His phone lit up. It had been sitting on top of the table the entire time, and I glanced down in a daze from the most intimate kiss I'd ever gotten. What distracted me wasn't at all that he'd gotten a text message from his mom, but the fact that the background was a picture of me he'd taken at breakfast a few days ago when I had shoved two pieces of napkin up my nostrils because I had a runny nose.

There wasn't a trace of embarrassment or fear in his eyes when our eyes met.

* * *

"So what's going on with you and your boyfriend?" Eli asked me right before he shoved a forkful of eggs into his mouth during breakfast the next morning.

I made a face in the direction of my plate before shooting a glance upward to find Gordo’s eyes on me, a smirk on his face.

"Mason?" I asked, going back to my food.

Eli made a gagging noise, elbowing me hard in the ribs. "I'm not gonna go into details on how disturbing it is that I say ‘your boyfriend’ and you automatically think of fucking Mase."

"He's always calling me his wife, or telling people I don't know that we're getting married," I replied, elbowing him back as hard as he got me. It was partially the truth… but mostly, I didn’t want to talk about the man who had been kissing my shoulder hours ago.

"I love Mase, but it'll be a sunny day in my asshole before you and him get together," he mumbled.

I snorted, biting into my biscuit. "Who the heck else would you be talking about?" I asked, but I knew. Oh, I knew damn well he was referring to Sacha.

Freaking Gordo snickered from across the table before putting his hands up in surrender when I glared at him. "I didn’t say anything."

"Sacha, Flabby. Sacha. Your boyfriend. Your snuggle bug." Eliza finally answered.

Suddenly the half-eaten biscuit on my plate needed to be eaten immediately. I shoved the entire piece into my mouth to avoid the conversation my brother was trying to edge into. I'd had talks about boys with Eli in the past, and they never ended—or started—well. "There's nothing going on between us. We're just friends."

Because we were.

Eli made a noise that sounded like “hmmph” deep in his throat. It was incredulous and disbelieving. Then he asked the question to prove it, his attention back on his band mate. "Gordo, do you think I'm blind?"

Gordo shook his head.

"Gaby, do you think I'm blind?" he asked.

"Not blind, just dumb.” I smiled.

He shot me a frown. A moment later, he threw his arm over my shoulders and started shoving his plate away with his free hand. "Flabby Gaby, that kid is in love with you."

In love.

With me?

I leaned forward and tried to sniff his breath. “Are you still drunk?”

But my brother kept talking before I could keep going. "Anyone with eyes and ears knows that guy thinks you shit out Lucky Charms."

Gordo and I burst out laughing.

"Is that a good thing?" I asked him.

Eliza shoved my face away with his palm, ignoring my commentary again. "And I think that you love him, too."

The noise that came out of my mouth sounded like a hybrid “moo” and squawk at the same time. "I—,” I slammed my mouth shut before opening it again with a sputter. “What? We haven't even—we haven't even—”

That didn’t help the situation any because Eli threw his head back and laughed from deep within his throat. That huge, bellowing laugh that could cause an earthquake. "Gaby, remember when you swore you were in love with Reiner Kulti? But you'd never met him? If he would've shown up at our door, you would've sold your soul to the devil to be with him."