CHAPTER 6
ROMAN
“The porch? What porch?” I ask in a gasping breath as I look wide-eyed at Carter. I can feel a blush creeping up my cheeks that only gets brighter when Drew drops the open cake box in the middle of the table and I read the message on it. ‘Please help me bone your brother.’ Snapping my head to Carter he at least has the decency to look regretful. Clearly he didn’t expect me to be here. Deciding to play into it and not clutch my pearls, I reach forward and run my finger through the frosting, scraping off the word ‘bone’ and sucking it off my finger. Carter's groan and readjustment of his jeans along with both Ryan and Drew covering their eyes is absolutely worth a few moments of embarrassment.
“Seriously, marry me?” Carter whispers almost breathlessly as his eyes stay glued to my lips. Assuming I must have frosting on my face I slowly lick my lips which incites another groan from Carter before he drops his head to the tabletop and snakes his hand down to press firmly against his cock. Smirking at managing to make him uncomfortable, in a good way, I turn back to my brother.
“I just want to say thank you again for letting me crash on your couch while I get myself back on my feet. I know I was meant to be job hunting today, but I will make up for it tomorrow. There won’t be a business left in the city that I haven't checked out,” I assure him because I really am so thankful that they are allowing me to stay here for a few weeks, even if the couch is tiny and the dogs fart an excessive amount. Being close to my brother again is absolutely worth it.
“Of course, Ro, you are welcome to stay here while you get back on your feet. Maybe we can pick up an air mattress, that couch is pretty small for a guy your size to sleep on.” I wave him off at that idea. I don’t want them spending any more money on me than they already have.
“It’s cool honestly, I don’t…” My words get cut off when Carter jumps up and starts flapping his arms wildly. Thankfully, it's not only my brow that is creased in confusion.
“What the fuck are you doing? Are you having a fit or something, do you need an ambulance?” Ryan asks, rushing to his feet to check Carter himself. He might give his friend shit but it's obvious how much Ryan cares for Carter, who grabs his arms, pinning them to his body and shaking him. If it wasn’t for the huge grin on his face I might have felt the need to get the guy off my brother.
“Don’t you see? Fate or Karma or whatever you believe is at work here. I have a spare room, so Roman can move into my place. He can help me with the repairs in exchange. We all know if I don't get help the house will never be anything more than a shack. THIS. IS. PERFECT.” He claps his hands in Ryan's face emphasizing each word. Turning his enthusiasm on me he walks around the table, drops to one knee beside me and with a salacious wink he takes my hand.
“Will you, Roman Hilson, do me the honor of being my roommate/handyman helper?” He wiggles his eyebrows again like he did at the shop earlier when I saw him. Fuck, that was just this morning. This has been a seriously long day. I’m not sure if it is the fact I'm exhausted physically from walking for hours today, emotionally drained after talking with Derek or if I just feel drawn to this ridiculous man. The answer comes quicker than anybody expected if the gasps are anything to go by.
“Sure, why not.”
“Fuck yes!” he exclaims and jumps to his feet and proceeds to… dance I think. I’m not actually sure. He's moving his arms at the front and back of his legs.
“Dude, are you flossing?” Ryan asks then bursts out laughing before joining him doing the bizarre dance. I look up at Drew hoping for some kind of clarification but he's just shaking his head and laughing at the pair of them like this is a common occurrence he's seen many times.
“Don’t worry, Muscles, I have a spare controller. I will introduce you to the world of Fortnite. Victory Royales are in your future. May as well learn the floss.” Carter winks then drops back into his seat. “Alright, go get your shit, we are taking the cake home, popping open a beer and having a gaming marathon.”
What the fuck have I gotten myself into?
CARTER
I’m not sure what I did in another life to deserve this kind of luck, but you better believe I’m going to stop and buy a lottery ticket on the way home with Roman. I’m going to ride this lucky train for as long as I can.
I turned up at Ryan's place planning to beg and plead to get Roman’s number. Instead, I’m leaving with him in the passenger seat of my car with Hulk on his lap happily sticking his head out of the window and periodically licking Roman’s face like he just can’t help himself. I can’t blame him. If it wasn’t frowned upon to lick people without consent like dogs do, I totally would have licked him by now. From head to fucking toe.
