Page 33 of Finding a Melody
A shiver went down my body at the feel of his warm breath against my skin. Goose bumps rose on my arms and I wanted to lean into him, to search out more of this feeling bubbling inside of my stomach. Instead I just turned to him and smiled.
“No, because I know she wouldn’t have given you the time of day.”
“Oh burn!” Paxon said, laughing. He was sitting behind me so he definitely heard what I said.
Toby pretended to be shot in the heart and fell backward onto a pile of pillows.
I nudged him with my foot. “I want ice-cream,” I said.
“Then go get it,” he replied, still lying down.
“But you’re closer,” I said.
He grunted before rolling to his stomach and pushing himself up onto his feet without any effort.
“You’re lucky you’re so cute,” he grumbled before disappearing into the kitchen.
Seth moved up next to me, his shoulder brushing mine.
He rested his hand on my thigh and short-circuited my thought process.
“So we’re good?” he asked.
I thought about it. About the pain I felt when I realized they all knew about my secrets. The shame. And I thought about the trouble they got themselves in with the school and even their parents.
And I understood they did it because they cared.
I nodded. “We’re good.”
Bryan nudged me from the other side. “You need to choose,” he said.
“Oh shoot.” I fumbled around with the controller before finally choosing a random option, not having much time to even know what they were.
Bryan’s phone rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket, frowning at the screen, his brows furrowing.
“Shit,” he said before getting to his feet and answering. “Yeah, Mom?”
I stared after him as he disappeared into the foyer, and a moment later I heard the front door open and close.
The other boys were staring after him too and the expressions on their faces made me concerned. I didn’t know much about Bryan’s family. Just that he was the only child and he came from money.
Toby came back in, handing me a bowl of ice cream with peanut butter swirls in it before claiming the spot Bryan had vacated. I smiled my thanks as I took it and shoved a bite into my mouth. He snatched away the controller, but I didn’t say anything, focusing on my ice cream, the yummy chocolate brownie bits in it, and wondering if Bryan was okay.
“He’s fine,” Seth said, noticing my worry.
“Who is?” Toby asked.
“Bryan. His mother called.”
Toby rolled his eyes. “He’ll be fine,” he said. “The school probably finally got ahold of them about the suspension. They’ll give him an earful for a bit and then be done with it.”
I felt like there was more to it, but we focused on the game again.
A few minutes later, Bryan came back into the room, not looking happy at all. He settled down next to Seth and eyed me for a moment before staring at the screen.
“Everything okay?” I asked.
“Yes,” he replied and that was it.