Hey guys this chapter was by mistake uploaded instead of 3rd chapter so now correct order is uploaded. I apologize for previous fault.
So enjoy this addon chapter.
LILY
It was cool. Fun. Amazing. And the best part? There was never a dull moment.
Living with three hot guys was like a dream come true. At first they were perfect gentlemen, giving me a wide berth, adhering to a strict shower schedule, being careful not to get caught around the house without shirts or shorts on. But as time went on…
As time went on things got a little lax.
It began with Brandon, who'd often frequent the living room in his boxers. The others yelled at him more than once to keep covered, but I could tell they were only doing it half heartedly. He was at practice an awful lot, and dressed head to toe in heavy football gear. At home, it seemed the last thing he wanted to do was wear clothes.
And who was I to argue?
Colin, with his lithe, swimmer's body, liked to go shirtless as well. He was always showering, to wash off the chlorine or salt or whatever it was from the pool. More than once I caught a glimpse of his beautiful abs or his tight, chiseled ass — either one of which were straight out of a Calvin Klein underwear ad.
Hunter was more private, and spent a lot more time in his room. His door was always closed, and I never could figure out what he was doing in there. Studying, I figured. Strange though, because he didn't even play music or anything.
As for me, I was a good girl… for the most part. At times things got casual, and I would dip downstairs in something like yoga pants or a tight shirt or a skirt that was a little on the shorter side. Nothing I wouldn't wear normally though. Although normally, I wouldn't wear these things around three hot guys I was trying not to be interested in.
Living in the old Victorian house was a welcome change from living in my old place, too. For one it was absolutely beautiful. Many of the original fixtures were still there, left intact or only minimally damaged by the hard-partying Delta Delta Thoras. Room by room we stripped away wallpaper and livened the place up with a fresh coat of paint. Pulled up old carpeting to reveal beautiful, original flooring. Hunter turned out to be the consummate handyman. He knew how to do just about everything, and whenever he didn't he always seemed to 'know a guy.'
Too bad you can't go after him, the little angel on my shoulder admonished. He's an amazing catch…
But he's also off limits.
The decision had been an easy one of course; they were all off limits. I couldn't date any one of them without causing ripples between the others, and the last thing I wanted to do was screw up their friendship over the arrangement I had made.
Which was really hard too, because I liked them all.
Besides, it was blatantly obvious from the start the three of them had made some sort of similar agreement. Any time one of them would even mildly flirt with me, the other two would deliver him a stern, withering look.
"So tell me," I asked Colin once, figuring he was the easiest nut to crack "What's the deal between you guys?"
I caught him in the middle of pouring pancakes on a Saturday morning, focusing on keeping every one a specific size and thickness. It was a ritual he was usually meticulous about, and I was feeling exceptionally playful.
"What deal?"
"The one where you all treat me like over protective brothers looking out for an innocent sister."
He'd laughed nervously at that, but in doing so, had screwed up pouring the batter. A trail of thick golden liquid ran up the side of the pan, spoiling his perfect record.
"And what's wrong with brothers protecting a sister?"
"Nothing," I shrugged, biting into a piece of bacon. "It's just… well… sometimes I wonder what it would be like if one of you actually liked me."
"We all like you," he said simply.
"No," I teased, leaning in just a little too close to his ear. "I mean like like me."
I detected the change… the nearly imperceptible little twitch that ran down the side of his body. Colin might be off limits, sure. But that didn't mean flirting with him was too.
"You know," he said, turning to face me. "The whole idea of that would be cataclysmically bad."
"For who?"
"For all of us!"
I shrugged, pretending to consider it. "Possibly."
"Not just possibly," he said. "Definitely."
He was right of course, but it didn't stop me from messing with him. I had found that I loved messing with all the boys, but especially Colin.
"What if I liked you?"
He turned into me, his lithe, athletic body barely contained by a fresh white T-shirt. We were the only ones up in the whole house. The only ones around…
"Do you?" he asked, and his ice-blue eyes sparkled.
I crunched down on another bite of bacon. "I don't know," I shrugged, pretending to look him up and down. Well, not really pretending. "I could… but then again…" I bumped him with my hip. "That might be cataclysmically bad."
The smell of burning pancakes brought him back to the task at hand. As he cursed and flipped as fast as he could, I couldn't help but chuckle on the way out of the kitchen.
In truth I was being an asshole. Making myself feel better at the expense of someone else. The breakup with Garrett had emotionally drained me, and I had been feeling down about myself ever since. Only now was I coming out of my shell. Finally opening up to the idea that, someday soon, I would have to eventually dip my toes back in the dating pool.
It's more than loneliness though,the honest part of me knew. It's something else too.
My roommates were beautiful, sexy, amazing guys. And single. Let's not forget single. In the short time I'd been here they'd treated me like a princess, and I'd done my best to be there for them as well.
For example there was Brandon, failing two classes right from the start of the semester. His entire scholarship, not to mention his whole future with the team, was in jeopardy. Colin had taken to tutoring him, and when I found out I jumped right in to help. Already he'd done better on his latest round of exams. Still, he needed more work and less partying. More studying. More structure.
Colin seemed fine on the outside, but it was obvious his obsessive compulsive order was being fed by some inner turmoil. I suspected it had something to do with his ex girlfriend, who he talked about just a little too frequently. I hadn't gotten him to open up yet, though. He always played it off like everything was fine.
And Hunter? He was the most private of all. He was fine whenever we were in a group setting, but when he and I were alone in the house it seemed like he would intentionally avoid me. Any contact we had was playful and fun, but he kept it short and sweet… as if he were afraid to let things go on longer.
Even so, there was a strange magnetism between us. A natural chemistry that seemed to deepen the more we ignored it. And there was something about him as well. Some deep-seeded secret he kept close to his perfectly-sculpted chest. The more he hid it, the more I wanted to know. And the more he denied me, the closer I wanted to be to him.
The whole thing was incredible, it really was. For the first time in forever I actually had family. People who looked out for me, cared about me, locked the door with me inside the house at night. We played together, laughed together, ate together, even got involved in each other's lives. I would see Colin or Hunter on campus, and they would walk with me sometimes. Or I would stop by the football field to watch Brandon drill. To admire the herculean effort he was putting in as an athlete, even as Colin and I did our best to hone him as an academic student.
We became comfortable. Lax. Even flirtatious. But if just one of us succumbed to our more baser, honest desires?
I knew it held the sad promise of going bad.