Liam rolled his eyes. Any girl who complained that Beckett spent too much time with his “bros” was clingy.
“Right. So, not sorry?”
“Exactly. I’m planning to come down tomorrow to party with you and Liam.”
“Did you tell your grandfather or Liam that yet?”
“Nah, figured they won’t mind. But I wanted to be sure you were free.”
Coury looked at Liam and raised his eyebrows.
Not that Liam would get a say, but he shrugged. It wasn’t a great time for his brother to visit, but he also didn’t want to say no.
“Well, check with them first. If they’re cool, that’d be great.”
“Like they’d say no.”
Slider came out and barked twice. Everyone froze as Pop waved the small dog over.
“You outside?” Beckett asked.
“Um, yeah. Check with your family and call me back.”
“Sounds great. See you tomorrow.”
Coury hung up and turned to Liam. “You could say no.”
“Like that will stop him.” They both turned to Pop.
He shook his head. “Oh no. I’m not going to tell Beckett he can’t visit because you two don’t want him to know you’re together.”
“Shit.” Liam didn’t want Beckett to screw things up. “We can’t tell him.”
Coury stared at the ground. “That feels wrong.”
Mostly, Liam agreed. Mostly. Beckett would rail that no one listened to him, stomp about trying to convince them he was right, and ruin their weekend.
“We will,” Liam said. “Just not tomorrow.”
Pushing Slider toward the door, Pop rolled his eyes. “This is going to be fun to watch. You two are so not subtle.”
Fuck.
Chapter Nineteen
Coury
The table in Pop’s kitchen felt small and close. He barely tasted his food; it was good, like everything Pop served, but he was so stressed his tastebuds went on strike. Keeping his relationship with Liam a secret put an uncomfortable distance between him and Beckett. It robbed them of the spontaneity that made their friendship so special.
If Liam hadn’t been so adamant about not telling him right away, Coury would have insisted.
He got it. Beckett dominated a room just by being there. Liam didn’t want that intensity focused on him, especially if his older brother tried to talk him out of dating Coury. But sitting across from Liam and trying to pretend they were just sort of friends stole his appetite.
Pop, being himself, didn’t help.
“If I’d known that once Liam moved in, I’d see so much of you two, I’d have asked him in September.”
“Nah. It would’ve been just you and Liam,” Beckett said with a mouthful of pasta. “Coury didn’t need a tutor last semester, and Rayna and I had just started dating.”
