Chapter 47
FORTY-SEVEN
Twila
When we arrived at Emerson’s last night, his roommates were gone.
Emerson gave me a tour of the place, and it looks exactly as it did in the video tour he gave me a few weeks ago.
It was clean and tidy, a bit surprising for a bachelor pad.
We had an easy dinner of sandwiches and chips before retiring for the evening to his bedroom.
I turn my head to look at him, and he’s sleeping peacefully. When we climbed into bed last night, he pulled me into the spooning position, kissed the back of my head, and said “Good night, Twila.”
I’d never admit it out loud, but I was a bit disappointed. He didn’t try to start anything sexual, and his actions put the kibosh on me trying to instigate it. I guess he was tired, or something.
I didn’t hear his roommates arrive home before I fell asleep around midnight, so I assume they’re still in bed this early in the morning. Moving carefully so as not to jostle the bed, I climb out and sneak downstairs in my pajamas. I need some caffeine.
The scent of fresh coffee curls into my nostrils as I pad barefoot into the kitchen. Before I can twirl around for a hasty retreat, a deep voice calls out, “Well, hello there.”
I freeze mid-turn, then exhale slowly as I spin to face the owner of that baritone voice.
My eyes widen as they land on all six-feet-plus of him, looking sleepy and mussed in a black t-shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants.
His blond hair is standing up at weird angles, and his chocolate brown eyes are soft and welcoming.
“Hi,” I squeak, then clear my throat, trying again. “Hi, I’m Twila.”
The Adonis nods, saying, “I recognize you from BingBang. I’m Stone.”
Ah, one of the twins. I stiffen at the thought. Oh, Jesus. There are two of him?
I haven’t even finished considering the possibility when the man, himself, joins us. Shirtless and stretching like a tiger, a carbon copy of Stone walks in, pausing when he sees me.
“Mason, Twila. Twila, Mason,” Stone says as he holds out a steaming mug in my direction.
I look back and forth between them for three, maybe four, seconds, my head on a swivel and my eyes wide. They both stare back at me, their right eyebrows arched in the most identical of ways.
“Holy shit,” I breathe, shaking my head.
Four eyes narrow immediately, and I find myself apologizing. I take the cup Stone is still holding out for me, and I try to gather my wits as I head for the fridge to grab the bottle of vanilla creamer I saw in there last night. When I look back at the twins, they’re still frowning.
I’m confused for a beat, and then, it hits me. They’re not happy about my reaction to their combined appearance. I study them both as I take a sip of my coffee. They’re definitely in protective mode, and the only person they can be protecting is Emerson.
Fake or not, his wife shouldn’t be checking them out.
Not that I am. Not really. My reaction was pure shock at their general attractiveness. Hell, just because I’m not ordering doesn’t mean I can’t look at the menu. And besides, as gorgeous as they are, they still have nothing on Emerson.
“Emer––” I start, but the word cuts off when their other roommate–– this must be Ritchie ––walks into the kitchen.
Jesus. He’s tall, too, but where the twins are light, he’s dark. Brown hair curls around his head like a halo and dark blue eyes study me from behind black-rimmed glasses.
How did four guys as hot as this end up living together? It’s a reality show in the making.
“Oh, hi. I’m Ritchie,” he says, smiling softly as he holds out a hand for me to shake.
I use the right motions, shaking his hand and nodding, but I’m still a bit dazed by the soft timber of his voice and the way his ringlet curls bounce when he moves. God, he’s downright beautiful .
As I gather my wits, Ritchie notices the twins’ frowns and cocks his head, silently asking them what’s up. I open my mouth to explain and to assure them that I won’t be trying to come onto them, or anything, but Emerson shuffles in before I can speak.
“Oh, good. You’ve all met,” he says on a yawn.
I look from him, to Ritchie, to each of the twins, then back to Emerson again, my expression obviously bewildered. Emerson narrows his eyes, confused.
“What?”
“Why did you think you needed to fake a romance with me for higher numbers?” He looks confused, so I wave my hands at the circle of masculine beauty around me. “You’ve got three roommates who are damn near as hot as you are. Making videos with them would send you mega-viral in a second.”
The twins seem to relax as one at my “damn near hot as you” comment, confirming their protective tendencies toward Emerson. It makes me wonder if women have ever used him to get close to them. I make a mental note to ask him about it later, when we’re alone.
Stone is grinning, and he shoves Emerson on the arm as he asks, “Yeah, E, why haven’t you put us in any of your videos?”
Emerson rolls his eyes at him before turning back to me and saying, “It’s not for a lack of trying. They won’t do it because they know I’d insist on splitting the earnings with them.”
I look between him and the others as I connect the dots. They refuse to do that because splitting the earnings would mean less money going to Emerson’s mom and sister.
And just like that, I fall in love with them. In a totally platonic way, of course.
“Do you guys have BingBang accounts?” I ask, my mind spinning with ideas.
“We do…” Mason says.
“…but we don’t post,” Stone adds, finishing his brother’s sentence. “We mostly just have it to scroll and waste time.”
“Same,” Ritchie says when I look at him.
“What if,” I start, my mind spinning, “we shoot something together? All of us can be in it, and I’ll post it and tag your accounts.
Your following is guaranteed to grow, and if you decide you want to, you can start posting, yourselves, and monetize your own accounts.
It would be a nice, easy side hustle for you, if you’re interested. ”
Ritchie, Stone and Mason look a bit skeptical, but nod and say they’ll think about it. Emerson just smiles before shuffling over to the coffee maker to pour himself a cup. Once he has it doctored like he likes it, he takes my free hand and pulls me toward the staircase.
“Nice to meet you all,” I call out to the others as we head up, and Emerson tightens his grip on my hand.
Once in his room with the door closed behind us, he turns to me and says, “Thank you.”
“For what?” I ask, my brows drawing downward.
“For trying to include them.” He shakes his head. “For just being you .”
I brush off his thanks. “That was nothing. I mean sure, they could do all those things I said, but a video with all of you? The thirst trap possibilities are endless.”
He laughs like I’d hoped he would, and I smile along with him.
“Can I ask you a personal question?” I ask, and he sobers like he almost dreads what I’ll say.
“Sure,” he says, his voice low. “I’m an open book.”
“Do women ever… You know what? Never mind.”
“Oh, no, Mrs. Greene-House. You can’t stop there. Do women ever…what?”
“Do women ever try to use you? I mean, like to gain access to Ritchie or the twins?” He frowns, and I jump back in without waiting for him to answer. “Forget I asked. That was inappropriate.”
He cocks his head and locks eyes with me. “Why did you ask?”
I blow out a long breath, saying, “It’s just a vibe I got from Stone and Mason.
I was a bit overwhelmed to discover how identically gorgeous they are, and I think they took it the wrong way.
Like, they thought I was about to come on to them, or something.
And they were ready to rip me a new one if I so much as hinted at it. ”
He relaxes a bit and nods. “It’s happened more than once.”
Incredulity has my eyes flying wide. I know I suspected as much, but I still can’t believe it’s true.
“But…why? Is it the twin thing?”
“What do you mean?” he asks, his face scrunching with confusion.
“I mean, why would any woman alive want either of them when they already have you?”
He takes my coffee from me, sets both cups down on the dresser, and tackles me to the bed. I shout in surprise, then go totally silent as he hovers over me, a smile on his lips and a sparkle in his eyes. A mere moment later, he’s kissing me like he’s starved for it.
Well, I guess he liked my answer.
And just for a moment, I let go of my worries and doubts. I kiss him back like I mean it.
Because, of course, I really do.