Standing at the entryway was a man peering inside the apartment. I quickened my pace, saw that the number on the open door matched the one Taylor had given me, and then glared at the guy.
“Problem?” I growled.
He instantly held his hands in front of him and scurried past. “No, man. No problem.”
I watched the guy until he disappeared into the elevator just to make sure my message was received and then stepped inside the apartment.
“Hey, man, you made it,” Brody yelled as he tripped over boxes to get to me and give me a bro-shake and back slap.
“Yeah, sorry I’m late,” I said to the room, which held Aamee reclining on a futon as she stared at her phone, Xander moving items around, Drew’s younger brother, Cody, hooking up a TV, and Sophia and Taylor sitting on the floor unpacking a box.
“No worries. We just got everything in here, so you can help unpack.”
“Thanks for coming,” Taylor said with a small smile.
I got lost in it for a second before I came back to myself and pushed the door closed. “Hey, you should probably keep this closed. I caught some weirdo peeking in.”
Taylor stilled at my words, and while it wasn’t my intention to scare her, I also wanted to make sure she stayed safe.
“And some idiot propped the door downstairs open. If that happens again, you may want to let the super know.”
She cleared her throat. “I propped it open.”
“Oh. Well, you shouldn’t do that. Anyone can wander in.”
She fidgeted with something in her hands. “I was just trying to make it easy for everyone to get me moved in.” Her voice sounded defensive, and I probably should’ve let it go, but no one would ever argue that I was the smartest guy they’d ever met.
“Well, yeah, but you’re not the only one who matters. Other people live here too.”
The glare she sent me would’ve frosted the balls off a weaker man. Lucky for me, I’d had people look at me like that pretty much my entire life.
“I’m aware of that,” she snapped.
“Okay, good,” I replied lamely.
She rolled her eyes and returned to emptying the box.
“Drew went to pick up a few pizzas,” Sophia said, probably attempting to break the tension in the room.
I nodded and smiled at her before asking, “So where can I start?”
“Maybe you’d like to check that the smoke detectors work,” Taylor muttered.
Despite her snarky delivery, I actually didn’t think that was a bad idea. My eyes drifted up to the ceiling, but a growl from the floor stopped me.
I looked down to see her glaring at me again.
Brody elbowed me. “Don’t worry. I’ll hold a candle up to them later to check them out.”
“That’s not…” I started, but he’d already walked away. I moved toward the kitchen, thinking that it was maybe best for me to begin unpacking in a different room.
“Hey, Aamee,” I said as I walked past.
“Shh, I’m trying to pretend I’m somewhere else,” she replied.
“You know,” Sophia started, “you could actually go somewhere else. Pretty sure no one would mind.”
Aamee sighed. “Brody and I have decided we’re going to be inseparable until I have to move to start my new job. Right, babe?”
“Right, babe,” Brody replied before bending down to press a quick kiss to her lips.
“Ugh, thank God I haven’t eaten yet,” Sophia said.
I actually thought it was cute that they wanted to spend time together. Not that I’d say that out loud in this crowd, out of fear of being verbally flayed.
After opening a few boxes, I poked my head around the corner so I could see into the living room. “Do you care where stuff goes in here?” I asked Taylor.
She blew a strand of her blond hair out of her eyes and looked up at me wearily. She didn’t look tired of me per se, but rather exhausted in general. “Um, no? You can just put stuff wherever it seems to make the most sense. I can always move it later if I need to.”
“Yup,” I replied before disappearing from view and setting about the task at hand.
I worked for a while until a loud buzzer sounded in the apartment. Leaving the kitchen quickly, I saw Brody with his hands over his ears.
“Jesus Christ, is there an air raid coming?”
“I think that just took five years off my life,” Cody muttered.
“Good thing you’re so young, then,” Brody said to him.
Taylor had jumped up and was staring at the intercom system on the wall by the door. “How do I work this?”
Xander moved beside her and pushed a button. “Hello?”
“Hey,” Drew’s voice sounded tinny as it filtered through the intercom. “Can you buzz me in? Someone took the block out from the door.”
Everyone’s head snapped in my direction. I shrugged. “I stand by my actions.”
“Yeah, okay, hang on.” Xander pushed something else. “Did that do it?”
The sound of a locked door being rattled filtered through the room.
“That thing has good audio,” Cody remarked.
“Nope,” Drew replied.
Xander pushed something else. “How about now?”
“Still nothing.”
“Push the red one,” Sophia said as she looked over Taylor’s and Xander’s shoulders.
“You never push the red one,” Xander scolded.
“Why not?”
“Because it’s red.”
Sophia stared at the back of his head for a second before reaching over him and pressing the red button.
A buzz sounded and Drew yelled, “That’s it. Be right up.”
When Xander turned, Sophia was looking at him.
“What?” he asked.
“You’re supposed to be the smartest of us, Xander. Get your shit together.”
“Hey, I got Taylor free internet. Cut me some slack.”
“Hacking into someone’s Wi-Fi doesn’t make it free,” Aamee pointed out.
“It’s free for Taylor,” he shot back.
“Free for Taylor sounds awesome, just saying,” Taylor added.
Sophia clapped her hands. “That’s a fun slogan. We should get shirts made.”
“Please do,” Taylor replied. “It makes all of you sound like my concubines.”
Sophia sobered. “Oh. That’s less fun.”
Speak for yourself. Being Taylor’s concubine sounded like a blast to
