Chapter 10

The days that followed were a blur. Andy had returned to our shared apartment in California to finish up her assignment for the following week. Our first semester was drawing to a close, and exams were looming on the horizon.

I remained in Savannah, sharing the house with Kyle and Knox. They had gone out the previous night, leaving me to curl up on the couch and binge-watch Sons of Anarchy on Netflix.

I had been curious about the show’s popularity, and now I understood. Two words: Jax Teller. The primary reason why the female population was so enamored with the series. Those abs were certainly something.

It was eleven in the morning, and I was due to fly back to college that evening. I was hoping that Kyle would be kind enough to drive me to the airport, rather than lazing around the house.

Knox had also decided to stay a few extra days, as he had a meeting with his agent about potential endorsement deals.

I threw back the covers, and the chill of the morning air prickled my skin, causing goosebumps to rise. I slipped into a pair of tight workout shorts—the only thing I could find on top of my suitcase.

I had packed most of my belongings the previous night while the dynamic duo were out, presumably picking up girls and getting wasted.

I had a few missed calls and texts from both of them, pleading with me to join them. I can assure you, I won that battle.

As I opened my door and descended the stairs, I spotted a pair of red lace panties clinging desperately to the steps.

“Ew, gross!” I sidestepped them as if they were contaminated—which, knowing these boys, they very well could be.

I had suspected they brought girls home last night. The telltale signs were all there: the fake giggles, the smacking of lips, the playful teasing, and the sound of bodies being slammed against walls.

The screams, moans, and heavy breathing didn’t leave much to the imagination, and this morning’s discovery confirmed my suspicions.

I ventured into the kitchen, intending to whip up a somewhat healthy breakfast. I rummaged through the cabinets and peeked into the refrigerator, assessing the available ingredients.

I was relieved to be leaving tonight. I couldn’t bear another day with these two horndogs. They were equally insufferable.

Spotting some bananas in the fruit bowl, I peeled two and placed them in a bowl, ready to make my favorite banana pancakes. I took out a pan and let it heat up.

I washed some leftover berries to top my pancakes. Now, all I needed was some syrup. I approached the cabinet, hoping to find some leftover honey, maple syrup, or even Nutella.

Yes! There was some maple syrup left! Jackpot!

Being petite had its disadvantages, like not being able to reach the top shelf. I got up on my tiptoes, straining to reach the syrup. Realizing it was futile, I decided to hoist myself up onto the counter.

Just as I was about to do so, an arm reached up, and I felt a hand rest on the small of my back. I turned to see Knox, effortlessly reaching for the maple syrup.

He closed the cabinet with his elbow, and I reached out to take the syrup from him. But he lifted it higher, out of my reach. So much for being a gentleman.

“What do you say, baby doll?” he smirked, his hand still resting on my back. Of course, he was shirtless. He looked like he had enjoyed himself last night. Pig.

“Give me the damn syrup, Knox,” I said, raising an eyebrow.

“Nope, try again, baby doll,” he grinned, clearly enjoying this.

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes to suppress my irritation. Opening them again, I plastered on a fake smile. “Please, can I have the syrup?”

He smiled back at me and handed me the syrup. “Of course, baby doll. Was that so hard?”

As I turned around, I felt his hand smack my ass. He was used to smacking his teammates’ butts, but that didn’t mean he could do it to me! Maybe the girls he was with last night enjoyed it, but I sure as hell didn’t!

“Nice ass, by the way! Surfing is doing wonders for you... and me,” he mumbled the last part to himself as he walked back to take a seat at the island. But I heard it.

“If you touch me again, I will rip your nutsack off! ... Right off!” I said, my tone deadly serious. He just laughed, taking a sip from his glass.

I continued making my breakfast, acutely aware of his gaze on me. The sound of bare feet padding against the tiles signaled someone else’s arrival.

Knox looked down the hallway, his eyes widening slightly. I knew it was one of the girls from last night.

