The things I did for this fucking family better be appreciated.
* * *
This couldn’t possibly be it? Standing in the living area, I looked down at Red. Her eyes were flickering around the room, never resting on mine, and I would have been impressed by her ability to deflect had I not been reeling in shock at the size of her apartment.
I was six-four and weighed two hundred and forty pounds, and I was pretty sure that if I lay down on this floor and stretched my arms over my head, I would be the entire length of the living spaceandthe kitchen.
“Tell me the bedrooms are bigger,” I muttered, and Red flinched as she turned on her heel and showed me to Ava’s bedroom. Opening the door, I looked once in the room and stepped back into the hallway. “No.”
“No?” Red asked me.
“Is that it?”
“Yes,” Red stressed with a roll of her eyes. Her arms crossed over her chest, and she glared at me. “I’m sorry we’re not the Marriott.”
Snorting, I opened the other door and realized this was her room, which was bigger. So was the bed. “I’ll take this one,” I told her as I walked into the room.
“This ismyroom,” Red hissed behind me.
“Now it’s mine.” I looked around. “You fuck anyone in here?” I asked as I dropped my bag on the white bedding, noticing the organized clutter. Clothes hung outside the closet, her desk was more makeup dresser than study area, and a wooden stand with sheet music stood in one corner of her room.
“No! What is wrong with you?”
“I’m six-four. You put me in Ava’s bed, I’m going to hang out of it. This one fits. Just.” I sat on the bed — a bit soft, but I would manage. “Plus, I know my cousin’s slept in Ava’s bed, and I don’t want to be that close to where he lastunloaded.” I looked up at her and winked. “You know what I mean, Red?”
Her face turned scarlet at my implication. “Well, too bad, this ismyroom. If you don’t like it, be my guest and leave.” Red stood there, glaring at me still. “Also, gross.”
“You can keep your stuff in here. I just need the bed.”
“Is that supposed to appease me?” Red asked me incredulously. “Should I say, ‘Well, okay then, thanks for being so incredibly generous’?”
“You’re welcome.” I lay back on the bed and tried the pillows. Soft, everything was . . . soft. Feminine. I knew this would be shit.
“This isn’t going to work,” she huffed.
“I agree.” I closed my eyes.
“Then why are you here?”
“Because I like your bestie, and she asked me nicely,” I told her. I opened one eye as I looked at Red. “You can thank me nicely if you want?”
“Are you hitting on me?” She looked pissed off.
“I’ve already been there,” I reminded her. “Last night, this morning, and this afternoon.” I opened my eyes and held her stare. “And the time before that, and the time before that.”
I watched as her eyes closed and she fought to hold onto her temper, her fists clenched at her sides. “I’m aware of how many times I’ve slept with you.”
“We slept?” I mocked her and was rewarded with her face turning the same color as her hair again. Sitting up, I stood and advanced toward her. Red froze, and I fought the grin as she tensed up at my approach. “Where’s the bathrooms?”
“Bathroom,” she corrected me, and turning in the tiny hallway, she opened the one other door.
Looking over her head, I saw a shower cubicle, a toilet, and a sink. “Are you shitting me?”
“This would be the place for that,” she snarked as she turned to look up at me. “But please don’t. Can you do your toilet business at the stadium or something?”
“I’m never going to fit in here,” I mumbled as I picked her up and moved her out of my way, ignoring her cry of protest. Stepping into the room — this was not a room. I’d been in public bathrooms bigger than this. “How the fuck do you live here?”
“Easily, I don’t usually have a giant in my way,” Red snapped. “I still don’t know why you’re here. They told me Quinn would explain.”
