Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 86158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86158 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
I considered it.
“I don’t know,” I hedged. “That might not be a good idea.”
“What might not be a good idea?” Charlie asked as she came back into the room. She handed me a beer before climbing onto her bed, sitting cross-legged with a pillow on her lap.
“Told Bishop he should move in,” Draco said, taking his own beer from Kara. “Thanks, baby.”
“Draco,” Kara scolded, glancing at Charlie. “You can’t just ask someone to move in with us without talking to us first.” She looked at me, embarrassed. “No offense, Bishop.”
“None taken,” I replied, waving her off. “Like I said, probably not a good idea.”
“We’re talkin’ now,” Draco said defensively. “Havin’ a whole ass conversation, in fact.”
“He’s literally sitting right there,” Kara said out of the side of her mouth, pointing her thumb at me. “What if I didn’t like him or something?”
“If you didn’t like him, you would’ve said somethin’ by now,” Draco replied.
Charlie was unusually quiet.
“I do like you, by the way,” Kara said to me. “It’s just the principle of the thing.”
“No worries.”
“He should move in,” Draco said stubbornly. “It’ll split the rent even more, there’ll be another man in the house when I’m not, and I’ve lived with him before.”
“Mentioning that we shared a cell might not be the recommendation you’re goin’ for,” I said dryly.
“The house he’s livin’ in smells like fuckin’ cabbage,” Draco continued, like it was the most important factor to consider. “Cabbage, Kara. The BO of vegetables.”
Charlie’s silence ended then. She snorted once. Then again. Then she was full out laughing, and falling back on the bed, her beer held out above her to keep it from spilling.
“It’s not funny, Charlie!” Draco snapped. “He fuckin’ hates it there.”
“I don’t hate it,” I said calmly. “It’s alright.”
“Baby, I love you,” Kara said, sitting on Draco’s lap as she fought a smile. “You’re the best.”
“It’s a fuckin’ good idea and you know it,” Draco replied.
“I’m not the only one with a vote,” Kara said quietly.
Draco stared belligerently at the bed, where Charlie still giggled.
“Charlotte,” he said sharply.
“What?” she asked.
“Is it cool that he moves in?”
“Aw, hell,” she said with a sigh as she sat back up. She stared at the ceiling for a moment before meeting my eyes. “Wouldn’t want you smelling like vegetable BO.”
“Good,” Draco said, leaning back into the couch. “It’s settled.”
I turned slowly to look at him. “I didn’t even say I wanted to move in here.”
Charlie started laughing again, and this time it was infectious. Within seconds, we were all doing the same damn thing.
When we’d finally calmed down, Kara stood.
“I’m going to work on some more boxes,” she announced, she pointed at me. “Go pick which room you want.”
“I’ll help,” Draco said, getting off the couch with a sigh. “I need to get the dressers set up.”
“Bye,” Charlie sang, waving her fingers at them. “I’m going to work on my room.”
“Come down when you want and I’ll give ya the grand tour,” Draco told me, slapping me on the shoulder as he passed. “The back yard’s huge. Thinkin’ of getting’ a smoker.”
“You’re such an old man,” Charlie teased as he walked away. “If I catch you wearing socks and sandals I’m moving out!”
“Great. I’ll buy some tomorrow,” Draco yelled back from the hallway.
“So you’re moving in, huh?” Charlie said, sliding off the bed. “This relationship got serious fast.”
My jaw dropped and I struggled to find a response. I couldn’t tell if she was serious or just fucking with me, and I sputtered for a minute before she took pity on me.
“I’m joking,” she said, setting her beer on a windowsill. “It would’ve been fun as hell, but we obviously can’t fuck around if we’re going to be living together.”
“We can’t,” I repeated, almost a question, but not quite.
“I’m all for friends with benefits or whatever,” she said, smiling at me. “But living together while we’re doing it is a bit too far, I think.”
“Alright.”
“I mean, I have a date tomorrow—”
“You have a date tomorrow?” I asked incredulously.
“Yep,” she said, lifting a nightstand and carrying it over next to her bed. “And you can see why that would be weird. You know, bringing dates back here to hang out and having the other person you’re screwing around with just…watching. Sounds messy.”
“You’re plannin’ on bringin’ them back here?” I asked, still trying to catch up.
“Well, maybe not tomorrow, but it’ll happen eventually, right?” she asked, stopping to look at me. “Not just me—you too. I mean, it’ll be your place, too, so you could potentially be bringing dates home?”
“Yeah, I guess,” I replied.
“See?” She shrugged.
“So, if I move in here, I’m not gonna see you naked,” I said, walking toward her.
“Bingo,” Charlie replied, putting her hands on her hips. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m not about that kind of drama.”
“Then I won’t move in,” I said simply.