Chapter 27
When Mack told me he lived with three roommates, I imagined a dark, grubby, low-slung track home in a dodgy neighborhood. There would probably be huge cracks in the cement driveway, grease stains, and a bunch of torn-apart cars and motorcycles everywhere.
My imagination couldn't have been further from the truth.
The house is a grand, two-story brick Victorian set back on a wooded hill.
The long driveway is gravel to start with, ending in a pristine cement pad near the house.
Two very nice cars are parked neatly at one end; three massive, chromed-out motorcycles are lined up on the other side.
I manage to snap my mouth shut by the time I get out of the truck. My ratty duffel bag feels outclassed by the surroundings. It looks like one of those fancy bed and breakfasts you'd rent out for weddings.
Mack comes around and opens my door, then opens the back door, lets Mooch out, and grabs my duffle bag. Midnight is yowling and hissing in intermittent spurts. I pick up her carrier and the four of us head inside.
"This place is really nice." I smooth down my hair as I stand in the entryway and look around.
Although the wide plank wood floors, the high ceilings, and the chandelier scream expensive, the furniture is a flotsam of second-hand stuff you'd expect from a bunch of bachelors living together. Mack walks through the entry into the huge living space.
Everything's got it's own space but it's all open to each other with arches. The big kitchen is off to one side, a dining room is defined by another arch, and in the center, there's a mammoth black leather sectional that faces an impressive flatscreen.
The couch is currently occupied by three guys, each with their eyes glued to the video game race happening on the big screen.
The bass of the race music thrums down my spine, the squeal of tires is so loud I nearly levitate.
Midnight either goes silent or she's been drowned out--there's no way to know.
"Can you turn that down?" Mack bellows.
"What?" Axe yells back, his eyes still focused on screen.
"Turn it down!"
"Thirty seconds left, bro!" Blake yells back. "That's how long it takes for me to kick both their asses."
Mack crosses his huge arms across the strap of my duffel, resigned to wait. I stand next to and slightly behind him. Caitlin is always asking me where the hot single guys are, and now I can tell her they live here, in a huge Italianate house in Haven, Texas.
There's an entire buffet here, and each dish is different. I realize that the light in the Mexican restaurant where we met was dim, but now I can see them all a lot better.
Blake is big and blonde, and nearly as muscled as Mack. There's the red-headed Axe, who's a bit slimmer, a bit taller, and has a cheeky look in his eye. He kind of reminds me of that Loki guy in the recent movies.
Then there's Tucker, and a guy with light brown hair that I haven’t met yet. He's obviously the youngest of the bunch, but still really cute. And the best thing is, they're all tall.
I'm studying the line-up when I realize Mack has turned back toward me. He arches a single eyebrow at me, watching me ogle the guys on the couch. I give him my best who, me? expression, and he shakes his head.
Finally, there's a bunch of whooping and a chorus of disappointed exclamations.
"I almost had you that time," Tucker says.
"Sure you did." Blake stands and throws his impressive arms over his head. "The winner, once again!"
In all the noise and joking, I don't think the guys even realize I'm standing there. At least, not until Mack walks over to the coffee table and stabs at the remote, muting the television. Then four sets of eyes swing over to me.
I give a little wince of a smile that probably makes me look like I'm holding in a huge fart. What can I say? I'm an introvert. I get weird when too many people look at me at once.
"You guys remember Gabriella," Mack says.
“I haven’t stopped thinking about her since we met,” Axe says with a grin.
I shake my head and laugh--the guy is incorrigible.
Blake’s the first one to notice the mark on my face--it’s going to be one hell of a black eye tomorrow, but right now it’s an awful, angry pink.
His eyes flash. “Who did that to you?”
You could hear a pin drop as the other guys really focus in on my face.
“A dead man walking,” Mack says lightly.
“Good,” Blake grunts. “Let me know if you need any help.”
“Anyway, Gabriella’s going to be staying with us for a few days."
