Chapter 6 Mia
After we had finished eating and tidied the kitchen area up, I had to wait even longer to leave the house because Brute needed to get food packed for him.
I couldn’t cook, but even I could make a smoothie.
I instantly knew there was something wrong with the smoothie when Jett asked the Brute to go upstairs and check his computer for him.
As soon as their feet hit the stairs, Quinn exploded into action, and within ten minutes, she had blended some truly disgusting ingredients together, while Gray kept watch in the hall.
I didn’t understand their dynamic. The whole family was unhinged in my opinion.
They all seemed to thrive on lies and deceit, and I wasn’t too keen on Ava becoming part of this.
What was the big deal about telling him about the smoothie?
To make things worse, Ava was on Quinn’s side.
More and more, she seemed to be getting friendlier with the exotic Quinn, and every time we were all together, I felt myself getting pushed out.
Or maybe I was being a drama llama . . . It wasn’t unheard of for me to slightly overreact. My mom was an actress, so it was in my blood, I suppose. Well, that was my excuse anyway.
With a grocery bag filled with boxes and containers, the green smoothie, and some fruit, Mom Quinn had packed all her little Brute’s food for him to survive the next week.
How on earth would I manage a week with him in the apartment?
I’d already imagined him naked in the shower more than once since this afternoon.
Maybe when his brother was rearranging my apartment, he could have upgraded our air-conditioning. I had a feeling I was going to be overheating a lot with Ash in the next room.
Jett and Ash came back into the kitchen, and I jumped off the barstool to finally go home.
“That’s you all set until lunch tomorrow,” Quinn told him with a wide smile as she pushed the brown grocery bag toward him, and as Ash thanked her, I realized what Quinn had said.
“All that’s for tonight?” I asked in horror as I looked at the bag.
“They practiced for five hours today,” Quinn told me as she wiped her hands on a dishcloth. “They have practice tomorrow morning too. Do you know how many calories they burn?”
Ash slapped his stomach with one hand as he effortlessly lifted the bag with the other. “I’m a growing boy,” he told her playfully.
“Yeah, you are,” Quinn laughed good-naturedly. “Just don’t mess up your meal plan. It’s my grade, remember.”
“Yes, Queeny, I know. I won’t.” He turned to me and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Ready?”
Nodding, I hugged Ava goodnight and exchanged a smile with Quinn. I felt bad for her, but honestly, I did think they were all overreacting.
As we walked back to the apartment, Ash spent most of the time on his phone, and I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to make conversation or not, so I walked alongside him in silence.
“You’re not usually this quiet,” he said suddenly, just as we reached the street to my apartment.
“You were on your phone,” I replied, feeling slightly defensive.
“Checking the football.” Ash flashed his phone at me, and sure enough, he was watching the game.
“It’s a fifteen-minute walk,” I protested.
“That’s a whole quarter, Red.” Ash tutted in disapproval.
“Do you know that the average NFL game takes about three hours to play, and on average, only eleven minutes of that time is actual playing?”
Ash stopped at the bottom of the stairs as we reached home and looked at me with wide eyes. “Oh shit, really? Wow, I never knew that.”
“Shut up,” I muttered at him as I unlocked the door. When I walked in, I was still amazed at the changes. Okay, it was furniture and some kitchen cupboards removed, but still, it was a shock to see the larger sofa, and it still annoyed me that they had done this to my home.
Ash looked around and whistled through his teeth as he took in the sofa and the TV. “Nice.”
“Bit ostentatious, no?”
“Size matters, never let anyone persuade you differently, Red.” His eyes danced with laughter as he unpacked his food haul into the fridge, leaving two containers out.
“You’re hungry?” I asked in slight disbelief.
“Snacks, for the game,” he said easily as he walked past me to switch the TV on.
He stood in front of it for a moment, making sure he’d missed nothing, and then he disappeared down the hallway.
I heard his cry of appreciation at the new bed, and as I poured myself a glass of water, I heard him talking to someone.
Hesitating, I wondered if I should listen. Ash took the indecision from me as he came back into the living room, his chest bare, his feet bare, and only wearing his jeans.
“No, dude, I’m saying it’s good. Yeah, I totally appreciate it, man. I was dreading asking her for a massage.”
Ash picked up his two containers with his snacks, and seeing my glass of water, he placed the phone between his ear and his shoulder and picked it up.
“Thanks. No, not you, was talking to the roomie.” Ash grinned at whatever was said before he laughed out loud.
