15
DORNAN
Travis got the job. I find out from Ellie, who finds out from Gabriella and tells me over coffee in the afternoon. Later, when I'm chilling in my room, I use the 'Fake Date' group chat to share my message of congratulations. It seems like the right thing to do, but when it's sent, I feel a rush of uncertainty.
We're not a friendship group. We shared two nights at Molly's motel, one perfectly innocent and the other totally corrupt, but that's it.
I haven't seen Celine since, and it's been driving me crazy, wondering if she's just busy or avoiding me. Or even worse, is seeing the other two but has decided to leave me out.
Shit.
I run my hand through my hair and mumble that I'm an idiot for letting my feelings for Celine grow under circumstances that are far from ideal. Slumping down on my bed, I stretch out my long legs, wincing at the bruise I earned at the last game and my muscles that ache from training. My socked feet look huge, almost hanging off the end.
When my phone buzzes, I jump up, forgetting my aches and pains and snatching up my phone. It's Travis with a reply.
TRAVIS - Thanks, man. I'm pumped. It's a great role. Better than the one I left behind in Germany. They need me to start immediately, but I asked for a week off so I can find an apartment.
I can see that Celine and Elias are typing.
CELINE - Yay. That's awesome news. Go Travis!
ELIAS - Well done, man. Can I be you when I grow up?
TRAVIS - Are you trying to make me feel old again?
ELIAS - You are old, dude!
CELINE - Can I come apartment shopping with you?
ELIAS - You're supposed to be studying Celine.
TRAVIS - I'd actually appreciate some company. My mom and Gabriella have hair appointments, and my friends are all busy. I don't know what I'm looking for. I have five appointments tomorrow between nine and eleven.
CELINE - I'm in.
Elias is quick to reply.
ELIAS - I'm down.
If they're going, I'm not going to be the odd one out. I type quickly, 'I'm down.'
TRAVIS - I'll pick you all up around eight-forty-five.
Celine responds with a smiley face. Elias drops a thumbs up. I send one of those green tick symbols just to be different, and I feel like a high schooler in the process.
Dropping back onto my bed, I smile at my phone and then toss it next to me. It'll be good to see Celine, and part of me is looking forward to the stupid back-and-forth that flies around the group whenever we're together. I've seen Ellie have the same dynamic with her stepbrothers-turned-baby-daddies and Gabriella with her three neighbors-turned-boyfriends. There's something about three men and one woman that seems to bring out the humor in everyone.
Travis is chill, Celine is fiery and funny, and even though Elias seems to have a giant chip on his shoulder most of the time, he's got a dark sense of humor that amuses me. Before Celine brought us together to play her revenge games, I had a different view of Elias. I still don't like how he can be cutting and egotistical, but he seems to want to care for Celine. His willingness to step in for her when they weren't even very close beforehand says something new about his character that I can't ignore.
Elias and Celine are already in Travis's car when they arrive to collect me. I jump into the backseat with Elias, checking out Celine, who twists to greet me between the seats.
"I can't believe you guys were on time." Celine's hair is still wet, and she has it twisted in a knot at the back of her head. "I thought I'd have time to dry my damned hair."
"Punctuality is important." Elias cracks his knuckles in his lap as I fasten my seatbelt.
"Punctuality is necessary when you're an old man like me."
"Stop saying that." Celine rests her hand on Travis's knee and squeezes. "You're not that much older than us."
"It feels like a lot."
"Why?" I ask.
"I don't know. You guys seem way more chilled than I feel. It's like I'm already in the rest of my life, and you guys are still preparing for it."
Elias opens the window and rests his big arm slightly out of it. The wind whips through the car as he stares out. "I'm not chilled."
"Me, either," I say. "Trying to work out what the rest of my life will look like is way more stressful."
"Tell me about it." Celine turns, and her face is grim. "If I ever actually get through this course."
"You'll get through it," Elias says, sounding so confident, it makes me frown.
"Just because you're a friggin' genius doesn't mean I am."
"Wait, who's a friggin' genius?"
Celine nods in Elias's direction. "Him. He's getting top marks, and I'm flunking. It's depressing."
Elias's jaw ticks, but he doesn't say anything.
"He's trying to help me, but everything that comes easy to him feels like I'm dragging myself backward up Everest on my belly."
"You'll get there."
Travis signals to pull over outside an apartment building. It's in a decent-looking area, and the building seems tidy from the outside. A man, who I assume is a realtor, is standing by the front door.
We all assemble on the sidewalk and follow Travis, who shakes hands with the balding man in a suit and shirt stretched a little too tight around his frame.
"Mr. Cross?" His eyes sweep the group.
"Yes. That's me."
"Right, well. Let me take you inside."
It's on the first floor, so we don't need to take the stairs or the elevator. The entrance area is well-kept and smart. The realtor opens the front door and holds it open for us all to enter. He eyes us with interest. I guess that three men and a woman are an odd combination for house hunting.
