Bryson took her hand as they moved through the cramped hallway.
Alevras stopped in front of a small metal door, glancing at Bryson’s hand in hers.
“I—er, only arranged for one room. But if you would like, I could find a way to accommodate some privacy.”
Adria stared at him, not understanding his meaning, when Kaydon draped an arm around her shoulder and said, “Don’t worry, we like to share.”
Adria felt a sudden flush creep up her neck and knew her cheeks matched the cherry red of her rubber rain boots. Across from her, Alevras rubbed the back of his neck, his ears pink, and slid a key into the lock. The latch clicked.
Inside, was a narrow space with two bunk beds pushed against opposite walls. A battered wooden end table sat beneath the small window, its surface cluttered with papers and a wrench. At the foot of each bed was a small trunk.
“There’s a private bathroom,” Alevras explained, stepping aside to let them in. “But showers are down the hall.”
“Communal showers?” Seth asked.
Alevras nodded.
“Miss Smith needs a time to shower when there will be no prying eyes, other than our own on her,” Seth said.
Adria didn’t think it was possible, but she was sure she turned a deeper shade of red.
“Of course,” Alevras said, “I’ll get a time set up for the four of you. That won’t be an issue.”
Alevras said his goodbyes and promised to check in on them later in the evening.
Uncomfortably, he pushed past her group and left the four of them alone.
Kaydon collapsed onto the lower bunk nearest the window, kicking off wet boots. “Feels just like summer camp,” he sighed, flopping back.
Bryson sat on the edge of the opposite bunk. “You never went to summer camp.”
“So? I know what it’s like,” Kaydon retorted, throwing a pillow at Bryson. “There is a pretty big problem, though.”
“What’s that?” Seth asked.
Kaydon sat up, wrapping his arms around Adria’s middle and pulling her into bed.
“Not really enough room for you two,” Kaydon said.
Adria squirmed in his arms. “We are going to have to work on your manners and how you tell people about us.”
“Why?” Bryson asked, one eyebrow cocked.
Adria loved that he was serious. Loved that they were wholeheartedly not ashamed in the slightest.
“How are we going to keep men and women away from you if they don’t know we’re yours?” Seth asked.
Adria slapped Kaydon’s arm and sat up. “Because you aren’t keeping people away from me. Because I am still my own person, and I don’t need you three putting me in a bubble.”
Bryson raised an eyebrow.
Kaydon lay down on the bed, arms behind his head. “You can be your own person. Just as long as they know we will rip their arms off if they so much as look at you wrong.”
Adria laughed. “What happened to the case-by-case basis we agreed upon?”
Seth spun a blade in his hand. “That’s how we are handling these cases for the foreseeable future.”
CHAPTER 37
