"That's not strictly true," Fraser says. "My room is a walk-in wardrobe. Stefan's room is an art room. And I'm not entirely sure what Theo and Preston use their second room for, but I know they use it for something."
“Kinky times,” Hendrix says.
Theo's face goes red.
"And you pay rent on those rooms," I say. “It’s not fair to ask any of you to give them up. I’m sorry. Forget I asked. It was silly."
“Are you trying to talk us out of it?” Preston asks. “I’m confused as to whether you want Callan and Aidan to stay here or not.”
“I do want them to stay.” I wring my hands. “I’m not sure I’ve earned the right to ask such a huge favour of you all.”
“Why not?” Theo asks.
“I don’t fit in here.”
Theo folds his arms. “Yes, you do.”
“You’re not the only one who doesn’t like Hendrix’s silly games,” Stefan says.
“You’re our friend,” Theo says. “You can ask anything you want.”
“But we might say no.” Hendrix winks at me, making it clear he’s messing around.
“Even so—”
"I can give up my art room," Quinn says, cutting me off. “If Aidan comes to live with Callan, they’ll need a room to themselves."
Stefan puts his arms around Quinn’s shoulders and kisses his hair.
“I can’t ask you to do that,” I say.
“You’re not asking. I’m offering. I do a lot of my artwork here or in the kitchen anyway. The light is better, and it’s less lonely.” Quinn smiles. “We can put the beanbags and drafting table into storage for a bit.”
"Would the landlord allow it?" Theo looks around as if hoping someone has the answer.
Everyone else looks at Stefan.
"How would I know?"
"Because you're the boss of the house," Fraser says teasingly.
Stefan rolls his eyes. "I expect that from Hendrix, not you."
Fraser blows him a kiss.
"Surely, we should talk about whether we want a baby in the house?" Preston says. "I'm not saying I don't, but it would be a big shock to the system. Babies might sleep a lot, but they also make a lot of noise.”
That's true. We’re all used to coming and going as we please, as well as making as much noise as we want. To be fair, we’re all considerate of each other. Hendrix, who is often the noisiest, keeps his filming to times when the house is empty or he knows everyone is awake. Except for Quinn, but his sleep attacks are unpredictable, and nothing seems to wake him when he’s having one.
Aidan will cry on his own schedule. He won’t care that Theo has just come in from a night shift or that Preston, Beau, and Fraser have to get up early for work. He won’t care that crying will interrupt one of Hendrix’s live streams. Maybe a house with eight guys on very different schedules isn’t the best place for a baby.
I shake my head. “Forget I asked.”
"I'm okay with it," Theo says as though I hadn’t spoken. "Callan is a nice guy. I'm happy to help him out until he can find a job and a place of his own."
“So am I,” Quinn says as if that wasn’t already obvious by offering to give up his art room. Technically it’s Stefan’s room to give up, but that probably doesn’t matter.
Hendrix folds his arms. "Dumb question, but London is expensive. And as far as I know, childcare isn't cheap. Callan is an electrician, and I'm not sure how much they get paid, but surely, it's not enough for full-time childcare for a newborn and the rent and bills on a place in London. How is he going to afford to move out?"