"So, as you can see, it has a very large open-plan living area."
Celine immediately heads to the window to look at the view. Elias folds his arms over this chest, assessing the layout. I head to the kitchen to check out the appliances and cupboard space. My mom recently renovated our kitchen at home, and she spent ages going over all the things that are important for when I get my own home. "It looks like it's got everything you need. The built-in appliances are all good brands, and the cupboards are relatively new."
"Exactly." The realtor seems pleased with my summary. "The owner has just had all the sockets replaced with new ones, including USB ports."
"That's useful," Celine says. "What about the bedroom?"
Travis rubs his hand over his beard, and when his hand drops, I catch the end of his smile. Celine is the first to follow the realtor through a door into a large bedroom with a huge window, walk-in closet, and bathroom with a double shower and double vanity. Dark hardwood floors stretch through, giving the place a seamless and contemporary look.
"This is nice." Celine opens the closet and steps inside, staring around at all the space. Something about the way she peruses everything feels more considered than I'd expect, bearing in mind that she's not going to be living here herself.
"The current owner is single, so he only has a small bed, but this room could take something much bigger." The realtor looks between us as though he's waiting for us to confess our sins.
Travis's eyes meet mine, and his smile is back. "The place is just for me, but I like to have a lot of space to move around."
"To be honest, this place is the nicest of all the apartments you're currently booked to see."
"Yeah. Well, I like it. What do you think, Dornan?"
Surprised, I step forward and shove my hands into my pockets. "I mean, I've never had to think about getting a place that wasn't at the university, but I think this place is nice. I could live here. It has everything you need."
"I like it." Celine drifts to Travis's side and rests her hand on his shoulder. "And you could grow into it. It would definitely work for a couple…or more."
"There's a couple down the hall with a baby. They've converted the closet into an open-doored nursery and fitted other shelves for their clothes." The realtor shoots Celine a grateful look; she's helping out with her enthusiasm.
"A baby in a closet. That sounds messed up."
"You don't like it, Elias?"
"I think you should look at the others, too."
Travis's shoulders curve a little and I shoot Elias a narrow-eyed look. I swear, sometimes he seems intent on squeezing the joy out of other people. "Yeah. It would be good to get some perspective," I agree, to make it sound less disheartening.
"The appointments are there if you want them."
Travis nods at the realtor, who puffs out his chest with a long inhale and then breezes to the door. We all follow Travis out of the building. When we're outside, he glances up, taking everything in before we leave. "You can follow me to the next place," the realtor says. "Are your friends coming to all the viewings?"
"Yes." Travis presses his key fob, and the car opens, and we all jump into our same seats.
The rest of the viewings don't live up to the first. I guess the realtor ordered them that way to showcase the best upfront. By the end, Celine can list a million reasons Travis should only consider apartment number one.
"I can see you there," she says.
"I can see myself there," he agrees.
"So, what's the plan now? I'm as hungry as a bear," I say.
"Me, too." Elias stretches his arms over his head, and as his shirt lifts, exposing his abs, Celine's eyes drift and focus hungrily. The way she looks at him is purely sexual, and it sends a shooting stab of jealousy through me. She looked at me like that the other night, but I haven't seen the same craving in her eyes since. I thread my hand through my hair and stare up the road, hoping the distraction will diminish the stab to my gut.
"You can come back to my place. My mom cooked yesterday, and we have enough food to feed five thousand."
"Sounds good." Celine looks at her watch. "I did have a study group, but I can miss it."
"We have practice later," Elias reminds me.
"We have time." I shrug like I'm not bothered either way, but I am. Getting to spend more of the day with Celine might help my confusion, and there is no way I'd leave her in the company of these two horny men and miss out on what might happen between them all.
If anyone is going to get with Celine, I will be there to share.
I haven't been to Gabriella and Travis's family home before. It's a nice house on a nice street, and their mom keeps it spotless and homey, with traditional touches like flowers in vases and enough throw pillows to sink a small ship.
In the kitchen, there is a large wooden table that looks like it has been the site of generations of amazing meals.
Elias looks around like he's never seen the inside of a house before. Celine helps Travis empty the fridge of trays and trays of food.
"How come your mom cooked so much?"
Travis shrugs, passing me a plate. "She loves cooking. So does my sister. I've been spoiled by amazing food my whole life."
"Some people have all the luck." Elias reaches out for a plate, his comment landing flat. Seems I'm not the only one to experience jealousy, although the target of his is something unexpected.
"I know. I reckon I'm destined to marry someone who can't even make toast. That'll even it out."
"I burn toast." Celine pops a delicious-looking piece of chicken into her mouth.
Elias scoops out a considerable portion of lasagna, dropping it onto his plate with less consideration than he should. "Sounds like Celine might be your destiny."
Celine sneaks a peek in Travis's direction, but he stays focused on the food. Is that a snub? I'm not sure. Travis isn't the easiest man to read. "What about you, Elias? Can you cook?"
