“Worst case scenario… what happens?” Mateo asks.
“Uh. I mean, I’m at high risk of having a stroke,” I say. “I guess that’s a possibility."
“Right. So, help you even when you don’t want it. Cool,” Hunter says. “Want to keep the condoms?”
“No. Have at it,” I say, standing and turning back to the boxes.
“You sit. Just tell us where shit goes,” Kip says, pointing for me to sit.
“It’s…”
“Do we have rope, Hunter?” Kip asks.
“Fine. Jesus. Y’all are going to get on my nerves. I can feel it.” I laugh, sitting down.
“We can be your surrogate stepbrothers,” Connor says.
“Definitely step, because it’s only alittleweird to fuck your stepsister.” Hunter winks dramatically at me. I shake my head at him, and they all start opening up boxes.
I direct them where I want everything, and every time I try to get up and do it myself, one of them leads me back to bed to sit. No matter how I try to spin it, they are determined to do this. I don’t want to fight the first day I meet them, so I just let it happen. It’s a battle for another day.
By the time they are breaking the boxes down and I am sorting through papers, I am exhausted. It’s after midnight now, and I need to sleep. I rest my head in my palm with my elbow propped on my knee. I close my eyes and nearly fall asleep when I feel a hand on my shoulder.
“Lay down and get some sleep before you fall off the bed and get another brain injury,” Kip says.
“Kip!” Hunter scolds, but I laugh.
“That was awful.” Hunter laughs.
“What? It’s true,” Kip shrugs. “Girl, lie down. We will grab the rest of the boxes and let you sleep.”
“Thank you, guys. Really. You didn’t have to do all this,” I say.
“You can thank us with breakfast. Deal?” Connor says.
“I don’t know if that counts, since I was going to cook anyway.” I laugh.
“You’re not our cook, so it counts,” Hunter says. “Good night, Ari.”
“Night.” I sigh.
I watch as they gather up the boxes and leave the room. I am far too tired to get up and change, so I just lie down and curl up on top of the blanket.
I can’t help but feel happy that they were so welcoming. The other two don’t give a shit, but it seems to be a trend with those positions to be a dickhead. Let’s just hope that these two aren’t rapists, also.
Chapter Two
Jovian
It is early, andI can’t sleep. I can’t get her out of my mind. It pisses me off that I can’t stop thinking about her. Usually, we guys have a game night, but Hunter, Connor, Kip, and Mateo all spent their evening helping her. It’s just like them to kiss ass, though. I think what pisses me off the most is the fact that her stepfather got her the job. Ray is a good guy, but he’s a fucking pushover. The last assistant we had in here nearly broke up the team. She was a gold-digging puck bunny and turned us all against each other. Elijah and I have never fought until her, and we will be damned if that happens again. Eli hasn’t said much, but we seem to stay on the same wavelength with this shit. He and I have known each other since middle school and have done everything together. We played hockey from the moment we met. We’ve done everything together, including college.
I step into shorts before walking downstairs. As I am walking past the bathroom, Elijah steps out. “Morning,” he says. “Going to get breakfast?”
“Mhmm,” I say. I wave and walk down the stairs, and hear noise coming from the kitchen.
“God. She’s a fucking morning person,” I say, rolling my eyes. “We’ve got to get rid of her. We don’t need a fucking assistant.”
“Whatcha thinking?” Elijah asks.
