“We’ll wait for her to go to sleep, and then you can make a break for your room.”
“She won’t hear me?”
“She sleeps like the dead—like me.”
“Family trait?”
Brody chuckles. “Must be.”
Now is not the time to bring up what I overheard, but my mouth doesn’t listen. “So … you were gonna marry Reed, huh? That’s news.”
We’re whispering and talking low so his sister can’t hear, and it makes me feel like a kid again, lying next to Law in our twin beds talking instead of sleeping.
But with Rachel’s words, I suddenly understand Law’s hesitance about Reed and Brody being friends. We knew they were exes, but marriage?
“Do you really want to have this conversation now?” Brody asks.
“Well, it’s not like I’m going to sleep.”
“So I don’t get to sleep either?” His tone is light and teasing, despite being obviously exhausted.
“You’re avoiding the subject, and that’s usually my job.”
Brody sighs. “Reed was the first guy to go anywhere near my dick. I thought it was true love.”
I snort a little too loudly and have to bury my head to quieten my laughter.
“The furthest we went were blowjobs. To a teenage Brody, I thought it meant something. Clearly it didn’t.”
“If it was teenage crap, why do you hate my brother?”
More hesitance on his part. “When Reed contacted me and told me he was moving to Brisbane, I don’t know, I … I guess all those old feelings came back? I wondered if this would be our shot at a real relationship, if he was still the same guy I knew years ago, and I had all this anticipation building around him moving here. Then he went and fell for your brother within weeks. I don’t hate Law, but I do like making him mad. Probably because his relationship with Reed threw me off kilter, so I taunt him for the fun of it.”
“Hey, we have something in common—taunting Law.”
“We have heaps in common,” Brody argues.
“Really? Like what?”
“Okay, I can’t think of anything right now, but my brain also isn’t working. My sister appeared out of nowhere, it’s the middle of the night, and my ass hurts.”
I roll and throw my leg over his waist. “Aww, poor baby. Want me to kiss it better?”
“No, Rachel will hear us.”
“And that’s bad because we’re not telling her about us?” I’m just double-checking. You know, to be sure. I’m not testing him to see if he wants to tell people about me. Nope, not at all.
“If you want me to, I’ll go right back out there now and say ‘Hey, my roommate is actually in my bed because we’re testing out this bondage thing,’ but I figured you’re the one who didn’t want to tell Law and Reed, so I assumed Rachel was a no-go as well.”
Dammit. He can’t even fail a stupid trick question. If he’d said no, he doesn’t want to tell his sister, I would’ve been disappointed. If he’d suggested we tell her, I would’ve felt like he was pressuring me. Instead, he puts it in my hands, and now I feel guilty for not telling people.
Like everything, I’m overthinking, overanalysing, and trying to find fault in a man who keeps proving he might be my perfect guy.