I pulled it open to find him holding two shopping bags. "Seriously?"
"Well, I told you I was hungry," I said.
"Baby, this isn’t hungry, this is a week’s worth of groceries for a Mormon family."
"Oh, stop," I admonished. "Just get in here."
He walked inside and set the bags on the bed. "I couldn’t find any of your fancy crackers, so you get Ritz."
"Ritz is fine." I peered into one of the bags. "Was there wine?"
"Yeah. Maisie stocked up." He faced . "But you’re not supposed to be drinking."
"My dad needs to take a chill pill."
"You know, if it wasn’t wine, I could say it’s mine. Everyone knows I don’t drink that shit."
"Oh, shit." I bit my lip. "That’s actually a really good idea."
He pulled out a bottle of tequila. "Good thing I thought ahead."
I clapped my hands. "This is why you’re my favorite."
He slid his hand around my waist. "That’s not why I’m your favorite."
"Okay, maybe not." I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him quickly. "But it’s one of the reasons."
He grinned.
"What did Gloria the Whoria want?" I asked.
"What is your deal with her?" he asked. "She’s nice."
"She’s a cunt unless you have a dick."
He frowned. "Seriously?"
"Seriously. I an, she’s nice to you because she wants to be an old lady and wants to fuck you. She’s nice to Maisie because if she’s not, she’s out. She’s nice to the other attached won as well, but to , Daisy, Tillie... not so much."
Cash sighed. "I’ll watch out. See what I see."
"You won’t see shit," I deduced. "She’s too smart for that."
"Well, if she says or does sothing, let know."
I hugged him. "I might."
He kissed gently. "What are we doin’ here, Teagan?"
"What do you an?"
"Two days ago, you bitched about being behind in tortes or so shit and needed to study. But you’re here with , not that I’m complaining, or anything, to be clear... I’m just sayin’, don’t you need to study?"
I wrinkled my nose and stepped back. "Way to kill the mood, buddy."
"What did you ask to do, Teagan?"
"Not lecture ."
He crossed his arms. "Not that."
I shrugged. "I don’t rember," I lied.
"You asked to keep you focused."
"Did I?" I settled a hand on my hip and let out a quiet hum. "Weird. That doesn’t sound like at all."
He shook his head. "Look, your education is up to you, baby. But I’m here if you need to help."
I sighed. "I know. I appreciate it. I just kinda hate it."
"You’re not tied to bein’ an attorney, Teagan. Talk to your dad. Do sothing else."
I couldn’t stop an inelegant snort. "My mother’s a New York Tis Bestselling Author a hundred tis over, my dad’s one of the country’s best attorneys. My siblings are all rock stars in their chosen careers, Grayson’s probably going to do sothing fantastic. If I don’t do well, I’ll be seen as a failure."
He frowned. "Do you really think anyone’ll think that?"
"I don’t know, but the deal is we can live at ho rent-free while we go to school. Otherwise, we have to pay rent or move out."
"Sa deal we had, what’s your point?"
"I don’t want to move out. And I don’t have the money to pay rent yet."
"Teagan, take a beat."
I let out a quiet huff. "You’re not getting it."
"I am getting it. What you’re not getting is that you can talk to your parents about switching majors. It doesn’t have to be law, does it?"
"I just don’t know what I want to do."
"So?"
I threw my hands in the air in frustration. "So... I’m the only one who doesn’t know what they want to do, Cash."
"Baby, that’s okay. You don’t have to have it all figured out."
"Says the man whose whole life has been mapped out from the mont he was born," I grumbled.
"What’s that supposed to an?"
"You’ve just always been... well... you. You know what you want, you do what you want, and no one tells you otherwise."
"Newsflash, baby, you’re the female version of . Well, as far as the rest of the world is concerned."
"What’s that supposed to an?"
"Which part? The fact the world thinks you’re just like or the real truth that you’re the polar opposite?"
"I’m not the polar opposite."
"Close enough." He smiled. "You’re Teagan the Tenderhearted Turtle. You have a hard outer shell, but your underbelly’s soft as a baby’s ass."
I let out a quiet snort. "Is that really how you see ?"
"Abso-fucking-lutely."
I bit my lip as warm fuzzies ford in my stomach. "Sotis I feel like you and Daisy are the only ones who get ."
"Maybe we’re the only two you show your real self to."
"Maybe we’re the only two to whom you show your real self," I mimicked, correcting his grammar in a sing-song voice.
Cash laughed, taking my hand, and tugging to him. "Talk to your parents, Turtle."
"I’ll think about it." I sighed, sliding my hands up his back and burying my face in his chest. "Now, shut up and pour a shot of that plausible deniability."
With one last squeeze, he released and opened the bottle of tequila.
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