I rolled over onto my side before faceplanting right into the pillow he used. It smelled like him, and the comfort took me by surprise. I nuzzled against it, inhaling the scent he left behind before leaving.
He stayed until you fell asleep.
It was more than any other man had ever given me before.
I replayed Brutus’s anger in my head like a movie reel. I still didn’t understand. My brother was the most protective person I knew, and even he agreed that my place was the best place to put everyone, at least for now. I slowly blinked, trying to pull my body out of the heaviness of sleep that it sank into the night before.
I wished he would have stayed.
“Stop it,” I grumbled to myself as I threw the covers off me.
Anna Ronchetto didn’t fawn over a man. Anna Ronchetto broke men’s hearts. I didn’t get left, I did the leaving. So I dragged myself to the bathroom and repeated my morning mantra to myself while I washed my face and brushed my teeth.
“Penises are for use, not for decoration. They’re not supposed to hang around.”
I tried to ignore the ache in the pit of my gut. The small part of me that wanted to roll over and bump right into the living berth that was Brutus. I spat my toothpaste out and finished my morning routine before heading to my closet. I didn’t grab many things out of my room before Cap and Ariel snatched it up, but I grabbed my basics. I pulled out a pair of shorts that I rolled up a bit and a baggy shirt that hung off my shoulder before braiding my hair back out of my face.
Before the smell of breakfast lured me to the kitchen.
The fuck?
Just as I made my way into the kitchen, I saw Brutus standing there in clothes I’d never seen him wear before. He had on a white t-shirt of all things and a pair of regular denim pants.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen him in anything other than black.
“You getting ready for a costume party or something?” I asked.
His chuckle was warm and hatefully delightful as he turned with a tray in his hands. “Perfect timing.”
I looked down at the steaming tray of food and nodded at it. “That for me?”
He lifted it a bit. “You really like to sleep.”
I gave him a smile before I gave him the finger. “Thanks for breakfast.”
He chuckled as he walked over to me. “Anytime, Anna-mine.”
The word crawled over my skin and tucked its way into the fabric of my heart. The damn thing slammed againstmy sternum so hard that I thought it would burst through completely. I peered over both of my shoulders, finding ourselves alone in a kitchen that should’ve been hustling and bustling with people elbowing one another out of the way to get to breakfast.
Because Brutus could fucking cook.
“Thanks,” I said as I reached out to take the tray.
However, he just pulled it back a bit. “Come on, I’ll get it to your room.”
I tilted my head and studied his shirt. It was only with him turning around that I realized the white shirt had a phrase on it.
“Bingo, bango… bongo?” I asked.
We fell in step with one another, heading back to my room. “It’s a Fallout 4 reference.”
I blinked. “What’s Fallout 4?”
He just chuckled again.
I hated how the sound affected me.
Sort of, anyway.
