“Welcome home Claire” Blair smiles before running off.
* * *
I’m putting down the last of my boxes when August comes running up the stairs and into my room, holding a massive frame.
“No fucking way” he says, turning it around and presenting it to the group. “How the hell did you get a signed jersey fromChris Taylor?”
“Wait what? Let me see” Davis says, fumbling off my bed and running up to get a closer look.
“Claire, heneversigns original merchandise, how the fuck did you get this?” August questions.
I shrug, it’s not like I’m ashamed that he’s my brother, I’m just used to people using me to get close to him so I stopped telling them.
“Can I have it?” Miller asks hopefully.
I laugh, “no you cannot.” I pull the framed jersey out of August's hands and give the guys a pointed look, “this is mine, and it’s going to stay in my room.” My brother gifted this to me, and it means a lot because —whether the boys know it or not— this is his very first jersey from when he got drafted. I respect him for his career, he’s worked hard to get where he is, but we don’t make a big deal out of it.
The guys all pout, including Lucas, which surprises me. Who knew he had more than just the default of ‘massive ass-wipe’.
I feel kind of bad though, they seem like they are genuinely disappointed. “Fine,” I relent, “we can put it in the living room… but if anyone damages it, I will murder you.”
Blair runs up and hugs me, “best roommate ever.”
They all scramble out of my room and run downstairs, arguing over the perfect spot to hang it up.
Are they always this childish?
My phone rings from my bed and when I look to see who’s calling I see Chris’s name. I put in some earphones and smile when I see his face take over my screen.
“Angel! I missed your face” he says.
“We saw each other like two days ago when you were helping me pack” I laugh.
He rolls his eyes at me, but his smile stays nonetheless, “how is everything? You get moved in alright?”
I look around, seeing boxes scattered about, “uh, yeah. All good here.”
“Glad to hear it. How are the roommates?”
“Well, one of the guys gave me his room, and the rest are…” I trail off. Telling my big brother that I’ve barely spoken to two of them, one hates my guts, and the other will most likely try to get into my pants at some point, probably isn’t the best idea. “I’m still getting to know them.”
“I like one of them already, thank him for me.”
“Will do, although I will say I’ve moved into my worst nightmare” I joke, “the guys saw the signed jersey you gave me and lost it. I guess they’re mega fans or some shit.” Chris tries to hide the smirk on his face but I see right through his little act, he’s eating this shit up, and probably going to laugh about it later.
“The guys guilted me into putting it in the living room. Here, i’ll show you.” I walk downstairs, where the guys are all hanging out, flipping my camera so Chris can see, I point at Blair, “the guy sitting on the floor is the one who gave up his room.”
“Thanks for giving her your room!” Chris shouts, causing me to flinch.
“Holy fuck, I’m wearing headphones. They can’t fucking hear you.” He laughs and smiles nervously nervously at me.
Fucking idiot.
I take out one headphone, “Hey Blair!” He looks up at me, “my brother says thanks for being a decent guy and giving me my own space.”
“No problem” he responds, standing up from the ground and walking towards me. “Can I say hi?”
My heart starts to pound in my chest, and I quickly turn as he walks beside me, freaking out because I don’t think I could handle the guys finding out who my brother is just yet. I want to build a relationship with them first, I don’t want it to all be based on who I’m related to.
