Chapter Nine EVERLEIGH

Chapter Nine

EVERLEIGH

My first full week in Santa Mira goes by quickly and is busy in all the right ways. I got the window on my car fixed the same day I took it to the mechanic. I was offered a part-time job at the very café where fate delivered my new roommates, and I finally started school Thursday.

I don’t understand why school started on a Thursday. Does that make sense? Not to me, but those are the rules, so I don’t question them.

Since training for my new job doesn’t begin until bright and early Friday morning, after I finish my first day of classes, I go shopping to get some new clothes and other items I still need. I ended up taking a few of Sienna’s hand-me-downs, but not many. Everything was too long on me. She’s so much taller than I am.

By the time I’m done and heading back home, I end up driving around the neighborhood for almost thirty minutes before I find a parking spot—one that’s kind of far from the house, but I don’t really have a choice.

Living in Santa Mira is a lot more difficult than I expected it to be.

The walk back to our house is long, especially when lugging all my shopping bags and my backpack. Feeling bitter as I trudge up the path toward the front porch, I send a scathing look toward Nico’s pristine black truck sitting in the driveway. I wish he’d let me park there like he did when my car window was broken, but I get it. He pays more in rent, and our schedules aren’t the same, so it would end up being a hassle, constantly moving our cars for each other.

Still hate having to park so far away, though.

The moment I walk inside the house, I spot Frank sitting on the couch, scrolling on his phone. His head pops up, a hopeful expression on his face when he sees me.

“Finally,” he says, like I’ve been gone for days. “I’m starving.”

I’ve made him dinner for the last three nights, which was our initial agreement, and I don’t want to deviate from it. “Hate to break it to you, but I’m not cooking tonight, Frank.”

“You’re not?” The disappointment is clear in his voice—the look on his face.

“Give her a break. She’s already sick of feeding your needy ass.” This comes from Nico, who exits the kitchen clutching a giant foil-wrapped burrito in his hand.

“Fuck off,” Frank mutters as he climbs off the couch, approaching me slowly. “You’re really not making dinner tonight, Everleigh?”

I slowly shake my head, offering him an apologetic smile. “The deal was three meals a week.”

“I didn’t expect those three days to go by so fast.” Frank pats his stomach.

“You’re whining, Dollar.” There’s a warning to Nico’s tone, one that surprises me. He sounds a little mean. I send him a questioning look, but he doesn’t even glance in my direction.

What in the world is going on? Is he actually trying to watch out for me?

“Yeah, yeah. I think I’m gonna go grab a sandwich from the shop across the street. You wanna go with me, Ever?”

“Thanks, but no. I already got something when I was out.” I offer him an apologetic smile, and his disappointment is clear.

I feel bad for lying. I’m starving. I just don’t want to go out with Frank. He reads into everything I do with him. Everything I say. How am I supposed to blatantly tell him I’m not interested? It was one thing to break up with Brad. I knew him for a long time, and I wasn’t that scared to tell him we were through.

Letting down Frank is going to be difficult. But if he keeps pushing, I’m eventually going to have to do something about it.

I’m not looking forward to it.

Sienna was right. He’s nice enough, but he comes on way too strong and tries so, so hard to flirt with me. Act charming, though it’s not effortless for him. More like it’s a little off-putting, but I tolerate him because he’s harmless. Plus, he’s my roommate. I want to get along with all of them. Coop makes it easy. He’s kind, doesn’t talk much, and nothing seems to bother him.

Still a little unsure about Nico, though. We haven’t spent enough time together, which is fine with me. I find his face distracting.

“Ah, okay. Well, see you guys later.” He grabs his wallet from the table near the door and exits the house.

“Finally, some peace and quiet,” Nico says once Frank is gone, taking a big bite from his burrito. It looks delicious and my stomach growls. Hopefully he doesn’t hear it. “Doesn’t he drive you crazy? He acts like a sad puppy dog around you.”

“He’s okay.” I don’t want to say anything bad about Frank to Nico. He’s done the most for me out of the three of them, not that I’m judging them on that. It’s just facts. “He means well.”

“If you say so.” The doubt in Nico’s voice is obvious.

“Why do you live with him if you don’t like him?”

He appears taken aback by my question, blinking at me a couple of times before he answers. “I don’t dislike Dollar.”

“You talk about him like you do.”

“He’s cool. Pays his rent on time. Is solid out on the field. Mostly.” He grins.

