Sending a wink to Whitney, I said, “Hello, I’m Tessa, and I’ll be your waitress this morning. Are you ready to order?”
The guys grinned at me, amusement bright in each of their gazes.
“It’s nice to meet you, Tessa,” Parker teased, playing along. He leaned forward onto an elbow with his cheek resting against his palm.
His eyes were somber today, the blue-green more pastel, and it caught me off guard. I was used to the happy Parker, not this sad-looking one.
“Are you on the menu?” he cheesed, dragging my thoughts away from his subdued mood. But even though he was being lighthearted, the heaviness weighing down his full lips and the corners of his eyes told me everything he didn’t say.
Deciding to ask him later what was plaguing his thoughts, I rolled my eyes at his lame pickup line. “No, sorry. I like my fingers and toes intact, thank you.”
The shade of his eyes darkened yet was still muted and became like a cyan sea at nightfall. The look he sent in my direction made my thighs clench uncomfortably, especially with the unhappy expressions on everyone’s faces. Everyone but Whitney. She didn’t have a clue as to what was happening with our odd group. “Too bad,” he murmured, tapping at the side of his glass of water.
I gulped as Oliver smacked Parker loudly with a menu. “Hey, you vanilla bean! We’re sitting right here, you know?” His words were playful, but there was an honest bite to them he couldn’t hide.
Parker shrugged, relaxing back in his seat. “Like you lot weren’t thinking the same exact thing.”
I grimaced at his bitter tone. Studying the group once again, I took note of their tense shoulders, pinched lips, and dodging gazes.
Something must have happened between them. It didn’t take a genius to guess what they were fighting about.
No one said anything to contradict Parker, and I knew my face had turned fifty shades of red.
“Maybe I’ll just switch sweets out for Tessa,” Kai mused, closing his menu on the table and grinning cheekily. There was a challenge in his voice as he stared around at the table. “She’s better than dessert.”
Christian smirked, his warm eyes gazing up at me through the lashes framing them. Out of all of them, he appeared the least perturbed. “And that’s why I already had a taste of my dessert before breakfast.”
I choked on whatever I had planned to say, unprepared for his admission in front of everyone. The others looked back and forth between us, their gazes hooded and easy to distinguish. Angry. Frustrated. Jealous.
Whitney, thankfully, still sat oblivious to what was going on. Sam, though… She gazed around our group in open concern and with reason, too. None of us knew what we were doing here. But based off the tension between everyone, we needed to figure out how to fix things and fast.
I still knew so little about these men, and even though I enjoyed their company and wanted to learn everything about them, I didn’t need them in my life. Whitney had pointed out how lonely she thought I was, and though her words were correct, I wasn’t going to pause everything for a guy. Or in this case, guys.
If they left now, I knew my heart would hurt, but it wouldn’t be broken.
“Okay, that’s enough. I think we’ve teased poor Tessa enough for the moment.” Ace’s voice was more rigid than usual, bordering on irritated, and it caused me to shift my feet back and forth. “Also, we have guests.”
Sheepish looks went around the table.
“Um, our special for the week is strawberry-peach scones,” I blurted out randomly, before snapping my mouth shut quickly. I mentally groaned at myself as several guys looked at me in confusion. Stupid brain-to-mouth filter.
Kai and Oliver grinned in delight, and Hunter didn’t even bother to look at them as he spoke up.
“No, Ollie. You two have had enough sugar to give you diabetes.” Hunter’s voice had deepened. “In fact, I think we should get you checked out just to be safe.”
Staring out the window now, he watched the cars and people on the sidewalk pass by. I didn’t think he was really paying attention to them, though, by the way his jaw ticked. My guess was his mind was elsewhere. The crease was back between his brows, and I wanted to reach forward and smooth it away.
Oliver grumbled. “Just because you’re dieting doesn’t mean we all have to.”
Hunter huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s not a diet. It’s a lifestyle.”
“A lifestyle that makes you angry as Funfetti.” Oliver sent me a dramatic wink. “Then, I guess I’ll have the tomato-and-avocado omelette.”
