4. Roman

The sun peeks through the curtains of my room as I check the time on my phone.

8:30 A.M. is mighty late for me to sleep in.

But last night was literally hell. I travelled most of the day, unpacked in my new home and tried to enjoy the amazing home-cooked meal Leaf made. But it was a day with too much.

The talk of families and closeness turned my joyful mood into melancholy. I missed my sisters and parents. And it didn't help that Leaf's brother pissed me off with every clink of his fork, slurp of his wine, and word from his mouth as he laughed along with Leaf. I should enjoy time with friends laughing over memories, but last night I just couldn't.

Sasha should've warned me Leaf's brother was nothing like him. He was loud and opinionated on everything from cars to what colour the sky was. And yet I agreed to let him drive me to the city. Tomorrow.

Rolling out of bed, I make my way to the bathroom. A damp odour lingers, and I make a note to ask Sasha if that's normal here.

I'm so excited to get to work and bring our vision to life. I still need to set up my mannequins and sewing machine. And the lace. Oh, my god I want to play with the lace I ordered and see if it's as amazing as the top designers say it is.

But first I need coffee and breakfast. While it's a minor inconvenience to get dressed and walk down to the kitchen instead of making it here, I like the vibe of this place. And I bet when it's teeming with people, it's actually a blast to be here.

Sasha can't stop talking about taking me hiking and out on the boat and as amazing as those things are for him, I'm more of a let's ride in an air-conditioned car and look at the sights through windows kind of guy.

Making sure I have my room key, I slip my short UGG slippers on and wander down to the kitchen. It's hard to believe that in two days time, this quiet space will be anything but as people flock to town for the Maple Festival and the grand opening of Leaf's sugar shack.

I pause at a series of photos in the dining room that Sasha took and framed. It's a history of the rebuild and shaping of Connor's Cabin and the whole maple syrup set up Leaf has. When his husband Connor passed away unexpectantly the poor man no longer had the heart to pursue his dream of producing maple syrup.

But in these pictures, he's smiling, and it's clear it's a passion for him. Just as much as his love for my friend is. And it warms my heart to know Sasha has finally put his past behind him to enjoy life again. His smile always lights up a room and when you're the source of that smile… it's truly something else.

And with my own big dopey smile on, I enter the kitchen to wrangle my coffee. It still smells like the cookies Millie baked yesterday and my mouth waters. Cookies and coffee sound like a hell of a way to start the day.

The coffee maker is a giant and meant for a restaurant. Millie, bless her heart, left me a note to remind me that the ‘on' switch is at the back of the machine.

I chuckle under my breath because without coffee, that note came in handy.

After firing the monstrosity up, I wait for it to brew and poke around the kitchen to bring food up to my room. Sasha stocked some of my favourites, since he knows it will take a few days for me to get settled. He mentioned he bought my favourite banana yogurt and some strawberries. I won't attempt a smoothie today, but I'll take them separately. Only when I pull out the package of strawberries, there's two left.

With a sigh, I place it on the counter and opt to just eat them here and take my coffee upstairs.

The main lodge door opens and closes with a muffled thump and heavy steps approach the kitchen.

Perry steps into the doorway and stops short when he sees me. His eyes dart to the empty strawberry box.

Because of course he had to be the one to eat my strawberries. Guilt was never more transparent.

"I didn't think anyone was up."

"No one was when you raided the kitchen this morning." I raise the empty container and take a bite of the strawberry. "Did you even stop for a minute to think this wasn't for you? Or do you always make it a habit to take things that don't belong to you?"

"How do you know it was me?"

He strides to the coffee machine and reaches for the carafe.

"Excuse me! I made that for me and it just finished brewing. I haven't even poured a cup yet." Shaking my head, I bite the last part of strawberry and imagine it's his head.

"Sorry, your highness." he snarks, placing the carafe back with a shove and I smash my hand on the counter.

"Don't make me feel bad. It's my coffee! And you ate the strawberries!"

He throws his hands up and I mimic his reaction.

"I didn't know there was food police now. And I didn't know they were yours. I always just snack from the fridge, so don't make me feel bad!"

"For fuck's sake, all I wanted was breakfast and coffee, not a goddamn yelling match. You could at least apologize!"

I no longer even want the food. Just the coffee and to get away from Perry and his blazing blue eyes and pouty lips and… Jesus Christ. My brain has short-circuited.

