“Come on, let’s grab breakfast. Figure out our plan for the day.” Sundays were our catch-up days. We did homework, relaxed, or holed ourselves up in one of our rooms.
Elise pushed her way around Jules, shoving her elbow in his side as she went.
“Breakfast sounds great. Then I need to go to my place.”
Holy hell. She was makeup free, her hair in soft waves. The only thing she wore was some ridiculous shirt of Jules. It was so large on her, one shoulder was bared. There was a smattering of golden brown freckles. Then I noticed her toes. Blood red, painted toes.
I got it now. Jules was frustrated from being locked in the same room for nine hours. Jules shook his head. He didn’t want to be the one to accompany her to her place. Emmett might make a good choice.
Knocking on Emmett’s door, I changed my mind. No, if I put them together, it would be like tossing a nerd in a frat party. There would be sneers, words, and someone would leave crying.
Elise crossed her arms, leaning against the wall like she was only going along with this because she wanted to. She was handling all of this well, maybe too well. I doubted she’d be the one crying. Then again, Emmett didn’t care about anyone other than us. Nothing she could say would affect him.
Emmett greeted us in his boxers, scratching his chest and yawning. His hair was disheveled, and his abs were on full display. I suppose it was luck that a select didn’t stay the night. That was a complication we didn’t need in our already complex problem.
He glanced around to see what was going on, and his gaze caught on Elise. Then his signature smirk appeared.
“No.”
Emmett turned to me. “No?” The fucker was laughing at me.
“Just no. Get dressed. We need breakfast, then I have to take Elise to her place.” To grab her things. Because that was the only choice available to her.
“Fine.” Emmett waved a hand, disappearing back into his room.
I turned to Elise, finding Jules also gone. “Did you sleep okay?”
She rubbed her forehead like she was trying to make this whole thing go away. “Sure. For being threatened, kidnapped, and next to pimp daddy over there, I slept great.”
Her reference to Emmett almost made me smile. She might make it out of this alive. The fear wasn’t nearly as potent as last night. By now, she would’ve realized we didn’t have any plans to harm her if she didn’t squeal. Since the cops didn’t break down our door, she hadn’t made any calls in the middle of the night.
“Do you want to get your clothes on from last night, or wear Jules’ shirt to your place?” If she wanted to avoid as much gossip as possible, she needed to change, but she was a big girl. She could make her own decisions.
“Ugh…yeah, I’ll change.” She passed Jules as she stepped back into his room.
With a quick look around to make sure no one was in the hall, he signed to me. He never did it in public, unless someone specifically reached out to him via sign. It was just a weird quirk that made him who he was.
“She can’t be in my room again tonight.”
I couldn’t keep the grin off my face. “Too much for you?”
“No. I don’t like anyone in my space. I’ll do the rotation, but it needs to be just that. A rotation. Emmett needs to take his turn too.” He ended by pointing at Emmett’s door.
The itch to rankle him beat at me, but I at least had a hold on that urge. Sometimes I forgot how much he hated people. In our years in the Shack, I couldn’t remember anyone else in his room. This was actually huge, and probably why he was so irritated this morning. Emmett joined us after locking his door.
Down the hall, the twins’ door opened. They shared a room, even though we’d offered them separate quarters. Their ride for the night appeared first, followed by Johnny then Jamie. When they noticed us, Jamie scowled, but they led their girl downstairs.
Elise came out, the epitome of a pin-up girl, even without her makeup. She’d pulled her hair back into a messy knot at the base of her neck. No walk of shame for her. Most girls who left here had raccoon eyes, tangled hair, and not the pleasantest of smells.
Surprising me, Jules placed a hand on her hip opposite him to lead her down the stairs. Only because I was behind them did I see the way his fingers indented her dress. He had one hell of a grip on her.
A smack to my ribs caught my attention. I looked to Emmett, who jerked a head at the couple in front of us. We were all suspicious. Worried, nervous. But Jules seemed to be taking it a bit further than the rest of us. He also carried with him the very real reminder that people were never harmless.
Nodding, I left it at that. We’d have to watch Jules with her. My gut said he was just being extra careful, but if she threatened everything we’d worked so hard to build, he would harm her. Without a hesitation.
Our kitchen was something you’d expect in a five-star chef’s home. Instead, it was here in a frat house for thirty single men. The one good thing was the amount of room at the nook table that seated twenty. This morning it was a godsend. Johnny and Jamie had cereal at one end, openly disgruntled and glaring at the three of us.
Emmett went straight to the fridge, pulling out eggs, peppers, and ham. He was the pussy king. He was also the omelet king. My stomach rumbled at the thought of one of his omelets.
“Em, are you making eggs for everyone?” Derek called in a grating voice as he entered the kitchen.
“Hell, no. Make your own.” Emmett didn’t even spare him a look, too busy cracking eggs into a mixing bowl.
Elise seemed relaxed, like she was really one of us. Although her gaze was sharp as she studied everyone in the room. There weren’t many brothers up this early. Derek, the twins, and a few of the lower classmen. Other than the twins, no one blinked twice at Elise’s presence, or her place between Jules and me. Not that we made a habit of bringing selects to breakfast. It was almost unheard of unless the brother was wifed up. The twins had already sent their girl packing.
“So, had fun last night?” Jamie leaned forward, giving Elise a pointed look.
She bristled, straightening her shoulders, then opened her mouth to speak.
Damn, I always had to be the motherfucking peacemaker.
Placing a hand on Elise’s arm, I shook my head. “It’s not what you think.”
“No?” Johnny mirrored his brother’s position. “I know there was a different plan last night, and a code. I never took you three as code breakers.”
A mythical bro code that you didn’t sex up a girl your brother called first? This wasn’t first grade where you called dibs on recess toys.
I needed coffee for this. It was too fucking early to deal with their petulant bullshit. “Would you like coffee?” I tapped Elise’s arm and looked to Jules. Jules nodded, but I knew that would be his answer. Elise raised a delicately shaped brow at the twins before shifting both her attention and body toward me.
“I’d love a cup. Black.” She parted her lips and winked.
The twins choked on their cereal, continuing their quest to glare us to death.
I should put an end to this. The twins were actually the two men I tolerated the best out of all the frat brothers. If we ever needed backup, they were the ones I’d call. Emmett’s shoulders shook as he poured the eggs into the skillet, then sprinkled on the toppings.