A short time later, there’s a knock on the door. I glance up to see Troy entering. “Hey Z. Summer,” he nods. “I’ve got the updated numbers for the wedding this weekend. Hey are those snickerdoodles?”
“Yes,” Zander responds, “but I’m debating keeping them after visiting the lounge.” He pulls the cookies closer to him with a mock scowl on his face.
“Worth it,” Troy smiles.
Zander rolls his eyes and hands him the plate of cookies.
I wave at Troy and am about to look back down at my phone when I hear another voice entering the office. “Hey Z, welcome back, man.” This guy looks close to my age and has to be related to Troy. They’re the same height and skin tone with the same black hair. His hair is longer than Troy’s military cut, though. Shorn close to his scalp around the ears but longer and floppy on top, parted to the side. It’s straight but mussed, like he’s been running his hands through it repeatedly. He has a light layer of scruff on his full jaw and startling light blue eyes. With a tank top and shorts, the guy has muscles.
He must notice me in the corner because he looks over and breaks out into a huge smile, his eyes lighting up. He walks over and takes the seat next to me, putting his elbow on the armrest closest to me, setting his chin in his palm, looking me over. “Hello Sunshine. I’m Seb.” His low tenor voice is smooth and animated.
“Seb, man, rein it in,” Troy tells him, rolling his eyes.
A fresh start,I think to myself.Don’t be nervous.I can be me again.I quirk an eyebrow at him. “It’s Summer, actually.”
“Nope,” he shakes his head. “It’s Sunshine. Gotta get in first with your nickname before you meet everyone else.”
Tilting my head to the side, I observe his white teeth and mischievous smile. “Why Sunshine? And who is everyone else?”
“Well, your name is Summer, and that’s the time of year the sun shines the most, so,” he waves at me, “Sunshine. As for everyone else, we’re,” he gestures between us, “gonna be friends, so that makes you friends with the rest of the guys. And Gabs too. By the way, did you like your room? I promised Gabby I’d ask. She was really hoping you liked everything. The guys and Troy helped us paint and put all the furniture together. Except for the desk. That came from Alex’s house. You liked everything, right? We didn’t have anything to go by, but Gabs said it was neutral enough that you could add your own touches to it.”
I sit there, stunned. This guy is a whirlwind, a hot whirlwind, but still. I look over at Zander and Troy. Zander is laughing quietly, looking at Seb as Troy looks at the ceiling. “Seb, you gotta slow it down. Let the girl breathe, man. You’re gonna overwhelm her.”
Seb looks back at me critically and shakes his head. “Nope. She’s fine. Don’t worry, big bro. I got this,” he waves.
Zander quirks an eyebrow at me, asking if I’m okay, so I nod. I think I am.
“I’m sorry, Summer. I should have warned you about Hurricane Seb. He can be a little…” Troy begins.
“Extra?” I supply. Zander and Troy both laugh at that.
“Hey now,” Seb pouts, jutting out his full lower lip. “I’m not extra. I’m friendly!”
I smile and shake my head. Seeing this tall, muscled, alluring guy pouting is something else. “So I’m guessing Gabby is your younger sister?” I ask Seb as Troy and Zander go back to discussing work details.
“Oh yeah, sorry, she is. So, do you like your room?”
“It’s beautiful. Please thank her for me. And thank you guys for helping.”
“Happy to do it. So what’cha working on there?” He points to my clipboard.
“Um, classes. Just picking out courses that match up with what I was taking in Virginia.”
He reaches across and gently picks up the clipboard from my lap, but doesn’t touch me. I watch him read through the sheets. “The highlights are what you’re gonna take?”
“Yeah, I think so. Those classes seem pretty similar to the Virginia classes I took.”
“You’re taking all AP classes, Sunshine? Are you a smarty-pants? Alex is gonna love that. He’s our resident genius and plans on becoming a doctor. Although Elijah and Bay take some AP science courses, too. E wants to be a chef. Not sure what Bay will end up doingthough. I’m more of a history poly sci guy myself. Nick takes most classes I do, but he’s not a big fan of school. He’s smart, but he prefers martial arts.” He turns the clipboard towards me.
“Here, look, you’ve got two classes in the same period, AP Bio and AP History. You’re going to have to pick something else. I’ll text Alex to see what he recommends.”
Seb is going to take some getting used to with all the rapid talking. I filter through everything he said while he pulls out his phone, before I have a chance to comment. “The school didn’t give me a timetable, only a list of available classes.”
“I’m not surprised. The office isn’t the most organized with stuff like this. I’ve got you, Sunshine.” He shows me his phone. “Here, look, Alex says, to try AP Psychology or AP Computer Science.”
I read the text message on his phone. “I haven’t taken either of those in Virginia, though.”
“Okay, I’ll call Alex.” He’s dialing before he finishes talking.
