my own, and they looked way more expensive and comfortable than my ten-dollar sheets from Target. Though, what really sold me was the small TV built into the wall at the foot of the bed.
“It has Netflix,” Loren announced.
It didn’t escape my notice that he’d been quiet until now. Spending the last three months with them with another year to go, I’d already learned that Loren only felt the need to make his presence known when Houston was around. I wondered how much longer it would take me to grasp why. Perhaps it was because Loren didn’t like being told what to do, and Houston thrived on giving orders.
My attention shifted back and forth between Houston, who stared at Loren over my shoulder, and Loren silently daring Houston to do what was on his mind. My gut told me their little tiff was because of me, but my head wouldn’t allow me to care. I’d already done enough by getting myself trapped between them. The passageway was narrow, and I stood between two alpha males seconds away from ripping into each other. I was probably the only reason they hadn’t already come to blows.
Yay me.
“So,” I said slowly, interrupting their brooding, “is this it or…?”
Houston’s gaze slowly returned to me. I watched his jaw firm before he wordlessly spun on his heel and led me through another doorway. It was a bedroom the size of a standard guest room, and inside was a king-sized bed, a nightstand on each side with trash bins underneath, and another flat-screen spanning the wall it faced. My favorite part of the room was the wall next to the door that had been painted to depict them—Houston, Loren, Jericho, and…Calvin. The aromatic but bitter smell of olive oil suddenly filled my nose.
Calvin should have been the one standing here. Not me. I never thought I’d enjoy filling a dead man’s shoes, but I hadn’t expected to feel so guilty about it either.
As Houston led me through the bedroom until we reached the bathroom, I realized the walkway between the bed and the wall was narrow. The bathroom was about the size of mine at home, which said more for the bus than it did my apartment. It even had a glass shower big enough to fit two people, a sink with plenty of counter space, and a toilet disappointingly not lined with gold.
I felt duped.
Houston and Loren had unconsciously hyped me up for this moment only to show me a normal goddamn toilet. There was no eighteen-karat gold anywhere.
“I wasn’t expecting this,” I blurted honestly.
“Being rich and famous comes with its advantages,” Loren drawled from his perch against the closet by the door. Naturally, he’d mistaken my meaning, and I wisely decided not to share.
“This bedroom is used on an as-needed basis,” Houston informed me. At my confused look, he added. “We share it.”
“You mean, like, we sleep in here together sometimes?” What the hell would be the reason for that?
“It’s interesting that your mind drew that conclusion first, baby fawn.”
Since Loren chose to tease me, I decided to pretend he wasn’t there as I waited for Houston to explain. Rich was the only one who didn’t seem to get off on being cruel, and as usual, he was missing when I needed him. I tried gauging where he went whenever he disappeared, but as expected, neither Houston nor Loren was a welcome fountain of information.
“In the unlikely event that you find yourself needing more privacy than the bunks allow, feel free to use this space.”
Houston waited patiently for me to catch his drift. When I did, I nodded rather than protest, which he didn’t seem pleased about. He was harder to figure out than a quantum mechanics equation. Why even offer the possibility in the first place? No, scratch that. The better question was why it mattered to him if I slept with anyone.
And that was when I caught on to something he’d said.
“Why unlikely?”
“What?” he snapped a little too aggressively.
“You said in the unlikely event I need to fuck someone in here,” I paraphrased while returning some of his aggression. “Why is that unlikely?”
“He misspoke,” Loren dismissively answered for him. Just as I felt my shoulders began to relax, he added, “What he really meant was there isn’t a chance in hell of that happening.”
Finally, Loren had my undivided attention, which seemed to be what he wanted anyway. “Yeah?” I crossed my arms as I faced him. “Why is that?”