I tear my gaze away from him, staring at a blank wall rather than falling into the trap that is his smile. Whereas Frank tries so damn hard, Nico doesn’t have to try at all, and I find myself drawn to him.

It’s annoying.

“He’ll eventually take the hint and back off from you,” Nico reassures me. “Give him time.”

I shrug helplessly, sending him a quick look but not saying anything as I walk past him and head to my bedroom to drop off my bags before I fix myself something to eat. Weirdly enough, Nico follows me, hovering in my bedroom doorway and watching me set my bags on top of my bed.

“How was school?” he asks, like he actually wants to make conversation with me.

“Good.” I keep my back to him as I slide my backpack off and drop it on the floor.

“And your classes?”

“They seem like they’re going to be okay. Probably a little intense.” I pause, turning to face him. He’s still standing in the doorway, apparently not going anywhere anytime soon, so I keep up the conversation. “How were your classes?”

“They were all right. My load is a little lighter this quarter since I took summer classes. I only have fifteen units.” He takes another bite from that delicious-looking burrito, and I swear my mouth waters.

“I’m jealous,” I admit. “I’m taking eighteen.”

“That’s a big load. With football I couldn’t handle it. Plus, I was here all summer, so it made sense to get some classes out of the way.” He shrugs those impossibly broad shoulders, drawing my attention to just how big he is.

He towers over me. Feels like he’s twice as wide as me and can probably crush me with his bare hands. I shouldn’t find that hot, but there is something about him and all that contained strength that’s a turn-on.

Or maybe I’m just warped and sex starved. It didn’t help when Sienna described the football team as beasts in bed. Worse because the first one I thought of was Nico.

I can only imagine . . .

Shutting off my wayward thoughts, I ask, “Why were you here all summer?”

“Because of football. We have camp and then summer practice, and our season started a couple of weeks ago,” he explains.

“Really? Before school started?”

He nods, holding his burrito out toward me. “Want a bite?”

“What? No.” I shake my head, taking a step backward. More than a little confused by the sudden subject change.

“Oh. You were staring at the burrito like it was the hottest thing you’ve ever seen.” He grins. “Figured you were hungry.”

My stomach chooses that moment to growl, of course. I can feel my entire face get hot, and a knowing smile curls Nico’s perfect lips. “Uhh .?.?.”

“You’re definitely hungry,” he says with a chuckle. “I’ll share it with you.”

“No. It’s okay.” I shake my head, embarrassed. “I couldn’t take your dinner away from you. I’m sure I can find something here to eat.”

There are plenty of things in the fridge, not that much of it appeals. I should know what’s in there since I’ve been cooking dinner for these guys the last few nights. They’re always appreciative of it too. Complimenting me on the meals I’ve made and offering to help clean up the kitchen, which I always let them do.

“This place makes the best burritos I’ve ever had.” He’s trying to tempt me. The seductive tone of his voice, the look on his face, the way he just took another bite of his burrito, his gaze never straying from mine .?.?.

No wonder women just fall into bed with him. He’s working his magic on me over a freakin’ burrito.

“I don’t think—”

“Come on,” he interrupts. “I’m taking you out and buying you one. Trust me, once you try it, you’ll never look back.”

“Do they sponsor you? Is that why you’re pushing them on me so hard?”

He laughs, and the pleasant sound ripples over my skin, making me warm.

“Nah. I just like their food,” he calls over his shoulder as he starts walking.

It’s as if I have no choice but to follow him out of my room, trailing after him as he makes his way to the front door. “What about Frank? What if he spots us after I turned him down?”

“He just texted me asking if I wanted to meet up with him later at Charley’s. A few of the guys are there already.” Charley’s is a bar not too far from campus—and our house—that also serves food. I applied for a job there but turned down their request for an interview when I got the position at the café.

“Oh.” Nico’s really got to be humoring me by offering to take me out for dinner. Wouldn’t he rather be with his friends? “Did you want to meet up with them instead?”

“I’ll hang out with them later.” He faces me fully, his brows shooting up. “You ready to go?”

He’s just being friendly, I remind myself as I follow him through the front door and watch as he locks it, shoving his keys in his pocket. I stare at the front of his sweatpants like some sort of deranged pervert, and when I jerk my gaze up to his, that knowing smile is back. Like he knows exactly what I was looking at.

Like he doesn’t mind that I’m a deranged pervert. He might even like it.

This is nothing, I remind myself. It means nothing. Just two roommates grabbing food. That’s it.

That’s all it can ever be.