All the Little Secrets

CHAPTER 26. NIGHTLIGHT

We walk to the back of the mansion and settle on the porch swing together. He looks nervous.

"What's up, PJ?"

He sighs. "I saw you."

My heart stops. "What're you talking about?"

"At the beach... I saw you with Liam."

"What do you think you saw?"

"I saw enough to know what was going on. I was there with Laney and Byron." Oh god. "We were drinking on the beach -"

"You were drinking?!"

"So what! You did when you were my age."

"Not really, PJ!"

"Avery, I saw you with Liam!"

We both fall quiet.

"Did they see us together?"

"No. I made sure of it."

I look at my brother, and for the first time, I no longer see my little brother. Parker looks back at me, older, more mature, and I suddenly really miss him.

"What're you gonna do about it?"

"Nothing," he says, quietly. "I'm not one to judge, believe me."

"What does that mean?"

"Nothing. Your secret is safe with me."

We have a moment of standing there, staring at one another before we do something we haven't done in a while - we hug, and it isn't until Liam walks up to us that we pull away.

"Your mom wants to know if you're hungry?"

I shake my head, and Parker fakes a yawn. "I'll let her know we're good."

I ruffle his hair as he groans, fixing it as he heads into the mansion. It makes me laugh.

"Wow," Liam breathes.

"What?"

"Your laugh. It gets me every time."

I want to kiss him, to take him in my arms right here in the backyard, damn my mother and William and the Bolvaks... but instead, I take out my phone and send him a quick text.

See you in a couple of hours?

I walk past him, letting my free hand reach for his to lightly stroke it. My phone dings as I walk into the mansion.

Hurry up... I'll leave the door unlocked for you.

I float up the stairs to my room, counting the seconds to be with Liam once again.

Returning back to school from Spring Break is hard in many ways: Seth's on a hiatus with his dad and sister and won't be back until mid-April, something to do with Seth's grandma in San Francisco. This puts our investigation on hold as Cage tries not to draw too much attention from his parents.

Cage and I have to uphold our fake relationship, which is difficult to do when I'm sneaking in empty hallways and bathrooms for moments with Liam. Liam refuses to be around Cage and me when we have to put on our show, but it allows for me to have time with Cage since I haven't been alone with him since the Hamptons.

The start of April also brings upon end-of-year testing and the reality of the SATs coming in May. So many nights are spent in the living room studying the SATs with Liam, often ending in tickle fights and late-night hours wrapped around each other when all are asleep.

One night, as I laid in Liam's arms in the poolhouse, he whispered, "I want to marry you someday."

I propped myself up on my elbow as I smiled at him. "Oh yeah?"