Hidden Play (MalexMale) 《COMPLETE》

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

When I back away from the door, my heart seems to pulsate against my eardrums. Zion's words send tremors of elation through me. He doesn't just like me; he's crazy about me. A smile wider than the wall of China spreads across my lips. All this time I've wondered if I'm making any sort of impression on him...and all along he's been feeling towards me the same way I feel towards him.

Well, I'll be damned.

"Aww, Z," Callie says and I hear them both starting to get up from the bed. "You're adorable."

"Yea, yea," Zion snorts.

I quickly spin on my heels, sprinting down the hallway as quietly as my agile feet will allow. By the time I hear Zion's bedroom door squeak open, I've just managed to start descending the stairs. With a shaky breath I quickly descend, step by step, hoping I can make it to the first floor before they reach the top of the stairs.

My feet hit the plush carpet of the living room, and I give a fleeting look behind my shoulder. I breathe out a sigh of relief when I see they're nowhere in sight. Should I stay where I am, acting as if I'm just casually passing through the living room? Or should I rush to the kitchen?

Eh, the first one sounds sketchy as hell.

I dash to the spacious kitchen, Gigi's voice getting louder and louder as I approach. All three pairs of eyes move to me when I slide across the tile floor, my face probably redder than a ripe tomato. Bobby raises a curious brow, and I rush out an explanation hoping that everyone will be on my side.

"I've been here this entire time, and I haven't left the group. Got it?" I ask breathlessly.

Bobby opens his mouth to say something but snaps it closed just in time for Zion and Callie to waltz into the kitchen – hand in hand. I shouldn't feel smug that I know Zion's true intentions, especially since the way I found out about them was through eavesdropping. Still, I can't help but feel as if I have the upper hand now. Is it so wrong that I want to revel in the feelings for a bit – even if it's just for a night?

I move over to Bobby's side, leaning into his ear to whisper the summarized version of what I heard upstairs.

"Hey everyone," Callie says, giving the group a small wave.

Zion's eyes immediately fall on me, silently studying the closeness between Bobby and me. Just as I finish getting Bobby up to speed, he grins and then leans closer to my ear.

"Well how about I help speed up his confession?" Bobby whispers, and his lips brush against my earlobe.

His suggestion isn't to entice me. At least, I sure as hell hope not. My guess is Bobby wants to give Zion the impression he and I really are fooling around, simply to goad Zion into spilling the truth to me – the whole truth.

I'm not one for silly games or below-the-belt antics, but Zion was pretty perceptive with his earlier words. I am getting impatient. So while I'd prefer to just wait until Zion approaches me on his own, I'm afraid that won't happen until I start plucking out some gray hairs.

Perhaps Bobby's idea to speed up the process won't be so bad after all.

Bobby hovers close to my ear, and instead of pushing him away, I lean into his touch with an easy grin. His eyes genuinely light up when I slide my arms around his waist in an affectionate manner, despite him knowing this is all for show. Both Emma and Gigi's eyebrows shoot up with surprise and Zion glowers. Even Callie, whose face is usually drawn up into a seductive smile, looks at us with confusion.

"So keep going, Emma," Bobby urges, acting as if he's oblivious to all eyes being on us. "You were saying that you bought matching dessert dishes from France..."