Page 27 of The P*ssy Next Door
“I feel like these guys have done this before,” Willa said.
She scrambled up the guys and then stared over the top and looked back at me. “I... I don't think I can jump from here. I'm gonna break my leg and then Xan will know for sure that we've been sneaking around.”
I took a couple of steps back, took a running start, and launched myself off Isak, who grunted and swore at me. But in one big leap, I landed superhero style in Willa's backyard. Then I reached up and steadied her, my hands gripping her waist and she crawled-rolled-climbed over the fence.
“Easy there, sweetheart.” I helped her down, reluctant to let go. “You good?”
Willa nodded, her face flushed and her hair mussed. “Yeah, I think so.”
We stared at each other for a long moment, the tension crackling between us. I wanted nothing more than to pull her into my arms and pick up where we'd left off in the car.
But the flash of headlights and the sound of an engine had us springing apart, reality crashing back in.
“That's Xander's car,” Willa hissed, her eyes wide. “You need to go, now.”
I hesitated, hating the thought of leaving her to face her brother alone. “Are you sure you're okay?”
She softened, reaching up to cup my cheek. “I'm fine, Hayes. I promise. I've got years of practice handling Xander.”
I leaned into her touch for a fleeting second before stepping back. “Text me later?”
“You know I will.” With a wink and a blow of a kiss, she turned and raced toward her back door.
I watched until she disappeared inside, my heart hammering in my chest. That had been close. Too close. This whole secret relationship thing was going to be a lot harder than I'd thought.
But the memory of Willa's smile, the feel of her hand in mine, the way she fit so seamlessly into my life... it was all worth it.
We just had to be careful. More than careful.And I couldn't lose Willa. Not now, not when I was just starting to realize how much fun we were having together.
I jumped back over the fence, right into the knowing looks from my brothers.
“Sneaking around?” Isak asked, his tone disapproving. Great. My one and only little brother thought I was a dumbass. Maybe I was.
I nodded, slinking back toward the house. “For now. But I have a feeling things are about to get a lot more complicated.”
Gryff clapped me on the shoulder, but he had none of his usual smirky grins for me. “Take it from someone with experience being a twin. It is fucking hard to keep a secret from the other half. Almost impossible.”
He and Flynn shared a wise nod with each other. Isak frowned and didn't say anything more.
“I know, I know.” It was hard to keep a secret in this family too. “It wasn't my idea. But I'm still trying to woo her, so I'll take whatever I can get.”
“Woo her?” Everett joined us in the yard. “You've been reading those dating books again, haven't you?”
“Shut up. Your be-yourself advice wasn't useful. I needed a plan with actionable steps.” Now that plan needed some serious revision. I didn't remember seeing anything on secret relationships in anything I'd studied. I'd have to dig deeper though, because there were always resources available to learn anything if you knew where to look for them.
“Wait, what about the live stream? Where's Pen?” The TV still flashed in the living room, but I sure as shit hoped none of them were mic'd up for the events and subsequent conversation we'd just had.
Everett did not answer that question.
Isak waved it off. “I've got an ad running from one of our new sponsors and more in the queue if we need them. It's fine.”
How many sponsors did we have? Because I needed time to think through this problem and figure out a better solution.
And I’d start tomorrow morning. I was hitting the hardware store to buy some gate hinges and a magnetic latch to build an invisible gate between our two backyards. If we had to sneak around behind Xander's back, we were going to do it right.
COFFEE, TEA, OR ME?
WILLA