that meant Sophia and I wouldn’t have to sneak around any longer. But then there was the issue of Sophia lying to everyone, including her sorority sisters, to protect Brody and me.
“For as long as we need to?” I offered as more of a suggestion than an actual answer.
She sighed heavily, probably because the solution wasn’t a great one. But unfortunately, it was the only one. “’Kay,” she agreed. “We’ll keep it a secret for as long as we need to.”
I couldn’t resist rolling onto her, kissing her, feeling her squirm beneath me. “I like having you all to myself anyway,” I said, but a knock at the door interrupted us. “Ignore it.”
Both of us tried, we really did. But when the knocking continued, Sophia wiggled out from underneath me.
“I’ll get it. Don’t go anywhere.”
I looked down at my erection, wishing it was getting the attention it deserved and hoping it would as soon as Sophia got rid of whatever demonic being had interrupted us. I expected her to return quickly after dismissing whoever was at the door.
What I did not expect was to hear her say, “Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?”
If there was ever a sentence that could kill a boner, that was it.
S O P H I A
I hadn’t talked to either of my parents in a few weeks, and now here they were, standing at my—well, Brody’s—door.
“Hi, Sophia. Can we come in?” My mom pushed past me before I could answer.
“Sure. It’s good to see you guys,” I lied.
I was scared shitless. A visit from them right now was akin to the FBI showing up to investigate a human trafficking ring I’d been running out of the apartment.
I hoped like hell they wouldn’t find Drew in Brody’s bed, because that involved one of two possible confessions: Drew was impersonating Brody, or Drew was a guy I’m sleeping with. Both were equally terrifying.
“It’s nice to see you too,” my dad said, bringing me in for a hug. My mom followed, and I noticed how ill at ease they both seemed. Nervous, even. Maybe the FBI was after them, and they’d come here to hide out.
My mom walked toward the small hallway that led to the bedroom, and I felt my heart jump out of my chest. Thankfully, she didn’t leave the living room.
“Is Brody here?”
I hoped I wasn’t silent for too long, but it was hard to get a sense of time when I had various possible answers and explanations running through my head. This was like one of those Choose Your Own Adventure books, only in this story, none of the endings were happy.
“No,” I said because that seemed like the most logical answer. If I said he was here, they’d clearly want to see him. But what if they went snooping around because Brody had been ignoring them—which I’m sure he had—and they found Drew? I’d have no choice but to introduce him as my boyfriend.
“Do you know where he is?” my dad asked. “It’s a little early for Brody to be up and out of the house.”
“I think he’s at work.”
My mom’s eyes widened. “Brody has a job?”
Of course not.
“Yeah. He works at the pizza place down the street.” Why was I such a fucking moron? They’d just decide to go visit him there.
“It’s nine in the morning,” my dad pointed out.
“Oh, um, I’m not sure, then. He’s probably around campus somewhere. Maybe he didn’t come home last night. He could be at a friend’s or something.” That sounded more like Brody.
“We know what’s going on, Sophia.”
If I thought my heart was beating fast before, the pace of it now made me wonder if I should call 9-1-1 to report my heart attack before it became too late to save me.
“You do?”
They didn’t exactly seem mad about it, which was definitely unexpected. Maybe they knew Brody would fuck up eventually. Or maybe that was just because they were talking to me. I definitely had something to do with covering for Brody’s absence, but I was only an accomplice. Hopefully my parents would save their real rage for him.
“Social media is a modern-day truth serum,” my mom said with a sigh that seemed more coated in disappointment than anger.
I found myself feeling bitter about her reaction. She’d been madder when she’d found out I was running for president and hadn’t told her. Brody always got off so easy. The moron must’ve posted a picture of himself in Europe while he was drunk or something.
“I