"I get by." He chews on a big mouthful of the lasagna, and his eyes light up. "My mom burns toast, too. If I wanted to get in decent shape to play ball, I had to get accustomed to making my own chicken, broccoli, and rice."
"You seriously eat that?" Celine wrinkles her nose. "Broccoli smells like…"
Elias puts his hand up to stop her. "I don't want to hear what you're going to say. I love all green vegetables, and I don't want you to make them ick."
She shakes her head, smiling. "Maybe I should get you to cook for me."
"In addition to tutoring you and fucking you? You're starting to sound like a lot of work."
"Jesus, Elias."
He turns his attention to me, focusing like he didn't realize I'd been standing there the whole time. "What? It's true."
"Tutoring and cooking seem like a small price to pay for the fucking!"
"This isn't a labor exchange, and if it was, I'd have to be compensated for the fucking, too, as Celine has twice as many orgasms as I do every time we fuck."
"Every time?" How many times have there been?
Celine's cheeks turn a deep shade of tomato, and the floor is suddenly the most exciting feature in the room. Have they been solo fucking? Leaving me and Travis out feels like a betrayal, even though it isn't. We haven't made any rules for this. I keep having to remind myself that I shouldn't have any expectations.
"Celine's horny." The way Elias chews as he carries his plate to the end of the table and takes a seat like a king at a banquet riles me.
She looks around, reading the room. "I’m horny. What can I say? And I'm used to fucking a lot. Eddie was the male version of a nymphomaniac."
"You mean a man?"
I snort at Elias's quip. He's not wrong. Most men would fuck every day if they got the chance. If not twice or more. There's a need for release that builds up like an ache between my legs that pulses in some unidentified lobe in my head. Like, right now, I'm talking and trying to act normal, but on a level running underneath, all I can think about is burying myself between Celine's legs.
"Not all men are like that," she says, sitting beside Elias. I take the seat opposite while Travis tosses us beers and a soda for Celine.
"Men are all like that. Some of us just do a good job of being less of an asshole about it." I twist the lid off my beer and take a welcome drink.
Celine opens a can of soda and takes a sip. Her hair has dried now, and her curls are crazy. "Yeah. Eddie did a good job of being king of the assholes."
Travis spoons some potato salad out of a large brown bowl. He looks around to see if everyone has helped themselves to enough food, then focuses on Celine. "Are you done with your games?"
"Yeah." She places the soda on the table but keeps her fingers wrapped around the condensation-covered tin. "He's not worth my time or effort. I've got enough going on without dragging him along with me."
"End of relationship baggage has to be shaken off, or it wears you down," Travis agrees.
"To being single." Elias tips his beer, waiting for us to join him in a toast.
Celine shoots him a look laced with disapproval, or is it disappointment? I can't be sure. "What's so good about being single, Elias? Casual sex? Sleeping alone?"
He shrugs. "No drama. No games."
The last comment feels like a dig against Celine for what brought us all together in the first place. "No joy."
"You guys are like a game of Olympic table tennis." Travis gulps his beer and licks the residue from his lips. "Life without love is empty. And the right person won't play games with your heart. They'll protect it like it's something precious."
Celine looks at Elias. "Thank you, Travis, for your mature perspective."
"He sounds like a chick." It's said with snark and a challenging raise of Elias's eyebrows.
"He sounds like someone with a soul." I don't mean the words to sound rough, but Elias turns his head slowly to look at me as soon as they’re out of my mouth.
"I have a soul, dude."
There's a ripple of disquiet amongst us until Travis smiles and shakes his head. "So, have y'all been thinking about the night at Molly's?"
"Yes." Celine says it so quickly that she makes us all jump.
"Definitely," I admit.
Elias shrugs in a non-committal way that I'm certain is only masking his true feelings.
"Wanna do it again?"
Celine draws in her bottom lip, her pretty eyes trailing between us all. "I'm game if you are."
"Three on one? Is it necessary?"
She pats Elias's arm. "Ahhh…you want me all to yourself?"
Shrugging again, he stuffs his mouth full of the last forkful of food on his plate, avoiding answering the question altogether.
"What time's your mom going to be back?" I ask Travis. It's a way to find out if today could be an option without directly asking each person for their availability. "Late. I'm not so sure about Gab."
"Well, it's not like it'll be a shock to her if she does come back. Three on one is her daily life experience."
"Yeah, thinking about my sister getting boned by three guys isn't my favorite way to pass the time." Travis rises to pack away all the food we haven't eaten, and Celine grabs the empty plates, taking them to the sink and rinsing them before placing them into the dishwasher.
The atmosphere is thick with anticipation, but no one seems to want to direct us all upstairs, at least until the kitchen is as spotless as we found it.
"I guess we could head up?" Travis asks.
And like the horny sons-of-bitches we all are, we follow Celine up the stairs to heaven.