I rolled my eyes, bit my lip, then wrote down strawberry-peach scones anyway. I’d just have Arnie use the multigrain pancake mix. Hopefully, that would satisfy Hunter and Oliver.
Turning to Ace to take his order next, I noticed his attention currently fixed on my phone sticking haphazardly out of my pocket.
His mouth dipped down into a frown. “What happened to your phone?”
Retrieving it, I held it up closer to my face for better examination. I ran my thumb over the crack that crisscrossed across my screen before the phone was snatched out of my hands.
Ace held it, a frown shadowing his face again. “Don’t do that, or you’ll cut yourself.” He examined my screen for a moment, twisting my phone around. “This is no good. We’ll need to get you a new phone.”
Scowling, I shook my head because I knew I couldn’t possibly afford another phone at the moment. I could barely afford to eat, let alone fix the screen. Before I could argue though, Oliver spoke up.
“Thank cookie dough.” Oliver slouched back into the green leather of the booth. He ran his fingers through his hair, revealing the side of his shaved head and the piercings in his ears. His eyes glanced at my phone in distaste. “I was going to suggest we get you a new phone anyway. It’s ancient.”
“It has personality,” I muttered, tapping my notepad with the butt of my pen, waiting to take their orders. “So, what can I get you guys?”
As if realizing they were irritating me, Ace returned my phone and the rest of them quickly scanned the menu for something to eat. Once they’d made their decisions, I went around the table and wrote down carefully what each of them wanted. But as I did so, I couldn’t help but notice something.
Whitney was following Oliver’s instructions on how to fold a flower from the paper napkins, and the more I watched them, the more concerned I became. This entire time I had been so worried about hurting myself or the guys, but I had forgotten about someone far more precious. Studying her now, curled up against Hunter’s side and beaming at Oliver like he had all the answers to the universe, I worried she might get too attached.
I didn’t know what their plans were now that their performance was over. Would they stay in town or travel somewhere else for their tour? My heart clenched, tugging painfully at the thought, but I shoved the feeling away. I refused to get attached, but Whitney… She already appeared attached.
“Tessa?” a voice asked, stealing me gently from my thoughts.
My eyes slid over to Parker as I realized he’d been trying to gain my attention.
The others watched me with worried gazes, probably reading my distressed expression, but I decided to pretend I was fine. Now wasn’t the time to ask them about the future. I would do that once I wasn’t working and could actually sit down and talk to them.
Clicking my pen shut, I slipped my notebook into my apron and walked away, calling over my shoulder, “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need me.”
Muffled noises came from the booth once I reached the kitchen and handed the orders to Arnie. He didn’t say anything as he read my scribbles but began pulling out the ingredients for the food.
“Tessa.”
I spun around, surprised to find Hunter standing behind me. “Hunter?”
He grabbed my hand, pulling me close to him. A scowl had formed on his face.
Vaguely, I heard Arnie muttering behind us about customers not being allowed back here, but I ignored him.
Hunter’s attention solely remained on me, his earth-and-rain eyes filled with concern.
“We need to talk.”
I glanced around, realizing we’d attracted the attention of Brooke as well as Arnie. She eyed Hunter’s hand around mine while Arnie kept muttering about Hunter being back in the kitchen.
Focusing again on Hunter, I tried to be quiet enough that the others couldn’t hear us. “Can we talk once I’m off my shift?”
His emotions battled clearly on his face. After a long pause, he nodded. “Okay.”
When he let go of my hand, I instantly missed the warmth from it against mine.
“Come back with us after your shift, and we’ll talk about it there. Don’t run away.” He left me in the kitchen to apologize to Arnie, who still muttered as he went about flipping pancakes.
Brooke’s mouth pursed in a tight frown, but she didn’t say anything. Honestly, I didn’t know why she seemed so upset. Wasn’t it a good thing I’d finally made some friends? Or at least something along those lines.
