It Could Be More | ✔

21. I'm Comfortable

What did I agree to?

After Corey left and I arranged my polish in a pleasing rainbow order on my newly installed shelves, it hit me that I had agreed to be in a secret relationship. I agreed to lie to everyone's face while sneaking around with Corey. I agreed to lie to my brother.

Corey wasn't allowed to ask life altering questions within five minutes of kissing me. Make it an hour, just to be safe.

If Gray found out...

No. I couldn't think about that. How could he find out? He was miles away. All Corey and I had to do was keep a low profile. No one else could know because Gray knew everyone. Anyone could tell him they saw me with Corey and everything would've been over.

I didn't know what a secret boyfriend looked like. I barely knew what a regular boyfriend looked liked. Luckily, Corey and I had a few days to work it out before the holiday.

So far, having a secret boyfriend looked a lot like baking cookies. I'd promised Liselle that'd I'd come over to update her website and taste test her cookies the day of the art show.

Only a tiny part of me hoped Corey would be there. It had been almost twenty-four hours since I saw him last. But he was away on a job with his dad and grandpa. He sent me a before photo of the backyard they were working on--over grown grass and shrubbery with a concrete walkway that looked like a tripping hazard. I was excited to see the after.

Liselle put me to work immediately. She pulled out about ten new cozy designs that I had to take photos of. Each one a different vibrant color or pattern. After an hour of taking pictures and editing them with the million photo editing apps I had installed on my phone, I couldn't ignore the smell of baked goods anymore.

Corey's mom was in the kitchen, the counters covered with mixing bowls, measuring cups, and all the raw ingredients for baking. She pulled a cookie sheet from the oven as I settled in at the kitchen table.

"You're just in time," she said, setting the tray on the burners." I need you to tell me which one is the best. I'm trying to decide between the s'mores and brownie for my next book club meeting."

Both cookies sounded amazing. My mouth watered just looking at them. Liselle used a spatula to scoop one of each onto a napkin for me. They were still really hot from the oven, but I didn't care. A scorched tongue was a small price to pay.

Before I could decide which cookie to start with, Liselle asked, "You messing around with my son?"

I died several times within the span of a second. "W-what?"

She gave me a look that I translated into, "I know you heard me. Don't play dumb".

The woman laughed, grabbing two glasses from the cabinet and filling them with milk. I used that time to figure out what to tell her. Was she on the list of people who couldn't know about me secretly dating Corey? She already knew, though. Lying to her would've been pointless. Would she mention it to Gray?

"That boy came in here yesterday all happy-go-lucky like he won the lottery."

He did? I felt myself start to grin and clamped my teeth down on my bottom lip to stop it.

"Since he's too young to gamble, I figured there must be another reason."

I glanced down at my napkin of cookies. How did I reply to that? How'd she know it was me? Has he talked to her about me?

"I wasn't trying to embarrass you. I'm just nosy. Corey tells me a lot, unless a girl is involved."

So, he doesn't talk about me. Then... "How did you know?"