“I know most of you are new here,” CK says, shutting the car door behind him. “But try not to fanboy too much.”
“Yo-ho-ho.” Alex slings an arm around CK’s shoulders as we make our way up the walk as a group. “Look who’s finally getting comfortable enough to give us shit.”
“Well…if Kay is cool with you fools being here, it must mean I should be too.” CK shrugs under the weight of Alex’s arm. He’s the most reserved of the group, so it’s nice to see him coming out of his shell.
When Kay made the offer for all of us to join her family for Thanksgiving, I knew it was another way for her to prove—not that she has to—how serious she is about making us work and not running. There’s still a lot to contend with, but each way we can blend our worlds together will help that much more.
If only Liam Parker could learn to mind his own fucking business. The asshat has infested the comment section of our Instagram feeds like bedbugs.
Grayson opens the front door without knocking, all seven of us pausing at the mouth-watering scents greeting us as we step inside.
A cold nose brushes against the back of my hand, and I bend down to give Herkie a few hello scratches behind his ears, getting a face full of dog slobber in the process.
Grayson doesn’t bother to wait, rushing through the house on the hunt for his mama. It still amuses me how this almost-seven-foot giant is such a mama’s boy. By the time we follow behind, he has her lifted in one of his deep bear hugs while she squeals, “My baby!”
The open-concept layout of the downstairs makes it easy for me to search out my girl and find her laughing at something with Em and Quinn in the kitchen. I love seeing her happy and carefree like this. With her having been so busy last week with NJA, neither of us wanted to ruin the limited amount of alone time we had by discussing how things have been around campus.
When her gray eyes finally rise to mine, I can’t stop the automatic smile that blooms across my face. I only end up grinning harder when she steps out from behind the island and I take in her turkey print leggings and funny shirt.
“Hey, Skittles.” I loop my arms around her as soon as she’s within reach, pulling her in until there’s not an inch of space between us.
“Hey, Caveman.” Her arms wind around my neck and she presses her lips to mine in a kiss not suitable for mixed company.
We’re both breathing a little heavier when we pull apart, and I’m pleased to see only a thin ring of gray left around her pupils. Looks like I’m not the only one who missed their cuddle buddy last night.
Hooking my finger in the collar of her tee, I say, “Nice shirt, babe.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.” She bounces out of my hold and into the living room, not stopping until she comes to a collection of gift bags on the ottoman.
“Gifts, Short Stack?” Trav asks, moving in closer. “Isn’t that a tradition of a different holiday?”
Kay rolls her eyes, not bothered in the least by my smartass best friend. “Shut up and open your present, QB1.”
“Then what?” He gives her his panty-dropper smile and I punch him—not too hard, we have a game in a few days—in his throwing arm.
“How many times do I have to tell you to stop flirting with my girl?” I growl, not missing the way Kay’s lips twitch when I do.
“Poor Nova…” Noah moves to accept the bag held out in his direction. “Afraid of a little competition.”
“Sorry, boys.” Kay pats both we’ll-need-to-bring-in-someone-from-the-second-string-because-they-will-be-dead idiots flanking her. “Mase is in a league of his own.”
I give a playful nudge—okay, more like a shove—to make room as I reach Kay. “Have I told you how much I love you?” I ask, cupping her face and running a thumb across her lower lip. My dick stirs in my pants when her tongue peeks out and brushes the pad of my finger.
The rustling of tissue paper sounds around us, each person lost in his own private bubble until Noah’s shout of “Fuck yeah!” interrupts. Keeping Kay tucked against my side, I turn to see each of the guys holding out their very own funny Thanksgiving-themed t-shirt.
A whiff of peppermint hits my nostrils when one of Kay’s curls gets caught in my stubble as she shifts so her head falls over my biceps. “You know what this really means, right?” She pushes onto her toes, her soft curves pressing into me, her lips brushing along my jaw as she whispers the words.
I grin, one of her hands coming up to poke a finger into one of my dimples, her eyes telling me to put them away. “Does it mean you finally accepted my membership application?”
There was a reason I chose to use t-shirts in my campaign to win Kay back. When she gifts you with comical clothing, it means you are one of her people, a member of her mashed-up family.
“I can’t have you guys cheating your way in—no matter how sweet the gesture.” She jerks a chin at the disrobing men around the room, each excited to exchange their U of J football tees for their new ones. “It’s not official until I’m the one who picks them.”
Her eyes flit to the guys again before coming back to me, my grip tightening at the flash of vulnerability that washes over her beautiful features. She brushes away my concern with a shake of her head.
Needing to see the smile instead of her sadness, I place a kiss on the top of her head
