“What do you do for a job? We’ve actually never had this conversation.”
“I do stocks. I’m a math genius, but no one knows that, and I’m really good at stocks.”
I remembered his place.
He was grinning again, eyeing my mouth. “How about it? Roommate?”
I groaned, but I must’ve made the decision because the resistance was gone.
I’d lived my life a certain way for so long. Living with Zeke, no matter what came, was going to be something so different, I was thinking I was desperate for that change.
“This is insane.”
“But?” He looked up, his eyes were dancing. “We can even give the house a name. Aveke. Ava and Zeke together. How about it?”
“But.” Oh God. I just moved in. “You have to help me move my stuff.”
“I know some people.” And as soon as he said those words, his mouth was on mine.
My eyes opened. 3:33 a.m. Zeke had fallen asleep next to me.
I had absolutely no idea what we were doing. I curled up next to Zeke, and he reached for me in his sleep. He tucked me into his side. Sex? Roommates? Were we dating? I hadn’t a clue, but I smiled, and my chest felt lighter, and for the first time in a while, I felt the first stirrings of being okay.
I could start to like this a whole lot. I’d worry later if this was either going to shatter me or heal me.
13
AVA
The next morning, he was gone, and I suddenly needed to do something. Anything. I half contemplated running, but I wasn’t an exerciser. I was a worker. I worked. That’s almost all I did, which was very, very sad now that I was thinking about it.
Getting up, showering, I got ready for the day and headed to the kitchen.
The door was on, and it looked attached, but there was definite damage to it. Zeke had said he’d take care of it, so I wasn’t going to stress about it. Yet. Instead, I was going to stress about how he said he wanted me to move in with him.
I couldn’t believe he actually meant it. He hadn’t. He’d been lying. Just saying things.
God.
Zeke hadn’t been lying. He hadn’t been saying things. He meant it.
I was going to move in with him.
I was scared if I thought about it, I’d pop like a balloon. A giant Ava-sized balloon. It was starting to rise, looking for the sunshine, smiling, feeling the warmth, and some eight-year-old would come running up and not just to prick the balloon. He’d yank me down, and squeeze, squeeze, squeeeeeze until I popped. Then he’d discard me and run off, laughing because he’d given the world some of his destruction. Joy.
That would happen. I was just waiting for it, but on the bright side, I could enjoy the ride until that happened.
Right?
I wasn’t the type to “enjoy the ride.” I was the type that if someone was going on a ride, and if their ride went off the rails, I was the bystander that would get hit by the ride. Not them, whoever was in the ride. They’d be fine and dandy. I’d be dead. That was me. That’s what would happen. So if it was my ride?
I shuddered at the thought of what I couldn’t imagine would happen.
That did it. I couldn’t move in with him. I’d have to tell him.
He wasn’t in the living room or in the kitchen when I left the bedroom, so okay. I checked my phone. No text or message. I looked around. No note left behind.
I brewed coffee. I made toast, ate some fruit, and after that, I waited.
Zeke would come back, maybe expect me to be packing, but I’d tell him then. That I wasn’t moving in with him. That it was foolish for me to do that.
I was unpacking the hallway closet when the front door burst open.
“We’re here, and tadaa!” Something thumped on the table.
I moved my head, peaking around the pile of blankets. “Zeke?”
“Hey. Yeah. What are you—hold on.” He took the pile from me, and glancing around, began to put them on one of the stacks of boxes. As he was doing this, a bunch of guys were filing into my apartment behind him.
One guy walked in, calling out, “Allen—”
Zeke pushed the pile of blankets into the guy’s arms. “Here.”
“What?” The guy’s head popped around them.
“Take those downstairs.”
“Zeke—”
But Zeke was already turning and heading my way, some papers in his hands. He held them up for me. “Got you out of your lease.”
My lease?
But, I was distracted. Some guys began grabbing boxes and carrying them right back downstairs. One guy stopped and flashed me a smile. “Hey, Ava.”
Swear, my knees went weak, but it was Blaise DeVroe. Millions of female knees went weak at just the sight of him. He went into the kitchen, and I heard cupboards being opened.
I was gawking, totally gawking. “What—who are all these people?”
Zeke was giving me a patient but also indulgent smile. “I saw that.”
“Saw what?”
“My best friend.” He pointed to my stomach. “Did he make your little tummy all fluttery?”
“Oh, my God.” I groaned.
He laughed, putting his arm around my shoulders, his side touching right next to my side. “Don’t worry. I’m not jealous. I’m very secure in my man-bromances with Blaise and Mason Kade. I’m aware of what a stud my best friend is.”
“Shut. Up,” came from the kitchen, in a bored deadpan.
Some of the guys who were still carrying what I’d packed snorted, but they never stopped working. A few guys started to grab boxes, ones that I had unpacked the day before and hadn’t gotten around to repacking, picked them up, realized nothing was in them, and started packing them.
I was counting twenty guys. At least.
“Look.” Zeke nudged me, his head indicating the papers in my hands.
I looked, and then gawked all over again. “What?”
They were my lease papers and I looked at the last one. CANCEL had been stamped over it.
“Told you I could get you out of your lease.”
“You called your lawyer friend?”
“No. I didn’t need to. Once I looked up who owned this place, it was as good as done.”
“Who owns it?”
“My brother-in-law.”
Another groan from the kitchen, and a shout, “Nate is my brother-in-law, you asswipe.” Blaise added a glare as he walked out from the kitchen, out the front door, carrying a box.
Zeke shrugged. “I’m basically adopted into that entire family.”
I needed a moment to fully process everything. Guys were walking all around us, and half my stuff was already outside. A couple others began lifting the heavy items as they came in, and they took the kitchen table out. The chairs were next. A whole group began talking about the best way to handle the couch, and I was almost in culture shock. Having help was not in my world. I was so used to doing everything for myself, on my own, for my mom, my grandmother, and now this? With Zeke? I’d barely done a thing, and most of the packing was already done.
Everything I’d unpacked the morning was already in boxes and out of the apartment.
Holy shit. So this was happening?