Chapter 24
SIENNA
I’m losing a fight with the comforter as I’ve woken up in a pool of my own sweat.
The added heat of the blankets feels suffocating, and I kick them off me, just as I notice Theo isn’t in bed.
When the heat doesn’t let up, despite lying in bed in only shorts and my bralette, I know the heat wave has finally hit us.
Although I thought the house had air-conditioning, so I'm not exactly sure why it’s so hot inside.
I don’t bother to remove my bonnet, since it’s currently keeping the hair off my sweaty neck, as I throw on the oversized heart-shaped tie-dyed T-shirt. Heading out of the bedroom, I run into an annoyed Beth standing in the hallway.
“Well, we’ve officially made it to hell.” She throws her hands up, the motion causing a strand of hair to fall out of her messy top bun and into her face.
Beth and I make our way downstairs when we hear a chorus of voices coming from the living room.
“We can fix it ourselves. It’ll be fine,” Leo says.
“You can’t fix shit, Leo. We should just call a guy and float in the lake the rest of the day,” Alex says as we descend the stairs.
“You’re still upset you lost the burger contest, aren’t you?” Leo responds.
It’s true. Leo won, and Alex was upset because, apparently, he “always wins,” but how could he not? The burgers everyone made last night were great, but once again, no one's cooking could compare to Leo’s. Seriously, his kitchen skills need to be studied.
Alex tried to get some cooking tips from him as they were cooking, but Leo wasn’t interested.
He said normally he would be honored to teach his brothers some tricks in the kitchen, but there was no way he was going to give Alex tips that could help him win.
Seems like Alex isn’t the only one hell-bent on winning this year.
“I was wrong, we aren’t in hell. We’ve died and gone to heaven,” Beth says in front of me, only loud enough for the two of us to hear. When I catch up to her at the bottom of the stairs, I turn my attention toward what she’s looking at.
In the living room, all four brothers have gathered. Shirtless. In shorts. With a faint sheen of sweat glistening on their chests.
“Oh my God, do they all live at the gym?” I whisper-scream to Beth.
The living room is currently a sea of muscle. A mix of toned, lean abs and bulky, built biceps. Not to mention, V-lines for days. It’s all noise to me until my eyes lock onto Theo’s body. I caught a glimpse of his abs the other night, but something is different about him this morning.
His hair is disheveled as if he woke up in a sweat like the rest of us.
A few pieces fall into his face, making his already perfectly chiseled jawline and beautifully carved smile even more deadly.
My eyes greedily take in the curves of his chest and abs.
The defined V-line points directly to the very generous length I had my hands all over just the other night.
The early morning sun streams through the windows and hits his body, highlighting the peaks and valleys of his muscles perfectly.
His shorts hang low on his waist, and I have to cross my arms over my chest in an effort to hide my hardening nipples at the sight of him.
The man looks like Michelangelo himself carved him.
Beth takes a deep breath. “Why did I swear off dating men again?”
We’re interrupted before I have a chance to respond. “You ladies want to take a picture? We make for a nice screen saver.” Alex raises his fists to flex his biceps. My cheeks heat when I realize they’ve all just caught us gawking at them.
“And once again, a nice moment is ruined by a man opening his mouth,” Beth says as she passes the living room, making her way toward the kitchen.
Stealing one more glance at Theo’s V-line, I follow Beth to the kitchen.
With the open-concept layout, I’m sure to keep my back toward the living room as I make a breakfast plate.
Busying my hands until the nerves of just being caught subsides.
That plan is thrown out the window when the men join us in the kitchen.
“Sorry for the cold breakfast spread today. With the AC dying on us, we couldn’t risk turning the oven on this morning.” Leo says, grabbing a bagel off the breakfast he put together. I’ve appreciated his dedication to having breakfast ready for us each morning.
I load my plate up with fruit, hoping the cold food will help me cool down from the inside out. Especially if Theo doesn’t plan to put his shirt back on anytime soon.
“The AC is out? It's only seven in the morning, and it’s already ninety degrees out,” Beth complains from beside me before viciously tearing into a bagel.
“Don’t worry, we’ve got a guy on the way,” Alex reassures us.
“No, we’re going to fix it ourselves. It’ll go faster, and we only have until about ten o’clock until the heat really gets bad.” Roman heads toward the back deck, motioning the guys to follow. “C’mon, we don’t have all day.”
Leo grabs four waters from the fridge before following Roman out back. Alex grunts in irritation but follows anyway. I barely catch any of it because I’m too distracted by Theo’s body to notice anything happening around me.
I’m watching a drop of sweat make its way from his collarbone down to the waistline of his shorts when he interrupts me by grabbing a piece of pineapple from the plate I forgot I was holding.
My eyes dart up to his, and without saying a word, he pops the piece of pineapple inside his mouth, smiling at me as he follows his brothers out back.
I was hoping to catch Roman this morning to see if he had any thoughts on my portfolio that I sent him last night. Given the urgency with which he books it outside, I decide to hold off until the air conditioner is fixed.
“Why does part of me think they did that to us on purpose?” I snap out of whatever trance Theo put me in when Beth asks me a question.
“Did what on purpose? Make the AC go out?” I take a seat at the counter after grabbing a couple of cold waters for the two of us.
Beth comes to sit beside me. “I just meant making sure they were shirtless, looking their best, when they knew we would come down here having just gotten out of bed. But I like where your head is at too.” She has that look on her face.
The one that says I’m developing one of my evil plans, and you’re going to be dragged into it.
“Beth, no. They didn’t do any of this on purpose,” I say as I dig into my plate, relishing the chill of the fruit as it slides down my throat.
“Even if they didn’t do it on purpose, I say we get them back later.” She nudges me with her elbow.
“Get them back?”
“Yeah. By the time we’re done, he’ll be the one wanting to take a fucking photo.”
And suddenly, it becomes clear. This isn’t about them; it’s about him. I chuckle, biting into a piece of fruit, nodding along to the “plan” Beth has for later.
It’s innocent enough, and honestly, I wouldn’t mind seeing Theo squirm a little.
“Game on, boys. Game fucking on.” Beth raises her water to me, and I properly clink my plastic bottle to hers.