EMMETT
After Jo's frantic text, I do a mad scramble around my apartment, hair-tie gone, toothbrush hidden in my drawer, her bra shoved in the back of my closet. There's a knock on my door. I do one last visual sweep. All clear. I open the door wearing just gray sweatpants, making it look like I was just lazing around.
Pierre, Felix, Harper, Issy, Collette, and Jo are all standing there. My eyes land on Jo, she's staring at my bare chest. I watch her swallow hard.
"Morning, fellas, to what do I owe the pleasure?" I say, forcing my gaze away from her to look at the group.
"The girls are going shopping, so we thought we would bother you," Felix says.
"Of course, anytime." I look back at Jo for just a second. "I was going to catch up with Sully and the guys anyway for brunch, if you're interested."
"Are we day drinking?" Pierre asks.
"Yeah."
"If the Cap says so." He chuckles.
"Right, well, now that's settled, have fun, boys," Harper says as they all wave goodbye.
I turn back and catch Jo's eyes one more time, and wink at her before closing the door. I can hear them laughing as they walk away.
Pierre and Felix walk into my apartment.
"Coffee?" Pierre asks, heading to my kitchen.
"Help yourself."
I throw on a shirt while they make themselves at home.
“We were kind of hoping we could head down and use the simulator,” Felix calls out.
“Sounds good. Let me grab shoes," I call out.
“You have shit coffee,” Pierre grumbles.
“He’s a coffee snob, we can grab one downstairs,” Felix says, rolling his eyes.
We head on down to level four, where the entertainment is. When I moved into the building, Dougie and I requested that we could add a hockey simulator beside the golf one, as there were a lot of hockey players living in the building. They agreed after a generous donation to the building fund.
For the next hour, we take turns shooting.
"You're off today," Pierre says after I miss an easy shot.
"Just tired."
"Late night?" He wiggles his brows at me.
"Something like that." I laugh.
"Got a girl keeping you up?" Felix asks.
My stomach tightens. "No. Why?"
"Just asking. You've been different lately." He grins.
"Different how?"
"Happier. Lighter. Like you're not carrying the weight of the team on your shoulders all the time," Felix explains.