When she finally met my eyes, her expression shifted. Her frown shifted to a smile, but something else still clouded her eyes. It was vaguely familiar to me, but it wasn’t until I left to help a few customers who’d walked in that I identified it.
My eyes sought out Brooke as I seated the new group at a booth near where the guys sat. I kept trying to see if I could detect the jealousy again when I caught her eye, but each time she appeared normal.
Shaking my head, I gathered the group’s drink orders and ignored the sense I was missing something important. I’d most likely misunderstood what I saw.
I gave a quick glance at the guys’ table only to discover Ace missing.
Kai typed harshly on his phone, his brown gaze squinting as he concentrated on his message. Oliver peeked over Kai’s shoulder, reading what he typed into his phone. Parker gazed out the window, a thoughtful expression on his face.
Whitney sat contentedly, styling Hunter’s hair, covering his head in tiny braids. He simply sat there, letting her play Barbie with his hair while he chatted with Christian.
My ears vaguely picked up a couple words from their conversation, but they didn’t make sense out of sequence.
I was turning to escape back to the kitchen when fingers feathered down my arm, ripping a shiver through me as I peered up into a blue gaze.
Ace stood beside me, his stormy eyes brewing as they sought mine. He moved to pass me—but not before his lips brushed against my ear. “We need to talk about Whitney.”
I watched him head back to the booth, taking his seat again next to Kai.
He wanted to talk about Whitney? Had they found out about her condition?
He leaned forward and whispered in Kai’s ear. They both glanced up at me then, and I gulped when I realized I stood there staring. I turned on my heel and rushed to the kitchen, gathering the drinks for the table I was supposed to be attending.
For the rest of my shift, the guys sat in the booth, ignoring the occasional glares from Brooke and Arnie. Sam had left to run some errands and told me to call her if I needed anything, but I assured her we would be fine. Whitney had fetched her backpack and was now teaching the guys about fractions; they were unenthused.
Every now and again, a random girl would come up to their table and ask for an autograph, but for the most part, the day passed uneventfully. Once the clock ticked one in the afternoon, I hung up the spare apron and made my way to their table.
Oliver grabbed my hand in his the moment I was within reach, winking at me as he pulled me out of the café ahead of the others. Glancing back, I saw a variety of emotions running through the others’ eyes.
Whitney rode on Hunter’s back all the way to the van. Random baby braids spotted his hair, but he didn’t bother unplaiting them.
Hopping into the black SUV Oliver had steered me toward, I accepted the front passenger seat. The others climbed in the back, but I avoided all of their eyes. I knew we needed to discuss things, and the heady tension sat in the air.
I couldn’t put it off any longer.
Christian started the engine and tapped for a second on his phone before placing it in the cup holder of the car.
“Argh, ye scallywags!” the voice rang out, and I grinned, relaxing a bit from Christian’s navigation app. “Turn yer sails to port!”
Oliver groaned from the back seat. “Can we use my GPS instead, please?” he asked, and Christian grimaced.
“No,” Hunter stated firmly, his tone stern and unyielding. My curiosity piqued as to why Hunter had said no like that. Maybe he really enjoyed pirates?
Twisting in my seat, I peeked over at Oliver. He was pouting at Hunter but turned his pouty face on me when he saw he had my attention. “Please?”
I bit my lip as Hunter met my eyes. “Don’t do it.”
Now I was too curious. I winked at Oliver. “Let’s let Oliver have a turn.”
Everyone else groaned in the car while Oliver chuckled with glee. He instantly pulled up his navigation and put in our coordinates. I sat back in my seat, smiling. I’d made him so happy.
“You stupid motherfuckers! Move your asses to the fucking left or go fuck yourselves!” an unfamiliar voice boomed, and I realized a terrifying second later it was Oliver’s GPS.
My mouth fell open, and my eyes widened as I peered back at Oliver again. Hunter had placed his hands over Whitney’s ears, and she glanced around the car in bewilderment.
The mischievous grin on Oliver’s face said it all. “Priceless.”