Instead of making a coffee I storm out of the kitchen. He can have the coffee and I'll go back to my room. Because I'm not into fighting and I'm not into noticing someone's eyes -ice-washed blue—and their lips—perfect for biting- after they've eaten my breakfast and tried to steal my coffee.

Jamming the key into the lock, I enter the room with a rush and slam the door behind me.

"Get a fucking grip, Roman."

Sasha is going to kill me. I can't seem to stop running my mouth off with this guy. And I'll be seeing him every damn day. Not to mention stuck in a vehicle with him all day tomorrow. This is not good for any of us.

Stripping off my clothes, I toss them on the bed. A hot shower, then I'll send Sasha an SOS to bring me food and coffee. But on my way to the bathroom, there's a knock at the door.

"Who is it!?"

God, I just want to have a moment to settle myself and claw back some composure.

"Perry."

Oh, for the love of… "Just a minute."

Striding back to my bedroom, I pull on my sleep pants and robe before opening the door to find Perry waiting.

He wordlessly offers the mug that I left in the kitchen.

"You could have just left it there."

He shrugs. "You went there for coffee. It's the least I could do for eating your strawberries."

Taking the mug, I peer inside. It's a delightful light, creamy brown and despite my attitude, my traitorous lips smile.

"You left the cream and sugar on the counter. I guessed how you liked it, but you seem like a heavy sugar and light on the cream guy."

His voice is softer now that we're yelling at each other, and I don't hate it.

"Why would you say that?"

Is he some kind of coffee witch and reads people to make their coffee exactly how they want?

"Sugar takes away the bitterness and just a hint of cream makes it smooth. Makes coffee more palatable for people that way."

My gaze meets his, and for a moment he seems likeable. Perhaps I've been too harsh. Even if he is implying I'm bitter by the way I take my coffee.

Until he opens his mouth again.

"Anyway, next time just label the berries."

He doesn't even let me answer and just walks away. Like he owns the damn place, and I'm just… irrationally pissed off all over again.

Because he should've had the decency to make a shitty cup of coffee so I could justify my opinion of him and stay mad.

This time when a knock comes at the door, I know who it will be and I open it with a smile.

"Hey! Thank you for saving me."

Sasha steps inside with a bag he dumps on the tiny coffee table in my sitting area.

"I will always save you, Ro. But…" He raises an eyebrow. "You need to do me a favour and stop fighting with Perry. What happened this time?"

With a sigh, I sit on the couch and open the bag Sasha brought me. Does he know me well or what? A leftover roast beef sandwich from last night and veggies with dip.

Taking a moment to set the food out and gather my thoughts, I search Sasha's face.

"Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?"

"You're assuming I did something wrong. I didn't."

Sasha leans back with a sigh, and I tear into the sandwich.

"Is this homemade bread?"

His eyes light up. "Yeah! I made it with Millie. Good, right?"

"Insanely good."

"She's the best. We're going to try sourdough next, but she needs to start the mix or something she said." He leans forward and snatches the rest of my sandwich off the table.

"Hey!"

"Tell me why you're at Perry's throat before you even give him a chance, Ro. It's not like you to be so rude. And I've heard his side. I want yours."

I should have known Sasha would look for answers right away. I'm a mellow guy and while I may be opinionated about certain things, I don't like to make people feel uncomfortable.

"I honestly don't know, Sasha. He just gets to me."

He cocks an eyebrow, not buying my explanation in the slightest.

"Try again."

Taking another bite of the sandwich, I look away. It's hard to hide from someone who knows you inside out. From someone who's seen you at your best and your worst and all points in between.

"I admit he's attractive in a very unkempt mountain man kind of way—"

"I knew it!"

Sasha sings as he shakes his head.

"Oh, stop it." With a sigh, I lean back and forget about the amazing sandwich. "I really don't know, Sasha. It's like everything out of his mouth annoys me and his presence is just…" Trailing off, I shrug. "Just something about him."

Sasha remains quiet, and I wait him out.

"Ro…he's Leaf's brother and a good friend of mine. He's not a bad guy. Honest."

"Of course, he's not. You wouldn't be friends if he was."

"See? So could you try to be a little less abrasive? It was my fault he ate the strawberries. This is just as much his home as mine. He didn't do anything unacceptable. He didn't know."

I'm not sure if it's possible to feel lower than a snake's belly, but hearing my best friend hurt over something I did sure makes me feel like it.

