I just hope she appreciates the sentiment, rather than thinking I’m pathetic.
Currently, I’m hoping Ash didn’t butcher the message last night when we sent him to her room like a sacrificial lamb. We all voted for him to be the messenger because she has a soft spot for his communication issues.
Curious to see if he had mustered up the courage to talk to her about what we decided, I walk up to her, casually grabbing a cup of coffee and beginning the conversation like it’s no big deal. Nope, nothing to see here. “So, how was your night?”
She looks up at me, mischief hidden carefully behind her doe eyes. I’m sure she thinks she has it tucked away but I can see it. “Oh, it was fine. Same old, same old. Just a normal Tuesday night.” She waves her coffee-holding hand, causing the drink to slosh in her cup. “How about yourself?”
My brow furrows. Where’s that mischief coming from and what does it mean for us? Deciding to not push too far without conclusive evidence, I say, “Didn’t sleep that well. I was up tossing and turning all night.”
“What a shame. I slept like a rock,” she smirks.
Our conversation cuts off as the rest of the guys, except for Ash, join us for breakfast.
I move away from Lana and start prepping the coffee for our fellow caffeine addicts. We’ll need more than one pitiful pot to satisfy everyone’s needs.
We should really find a way to put this stuff into IV bags to save time.
As the coffee brews, the silence of the room registers in my brain. Strange. Why aren’t the guys talking? I watch as they shove their faces with the bacon, eggs, and toast that Beth left for us. Within minutes, the food’s been decimated. It’s like they inhaled it.
And they might think they’re sly but I see the glances they throw Lana’s way through breakfast. For her part, she just turned away from the group and leaned lazily against the counter, her cup of coffee hovering over the empty sink in a light grip, as she surveyed outside.
I can’t hold back the smirk as I enjoy the show. I lean against the counter, watching my group of chickenshit friends as they watch Lana like she’s a bomb waiting to go off. It’s as if they’re hoping they’ll be able to read her mind to see if Ash talked to her.
Cowards. I didn’t do much better but at least I asked how her night went. Better than this lily-livered group! Who thought I’d live to see the day I’d be the brave one?
Reveling in the welcome turn of events, I let them simmer in the excruciating suspense. Might as well join Lana in whatever game she’s playing and see where it leads us.
If she does know, then she’s really trying to make us squirm. But that bodes well for us. Her playfulness, being her normal cheeky self—that’s the best reaction I could have hoped for. I was worried she’d hide behind a mask, like always.
“So, what should we do today, guys?” I ask the group, breaking some of the tension in the room.
Lana stands on her tiptoes and leans closer to the window. She hums, as if in deep thought. “It’s hot as fuck. No chance of rain.” Bouncing on her toes, she continues with tentative excitement laced in her words, “I say we go swimming at the lake today to soak up this fan-fucking-tastic weather!”
As she observes the sky, all of the guys—including myself, because I’m not a saint—have our eyes glued to her perfectly-round ass as it jiggles with her movements.
She’s definitely giving us something to observe.
“Yeah,” Hale says absentmindedly, as he cocks his head to the side for a better view. “Great weather we’re having outside.”
“Yup,” Luke adds, squirming in his seat at the sight. “That sun sure looks, uh … bright.”
“What they said,” Leo finishes, his hands clenched on his lap as he tries to hide the erection in his shorts.
Fucking hell. What a train wreck. These guys are the experienced, ‘smooth’ ones? Hiding their boners and fumbling over their words.
I’m counting my lucky stars at my ability to restrain my physical reactions, unlike the rest of the guys. This is nothing new for me. I’m used to holding back my boners in front of Lana, I’ve had years of experience.
The rest of them though—well, they aren’t doing so well at hiding their baser instincts when they’re too busy wondering if she knows how they feel about her. All laps, except for mine and Lana’s, are covered with hands or plates, like that’ll do anything to conceal it.
“Did you assholes leave me any food?” Ash growls as he walks into the kitchen before immediately stopping at the sight of the beautiful view we’ve been blessed with this fine morning. It’s stopped jiggling now but she’s still on her tiptoes so it’s taut and looks so fucking delicious.
Lana spins around at the sound of Ash’s voice and the guys snap their heads to various directions to avoid being caught. Ash switches his gaze to meet her eyes, pretending he wasn’t staring like the rest of us.
“I put a plate in the microwave for you, Ash. I knew they’d plow through the food before you got a chance to come down.”
Ash smiles softly at her and she returns it, a pale blush staining her cheeks as she looks down at her cup of coffee and takes a swig.
Ahh, there’s the conclusive evidence. Ash definitely had the talk with her. I knew it!
“Lana decided that we’re going to the lake today,” Hale says. “Pack some towels. We’ll head out whenever you’re done with breakfast.” He stands to head upstairs, keeping his hips firmly pointed away from Lana.
I roll my eyes. Because that’s not suspicious at all.
“We’ll go change and get the supplies together,” Luke says on behalf of both of the twins. With a speed I didn’t know they possessed, they slide out of their chairs and follow Hale upstairs.
Them, gathering supplies? The conspiracy theorists were right. The end is near.
Tweedledee and Tweedledum are normally the sloths of the group and we typically wait for them to finish getting ready. Lana always jokes that they’re the real girls of the group with their beauty routines.
Knowing full well what Lana’s doing now, I turn to look at the little minx after the cowards clear the room. She looks at me with those beautiful blue eyes, specked with hazel. “I hope your conversation with Ash went well last night. Please know that we all care about you and will respect whatever you’d like to do from here.”
She stares at me, shocked that I called her out.
I continue, “Oh, and your secret is safe with me. I won’t tell the others that you know. Have your fun.”
Her mouth drops open and the blush on her cheeks deepens. I walk away, making my way upstairs as the sound of Ash’s deep chuckle rings behind me.
This is going to be an entertaining day.
Hale
The twins’ thumping footsteps quickly follow me up the stairs. Fucking hell, they’d put an elephant stampede to shame. I open the door to my shared room and usher them in, closing the door behind us.
We need to figure this situation out. Now.
Speaking low enough so that my voice won’t carry through the door, I launch into the thoughts knocking around in my head, pacing around the room. “Do you think he told her? Did he back out? Fuck, of course it would be like him to get nervous and back out. I knew I should have been the one to go to her room last night.”