The pizza quickly disappears and the sun falls behind the hills, letting us know that we should probably start getting ready for the night. Mom and Trish disappear while the girls and I head out to Brooke’s car to grab their bags of clothes with whatever dresses and makeup they’ve shoved into it, and head back up to the room that used to be mine.
I don’t know what the hell the guys are doing as we get ready while music flies through the whole upstairs area, but I do know that whatever it is, it’s loud.
The girls laugh as hair is straightened or curled. Makeup is spread over the whole vanity in my bathroom and dresses and heels are thrown all over the room in our indecision of what to wear.
Once I’m ready, I walk out of my old room and go downstairs to find the boys. I stop by the kitchen and search through the large pantry for a little something to snack on when a large body comes up behind me and pushes me into the pantry with his hands on my waist.
The doors close behind us, throwing us into darkness as his lips come down on mine, masking my giggles. Nate picks me up and sits me on one of the shelves as my legs wrap around his waist, holding him close.
He kisses me deeply as his hands travel up my thighs, putting stars behind my eyes. I’ll never get enough of this.
I reach for his belt buckle and start undoing it, trying to keep quiet as possible as he slides his hands up over my ass and slips his fingers into the waistband of my underwear. He pulls the lacey fabric down over my ass and begins sliding them down my thighs.
I get him free and without wasting a second, I guide him towards my entrance. His body freezes as noise on the opposite side of the pantry catches our attention. He grins against my lips before pushing forward. I feel his tip, grazing my skin and use my legs to pull him in closer.
He’s so close and the fact that he’s not inside me right now is killing me and he knows it. His grin widens but when he hears his mother’s voice, it instantly starts killing the mood. “Yeah,” she sighs as we hear the sound of glass bottles clinking against the marble countertop. “I found out about a year ago.”
“Oh, Trish,” my mother’s saddened voice says, killing my vibe like a bucket of cold water being poured over my head. “I’m so sorry. You should have said something.”
“No,” Trish replies as Nate’s head cocks to the side while trying to work out what they’re referring to. “If I talked about it, it would suddenly become real. I quite enjoy living in denial.”
“Trish,” mom scolds. “Do the boys know?”
“No, I couldn’t find it within me to tell them.”
“Oh, sweetie,” mom says before I hear the sound of the fridge and a little more clinking. “I think we’ll be needing this one too.”
“Maybe a third,” Trish laughs.
“Does Caden know that you worked it out?”
“He sure does,” Trish says, making Nate’s eyebrows pull down. He looks to me with nothing but confusion in his eyes. “I couldn’t hold it in. I went apeshit on him. Trashed the house and everything.”
“And you still live with him?” mom says in disbelief.
“Of course. I couldn’t do that to the boys. They think the sun shines out of his ass. Besides, I don’t know what they’d do if they ever found out.”
There’s silence for a while and I wonder if they’ve gone. I meet Nate’s eyes again but mom’s voice has me freezing again, “How do they not suspect anything?”
“I’m a good actress,” Trish chuckles as their voices begin to fade away. “They think Monday night is date night when in reality, it’s actually therapy session night.”
“Oh, Trish,” mom chuckles before their voices completely disappear.
Nate and I stay hidden away in the pantry for a few silent moments before he reaches down and hands me my underwear. He begins putting himself back inside his pants and I reach for him. “Are you ok?”
He looks at me with a darkness behind his eyes that I haven’t seen since before things changed between us. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Nate?” I question. “I heard exactly what you just heard.”
“I know,” he snaps.
“Don’t you want to talk about it?”
He scoffs. “No, thanks,” he mutters before pushing his way out of the pantry and not sparing a glance back at me, leaving me sitting alone and wondering what the hell just happened.
I shake it off, hoping that whatever that was about is nothing, but let’s face it. Things clearly aren’t as they seem in the Ryder household. There are secrets here, secrets that the boys don’t even know and whatever they are, they’re big enough to cause issues in a marriage I’ve always thought was stronger than steel.