Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

KENT

M y phone rings, waking me up for the second time this morning. I ignore it, but it keeps going off. With a groan, I stumble to my feet.

Who the fuck is calling?

My head spins lightly from my hangover. I shake it off and grab my phone off the dresser.

“What?” I answer without glancing at the caller ID.

“There’s a blizzard coming.”

The voice sounds familiar, but I can’t figure out who it is. I pull the phone back and see that it’s Oliver.

Putting the phone back to my ear, I ask, “What do you want?”

He sighs, obviously irritated by my lack of coherency. “A blizzard is blowing in this evening. They’re warning everyone of a blackout.”

“Damn it,” I mutter, wiping a hand down my face. “I haven’t taken the time to fix the fucking generator. It’s been broken for months.”

“I’ve got a fireplace in my living room and plenty of wood stacked in the shed out back. I need to go shopping for groceries, though.”

I scoff. “Man, the stores are going to be packed.”

“I know.” He chuckles. “This isn’t my first rodeo. I’ll get what I can. Check on Simon and Melanie. If they don’t have a plan in place, bring everyone here. If the power goes out, the fireplace will keep us from freezing to death.”

“So much for relaxing,” I scoff.

We hang up, and I call Simon. He’s about as thrilled as I was to be woken up again. He agrees to meet up at Oliver’s later, grumbling about bringing food with him, before hanging up on me. I roll my eyes.

Almost forty, and Simon’s still the hardest to get out of bed. I’d like to go back to sleep too, but instead, I get up and shower. There are a few things I need to do before I face Melanie again. God knows it probably won’t go well.

I’m standing outside Melanie’s house, trying to get up the nerve to knock. I take a deep breath to calm myself, but instantly regret it. The air is like ice in my lungs. It’s fucking freezing and the wind is beginning to pick up. It’s late afternoon, but it doesn’t seem like it. The sun is hidden behind clouds, creating a dreary atmosphere.

Shaking off my worry, I rap on the front door. My foot taps the wood beneath me as I wait. When she doesn’t answer, I try again. There’s still no response.

Is she asleep?

Her door is unlocked, so I open it and call out to her. My response is singing, loud and off key. I snort and step inside. Calling out Melanie’s name, I walk toward her room. There’s no music playing, so I assume she’s wearing headphones.

I follow the sound of her voice. Her room is cluttered with boxes and trash bags. Leaning against the doorframe, I watch her shake her ass.

When she turns around, she screams. Laughter bursts out of me as she pulls the AirPods out of her ears.

“What the fuck, Kent?” she gasps, holding her chest.

“Sorry.” I chuckle. “Spring cleaning?”

“Unpacking.” Melanie pushes things back so she can sit on her bed. “What’s up?”

“Didn’t know if you knew or not, but there’s a blizzard coming. Simon and I are going to Oliver’s since he’s the only one with a fireplace in case the power goes out.”

“My mom told me. She’s staying at the hospital.”

“Good. Then you can come with us.”

Her eyes widen. Clearing her throat, she glances away. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

I roll my eyes. “Melanie, we’re all adults. We’re going to have to discuss it eventually. Please come stay at Oliver’s. It will give us peace of mind knowing you’re safe, and you can sleep alone. He has four bedrooms.”

She groans. “I’m really not comfortable with that plan.”

“Then we’ll all pile over here and cuddle when it starts to freeze. Naked.”

Her jaw tics. “Suitcase is in the closet.”

The corner of my lips lift. “Thought you’d say that.”

Stepping over her mess, I get her case out. I set it on her bed and open it. While she piles in everything she needs, I work on cleaning up the empty boxes and bags she has lying around.

Melanie gets sidetracked here and there, stopping to put things away as she was doing before I showed up. I don’t complain, just help her finish what she needs to do.

By the time the room is clean and we head out, the snow has begun to fall again. I hold her suitcase under one arm and tug her into the other as we trudge over to Oliver’s. Having seen us coming, he opens the door.

“Hurry up before you freeze to death,” Oliver yells over the wind. He closes the door the second we’re inside.

I shiver. “Damn, it’s cold!”

“Took you two long enough.” Simon takes Melanie’s suitcase from me.

“My fault,” Melanie says, taking off her snow-covered jacket. “I wanted to unpack all my stuff before I left. I don’t want to deal with it later.”

Oliver hangs her coat up on the hooks in the foyer. “It’s fine. Do you want some hot chocolate? It will help warm you up.”

“Yes, please.”

“Anyone else?”

Simon and I chime in. As Oliver heads to the kitchen, I follow.

Once we’re out of earshot, he asks me, “Did she say anything?”

“Not really.” I grab the milk from the fridge while he gets the cocoa mix from the cabinet. “It’s obvious she wants to forget about it, though. She wasn’t too keen on coming over.”

“Great,” he mutters.

“It’s probably too early for her to think about a new relationship, especially with three guys.”

Oliver mixes the hot chocolate ingredients in a small pot on the stove. “Maybe… or maybe she’ll never be ready.”

“Only one way to find out.” I set four mugs on the counter.

Oliver glances at me. I shrug. He releases a heavy breath.

“I’m not sure I’m ready for that talk either,” he admits.

I pat his shoulder in brotherly support. I feel as he does; discussing everything with Melanie would make things clear for all of us, but that could go either way. As we are now, we can live in a fantasy of possibilities, one where she doesn’t say no.