Chapter 23
I was still in shock by the time we reached their place, though I’d put a stop to the GPS quickly.
Oliver’s GPS was quite expressive.
We parked the car in the driveway, and the beginnings of nerves settled like pinpricks in my stomach. I was going to have to ask them about our relationship, or whatever it was called, and, if I was correct that they’d found out, explain Whitney’s condition.
Hunter opened my door for me, his eyes glancing down every so often at his shirt that I still wore. I sent him a fairly pathetic smile and followed him toward the house. Car doors snapped shut as the rest of the group got out of the car, but I sped up my walking as if that would help me escape my problems. A warm hand intertwined with mine, and I stared down into Whitney’s sweet face.
We stepped inside without a word. The guys could probably sense my nervousness and were trying to give me time to think. Oliver and Kai whispered together as the doors closed, but I shut them out, too lost in my own thoughts to pay attention to them.
Now that we were here, what was I supposed to do? Was I supposed to start the conversation? Also, I didn’t necessarily want Whitney around to hear what we discussed.
I’d never been the best public speaker, and here I was, about to tell six guys I was crushing on them all. Not only would Whitney have a glee-fest, but I would never be able to live it down. No, I wanted to tell her myself anyway. She should know what’s going on, but she should hear it personally. They all should have, but unfortunately, the guys didn’t have that luxury right now.
As confused as I was, I would have to say I couldn’t be with just one of them because each of their hearts called to mine. And plus, who was to say any of them would actually want to be with me anyway? It was a large possibility none of them would want to stay around long enough to let me figure out what was wrong with me.
Just because you found your soul mate, it didn’t mean you had to be with them. Life didn’t become perfect just because a man came into your life. No. Love, no matter how much you connected, would still take lots of hard work and dedication.
But then there was everything going on with Whitney. How could I tell them she was dying and there was nothing I could do about it? That I’d let her crawl her way into their hearts when it could break them?
I sighed. Christian peered down at me, a curious glint in his brown eyes, but he didn’t ask. It was probably written all over my face exactly what I was thinkin
g.
We all congregated in the living room. It was in complete chaos with chip bags and soda cans strewn about as if a small tornado had torn through the room. The TV had been left on the news channel, though the broadcasters’ voices had been muted. Fresh fruit sat in a bowl on the center coffee table. The sun filtered through the blinds and shone on the bowl in brilliant slashes.
Whipping off his leather jacket, Kai tossed it on the couch on the far side of the living room and bounded for the kitchen to swipe a soda from the fridge. A light bounce filled his steps, but upon studying him as I filed farther inside, I noted the hunch of his shoulders and how the palms of his hands now rubbed anxiously over his jeans. His mien had changed drastically since last night, all of guys’ had, and the dread from Ace’s and Hunter’s words nudged me once more.
Because now that we were all together, I knew they had figured it out. There was a grimness hanging in the air like a storm hovering over the sea, waiting just above the horizon and filling the breeze with thundered threats.
“Tessa, are you all right?” Ace asked, and I peeked up into his eyes.
With a weary shrug, I tried to smile. “I’m fine. Just a little sleepy.”
“We didn’t get our nap.” Whitney flopped down onto the nearest couch. Her eyes drooped, and her chin tucked down against her chest.
“You’re right.” I turned to the guys, knowing this was the perfect excuse to have her somewhere else for this conversation. “Can she take a nap somewhere?”
“She can use my room.” Christian scooped up Whitney. She didn’t even resist as he carried her off into the house.
“Can I do anything for you?” Ace guided me to a spot on one of the couches.
I took a deep breath, knowing I needed to get my emotions under control so I could talk to these guys. “I’m okay. Thank you, Ace.”
Ace and I looked over to where Oliver sat on the counter next to Kai, Oliver’s green shirt hanging off one shoulder. Hunter leaned against the wall by a small writing desk, his hazel eyes scowling at the ground at his feet. Parker made himself comfortable on the couch, and once Christian returned, he joined him, resting one of his arms along the back of the couch behind Parker’s head.
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