Book 2: Chapter 48

**Chapter 48**

"I haven't agreed to move in with you yet, you know?" I smile at him as we drive to go look at houses.

Jay was set on us moving in together even though I hadn't given him an answer. First the bakery building, now we were going to open houses to find the perfect one. Maybe he thought if I saw the house it'll sway me to want to move in with him. It instead made me feel even more queasy. It's a big step that I didn't want to think about right now.

Regardless, going house shopping wasn't something I ever thought I'd be doing. Mainly because I couldn't afford it alone. I'm still not convinced to move in together, but looking around at beautiful houses would be a nice change of pace. Who knows, it may inspire me when I do want to buy one in the future.

He snickered. "Yeah, yeah but it doesn't hurt to look." He says. "Besides, if you decide to I want you to like the house too."

I bit my lip. "You want me to like it even if I don't move in?" My questions were probably annoying him.

"Just because you don't move with me doesn't mean you won't come over, right?" He glanced at me almost panicked.

My laugh fills the car. "We would still be dating. So, I'll most likely be there a lot." I remind him.

His smile was enough to tell me he was thrilled about that. If don't make big changes it doesn't mean I'm going to break up with him. Though we live together now, moving in was a whole different ball game. It felt like that was one step away from marriage which I wasn't ready to do yet. I wanted to enjoy our time together before sealing the deal with a piece of paper. He had to understand that.

Jay drove a little further before we pulled up to the house. From the outside, it looked beautiful but my eyes were distracted by the sight of Cyrus and Ashton. Jay did not warn me about either of them being here. Ashton, I didn't care about it. It was Cyrus being here that threw me off. Seeing him privately is one thing. Seeing him with Jay around was utterly different. What was he thinking inviting him to come along?

As he parked his car, my eyes shot daggers at him. "You didn't tell me Cyrus would be here!" I yelled at him.

His shoulders shrug. "I don't see the big deal." He sighed. "We could tone down our affection for a couple of hours right?"

"I guess, but I could've invited Bradyn or something," I whined. "I'm the only girl here."

Jay laughed as we exited the car. "Oh relax, we're not that bad."

I scoffed. "Yeah, right."

Ashton and Cyrus made their way over to us as others passed by to look at the house. Cyrus didn't seem surprised to see me, but it was hard to read what he was thinking. By now, he had to be over the fact that I was staying with Jay. However, that doesn't mean he liked it. Especially with how close in his eyes we seem to have become. Little did he know we were closer than he thought. This was going to be one long day.

Cyrus aside, I was still upset that I was the only girl here. With all three of them together, I was going to be a fourth wheel. If this was going to be the case, I could've stayed home or gone over to the Hadid home. It sure would beat being here with them.

"Autumn, you made it." Ashton greeted me with a hug.

I hug him back, still pissed. "It's not like I had a choice." I merely joke.

Jay rolled his eyes. "Are you going to complain the whole time or are you going to enjoy looking at houses with me?" He smiled to ease the tension.

Not giving him a response, I walked away to go inside as Ashton laughed. "Oh boy, trouble in paradise." He cooed.

It was trouble in something for sure. I wouldn't consider this paradise though. More like a mix between paradise and hell. Jay better hope he knows what he's doing bringing us all here together like this. It's unlike him to risk Cyrus catching on to us. Unless he wanted him to. It is a lot of pressure to keep hiding it. But fuck, next time I need a warning.

Regardless, walking through the first house was nice. It was a bit much for my taste, but there were things I loved about it. Like the kitchen was to die for! It has beautiful marble countertops and an island right in the middle to go along with it. The backyard was spacious and you could do a lot with it. Other than that, the bedrooms were pretty small and the bathrooms weren't something to write home about. None of the guys seemed crazy about it either as we made our way to the next stop.

We hopped back in the car to go to more houses. The next one was quaint but did not have enough storage space. After that, everything inside the house was great but the outside was not. There was barely any backyard space let alone a driveway. House after house was a bit of a letdown until we got to the last stop.

This house was beautiful. It wasn't too big but not too small. It had a nice-sized sunroom and a beautiful backyard to match. This place only had three rooms but they were all so spacious. Especially the master bedroom that came with a balcony along with the ensuite bathroom. This was the perfect house. It was my kind of house.

