Carli smirked.“She filled the fridge with the foods you like, too.An entire case of Mountain Dew all for you.”
It was his turn to grin.He wasn’t much of a coffee drinker, so he got his burst of energy in the morning with the caffeine from his favorite soda.This wasn’t the first time Mercedes had stocked up with it.She and Carli didn’t drink the stuff.
Thanks for hauling my junk over here.I appreciate it.
Carli poked her elbow into his side.“What are sisters for?”
For being a pain in the neck, that’s what.
Blake wandered into the room.“Do you need any more help from us today?”
The guy’s signing skills had improved in the almost year he’d known Carli.If Blake kept it up, he’d fit in great at Deaf Night Out.Eventually.He wasn’t ready yet.
As Mercedes strolled through the doorway, he conceded she was perfect for DNO.His sister’s—oops—his roommate had been living with Carli for years and was fluent in ASL.To the point where often people in the Deaf community thought she was one of them.
“I’m good for now.I brought the last batch of stuff in my pickup bed.It won’t take me long to haul it in here.”He used his voice a bit, mostly for Blake’s sake.He knew it wasn’t as coherent as Carli’s, but he had to communicate at his job, so he tried to make it clear when he could.
Blake waved his hand in the air.“I’ll grab a few boxes before we go.”Carli followed him out, and Evan opened the closet to see his clothes already hung up.
Jerking his thumb toward them, he signed,“You do that or my sister?”
Mercedes lifted her shoulders.“Carli brought them in, but I organized them in the closet.You can move them around any way you like, obviously.”
“They look fine.I’m not super picky about where the clothes go.Thanks for changing the sheets and making the bed.You going to do it every day?I could get used to that.” He threw her an extra snarky grin.
Her eyes almost rolled out of her head.“In your dreams.There are a few rules to living here.Carli and I never had a problem, but I have a feeling you’re not as tidy as we are.”
He chuckled, knowing his sister loved everything in its place.“Not even close.”
Mercedes glanced around at the cluttered room.“It’s your room, so you can do whatever you want in here.But if the place is a mess, please keep the door closed.I have friends over at times and don’t need them seeing that.”
“Messy.Close the door.Understood.”He winked at her.“What else you got for me?”
“I like to have the common areas picked up.They don’t need to be dusted and vacuumed daily, but I don’t like lots of clutter.Especially in the kitchen.Food needs to be put away or tossed in the garbage.Spills on the counter have to be wiped up.We get ants in here if there’s even the smallest crumb.”
“If I only have to pick up my stuff, it’ll be great.Adam wasn’t the neatest person to live with.”
Mercedes pursed her lips.“I didn’t imagine he was.”
After pushing some of the boxes into the bottom of the closet, Evan flopped back on the bed, his hands behind his head.Closing his eyes, he enjoyed the firmness of the mattress.Way better than what he’d been sleeping on for the past few years.
The bed shook, and he opened his eyes to find Mercedes staring at him.“What?More rules?”
“I hadn’t really thought about it, but do you bring your girlfriends back home often?”
Was she asking because she didn’t want them here or was she fishing for information?“Kind of hard to bring anyone back here when they don’t exist.But I promise, if I get lucky, I won’t turn the place into a brothel.”
Her eyes flew straight to the ceiling with that comment.“Did you have any questions about living here?”
Sitting up, he cupped his chin between his thumb and forefinger.Yeah, he was always a big thinker.“Not questions, but maybe a few rules of my own.Rules about living with a Deaf guy.”
Hands planted on her shapely hips, she glared at him.The same look his sister often gave him.“You think I don’t know about living with a Deaf person.I have lived with your sister—who is also Deaf—for the past three years.”
She’s not really deaf anymore.The words flew from his hands automatically and regret stabbed him when Carli eased into the doorway and flinched.The death glare Blake gave him from behind his sister hit him dead center.
Blake had warned him to stop hurting Carli with his words, and he couldn’t seem to remember.
He popped off the bed and stepped directly in front of her, then kissed her cheek.“I’m sorry.I’ll try harder not to be a jerk.Forgive me.”
