Three pairs of eyes locked onto me.
"But," I added, stabbing another piece of food "I also told him I'd never tutored an adult child before."
There was a beat of silence.
Then Phoenix practically collapsed over the table. "Holland!"
Jamie pointed at me, scandalized. "You did not actually say that."
"I did." I shrugged, allowing myself a small, satisfied smile.. "I really wanted to smack him in the head."
That only made them laugh harder.
"Adult child?" Soren wheezed, pressing a hand to his stomach. "I'd have to disappear forever if someone said that to me. Like, move to another continent. Change my name. Start a new life as a hermit."
"The secondhand embarrassment alone would kill me," Jamie added, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes. "I'd simply expire on the spot. Cease to exist."
"But honestly?" Phoenix grinned, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "He deserved it. That kind of behavior needs to be called out. And you called it out with style."