“Home, sweet home,” I announce proudly as I pull into my driveway and shut off the ignition, bathing us in darkness. I turn to look at Roman as he takes in my house, aka my live-in project. I'm not sure if we can call it a house right now; it really is a work in progress. Thankfully, the inside is nowhere near as bad as the outside. In fact, that was the first thing I did when I purchased it. Ripped out and replaced the kitchen, the en suite bathroom and all of the flooring. I moved in right away and lived among the chaos for weeks. So even if the outside resembles an abandoned building, the inside is sweet as fuck.
It’s obvious Roman is dubious and I can’t blame him, it does kind of look like a murder house. He is also too polite to say anything about it. He’s adorable.
“Come on, Muscles, have some faith.” I grin and get out of the car, grabbing his duffel bag from the back seat. It made me sad to see how few belongings he has. As far as I can see, everything he owns fits inside this duffel bag and it isn’t even full.
My chest puffs up in pride when I watch Roman’s eyes widen at the inside of the house. I remodeled it to have an open floor plan, so when we walk through the front door we are faced with a large bright space. I have some of mine and the other guys' sketches framed and hung up on the walls. There’s a massive L-shape black fabric couch that would easily be big enough for even Roman's big body to sleep comfortably on. Not that I plan for him to sleep there.
In front of the couch is a sixty-inch TV and gaming console with a soft-as-fuck rug on the floor and a coffee table in the center. I pat him on the back to keep him moving while extracting a wiggling Hulk from his tight grip. I set Hulk on the floor and watch as he prances over to his house-shaped bed. I lead Roman over to the kitchen and wave at the cupboards and fridge. “Take whatever you need, I’m always stocked up,” I assure him then move around the counter again to lead him upstairs to see his room.
“I’m there.” I point at my bedroom door. “That's the bathroom and that's your room next to it. I have an en suite so this bathroom can be all yours. But just so we are clear, my door is always open for cuddles, naked or otherwise.” I wink and push open my guest room door. The space is just like the rest of the house. Bright and open. There is a solid wood king-size bed with a light gray cover that clearly looks like it's never been slept on. The artwork on the walls in this room are more of my work but I kept a theme in each room. This room has images of wolves and the moon and nightscapes. It’s masculine but still calming to me. I love wolves. They are such majestic animals, their loyalty knows no bounds.
“What do you think?” I look up at Roman. I wonder if he knows how expressive his eyes are. I can already see on his face that he's feeling somewhat overwhelmed and probably thinks he can’t stay here for free. The tension in his frame has me leading to that conclusion, so before he can make a run for it, I throw his bag into the room and grab his hand, pulling him back out of the room. “Come on, you haven't seen the best part yet.” I tug him with me hoping that my excitement will overcome his internal doubt.
Heading downstairs I guide him to the basement door, scooping up Hulk on the way who has been happily drinking from his personalized water bowl, and turn to face Roman. “I have a feeling this is going to seal the deal, Muscles.” I beam and open the door, running down the stairs. I wait for him to follow me down. He seems to be unsure but quickly shrugs his shoulders and runs down, skidding to a stop at the bottom as he takes in my home gym. I have treadmills, ellipticals, rowers, as well as a full weight bench and rack.
“This is my happy place, everything is gym standard and if you need heavier weights I can easily have them ordered. You look like you bench a hell of a lot more than me.” I laugh, setting Hulk down so he can sniff around the equipment like he wasn’t just down here this morning with me. I wipe my clammy hands on my jeans. I hadn’t realized how nervous I was for Roman to like my place until now. His shoulders still look tense and I'm not certain he won't still run.
“This is awesome, man. Are you sure you don’t mind me crashing here?” he asks, a glimpse of the shy, unsure guy from the art show rearing its head.
“Hey, you are gonna help me fix this place up right? You are doing me a favor. Least I can do is give you a decent bed to sleep on. Now, let’s get you acquainted with the incredible world of Fortnite.” I grin, grab Hulk and wave my hand back up the stairs wanting to help him relax in my home which I hope he will grow to think of as his home. I know what you're thinking. I don’t even know this guy and he just got out of a lengthy sentence in prison and I’m still not sure what he did. The thing is, I am a big believer in fate and listening to my gut, and my gut tells me Roman is a good guy and he is perfect for me. I just need to show him that he can rely on me.