Chapter 4
The apartment building is sleek and modern, one of those cookie cutter types that developers have been putting up all around the city over the past few years. Stark white walls and dark roofs, row after row exactly like the other. Not my architectural preference, and a far cry from the ornate Victorian homes in my small hometown, but it’s a roof over my head and that’s all I need while I focus on my rugby career.
Plus, all the appliances should be fairly new. The website showed some nice amenities like a large pool and BBQ area, so that’s something. Maybe I’ll even make friends with some neighbors while I’m here.
I double-check the number on the door of the apartment in front of me. No need to embarrass myself first thing by trying to get into the wrong place. I knock, but nobody answers, and there’s no sound of life from outside. Nice. I have the place to myself for a moment while I get my bearings.
Maybe I can be a bit nosy and try to suss out my mysterious roommates before we finally meet. I tried to find out who they were going to be before I got here, but the housing department said it was against policy. I know they’ll be rugby players too, from one of the women’s teams, but that’s all.
Grabbing the hastily scrawled note from my purse containing the apartment’s keycode, I carefully press each number and it beeps, opening on the first try. Nervously, I step inside.
The first thing I notice is the way the apartment smells. Not necessarily a bad scent. But just not what I expected for a place full of girls. There’s no perfume here… instead, there’s a masculine vibe to it. Like body spray and medium rare steak.
My gaze sweeps the living room and I wince. Mismatched furniture is buried under piles of wrinkled clothes. A few takeout containers and beer cans litter the coffee table. The carpet looks like it hasn’t been vacuumed in a while. Not exactly what I pictured for my new home with the women’s rugby team. I sigh, remembering the meticulously decorated apartment photos the housing office had sent over. Is this some kind of hazing prank? Maybe I should just turn around and crash at a hotel tonight.
But no—I’m here to prove I can handle anything they throw at me, on and off the field. I’m just being picky. So what? They’re not a house full of Martha Stewarts, but the same could be said about me. I straighten my shoulders, inhaling the stale air. I’ve got this. Time to show my new team I don’t flinch in the face of mess.
Stepping further inside, I push aside the apprehension swirling in my gut. This isn’t the fresh start I envisioned, but it’s not a big deal. Nothing a quick tidy-up can’t fix. I’ll make it work. I’m ready for a new chapter, whatever form it takes.
I let Jonah out of his carrier and he eagerly jumps out and runs off to explore his new home. He’s not one of those cats who cowers and hides away until they’re comfortable. He’s the curious one, the brave adventurer. I never thought a cat could inspire a human, but I admire his unabashed courage on an almost daily basis.
The kitchen is clean, but in a haphazard way, as if the counter was wiped down in a rush or an afterthought.A few stray dishes are piled in the sink, but they at least look like they’ve been rinsed.
I peer inside the fridge. Stacks of steaks and pork chops. And a ton of chicken breast. A humongous block of cheese. Barely a vegetable in sight. I cautiously open the vegetable crisper, and inside I find a combination of beer and electrolyte drinks. Maybe everyone here is on a keto diet or something? But it’s definitely not what I expected. That said, rugby girls have a reputation for being a bit quirky–and god knows I am–so who am I to talk? At least I won’t be short on protein.
I head to the bathroom, bracing myself for what I might find. The entire room has a light coating of something dark and… oh my god! I flinch away as I realize the substance appears to be body hair. Short, curly, dark. Now, I’m not afraid of body hair in principle, but everyone has their limits. It looks like someone bushwhacked a mountain of pubes and then blew it all over the room like dandelion spurs.
“What in the world?” I mutter. The sink is covered in globs of toothpaste and stubble trimmings. The mirror is so spotted and smeared I can barely see my reflection. I look down at the bathmat and recoil in horror—it’s like a fur rug, totally coated in even more coarse, dark hair.
I was excited to meet my roommates, but now I’m a little terrified. Who exactly am I going to be sharing this space with?
I take a deep breath, steadying myself. I’ve got this. I’ll keep an open mind and figure this out. Maybe it’ll even be good for me, pushing me outside my comfort zone… I’m not sure how, but I need to believe in something positive.
The only good thing I can see right now in this room is the bathtub. It’s fucking huge, and I get the feeling it hasn’t been used in a while. It’s one of the cleanest surfaces I’ve seen in the entire apartment.
Whatever’s going on, though, I’m fairly certain that my roommates aren’t who I thought they’d be. I pictured chatting over face masks with my female rugby teammates, not...this. If I’m honest, I feel totally blindsided.