“Knox, baby, are you making breakfast? It smells delicious!” A peroxide blonde in a red dress sauntered into the kitchen, her hair a tousled mess.

She ran her hand down his back and took the seat next to him. She glanced at me, and I turned back to my cooking.

She leaned into Knox, giving him a full view of her assets. I boiled some water and placed a lemon slice into a mug, flipping the pancakes.

“Can I have some?” Knox asked. I didn’t bother looking at him and simply shook my head.

“Why not, baby doll?”

I just wanted to make my food in peace. I was hangry enough as it is! “Make your own, Knox. I’m not Oprah Winfrey. It’s not for everyone in the audience,” I retorted, earning a laugh from him.

“She’s so rude,” the blonde finally spoke up. Why was she still here? Oh, right. Knox had slept with her last night.

“Don’t be so rude to him. He doesn’t pay you to make comments like that. But I’ll have some of those pancakes you’re making,” she said condescendingly. This woman was in for a rude awakening.

“Knox, she’s not my employee,” I heard him assert, his voice laced with irritation. I was just about to enter the room and give this woman a piece of my mind. I glanced over my shoulder to see him glaring at her, and she shifted her attention to me. ~Brace yourself,~ I thought.

“Well, who knew the little tart had an opinion. But didn’t anyone ever tell you that children should be seen and not heard? And just so you know, you’re in my family’s house, so excuse me if I’m not in the mood to play hostess. If you’re so hungry, he can just feed you his dick again like last night.”

Knox choked on his water at my words. I didn’t care. I’d never see her again anyway. I turned back to my pancakes, flipping them in the pan, just as three more people entered the kitchen.

~So, Kyle had a threesome then. Classy.~ I didn’t turn around, instead pouring hot water into my mug and adding some cold water from the tap to make it warm.

“Morning,” Kyle mumbled.

“Morning,” I replied, keeping my eyes fixed on my food. My phone started to ring—a FaceTime call from Tyler, a guy in my course. It must be about the assignment due in two days.

~Always leaving everything till the last minute.~ I swiped to answer the call.

“Hey, Alex, HELP! I have no idea where to start with this!”

I laughed at his desperation. “What assignment? CCM? Sorry, I’m cooking at the moment, so you’re just going to have to stare at my ceiling in the meantime.”

“Yeah, sure, no problem. It’s better looking than you in the morning anyway! But yeah, that assignment! How do I do the questions?”

“Hey! How would you know what I look like in the morning?” I asked, sarcasm dripping from my words. “You need to look at the notes, but it’s on stresses. So you’re going to have a stress tensor, yes?”

“Sure? So what do I do?” he asked, and I groaned silently at his laziness.

“So the question is to find the principal values of that tensor?”

“Yeah...? How do I do that?”

“Oh my god, Tyler! Were you not listening in class the other day?”

I was beginning to get annoyed, so I scooped up my breakfast onto my plate and placed it on the counter. I made eye contact with Kyle, who was eyeing my food and licking his lips.

“No, I was too busy staring at your beautiful face.”

Those words caught both Kyle’s and Knox’s attention, and they both roared, “You were WHAT?”

“Ugh! Stop you two! He was kidding! Ok, so you find the trace of the stress tensor for the first value. You know what, read the damn notes on page 33 of the booklet! Use those equations! Do it yourself and then send it to me. I’ll check to see if you’re right and correct you if you’re not. Is that fair?”

Hearing him groan out loud, “Fine, but if I’m stuck I’m coming over and you’re teaching it all to me!”

“The hell you are!” Kyle interjected. I threw a berry at him while I put the rest on my stacked pancakes and drenched them in syrup.

“Yeah, that’s fine, Tyler. Look, I got to go. I’ll talk to you later. Bye!” I ended the call before he could say anything more.

Gathering my breakfast and my mug of hot water and lemon, I walked over to the living room to sit in peace.

“If you don’t mind, I’m going to sit in the living room before my IQ drops to a dangerous level,” I said, briskly walking away, feeling their eyes on me.

