to me right now.”
“Want me to go fill the bathtub so I can show you I can actually walk on water?”
She smiled a little too sweetly. “Not unless you want me to drown you in it.”
“That’s no way to talk to your savior.”
She opened her mouth to reply, but before any barbs flew out, there was a knock on the door. “Carter won’t be here for another half hour, so that has to be one of yours.”
“One of mine? I feel like a cult leader,” I said as I strode to the door.
“If the Kool-Aid fits.”
I laughed as I swung open the door. There was Toby, wearing khakis again but with a blue sweatshirt and a timid smile.
“Hi. I’m not early, am I?” he asked.
I opened the door wider and gestured him inside with a sweep of my arm. “Nope. Right on time.”
He took a few steps in but stopped when he saw Sophia. “Oh. He— Hello.”
After I shut the door, I moved to his side. “This is my sister, Sophia. Soph, this is Toby.”
“Nice to meet you,” she said, giving him a warm smile.
He returned her greeting in a quiet voice, his face a bit redder than when he’d first arrived.
I made a decision then and there that in addition to our group project, Toby was going to be a personal project for me. I’d need a month tops to get this kid laid.
“Want anything to drink?” I asked him.
It seemed to take a minute for him to realize I’d spoken to him. “Oh, no. No thanks. I have a water bottle in my backpack.”
I motioned to the sofa. “I figured we could spread out in there.”
“Sounds good to me.” Toby went over and began setting up what he needed for the project on the coffee table. He seemed much more comfortable in work mode than he did having to be social. Maybe I’d need two months.
Just as I was about to follow Toby, there was another knock on the door. I swung it open and saw an annoyed Aniyah and a smirking Xander with his left arm around her shoulder.
She slowly panned to look at the offending appendage before looking straight ahead again. “If you have even the tiniest desire to keep that arm, you will remove it from my body.”
Xander’s cheeks looked ready to burst with holding back his laugh. He was clearly trying to get under her skin, but I thought he’d maybe want to choose a less volatile adversary next time.
“It’s cool,” he said. “I’m right-handed anyway.”
“Xander,” she warned with a clear desire to murder him.
He withdrew his arm. “Everybody’s so touchy. Or, more accurately, not touchy.” He stepped inside the apartment, and Aniyah followed after, rolling her eyes.
After I shut the door, I quickly introduced Sophia, who said pleasant hellos before excusing herself to her room.
Aniyah took in the apartment. “Nice place.”
I shrugged. “I like it.”
She looked around but didn’t ask any questions, and then she and Xander followed Toby’s lead and prepared to get to work.
“Anyone have anywhere particular they want to begin?” I asked.
Toby cleared his throat. “I think it would be useful for us to answer the ethical dilemma questions first. Then we can have a solid foundation from which to evaluate our case.”
“Makes sense to me,” Aniyah said.
“Me too,” Xander agreed.
So that was what we did for the next hour or so until a pounding on the door interrupted us.
Sophia rushed out of her room to answer it. “Sorry,” she said to my group. She threw open the door and planted her hands on her hips. I imagine the glare she sent Carter matched her stance. “Why are you banging on my door like you’re trying to break it down? And where the hell have you been?”
“Dude, you would not even believe what the last hour of my life has been like.” Carter skirted past Sophia like she wasn’t radiating anger and hoisted himself up on a ledge in the apartment. “Have you ever been at the wrong place at the wrong time?” he asked everyone in the room.
“Every second of my life, man,” Xander replied without looking up from what he was typing on his laptop, his beanie pulled low.
“Carter,” Sophia said as she grabbed his arm and tugged on him. He didn’t budge an inch. “They have their own work to do.”
“No, we don’t,” Xander said. “Not until we hear why Carter was late.”
“My car wouldn’t start, and when I finally got it going and started to reverse,