I lean against the wall, trying to wrap my mind around the situation. Maybe this is all just a misunderstanding. But as I look around again, taking in the hair-clogged shower drain and hairy soap bars, I begin to realize there’s no mistaking it.
My theory is confirmed as Jonah strides back into the room, proudly dragging what are unmistakably a pair of men’s boxer briefs.
I’m living with men.Messy ones, at that.
My heart pounds as the reality sinks in. I’ve gone from expecting to room with my fellow rugby girls to apparently moving in with a bunch of total strangers—male strangers. This is so far outside my comfort zone, I can barely process it. There must have been some kind of mix-up with the housing department.
I shake my head in disbelief. How could this have happened? I thought I was finally going to find my place here. Instead, it seems like I’ve been dropped into the ultimate fish-out-of-water situation.
But, there are worse things I suppose. I can get this all ironed out. This is just another challenge to overcome on my way to proving my worth.
As I turn to leave the disaster of a bathroom, I lift my chin up. I didn’t come this far to back down now.
I head back out into the apartment, determined to investigate further. There have got to be more clues here to explain this bizarre situation.
Jonah discards the newly discovered boxer briefs in the middle of the floor and accompanies me on the rest of my investigation.
I wander into the first bedroom. The decor is minimal, just a twin bed and a dresser. But the pile of dirty clothes spilling out of the hamper and the gym bag tossed haphazardly in the corner speak volumes.
Making my way to the kitchen again, I notice details that escaped me before. The protein powder jars lined up along the counter. The collection of bottle openers almost overflowing from the silverware drawer. The sophisticated gaming console that takes up most of the room around the TV.
My mind races, trying to make sense of it all. This has to be a mistake...right? I was so focused on making the women’s rugby team, I guess I didn’t pay close enough attention to the housing details. Some major miscommunication clearly went down.
I shake my head, laughing in disbelief. Of all the crazy situations I thought I’d encounter as a professional athlete in an elite club training program, suddenly living with a bunch of guys definitely wasn’t one.
I guess there’s only one way to find out for sure—meet the roommates face-to-face. My palms sweat at the thought, but my curiosity wins out. I’ve never backed down from a challenge yet. So I square my shoulders and get ready to face whatever comes next head on. This year is definitely not going to be boring.
I hear deep voices and heavy footsteps approaching. I freeze in place as the door’s keypad beeps and then it opens.
Two men enter. What the hell? They both freeze as they notice me standing there watching them.
But… wait a second. These are no ordinary men. They are massive, each one well over six foot. When I say these men are titans, I mean it. Their arms bulge from their sleeves, tattoos proudly on display. Their rugby shorts cling to their quads like thick Christmas hams. And both of them have gorgeous faces to match their exquisite bodies—chiseled jaws, sparkling eyes.
When the universe was giving out attractiveness points, I swear it handed a few extra to each man who plays rugby.
The first has short dark brown hair, closely cropped. His eyes are a piercing green color. His shoulder and arm muscles bulge from his shirt, threatening to tear the fabric. And his huge arms are covered in tattoos. His mouth twists in a smirk as he glances at me, his gaze trailing over my body, leaving me blushing.
The other guy is about the same height and just as breathtaking. His hair is a slightly lighter, more sandy color, and he wears a neatly trimmed beard that highlights his angular jaw and high cheekbones. He also sports tattoos over his muscular arms and legs.
I don’t know who these men are, but they are magnificent.
“What do we have here?” One of them asks.
“Yeah, haha. Did someone order a stripper?” The bearded one asks, his eyes roaming over my body.
I look down self-consciously, my crop top and shorts suddenly leaving me painfully bare rather than cute and put together like I’d felt when I dressed this morning.
“No, I’m not a stripper! I’m a hooker!” The audacity!
The men’s eyes grow wide and I blush as I realize the alternate meaning of my words.
“Jeez, Coach wasn’t lying when he said he had some weird shit planned for us this season.” The cute one… well, they’re both cute. The cute one without the beard speaks up. “And I thought you lot were meant to be referred to as sex workers these days?”
“A rugby hooker! I play the position of hooker in rugby!” I exclaim, exasperated, still blushing, but now starting to get slightly annoyed at the implication.
“Well, that’s great to hear. We play rugby too. No offense, but… who are you and what are you doing in our apartment?”
“Um, I’m just as confused as you are. I’m supposed to live here now, but there seems to have been some type of mix-up. I’m… Dylan.”
“You’re Dylan?“ The one with the beard quirks a brow and the two guys look at each other.
