Roommates Box Set #4-6

21. Tristan

21

TRISTAN

“How do I look?” Drew asked as he edged me aside and peered in the mirror of my bedroom. We’d been banished upstairs so that Sierra could make use of both her room and the bathroom to get ready. Only Carter was allowed downstairs, since he was cooking, but she’d made him promise not to look out in the living room. If she’d had notary equipment, she probably would’ve drawn up paperwork for him to sign.

“You look fine.”

“Really?” He messed with his hair, which seemed pointless, because it always looked the same no matter what he did.

“To be honest, you’re not my type.” I looked at his expression in the mirror and saw he wasn’t in a joking mood. And here I thought women were the ones who got nervous before a date. “Sorry.”

Drew studied his reflection. He had on a crisp white dress shirt and an actual tie. I’d only seen him wear it once since we’d gotten here, for a video call with our investors. “I look like a Mormon missionary,” he said bitterly.

I bit back a laugh. “No, you don’t. But let me fix your tie.”

He turned, and I tried to adjust it, but he’d done something funny to it. In the end, I pulled it off, completely undid it, and then tied it around my own neck. It was the only way I could tie one correctly.

“Thanks,” he said as I slipped it over his head and adjusted both the knot and his collar. “Hey, you didn’t shave.”

“I trimmed my beard. Besides, Sierra likes my stubble.” She certainly hadn’t minded when I’d kissed her.

“She does?” Drew ran his hand over his clean-shaven jaw. “Maybe I shouldn’t have shaved. Do I look too young with it gone?”

The honest answer was yes, but I just shook my head. Though Drew looked like a young pup, he was only a few years older than Sierra. For all I knew, she thought he was the perfect age, and that Carter and I were too old for her.

Drew put one hand to the knot of the tie to adjust it, but I slapped his hand away. “Just leave it be.”

“Okay. You look nice, too.”

Jesus, somebody needed to get this guy a drink, pronto. He was a ball of nerves—but I couldn’t argue with his assessment.

I had on a button-down stone-blue shirt that I’d been told brought out the color of my eyes. My jeans were black, and they were the best ones I had with me. Let’s just say that they were by no means baggy on me.

Drew sat on the side of the bed, nervously smoothing out his tan slacks. “What’s taking her so long?”

“She’s a woman getting ready for a date. This is what they do.” I had no doubt that Sierra would look lovely, she always did, but I wondered how she was managing without any assistance from the makeup or wardrobe departments. It was hard to believe she could replace all that with whatever was in her little suitcase.

I leaned against a dresser as we waited. Drew’s foot tapped nervously against the floor, making the whole bed shake. He looked like a little kid waiting to go to a birthday party. And if he were a little kid, I supposed that kind of made me the dad.

So maybe it was time for a little fatherly advice. “You know, Sierra may be opening up to us, but she’s still a very shy young woman. She definitely hasn’t had really great experiences with men in the past.”

“I know,” Drew said immediately. “But she’s more willing to try new things than you think.”

“That’s for her to decide,” I said firmly. “We let her set the pace.”

“Of course.” Drew nodded, almost to himself. “But sometimes, it’s almost like she doesn’t know what she wants until she tries it.”

All right, he had a point there. She’d been dead set against kissing, but once I showed her what it could be like, she came around pretty quickly. But I didn’t share that with Drew. “She sets the pace,” I reiterated.

“Yes, boss.”

I nodded. Boss seemed better than Dad . Besides, I was only a few years older than him. But Drew seemed like the type who would be boyish until he was fifty.

Carter’s voice called from downstairs, but I couldn’t hear what he said. Drew sprang to his feet while I opened the door. “What?”

“I said, the eagle has landed.” There was a note in Carter’s voice I couldn’t identify, but he sounded different. Time to find out why.

“Does that mean we can go downstairs?” Drew asked.

“Yep.”

“Awesome.” He darted in front of me and stepped onto the landing. I turned off the lights and followed him.

Carter stood at the entrance to the kitchen, a towel over his shoulder. He had on black jeans and a white t-shirt, but I knew he had a silver button-down for once dinner was ready.

He met my eyes with an unreadable expression as we descended the stairs.

Drew stopped dead on the bottom step. I cursed as I grabbed onto the banister to keep from crashing into him. Putting my hands on his shoulders, I propelled him forward until we were both on level ground. Then I stopped dead, too.

Holy.

Fucking.

Shit.

Sierra was standing by the worktable, her hand resting lightly on one of the stools. Lovely wasn’t the right word. Nor was beautiful.

She was fucking stunning.

I’d never seen a more gorgeous woman, on screen or off, and I couldn’t stop staring at her.

I wasn’t the only one, either.

Jesus.

Her dress was made of some kind of soft, slinky, metallic material, and it fit her like it had been custom-made for her—which, possibly, it had. It was held up by two straps at her shoulders, but the deep neckline hung loosely, giving an amazing view of the rounded tops of her breasts.

The fabric hugged her narrow waist and widened at her hips, hanging straight down with an extremely generous slit showcasing a long and shapely leg.

I wasn’t an expert by any means, but I thought the color of the dress might be referred to as nude, because it seemed to match her toned skin. But the material had hints of gold, too, which was appropriate, because her hair looked like spun gold. It was parted and flowed over her shoulders.

She was a fucking goddess.

If ever I’m put on a spaceship to Mars and told I can only have one last look at Earth before I leave, she had better be within view, wearing this exact dress. Or hell, I’ll just convince her to come with me.

Jewelry hung from her ears and her neck, and her eyes were a nearly impossible shade of green surrounded by thick lashes and expertly done makeup.

There was no way anyone could look that good—especially anyone trapped in a cabin in the woods.

“Move,” I hissed at Drew, who was still rooted to the floor. He stepped to the side, never taking his eyes off the vision in front of us.

I strode to her, and her rosy lips curved into a smile. I detected a hint of nerves behind her expression, but she hid it well. Then again, it was her job to be able to do that kind of thing.

A lovely scent filled my nose as I neared, and I couldn’t even begin to figure out what it was. All I knew was that it was floral, feminine, and perfect.

Then, I did something I’d never done in my entire life. I picked up her hand and kissed the back of it while she beamed at me.

“Can I get you something to drink?” I already knew that whatever vintage wine Carter had come up with wasn’t good enough for her. Nothing was.

But still, I’d do everything in my power to make sure she had an amazing evening.

Everything.