EIGHTEEN | NATHAN
We pulledup in front of my house three minutes ago, and so far, she’s made no attempt to get out of the car, so we’re sitting in a semi-comfortable silence.
Her hands are gripping the straps of her bag, she’s staring into the distance, and her body is visibly rigid. I know she’s lost in her head, overthinking, so I let her stew for a little while longer, not wanting to intrude.
Another few minutes pass and her lips are still pulled into a tight line, so I reach out and brush my fingers against her cheek lightly, clearing my throat to capture her attention. I curl a strand of her hair around my finger, and she turns her head to listen to me speak. “Do you want to play house?”
“Huh?” She sounds confused, which I can’t blame her for. Faint crease lines appear beside her eyes as she shoots me a funny look. “House?”
“Like what you played as a kid.”
Her frown slowly fades, the corners of her lips tug up slightly. “And what does playing house entail? We gonna pretend to be Mom and Dad to the guys?”
“We forget about the outside world until tomorrow. I mean, if JJ calls you Mommy, I will hurt him, but other than that. What do you call it when you’re catfishing? Positive vibes only.”
“I do not catfish people! I am a positive person,” she insists, lying to both of us. She huffs, crossing her arms defiantly, but she can’t keep it up and her pretend annoyed expression softens. “Have you always been so soft? You’re not at all like I expected.”
“Yep, just how my momma raised me. If I like you, I like you. I’m an all-or-nothing person, always have been.”
A tiny shred of panic rushes through me when I consider that she might take my words the wrong way after we’ve previously talked about what she’s looking for, but thankfully she laughs.
“I would have guessed with your status on campus that you’d have dicked half of Maple Hills by now. A captain title guarantees getting laid, right?”
“I have, and yeah, it kinda does.”
I’m not sure it’s the answer she’s expecting because her eyes widen, and she just looks at me. “Oh.”
“Are you slut-shaming me, Anastasia Allen? The queen of noncommitment?” Her jaw drops, and she begins spluttering to argue back, but I don’t give her a chance, enjoying seeing her speechless. “Hooking up with people and liking people is very different. If I like someone, I want to be around them and get to know them. It’s not often I want something more with someone, so when I do, I make them a priority”
“God, so clingy,” she grumbles, cheeks flushed red. Her hand reaches over to the door handle, the other secured around her bag. “Let’s go in the house before the kids start a riot.”
It feels great when your best friends like the girl you like, but we’re barely through the front door before they spot Anastasia behind me and turn back into golden retrievers. If I wasn’t seeing it firsthand, I would never believe it. I’ve known these guys for years, and I’ve never seen them act the way they do when Stas and Sabrina are around.
Henry is the first to start. “What are you doing here? Do you want to watch a movie with us? Are you staying over?”
Winding her arm around my waist and leaning into me, she grins up at me before looking back at Henry. “Nathan kidnapped me because he wants to play house.”
“You can call me Daddy anytime, Stassie,” JJ shouts at her from the couch.
“Up.” I hip bump her gently in the direction of the stairs. “Stop being a menace, Johal. She doesn’t want you.”
JJ scoffs loudly. “I don’t believe that. Everyone wants me.”
Henry frowns as Stassie heads toward the stairs, muttering under his breath. “I don’t want you, JJ.”
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