In stunned wonder, I watched him settle onto the brand-new sofa, half naked, with my water, and open one of his boxes. He then proceeded to eat some kind of lettuce wrap with his hands as he spoke and turned the volume of the TV up.
Checking my own phone, I looked at the time. He’d been in the apartment for nine minutes. Nine minutes. How was he so at ease, like he was . . . home?
“Yo, Red,” he called as I turned in a daze to get another glass of water. “Can you hand me a paper towel?”
Numbly, I walked over and handed him two sheets of paper towels. Finally filling my glass, I hesitated for a moment, watching him, but his full attention was split between the phone call and the game.
Walking to my room, I closed the door firmly behind me and slowly sank onto my bed.
Reaching over to my nightstand, placing my water on it, I shrugged off my jacket as I still tried to comprehend what had just happened.
Lying back, I stared at the ceiling to process before turning onto my side, and I realized I could smell him on my pillow.
I could feel my temper rising, but I pushed it down. I knew why we were doing this, and I knew once they realized they were not in some form of imminent danger, normality would return. Until then, I just needed to keep my temper and not let little things bother me.
Little things being six-foot-four men who had left their smell all over my sheets and pillows.
With a groan, I stood and stripped the bed.
I wanted to be a better, more mature person; I did.
But all the heavenly angels couldn’t stop me from dumping my sheets at his bedroom door before I closed myself in my room.
After changing into yoga pants and a T-shirt, I pulled my class notes out and looked at the assignment that was due for one of the classes I shared with Ash.
My wooden lectern was calling to me, and my inner soul was screaming for some meditation. The best way for me to relax was to sing.
I could hear the low hum of the TV, and I knew Goliath was happy in his new space.
Rolling my neck on my shoulders, I forced myself to loosen up. Picking one of my favorite songs, a hymn, I first practiced my scales. When I felt that I was ready, I opened my mouth to sing.
A knock on the door cut me off, and I snapped my mouth shut as I glared at it.
“What?”
He didn’t even wait, just opened the door and poked his head in my room. “You got that assignment for me to look at?”
He looked genuinely interested. The longish light brown hair, the open face, the dark blue eyes, he was mouth-watering to look at. The fact that his six-pack was showing didn’t hurt him either. “Why aren’t you wearing a shirt?”
Ash looked down at himself in confusion. “Should I be?”
“I am.” That was the weakest argument I had ever heard.
Ash smiled a slow, sinful smile that had my pulse racing. “You don’t have to for my benefit.”
I could feel my cheeks burn as I tore my gaze away from him. Marching to my desk, I opened the file, and looking over my shoulder, I saw him checking out my ass.
“Brute!”
“Brute?”
“Quit it,” I told him, ignoring his question.
“Quit what?”
“You’re staring at my behind,” I said as I straightened.
“Yeah, and?”
“We spoke about this,” I reminded him.
“We said we wouldn’t fuck; no one said I couldn’t appreciate the view.”
Turning, I stared at him in wonder. “Oh my goodness, do you hear yourself?”
“Red, I’ve seen you butt naked. I’ve had my tongue on pretty much every part of you. Will you chill?” He walked into my room and looked at my laptop. “Will I take the whole thing, or are you wanting to send me it?”
“You really do make us sound sordid,” I muttered as I turned my back to him once again. “Email address?”
“How are we sordid?” Ash asked incredulously. “It’s just sex.”
Say nothing. “Dude, address.” He rattled off his email, and I quickly attached my assignment and sent it to him. “Thank you.”
“No worries.” He lingered.
“It’s halftime?” I guessed shrewdly.
His smile made me suddenly realize why Ava had hit the Santos so many times when she met them. They induced violence.
“It is.” Ash rubbed his jaw. “Why you so caught up on the sex?”
“I’m not, I just don’t think it’s necessary to mention it all the time.” Shrugging, I walked back to my lectern, happily putting distance between us.
“I wasn’t aware that I was, but you’re acting like you’re ashamed of your body or something,” he said.
“What?” He truly had the ability to make me speechless and not in a good way.
“I say you have a nice ass, and you get all jumpy at the fact I’ve dug my fingers into it while you were riding me.”
He needed to stop talking. “Okay, new rule!” I said hurriedly to stop him from continuing. “We don’t have sex, we don’t talk about sex, and we never mention the fact that we had sex, ever again.”
His head dropped slightly to the left as he looked at me. “Were you always this tense?”
“Yes.”