Stepping onto the balcony, I marveled at the view of the city. It was gorgeous from this height. Sunbury was lovely to look at it. However, living here still seemed too much. Even with this view, I wasn't convinced about it. Jay, of course, didn't feel that way meeting me out on the balcony.

His black curls flowed in the wind, he leaned against the railing with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Today, we haven't spoken much. My frustration with him and Cyrus being here made me closed off. Mainly because I didn't know how I should act. We know to keep things relatively friendly. But how friendly is too friendly?

"Do you like the house?" He asked eager to hear my response.

My head nods. "It's gorgeous," I say.

His smile covers his face. "So now you speak to me." His brow raises.

"Jay, don't start," I warned him. "We aren't exactly alone to have this conversation."

He stands up straight. "But you've been ignoring me all day...why?"

It's not a simple answer to his question. I mean, I was partially ignoring him because he didn't tell me anything about the whole day. The other part was because I didn't want Cyrus to find out about us this way. Either way, he was going to be crushed, but he couldn't know like this. If we weren't careful, one of us would slip up and I'm positive it would have been me.

"Maybe because of anxiety, nerves. The fact that I feel bloated which is never a good sign." I list off reasons. "Other reasons that I won't say out loud for good measure."

He towers over me, his eyes soft. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the whole situation," he apologizes. "I just wanted everyone there that's closest to me...and that included you." His hand finds mine.

Warmth courses through my body as he squeezes my hand gently. "I know Jay. I'm glad I just wish you would have told me the details." I argue.

He chuckles. "Then you wouldn't have come." He was right about that. "And I couldn't have that, now could I?"

His lips connect with my knuckles while I pull my hand away. "Mmm, you could've but you didn't want to." I smile.

"For obvious reasons but I think you already know that." He steps closer to me.

My arms cross over my chest as I stare at him intently. We shouldn't have been crossing this line knowing anyone could walk in on us. The urge to resist him was hard. We were so connected that even the slightest of romantic gestures made me crave more. The more we tried to fight it, the harder it became. We couldn't keep up this charade for too long. With each passing day, we grew closer and I wanted no space between us at this very moment.

"Care to remind me? My memory has been hazy lately." I tried to egg him on to Kiss me.

Catching on to what I was doing, he smirked and contemplated what he should do next. "Don't tempt me gorgeous." He bites his lip. "You won't like the results."

Giggling, I was going to reach up to kiss him myself, but we were interrupted. Thankfully, we didn't take it too far but it was far enough. We didn't need Cyrus finding out this way. Until there was a good time to tell him I guess we were going to behave. That was the boring, safe option of course.

Cyrus came stepping out on the balcony with us. His eyes bored into me like he wanted to say something. Jay and I were both unsure of what he heard, but he seemed to act normal after staring into my soul. Maybe he was doing that because I hadn't said anything to him all day. To be fair, avoiding him felt like the safest choice. After my slip-up the other day, I didn't want him asking me questions about it. Who knows what would come out of my mouth today?

"If you don't buy this place, I will." Cyrus jokes. "It's pretty great. Did you see the basement?"

Jay laughs. "Oh yeah, ultimately bachelor pad down there." They joke together.

My eyes narrow at them. “Um, excuse me. What’s this about a bachelor pad?”

They both look at me with red cheeks before averting their gaze. To be honest, I didn’t care about that. It was simply fun to see them sweat a little. Both of them feeling the same way about me without even knowing was pretty cute. The fact that I could make them both swoon was quite thrilling. Even if it’ll get me into trouble later on.

Neither wanted to answer me, but Cyrus was the first to buck up. “Oh, you know to play video games and watch sports.” He sounded nervous. “Not to have random girls over or whatever.”

“What about me? Am I invited to this bachelor pad?” Now I’m only messing with them.

Jay saw what I was doing and didn’t take the bait. “Duh, we’re friends. The three of us.”

I hated the word friend but he wasn’t wrong. The three of us were close to one another. Individually and together. Our bond was unbreakable and could grow so much more if things worked how I wanted them to. The three of us together would be such a force. There’s no way either of them would agree to that. At least not where Cyrus is concerned. Jay went with the flow more easily.

Still, I didn’t hesitate to take both of their hands to drag them back inside. Instead of worrying about events to happen in the future, I should have been focused on what’s happening now. At any moment this was all going to come crashing down. Why not embrace it while I can?