“Fine,” I sigh as my shoulders slump in defeat. There’s no point in fighting it. She’ll eventually wear me down.
When Bella’s phone rings, her entire body stiffens. I grab her arm. “What’s going on? Why do you look like someone’s after you?”
“It’s nothing.” She waves her hand dismissively.
“You’re lying. It’s something. Now, spill it.” I cross my arms over my chest and give her my best mean-mom look.
“It’s Brock.”
“What does that jerk want?” Ruby’s eyes blaze with vigilante justice. “Give me the phone. I’ll give him a piece of my mind.”
“It’s fine. I’ll just block him.” Bella pokes at her phone screen.
“You’ve blocked him before.” I’d like to join Ruby on this one. She might get a bit unhinged at times, but this guy is ridiculous. Bella broke things off months ago, and he won’t let it go.
“I know.” Bella drops her cell phone into her purse. “It’s done. He won’t bother me again.”
Somehow, I’m not as convinced as my friend. This isn’t the first time he’s contacted her after she blocked him.
Chapter Fifteen
Jake
As Xavier holds a sheetrock board up to the studs, I drill in the screws. My friends arrived before daybreak to help renovate my bedroom. And they’ve transformed the room from exposed studs to a patchwork quilt of sheetrock and mud. The makeover has already given the room a fresh scent and brightened the previously dingy space.
I squat down to fasten the final four sheetrock screws as my friends work on the opposite wall. These are the last few pieces before we finish the process of taping and mudding the remaining seams.
“That’s good,” Dominic says from the board he’s fastening. The combined sounds of the three drills reduce to the one I’m wielding and then to nothing as I disengage the trigger and stand.
When I take a moment to survey the progress, I smile. “It looks good, guys, thanks.”
A round of ‘thank you’s’, ‘you’re welcome’, and ‘no problem’ rotates around the room.
This is what I saw when I purchased the place. I didn’t see the faded and cracked wallpaper or the paneling in the office. I saw a home where I could build a future. A place where I could see myself with a wife and maybe someday adding children to the mix.
But at this point, the possibility seems a long way off. Maybe never. I rotate my shoulders and pinch the muscles at the base of my neck.
“What color are you going to paint it?” Ben asks as he crosses his arms. He and Doninic are two of Xavier’s roommates. We all grew up together. Hanging out. Playing sports. Chasing girls. I didn’t realize how much I missed them until they walked through the door this morning. “I’m seeing a royal blue.”
“Of course, you’re seeing blue.” Bella marches into the room. “Can guys get any less original than everyone of you having the same favorite color? It’s always blue. Or maybe a shade of black thrown in for variety.”
“No one is going to paint their bedroom black, dumbass.” Ben glares at his sister.
Bella arches an eyebrow. “You’re the dumbass with the unoriginal favorite color of blue. Royal blue of all the choices of blue. There’s an infinite color palette and–”
“What’s your choice? Pink.”
“Guys.” Dominic steps between them. “That’s enough.” He turns and frowns at Bella. “What’re you doing here, anyway?”
The man pretends he’s not obsessed with his friends’ sister, but he’s a fucking liar. He’s followed her around like a lost puppy since…. Well, probably since I started noticing Emily.
Bella’s eyes harden as she braces her hands on her hips. “Is that any way to speak to someone who brought you sandwiches and homemade cookies?”
“Exactly.” Ruby barges her way into the room. “We’ve sweated over a hot stove all morning making you guys something to eat, and all you do is toss out barbed insults.”
“Ladies….” I raise my hands in front of me. “Stop. Thank you for coming over and bringing us food. I’m sure my friends would love to thank you as well.” I turn and glare at all of them. “I don’t know about everyone else, but I’m starving.”
“Right.” Xavier nods. “Thank you, Ruby and Bella, for bringing us strong men something to eat.” He grins with all his standard cocky charm and pops his muscles. The man is still ridiculous, but he’s impossible not to like. He has one of those personalities that light up the room.