"What is this, a halfway house for hot chicks?" Axe says. Then he narrows his eyes and kind of stares off into space. "Actually, I think that might be an excellent business model. I've been looking for investments, and that might just be the winner. We could call it the Sexy Singles Safehouse."
Mack ignores him. "Gabs, you remember Tucker?”
“Yeah, hi.” I wave.
“And that guy’s Cade. He’s a prospect.”
“Tucker's our room mate on a probationary basis," Axe says.
"Like me, then," I say, smiling at the guy.
Mack says, "No, you get to stay because I say so. He might get to stay. We vote at the end of the week."
"Shouldn't there be a vote for whether I can be here?" I ask.
Blake picks up his remote and starts jabbing at the buttons with his thumbs. "There's no restrictions on female guests. There can't be, otherwise Axe would never be able to pick up anyone at the bar."
"Hey!" Axe scowls. "I'll have you know the last couple were of prime quality."
"Yeah, Grade A bovine," Tucker says.
"Dont you turn on me like that," he says. "I'm the one who got you into the house to begin with."
Tucker shrugs, looking completely unconcerned, his attention back on the screen. I glance over--they're racing again, on mute.
"Just you see how I vote on Friday," Axe says. "The last two chicks were way better than usual."
"They didn't try and steal the copper pipes on the way out, at least," Blake mutters.
"They were great," Axe argues.
"If by great, you mean large. If you were buying by the pound, those ladies would have been in the bulk section," Cade says.
"Not my fault you can't handle that much woman," Axe says.
"I'm not sure you can either. Your fucking bed collapsed," he says.
"Because of the motion of the ocean, not because of the ballast."
I can't help it; my nose scrunches.
“Does that kind of shit offend you, Gabriella?” Blake asks.
I fix my face--I didn’t realize anyone was looking at me.
"Not at all. It’s just I have a hard time not picturing things when someone says them.”
"Naked Smurf with a boner!" Axe yells, grinning at me. On screen, one of the cars crashes into a wall and explodes; I assume it’s his.
"Ugh. I never should have told you that."
"You really, really shouldn't have," Mack agrees with a smile.
Mack hefts my massive duffel bag up the stairs. I can't help but look around as we go. This house is super pretty--there's white-painted moulding everywhere I look. I've always loved crown moulding, but my house is the wrong era for it. This house has it everywhere.
There’s a bunch of doors lining the hallway that’s open to the staircase and entryway below. Mack nods at one of them. "That’s my room. Feel free to knock if you need anything."
I follow him down to the last door in the hallway. He opens it and leads me into a nice-sized corner bedroom. It’s furnished simply, but beautifully--upholstered bed, nightstand, and an antique dresser set.
“The bathroom’s through there.” Mack nods and sets my duffel next to the dresser. “I’ll grab you some bedding and help you make up the bed.”
I check out the bathroom while Mack ducks out. It’s a stunning room--gorgeous tile, double vanity, with a clawfoot tub-shower combo that I can’t wait to use. I hear the snap of a sheet. Mack already has the fitted sheet half on the bed by the time I make it out to help him.
“We don't have any matching sets,” he says. “I have no idea what happens to them all, but these are clean, I promise.”
“It’s great, thank you.”
“And that bathroom has it’s own water heater, so go nuts.”
“Are you sure it’s ok, me being here?”
He rolls his eyes. “Not that it matters, but you aren't the first female we’ve had as a roommate. Blake’s sister stayed with us for awhile, until she married Dylan. Then another roommate, Briggs, had his girlfriend here until they moved out.”
“That actually makes me feel better.” I glance down at the cat carrier. “But what about Midnight? You know he’s a little asshole.”
Mack grins. “I’ll leave my door cracked for him and tell the other guys to shut theirs. And as far as asshole roommates go, Midnight won't be able to crack the top ten. You watch--both you and Midnight will be begging to get home as soon as possible when you see what Axe gets up to.”
“He doesn’t walk around naked or anything, does he?” I’d had a roommate in college who loved walking around in her birthday suit. It was totally weird.
“No, thank goodness, or we’d all go blind.”