Chapter 4 #2
“Better hope not, or I’ll haunt you forever,” I said. “If you think I’m bad now, wait until I’m a ghost. I’ll be insufferable.”
A grin touched her mouth before she quickly flattened it into a straight line. But the sparkle of laughter remained in her eyes, and that was enough to make me smile back.
When I returned my attention to the rest of the table, our friends had stopped talking and were staring at us with varying degrees of amusement, exasperation, and curiosity, respectively.
“If you’re done bickering, let’s get back to the issue at hand,” Scarlett said dryly.
She was used to my verbal sparring with Brooklyn.
“I still don’t like the idea of you going back home, even with added security.
Are there other friends or teammates you can stay with? I still think a hotel is too public.”
She had a point. I’d already been recognized twice in the lobby, despite my attempts to go incognito. “Unfortunately not. No one else has a living situation that would work for a flatmate.”
“I would let you sleep on my couch, but it might be too uncomfortable,” Carina mused. “It’s a cheap couch.”
I patted her shoulder. “It’s the thought that counts.”
I’d known Carina for years. She was like another sister to me, and there was zero chance either of us would develop an attraction for the other.
Staying with her wouldn’t be weird, but she lived in a one-bedroom flat and I couldn’t sleep on a couch during football season.
Our physical performance team would kill me.
“If you don’t know anyone who has a spare room, maybe I do,” Scarlett said thoughtfully. “It has to be someone who’s vetted, lives alone, and won’t freak out over the fact that you’re, well, you. Someone like…” She trailed off.
A beat of silence passed before every head swung toward Brooklyn.
Her fork froze halfway to her mouth. She lowered it slowly, her eyes darting around the table. “No. Absolutely not.”
“You said you were planning to rent out your second room anyway,” Carina pointed out.
“I never said that.”
“You should’ve.” Asher dumped fuel on the fire like the bastard he was. “A spare room in London is too valuable to leave empty. Vincent is annoying, but at least you know he’s not a psycho.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“Anytime.”
“This is ridiculous. He’s not moving in. He wouldn’t want to live with me anyway.” Brooklyn turned an expectant gaze my way. “Right?”
It took me an extra second to respond. “Right.”
On paper, it was a terrible idea. If Coach would kill me for looking at her the wrong way, he would torture then kill me if I shacked up with his only daughter—his ridiculously beautiful, sharp-tongued daughter, who knew exactly how to get under my skin and who somehow managed to make me want her more with every insult she threw my way.
On the other hand, Brooklyn’s setup was pretty perfect per Scarlett’s specifications. She lived alone in a big flat that was close to our training grounds, she wasn’t a serial killer, and she smelled nicer than anyone else I knew. That last point was weirdly prominent in my mind.
“No, wait, I really think we’re onto something.” Carina wouldn’t let it go. “Vincent needs a place to stay; Brooklyn will get extra cash. I don’t see what the issue is. It’s a win-win.”
Pink blossomed across Brooklyn’s face. “The issue is we can’t live together. We’ll drive each other nuts.”
“How do you know? You’ve never lived together before,” Carina said. “It’s better than finding some rando from Gumtree.”
“I just know.” Brooklyn released an exasperated sigh. “Vincent, back me up here.”
I opened my mouth to do exactly that, but the words that came out weren’t the ones I’d intended. “Carina has a point.”
“What?” She gaped at me. “You just said you didn’t want to live with me!”
“I don’t.” I sniffed trouble from a mile away, but the more she pushed back, the more I wanted to prove her wrong.
What could I say? It was the contrarian in me.
The wheels in my head spun. The Coach threat was significant, but as far as I knew, he and Brooklyn didn’t spend much time together. The chances of him randomly dropping by her flat were slim.
It would take some finessing, but we could keep our flatmate situation a secret from him. It wasn’t like I was going to stay there forever.
I explained all this (minus the Coach part). Brooklyn didn’t look convinced.
“Look, it’s your home. You can let me in or not,” I said. “But it’s interesting how adamant you are about it. It’s almost like you’re scared.”
Brooklyn straightened immediately. Bingo. I knew that would get to her.
Goading her always felt like winning some secret game we played, and I’d just scored a major point.
Scarlett groaned and covered her face with her hands. She probably regretted putting forth Brooklyn’s place as an option, but it was too late. The train had already left the station.
“Scared of what?” Brooklyn demanded.
“Of not being able to control yourself around me.”
She sputtered out a sound that was half laugh, half scoff. “Do you hear yourself? That’s the sound of your delusion and ego colliding. Trust me, I’d be able to control myself just fine.”
“Prove it.” I leaned forward until I was close enough to count the faint freckles dotting her nose and cheeks.
Her eyes were a deep sapphire in the late morning light, and I could smell her perfume again—something fresh and citrusy, like a lemon grove on a warm summer day. “Let me move in with you.”
Her eyes sparked. Her nostrils flared.
And I knew I had her before she even opened her mouth.
“Fine,” she said. “But I’m charging you double for rent.”
“Deal.” I settled back against my seat, my chest aglow with satisfaction and a tingle of something else.
Scarlett dropped her head to the table. Asher rubbed her back, a shit-eating grin on his face. Next to him, Carina sipped her drink, her expression neutral save for the smirk lurking in the corners of her mouth.
As for me? I was already making plans for my stay at Brooklyn’s place.
This was going to be fun.