As my brother crosses his arms over his chest, I somewhat wished I’d had listened to her. Then again, what’s done is done.
Jacob lingers as if he’s waiting for me to agree. “I think it’s time for you to go,” I bluntly say since he’s not aware of the awkwardness that’s swallowing me whole.
“Oh right,” he says, looking at my brother and Archer as if they magically appeared. I let out a breath when he finally leaves.
“I can’t fucking believe this. You didn’t even know his name?” Tyler questions in a snappy, judgy tone. My head pounds, and I just want this coffee to finish brewing so I can drink it, then sit in the tub for an hour.
“Meh.” I shrug. “Not sure what the big deal is.”
“The deal is you’re acting like a player.”
“I didn’t choose this life. It chose me,” I taunt, aware it’ll irritate him more, though I don’t give two shits what he thinks about my personal life. The last thing I want is to be berated in front of Archer, who’s actively avoiding eye contact with me. Once the coffee finishes, I pour a cup, then add sugar and creamer.
“Want some?” I ask Archer, grabbing another mug from the cabinet.
“Sure,” he says, but I’d already started filling it full.
He takes a few steps toward me, and I smell the light hint of his cologne.
“Help yourself to the cream and sugar.”
“Thanks, but I like it plain.” He sips it, and his eyes go wide. “That’s strong enough to put hair on your chest.”
A small smile hits Tyler’s lips. “Better than that instant shit, isn’t it?”
“You want some?” I glance at him.
He shakes his head. “I’m good.”
I meet Archer’s gaze. “You ready for the big house tour?”
I swipe away loose strands of hair that have fallen from my bun, somewhat embarrassed by the first impression I’ve given him. Tyler hasn’t helped with his need to call me out for it.
“Yeah, that’d be great,” he says.
With a smile, I lead him to his room. Since I knew he was coming today, I made sure to change the sheets and wash the comforter. I also moved all of my spare clothes out of the closet so he’d have more room. Though I don’t think he brought much with him.
Archer looks around, but I can’t quite read him.
“Is it okay?”
He turns with a perfect smile and kind eyes. “It’s amazing.”
“It’s not a huge room, but…”
“It’s more than enough. Thank you,” he says genuinely.
“I’m happy to help. You’re a dog person, right?” I ask when Sassy saunters in and jumps on the bed.
Archer chuckles. “I can be.”
I lead him to the main bathroom, and he peeks inside. “There are two in the house. This one only has a shower, but the master suite has a tub, and if you ever wanna use it, go ahead.”
“Great, thanks,” he says.
“And this is the laundry room.”
Archer scans over my scattered dirty clothes on the floor.
“Sorry for the mess,” I admit. “I’ll try to be a bit more tidy since you’re here.”
“Everleigh,” he says. I love the sound of my name rolling off his tongue. “It’s not a big deal. I was in prison for five years. Seriously, this is already a million times better. Even with a naked dude on the couch.”
That has me laughing hard, which only makes my head pound more, but at least he sees the humor in all of this. “Well, I’m glad I haven’t made you want to run away yet. So some ground rules….” I say, moving back to the living room.
“Oh, Tyler already laid some of those down.”
“Did he?” I pop a brow, watching Tyler clean the mess in the kitchen.
“Yep. I sure did,” he admits, and I roll my eyes at his fatherly tone.
“I’m sure they’re nothing like my rules.” I give Archer a wink.
A smirk meets his lips, and I can only imagine what my brother has said about me. I halfway wonder if Archer got the same “off-limits” talk as I did. Tyler drove it home that I wasn’t to lead Archer on, sleep with him, or flirt with him. I explained that flirting was a hard limit of mine and laughed it off. As I’ve told him a million times before, I do whatever I want.
I glare at Tyler, then meet Archer’s chestnut brown eyes again. “Well, my rules are simple. Clean up after yourself. Treat Sassy like the queen she is and take her out if you can. She gets fed twice a day and gets treats after she goes potty. I like to spoil my sweet little baby.” I bend down as Sassy runs over, then starts jumping and licking my face.“Yes, you are my sweet baby girl.”
Tyler rolls his eyes.
“Hey, don’t even. She slept in your bed when you lived here, and you spoiled her more than I did!”
He laughs. “Maybe, but I don’t let her lick me in the mouth. That’s just gross.”
I keep my comments to myself and turn to Archer. “Want to see my room now? It’s where all the magic happens.”
Tyler nearly chokes as I lead Archer past him. If my brother wants to push my buttons, I’ll make sure to return the favor.
“Excuse the mess. I really like clothes and shoes,” I tell him as he follows me to my bathroom. “The tub’s pretty great after a long day at work. I can only imagine how much of a hard-ass your boss is gonna be.”
“I heard that!” Tyler shouts from the kitchen. I can hear a ball bouncing, followed by Sassy’s nails tapping across the hardwood floor. The fact that he’s playing with her makes me smile, especially since he tries to act like such a hard-ass all the time.
After Tyler has nearly cleaned up my entire house and taken out the trash, he checks the time and tells me he needs to get going.
“You gonna be okay here by yourself with her?” he asks Archer, but I’m not entirely sure if he’s joking.
“He will be just fine, big brother. I don’t bite that hard.” I smirk, because my brother’s about to pop a blood vessel.
Tyler looks at Archer. “Call me if she gets out of hand and you need to be rescued.”
“You act like I’m going to make an Archer voodoo doll or something. We’ll be just fine,” I reply, then face my new roommate. “I’ll show you my doll of Tyler later.”
Archer chuckles, clearly amused by our antics, but Tyler is less than impressed.
“Remember what I said,” he warns me, and I wave him off.
“I’ll be here at six to pick you up in the mornin’.”
“Sounds good. Thanks again for everything,” Archer tells him.
“You’re welcome. Bye, y’all. Stay out of trouble, Everleigh.”
“Pfft.” I turn on my heels and grab some meds for my headache.
Once Tyler is gone, I let out a relieved breath. “Well, now that Buzz Killington is gone, are you hungry?”
“I’m okay. You’ve already done so much for me.”
“Nonsense. I’m starving, so I’m gonna make some avocado toast. It’s not a big deal to make you some too.”
“Uh, sure. Never had that before, but I’m willing to try anything once..”