The shower starts running, the soft sound like ASMR.
My eyelids grow heavier, the dull ceiling over my head swimming when sleep smothers my subconscious, but as I’m about to fall, Arthur exits his bedroom, and my blissful sleep runs the fuck away.
I sit up again, kicking the bed sheets aside.
The situation in my boxers is under control as I rise from the bed, snatching a pair of sweatpants from my suitcase.
“Morning,” Arthur whispers, tiptoeing toward the fridge.
“We’re all awake, why are you whispering?”
He shrugs. “Habit, I guess.”
He doesn’t elaborate and I’m not interested enough to ask.
Bianca joins us fifteen minutes later, a ghost of a smile gracing her features at the sight of coffee waiting on the counter.
“How far is the market?” I ask, sinking into the loveseat.
“A few miles away.”
“Do you have a car?”
She shakes her head, taking a small sip, that tight-lipped smile reaching her eyes. Probably because her coffee is just the way she likes it. Cream, two sugars.
Yeah, I pay attention. God knows why, but I do.
Still, instead of her cute, barely there, well-controlled smile being aimed atme, it’s all Arthur’s.
Whatever.
“How do you normally bring flowers back to the shop?”
“I take a cab.”
I can imagine the drivers are thrilled at all the petals, stalks, and leaves collaging their trunks. Snatching the keys to my Jeep from the coffee table, I throw them at Arthur.
“Don’t leave her unattended. Not even for a second.”
The easygoing expression slips off Bianca’s face. “Can I use the toilet unattended? You’re exaggerating. I’ll be fine.”
Is it possible to erase a word from someone’s dictionary? Because I’d love to erasefinefrom hers. It’s her go-to mood. She’s never sad, annoyed, sleepy, or tired. She’s fine. Always fine.
So fuckingfineit drives me up the wall.
“It’s five-thirty in the morning, Winter,” I grit out, waking up my laptop. “Retract your claws and don’t shit all over my mood this early, alright?”
She stabs at me with a glare. I only see it in my peripheral vision, but the heat of her annoyance is unmistakable.
“Now that Koby’s not around, you’ve taken up his mission to find me the most annoying pet name?”
Kobyon her lips wakes an envious beast inside me. I hate everything about my reaction. I hate feeling threatened.
“Do I try out a new one every time we speak?”
Arthur slurps his coffee, his face sour, eyes darting every which way. Bianca and I argue on average seventeen times a day and it’s getting to him. I won’t be surprised if Carter addresses this issue at Saturday’s weekly meeting.
“No, I guess not,” Bianca mutters. “So whyWinter? You called me that before.”
