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When he winks, I relax into my chair. It was a good night. Probably the only time a date didn’t end in sex.

“You didn’t have her suck you off in a driveway.” Caden arches his eyebrow at Luke.

“What can I say?” Luke grins. “My girl likes what my girl likes.”

I’m so glad my dress is sleeveless because the heat in here is almost unbearable. At least I don’t have to worry about other tables overhearing my guys. A different server comes out from the back carrying a tray. The other server follows him, carrying a stand for it.

She sets it up and he lowers the tray that has six salads on it. Efficiently, they put the plates in front of us before taking the tray and stand back to the kitchen.

“Another benefit to this is no listening devices.” Luke lifts his glass to me. “To an evening that will be memorable in all the good ways.”

I raise my glass and clink it against Nico’s and Jack’s. Caden and Eli tap my glass next. Across from me, Luke lifts his glass and tips it toward me, even though we’re too far away to actually touch. I do the same and then take a tentative sip.

The light effervescence and taste of alcohol dance across my tongue. It’s slightly sweet at least. Though I don’t have a lot of experience with champagne. I arch an eyebrow at Caden, and he winks.

For a second, I hesitate. I’m pretty much a lightweight when it comes to alcohol, but one glass won’t hurt me, especially since I’ll be eating.

I definitely want to remain sharp for tonight.

“What do we need to discuss?” Eli asks. “Because we won’t be getting our kitten naked until later.”

I kind of miss our webcam sessions. Eli’s eyes sparkle as he watches me. The thought of later tonight with the five of them after everything else is settled floods my system with anticipation.

“College applications?” Nico sets his champagne glass to the side and drinks his water. “Harper and I have worked on some of the essays after school this week.”

“We should tour our top three colleges and towns.” Eli takes a bite of his salad.

“We have a top three?” I draw in a breath. The number of colleges I added was more than three.

“Most are in the same area.” Luke leans forward and steeples his fingers against his lips. “We want to make sure if some of us get into a top tier, we’ll all still be able to be in the same town, even if it isn’t at the same university.”

That makes sense. Caden spoke about living in a condo or house, just the six of us. But how does that actually work in the real world? It’s great in fantasyland. Of course, in his fantasyland, I have ten to fifteen kids too. So hopefully most of it is just that... fantasy.

“How is this going to work? Aren’t freshmen required to live in the dorms at most colleges?” I take another sip of champagne. It’s actually really good. I could see enjoying a bottle while we play later. When it’s safe to let loose.

“There are always exceptions.” Caden stands and takes his jacket off to drape on the chair of the table behind him. When he sits, he smirks. “I’ll buy us a place, and if we have to pay for dorms too, we can do that. We just won’t stay there.”

“It seems wasteful.” I shrug. To pay all that money for housing and pay for an apartment for all of us too? I can’t imagine having access to that kind of wealth. Yes, I know Caden didn’t even flinch at buying me a whole new wardrobe or renting out this restaurant for us tonight. I’m sure it’s within his means to own multiple apartments if he wanted, in any city.

But it still feels wrong. I never wanted for anything growing up, but there wasn’t an excess of anything either. Yes, the extravagant gift here and there, but overall, my mom’s and my lives are what I consider normal.

The life Caden is used to isn’t something I feel comfortable in.

“If it ensures we’re together, it’s worth it.” Caden leans his elbows on the table and he studies me carefully. His shirt is a dark red, a splotch of color amongst the other guys in black and white. “I’m not giving on this one, love. You belong to us, with us. I want you in my bed every night and in my arms every morning. We can’t always have that right now.”

Eli clears his throat, and I turn my attention to him. “The threats will die down once we eliminate the problem. You and your mom will return to your house. We’ll be back to sneaking in or seeing each other on webcam and weekends. We all want to keep you with us. And it keeps away any bitches in your dorm from getting greedy about us. Or guys wanting to hit on you.”

I open my mouth to protest about the guys wanting me.

But before I can say anything, Luke leans in. “It will be harder for us to protect you if you’re sleeping in a dorm with some stranger or possibly some girl we slighted. It’s not safe for you away from us.”

With everything that’s happened, I understand that a little too well.

“I get that.” I toy with the fork in my salad. “Trust me. I understand what people will do to get your attention. But I don’t care. I want to be with you. And yes, college would be fantastic with you guys as my roommates.”

“Roommates.” Jack chuckles. “Try to eat something, sweetheart. We’ve got to get through tonight before we worry about college.”

The conversation turns to majors and minors. Cities that might be good for us. And just places we want to go. I’ve never had the opportunity to dream big before. To think outside of my little box in the world. But now, there are places I would love to see, to live.