“Yeah, I mean, I have the room, and it would help me out with the rent. I don’t mind giving you a place for a bit.”
“See, it’s temporary, Mason.” I give both guys a winning smile and thank all of my beauty pageant days for preparing me for this diplomatic moment in my life.
Mason lets out a groan that tells me I’m wearing him down, and I grin wider.
“Great. Now that that’s settled, looks like I’ll be keeping the couch after all.” I look at Ben and then squint.
Most of my stuff is in my car. I dropped off the rest at Mason’s earlier, so I’ll just have to run over to his place and get it, but this is exciting. I’ve gained a roommate, and I’m thrilled at the prospect of having someone around to talk to. It will be an adjustment since I’m used to being alone, but I can’t say I’m mad about it.
“Grab your keys, Ben. Looks like you’re helping us haul stuff over for your new roomie,” Mason says.
I flinch slightly. “Hey, don’t tell Mom about this, okay?” I nudge Mason’s side a little.
He shoots a scowl at me. “I won’t. But only because I don’t want to hear the hour-long ass-chewing she would give me for letting her perfect princess room with a person of the male gender. You are pushing the limits, you know?”
Part of me is enjoying the rebel side that’s sneaking out, but the other part of me knows that I’m walking a thin line with my parents.
“Your mom sounds nice,” Ben says, filling the silence, and it strikes me as a really funny comment.
I bend over, wheezing as I giggle, not able to catch my breath as both guys stare at me.
“Nice isn’t how I’d describe her,” Mason mutters.
I glare at him. “She’s not mean, just a little overbearing when it comes to her plans for me. Don’t worry; I’ll take care of Mom, just leave it all to me.”
“That’s exactly what I shouldn’t do,” Mason says, crossing his arms before rolling his eyes and huffing. “Come on. Let’s go get your stuff.”
3 Ben
Two hours later, we have all of Pepper’s stuff moved into the apartment, and I swear she hasn’t stopped talking the entire time. I’m starting to rethink this whole roomie situation, but it looks like my dick got ahead of my brain.
Why do I never stop and think before I offer a solution?
I’m not usually a big talker, which is good because Pepper has enough words to fill the silence that I’m normally sitting in. I haven’t always been used to the silence. I had a roommate who would talk to me—before everything blew up. Sometimes, I feel like it was a blessing, and then other times, I’m hit with a sense of foreboding, as if I could have done more to fix the problem. That’s what I’ve always been—the fixer—but I’ve grown tired of it. Though I guess, in a sense, I’m a fixer for Pepper. I just solved her problem for her. But I should refuse to fix any more. I’ll try to just sit back and watch everything go up in flames. Which is hard for me as a firefighter.
“That’s the last of it,” Pepper says, rubbing her hands together to dust them off. She glances around the room, where boxes spill over with everything from picture frames to clothes to bathroom accessories.
Maybe I should have told her there is only one bathroom in between our rooms and all of that stuff isn’t going to fit.
“All right, well, I promised Jules I’d be back for dinner, so I’m going to split,” Mason says, inching toward the door and giving me an apologetic look.
I scowl at him to let him know I see through his game.
“Thank you, May,” Pepper says, launching herself against him and wrapping her arms around his neck. “Best cousin ever.” She plants a kiss on his cheek and then steps back.
This girl doesn’t do anything small. She’s balls to the wall at all times. I almost have whiplash, watching her bound from one part of the apartment to the next as she unloads boxes.
Mason leaves, and I stand there with my arms crossed, surveying the mess that sits in my living room and the kitchen.
“Okay, where is my bathroom?” Pepper asks as she comes to a stop in the hallway.
“Right there,” I say, pointing to the door right past mine in the hallway as I try to keep my face serious.
“Isn’t that your bathroom?” She tilts her head to the side, and fuck me if it isn’t adorable.
“Yep,” I say with a nod.
She places her hands on her hips and glares at me. “There’s only one bathroom?”
“Yep.”
“Can you say anything other than yep?” She puts her hands up to grasp her hair and pull it into a ponytail, leaving that little slice of heaven at the band of her shorts exposed for my eyes to feast on. Then, she places her hands back on her hips. “Well?”
“Yeeeuuup,” I say with a smile, jerking my eyes back to her face.
She growls, “Fine, we can share. It will work out. Want to help me drag these boxes here into my room? I’m just going to sleep on the mattress until I can get my bed frame put together. Oh, no, not that box; it’s for the kitchen; yes, that one right there.” Her sentences all run together as she directs me with each box.
I don’t speak, only do what she says. I’m ready to just collapse by the time everything is where she wants it. She seems to have an endless amount of energy, and I can only gape at her as she continues running around, putting stuff away.
“All right, is that everything?” I ask, fingers crossing that she says yes.
“Oh, hmm. Yes, I think so. We can be done for the night. Have you eaten? Let me order something to