I kicked the door open and then kicked it again to close it behind me, but a hand stopped it from closing fully. I turned my head to see none other than the most annoying man on the planet grinning down at me.

I kept walking and sat down on the sofa with my food on my lap. He followed me and sat opposite me on the coffee table. “Aren’t you going to share?” He stared hungrily at my breakfast.

I popped a piece into my mouth, his eyes following the movement. “Nope, I made it, so it’s my food,” I replied, my mouth full.

I turned on the TV to watch Sons of Anarchy and continued, “Got bored with Malibu Barbie out there?”

He stared back at me with a smirk on his face, leaning forward so that our knees were touching. “If I didn’t know any better, baby doll, I’d say you’re jealous. No?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

His ridiculous statement made me chuckle. “You wish, Knox,” I replied smugly.

He sat there, watching me eat my breakfast until I licked the plate clean. That was exactly what I needed. As I stood up to take my plate outside, Knox stood up too. There was barely any space between us.

I avoided eye contact because, to be honest, it made me uncomfortable how close he was. I walked out of the living room, and he followed behind me.

I stopped halfway to take the last sip of my hot water and lemon when he bumped into me from behind.

He grabbed my arm, and I turned to look up at him over my shoulder. “Sorry,” he apologized. I placed my plate in the dishwasher and threw out the lemon, so the mug joined my plate.

I overheard quite possibly the most idiotic conversation ever between the three blonde bimbos, who were obviously friends.

“I heard that there’s a tornado coming next week?”

“Tornados? Aren’t they extinct or something?”

“Oh my god, yes! They are! Rita is so stupid! Oh my god, how embarrassing...”

“So embarrassing!” The other two confirmed.

I spun around to find my brothers and Knox’s gazes fixed on me. Their expressions were all too clear. “Oh, come on!” I exclaimed, throwing my hands up in exasperation. “Really?”

The girls looked at me, their faces a picture of stunned surprise. I brushed past Knox and headed for the stairs. I needed to hit the gym, and fast. I was halfway up the stairs when Kyle and Knox both caught up with me.

Kyle spun me around, a pleading look on his face. “Where are you going? You can’t leave us with them.”

I laughed out loud, shooting them a pointed look. “This is your mess, not mine. I’m going to the gym. I need to work out.”

I turned to continue up the stairs, throwing a comment over my shoulder. “But they’re keepers, I mean, who knew tornadoes were extinct?” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. I disappeared into my room to change into my workout clothes.

As I dashed out of my room, I heard Kyle and Knox whispering at the bottom of the stairs.

“You didn’t sleep with her?” Kyle asked, his voice filled with disbelief.

“No, man. I mean, she’s hot and all, but who knows what she’s carrying! I don’t need an STI, that’s all I need in the headlines!” Knox replied, causing Kyle to burst into laughter. This was news to me.

“Did you guys do anything? Dude, I convinced two of them to fuck me! Not the best I’ve had, but it’ll do for now. My focus is Andy. She made me work for it! Fuck, she’s sexy! I want her so badly. I love a challenge too, so it’s fun. But she’s a ball-buster!” Kyle said, his voice barely above a whisper.

“Nah, man. She slept in my bed, which reminds me to clean my sheets, but I slept on the floor. Worst. Night’s. Sleep. Ever! Yeah? You guys have a lot of chemistry. She’ll be good for you once Alex is cool with it!” Knox replied.

Deciding to interrupt their little chat, I descended the stairs, pretending I hadn’t heard a thing.

I found them both at the bottom of the stairs, dressed as if they were ready for the gym. Oh, no. They were not coming with me to the gym. “You guys better not be coming with me to the gym just so you can run away from the three little bitches inside!” I hissed through gritted teeth.

As if on cue, the girls emerged, heels in hand. “The cab is outside for you girls. Thanks for coming, literally. Bye!” I rolled my eyes at the two boys as the girls made their exit, leaving behind a trail of flirty smiles, giggles, and lingering touches.