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The sides of her mouth lifted, and her eyes took on a little shine whenever I said something she thought was funny or adorable, but she coughed to clear her face. “What?”

I took hold of her arms, my hands just south of her shoulders, and I leaned down to make sure we were eye level. “That was your first time. And it was with two guys. How are you doing?”

Her eyes bulged out, shocked, before she shoved me back. “You were one of the guys I was with.”

“I know. Does that mean I can’t ‘be here’ for you? I could call a friend and have them ask you?” Wait. That was a horrible idea.

“That’s absurd.” Cole’s eyes narrowed. Her cheeks were getting pink, which was so cute. “And you’re making me feel a little pathetic.”

“What? No.” Horror stabbed me. Right in the chest. “I don’t mean it like that. You have lots of friends.”

She quieted, eyeing me uneasily.

“I mean, most of them are dead, but you are hella popular among the afterlife.”

“You’re not making it better,” she hissed.

“Yeah, but you are, though. Popular among the ghosts. Unlike Lee. He’s, like, feared or whatever. He’s the outcast on that side and you’re like the prom queen. Oh dear God. I need to shut up, don’t I?” Sweat lined my upper lip. I was making this worse. “I’m just trying to be there for you and you do have people you could talk to about this, but still, I wanted to acknowledge it. It was great in my opinion. Best sex I’ve ever had. Not that I’ve had a lot of sex. I’m eighteen, but I’m not a newb—” I was definitely shutting up now.

Cole’s head was cocked all the way to the side, with her eyebrows arched to her forehead and she was giving me a look of aghast. I was really bad at this ‘being there’ thing for her.

Feeling foolish, I reached for her hand and held it up to press a kiss to her knuckles. Then I patted it. Twice. “You were amazing.”

She groaned. “Oh my God.”

“You are amazing⁠—”

She ripped her hand away from me, shoving it into Lee’s sweatshirt and walked around me. I trailed behind her, giving her a little bit of space.

I meant well, but sometimes I was a dumbass.

She got to the front door, saw Lee standing at the gate looking all tense, which was normal for him, and sighed. She turned around to me, cupped both sides of my face and squeezed. “I love you.”

My dick got hard while everything else in me softened. “I love you too⁠—”

“I’m not done.”

“Okay.” I nodded, with her hands still pressing on my cheeks. “Shutting up now.”

“As I was saying, I love you. I love Lee. I am with both of you guys, and yes, I officially lost my virginity with two guys. It’s a big deal. I’m sure I’m going to be sore, but right now I’m happy. I’m happy, okay?”

Another nod. Her hands went with me.

She leaned forward, speaking assertively, “But you and me are not buddy buddy. You are not my pal. You are not my girlfriend. My gal pal. Got it? Those types of conversations, I will have with someone else. But not you. You can ask as my boyfriend, which if you had asked in that role, would’ve come off in a very different manner. Am I right?”

“You are so right. You are always going to be right.”

“Spoken like the best boyfriend ever.”

I grinned at her, winked, and pointed at myself with my thumb. “That’s this guy. Not that guy.” My hand rotated to point at Lee with my thumb instead. And back to me. “This guy.”

She laughed, her eyes getting that little shine again. Standing on her toes, her mouth found mine, and it took everything in me not to grab her ass, lift her up, palming her very delicious butt cheeks and walk right back inside while Lee was occupied. I’d never turn down some me and Cole time.

Then he called out, “Cole.”

Everything halted because that was Lee’s serious tone. The one I was fast recognizing where something bad was happening in the world these two shared.

Well, okay then.