“Yeah, my mother was big on unisex names. I guess she read some study where they made women more likely to succeed in life than something more girly—“ I realize I’m rambling and let my words trail off.
No-Beard snorts. “Well, it looks like she fucked up because you’re the latest addition to apartment 403. Making us your new roommates.”
I glance at them and then back around the room. Suddenly the apartment makes a lot more sense. “That would explain the mess and the copious amounts of body hair everywhere.”
“Yeah, this is a guys’ apartment…” His voice trails off. “At least it was. Couldn’t you tell?” He gestures around, and I smirk at the crunched-up beer cans and other trash.“And don’t be so sexist. Girls can be messy, too. We have a few friends on the women’s team, and you can bet their apartments are just like ours. Maybe worse.”
I quirk a brow, but he’s right.
“Let me give the housing office a call and try to get this figured out.” I gesture at the suitcases I hauled in. “Luckily, I didn’t bring much. My other stuff isn’t arriving for a couple of weeks. And my cat doesn’t take up much room.”
“Excuse me, did you say cat?“ asks Bearded Guy.
“Yes, I have a cat. It was on my application form.”
As if on queue, Jonah strides past once again, the boxer briefs in his mouth and proudly trailing behind him.
“Well, clearly whoever processed your application didn’t read it properly. Killian’s deathly allergic to cats. Or maybe he just hates them. One or the other. I forget.”
“Who’s Killian?”
“Our other roommate,” Bearded Guy shrugs. “You’d better get things sorted out. And what the hell? Are those my undies?” He snatches them from Jonah, who narrows his eyes and puts a paw out in a lazy attempt to take them back.
No Beard speaks up. “I guess we should introduce ourselves. You don’t know our names either. I’m Noah,” he says, and then gestures at Bearded Guy, “and this here is Jayden. And I suppose it doesn’t really matter for you, but Killian is out of town right now, and it sounds like he’ll be back in the next few days.”
Bearded Guy nods. Neither makes a move to shake my hand or anything. They just stand there awkwardly.
“Nice to meet you, I guess?” My voice squeaks like two balloons rubbing together.
I can’t believe it. Of all the apartments in this entire city, I land myself in a place with two more rugby jocks. Great, just great. My perfect living situation has been ruined before I even unpacked my bags.
“Listen,” says Noah, glancing at his watch. “The housing office has closed for the day, so you’re not going to be able to change anything until at least the morning. There’s obviously a room available, so you can stay here the night so you don’t have to worry about getting a hotel or anything. And then the housing office is just down the road, so you can go there first thing when they open.”
Still feeling overwhelmed by the situation, I sigh and nod. While it wasn’t the night I had planned, and I’d really hoped to be able to start making myself at home in my new room, he’s right. The thought of searching around for a hotel with vacancies—one that’s pet-friendly at that—seems like a step too far right now. And a room’s a room.
“Thank you,” I say. “And don’t worry, Jonah and I will be out of your hair in no time.” I blush. “And I’m so sorry about… that.” I gesture at the boxer briefs. “He’s got a thing for underwear. You should see what he does with my bras.”
At the mention of bras, Jayden and Noah’s eyes flick toward my chest as if on autopilot, and I find myself blushing yet again. I cross my arms protectively over myself.
They give me a spontaneous tour of the apartment which, while slightly awkward, thankfully goes off without a hitch. It’s a little more leisurely than my earlier snooping, so this time I have an opportunity to take it all in. Aside from the mess, the space is exactly as I remembered from the photos—spacious and well-lit. Noah and Jayden are surprisingly considerate, albeit a bit flustered, as they show me around, making sure to point out the finer details of their bachelor pad that might’ve eluded my notice.
“This here’s the gym,” Noah gestures, in what I assume was once a garage. “Got everything you might need for a good workout, including a pull-up bar and some handy dumbbells. And over there,” he continues, leading us back upstairs, “is the man cave, uh, I mean, uh, common room.”
We return to the living room. “Okay, well, that’s it!” Noah exclaims, visibly relieved that the tour is over. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask, alright?”
“Yeah, we’re here to help, man—er, I mean, you know,” Jayden stutters, elbowing Noah in the ribs.
“Thanks, guys, I appreciate it.” I give them a genuine smile. “I’m sure we’re all adults here, and we can make this work for one night.”
“Absolutely,” Noah nods. “Alright, well, we’ll leave you to get settled in. We’ve got some errands to run, so take your time.” He gives me another once over and I find myself blushing again under his intense gaze. “You know, if it weren’t for the cat, we might get you to stay.”