Sasha chews his lip and I motion for him to move closer. He hugs me, and I wrap my arms around him.

"I'll apologize to him."

"Thank you. Just give him a chance. You'll see he's not a bad guy. I mean, we didn't hit it off right away either. I thought he was an arrogant, judgemental prick."

Laughing, it's my turn to give him the gears.

"And you're telling me I'm being rude when you thought that!?"

"I kept it to myself! I didn't have yelling matches in the kitchen with him. Besides, he was worried I'd break his brother's heart, so he was being protective. I can't fault him for that."

"No, you can't. I'll talk to him. Promise."

Satisfied with the answer, Sasha walks over to the mannequin I set up and inspects the design I was piecing together.

"This looks promising. Tell me about it."

I abandon food, all thoughts now going to the latest project idea I can't shake.

"Ohmygod, Sasha, here. Look at my sketch." Passing him my sketch pad, he grins.

"I love it. Is this what the Italian lace is for? It's almost like a bridal garment for men, Roman. This will be so hot."

The intricate lace I had shipped from a factory in Milan has the tiniest flower pattern woven in. It's so pretty. Once I saw it, I made a rough sketch specifically with the lace in mind. What was to be a lacy pair of boy short manties morphed into something more sensual and intimate. And Sasha just nailed it.

"A wedding outfit for men is exactly what I was thinking. I sketched a top, too. The lace is expensive as hell, though. This won't be a pre-made item. Other than the one we use for pictures, it will be custom-made, like the corsets."

"Ohh…what about a corset with lace? Would that work?"

"I was thinking of a lace overlay, but a different pattern of lace." I flip to the page in my sketches. "Like this."

Sasha's jaw hangs open as he pulls the sketch closer to him.

"Jesus, Ro…that's incredible. If you're still pulling designs like this together, working out of a lodge room won't work for long. You're going to need way more space because this is going to take off."

"You think so?"

I know I'm a talented designer, but the thought of my stuff being worn all over the world or in high demand is such a crazy thought. Sewing a hundred orders a month in my bedroom seemed surreal. What will this be like if I need to rent a space and hire staff?

"I know so. Why don't I help you set up the sewing machine while you cut for this? You could finish one this afternoon." He smirks with a laugh. "It's not like you have a lot of pieces to sew together."

For the next little while, Sasha and I set up the sewing space to my specifications and I carefully cut pieces of lace and silk and pin where they need sewing. It'll be tricky because I don't want the seams to show and I'm attaching a very fine lace to an equally fine fabric underneath. The lace is gorgeous, but nobody needs this directly on their good parts. It would itch like crazy. I have a different lace in mind for that kind of design.

"Hey, Ro. Do you smell something funny in the bathroom?"

Setting my scissors down, I meet Sasha in the bathroom and the smell from before is definitely stronger.

"It's been there since I got here, but I thought maybe it was a smell from the renovations and it would fade. It's not fading."

Wrinkling his nose, Sasha pulls out his phone. "I'm going to ask Perry to come check it out."

"Can you at least ask him to come this evening? I don't want to be interrupted with this project. If I can finish, you can run for your camera and we can get some shots posted."

He finishes sending the text and squeals. "Oh yes! I'd love to shoot this! Something simple and sexy for now, plain black backdrop for the white to pop and you'll look so good against it, too."

"Okay then. Let's do it."

I'm so damn excited about getting this company started. We rebuilt the website and set up our social channels months ago, after Sasha moved here. I spent the last year finishing a modelling contract and lingering, so I didn't stiff my roommates while they found a renter to replace me.

I didn't have to, but they were solid dudes who I liked and became good friends. I suspect the jock was bi-curious, but I never pressed him when he asked me about what it was like modelling with naked men all the time. His fascination with men wearing little clothing had me raise an eyebrow a few times, but it wasn't up to me to say anything.

The timing ended up working perfectly and with the actual designing process only starting now, I'm high with excitement. I've been posting teasers on the website and our social accounts for months. Our Instagram page has a large following already. Most of them are likely people who drool over me in my corset pics more than anything, and I'm okay with that. It's part of the territory.

Besides, I know I look good in one, so why not flaunt it?

And I'm going to look good wearing this too.

Only this time I'll profit from my own designs and that's a feeling I can't even put into words.

Now I need to finish sewing this sweet creation and make it all happen.