There’s a knock at the door, making me jump. Jagger drags me into his lap and pulls the cover up to my chin, practically hiding me from view as a fully dressed Pete moves to answer it.
After checking the peephole, he waits a few seconds, then opens the door and grabs two bags that’ve been left on the doorstep.
“Breakfast has arrived!” he exclaims happily as he holds up the bags and brings them to the desk. Jagger drops the blanket and grabs my waist, easily lifting me off the side of the bed.
“Thank you,” I say, squeezing his hand before taking a second to appreciate his bare chest again.
“You already ordered breakfast?” I ask as I move to see what Pete’s pulling out of the bags.
“Yep, as soon as I woke up. Dex and I picked a bunch of stuff, thought you could pick some new favorites.”
“Is there oatmeal?” I ask, wrinkling my nose.
“Nope, no oatmeal or yogurt. Take a look.” He starts to open the containers, and I see so many choices that it’s hard to stop myself from drooling. “Pick what you want, maybe a bit of each?” he asks, and I glance up at him.
He’s looking down at me, holding a plate as if waiting to hear what I want. Realization hits.He did all of this for me.He just found out I’ve never been allowed to have nice foods, and he’s already trying to fix it, to help me try everything, and hopefully find myself a little along the way.
My stomach tightens again, and I place my hand on my lower abdomen as I continue to stare into his gorgeous green eyes. He looks down at where I’m holding myself, and his brows pinch. “What’s wrong? Do you have a stomachache?”
“No, I-It’s the other thing,” I tell him, whispering the last part.
His frown deepens, then his eyebrows raise in surprise, and a huge grin crosses his face. “Now I know food is the way to your heart, I’m going to be constantly feeding you.”
I laugh and drop my hand, shaking my head. “It’s not the food specifically. It’s you.”
His eyes soften, and he pulls me into a hug. His lips brush the top of my head. “This is literally the least I can do for you, angel. Now,” he says, pulling back and holding the plate out. “I’m just going to put a bit of everything on it, unless you tell me there’s anything you don’t want.”
I nod and watch as my kind jokester fills my plate with pancakes, waffles, sausages, scrambled eggs,and hashbrowns. I take it over to eat on the bed as a now fully dressed Sly brings over three coffee cups and sits on the other bed, facing me.
“I’ve got three different coffees here for you to try. One’s black, one has a little cream and sugar, the last has lots.”
“Is one of them yours?”
“I’ll drink any of them, but I prefer black.”
“I’ll try that first.” I reach for the cup and take a small sip. My nose scrunches, and I shake my head. “This one’s all yours,” I tell him as I pass it back.
“Too bitter?” he asks, taking a sip. I nod, watching as he presses his lips to the lid, where mine just were, and wonder what it would feel like to have them on me. I wasn’t sure he saw me that way, though, so I wouldn’t dare ask. Asking him to cuddle last night was hard enough.
By the time we’ve all finished eating, I’ve decided that I like all the breakfast food, and don’t have a favorite yet. I also am not a fan of coffee.
“So what are we doing for the rest of the day while we wait for our packages?” I ask as I stand, grab Sly’s empty plate from his lap, then move around to grab everyone else’s.
“Wren, you don’t have to clean up after us,” Sly says. I lift my head to see them all watching me curiously.
I look down at where I’m tidying up all the empty food containers. “Oh. Sorry, it’s just a habit. I always had to clean up at… home.” That word feels strange on my tongue now. It doesn’t feel like home anymore.
“You don’t have to,” Sly says gently. “But thank you. There’s nothing wrong with being clean, we just don’t want you to think it’s your job to clean up after us.”
“Yes, thank you, angel cake,” Pete adds, giving me a side hug as he passes.
I stare down at the empty container in my hand as I consider his words. I cleaned up after every single meal back home, and not once did Robert ever thank me. I didn’t realize how much I resented him for it until now.
But cleaning up after these guys feels completely different. Was I also doing it to make them happy? Yes. But the fact that they appreciated it made the biggest difference. The fact that they didn’t expect it or demand it made me want to do it even more.
I turn, my eyes meeting Sly’s. “I don’t mind cleaning up after you guys. I… I want to do things for you, to make you happy.”
“I can’t take it anymore,” Dex says dramatically as he steps closer and scoops me up into his arms.
