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You’re a good man.
Forty-five minutes later,Maverick collapses onto my couch and presses the heels of his palms into his eyes. “I’m hungover, jet lagged, and tired as shit.”
“Sounds like a personal problem. It’s not our fault you decided to go out last night after getting back from the west coast,” Reid says. He sets a handful of reusable bags down on the coffee table and shoves his glasses up his nose. “Actions have consequences, and you deserve to suffer.”
Maverick flings his arm over his face and sighs. “What are we doing?”
“Sprucing this place up.” I rummage through the bags Reid brought and pull out half a dozen candles. I line them up and stare at the labels. “Reid, do you have a candle dealer?”
“You don’t?” he asks dryly. “My next-door neighbor dabbles in candle making every now and then, and she was happy to give me some of her most popular scents. Gardenia is my preference, but you can pick what you want.”
“Thanks. This is incredible.”
“I’m confused why you’re putting so much effort into this. Maven’s been here a hundred times, Dal. She knows what your place looks like. She was practically your roommate already, just without the sleeping over part.”
“I know, but some feminine touches would be good.” I stack the pink face towels and matching washcloths next to the candles. “Like a plant.”
“Who’s going to take care of a plant when you’re gone?” Maverick asks.
“Her, I guess. Don’t women like plants?”
“Everyone likes plants,” Reid agrees.
I stare at the one he brought over and put my hands on my hips. “What is it?”
“A snake plant. Studies show they’ve been known to remove toxins from the air over time. I have one at my place, and it’s the only plant I’ve managed to keep alive,” he adds.
“When did you become a botanist?” Maverick groans.
“I’m not.” Reid walks over to the curtains covering the window in the living room and flings them open. His grin is smug when Maverick writhes in pain, and I laugh. “This dude on social media has a whole channel where all he does is talk about plants, and I decided to get some of my own. Snake plants are perfect for the guy who travels for work, and it’s nice to do something besides stare at my phone all day.”
“I never thought I’d be friends with two daddies. Human Daddy and Plant Daddy.” Maverick moves his hands away from his face and gives us a slow grin. “Kind of makesmewant to be a daddy. Dog daddy? Cat daddy? Thoughts, boys?”
“Stop calling yourself daddy. You’re going to make my ears bleed.” I throw a towel at him, and he laughs. “Can you get your ass up and help? Maven will be here soon, and I want this to be done.”
“Only if you can remind me why you decided to ask your nanny to live with you.”
“Because she spends hours every day driving here then driving home. She’s paying a disgusting amount on rent for a place she’s never in. We had a conversation, and we’re well aware that we’re moving in together as friends, not anything more. I trust her, and I know this is what’s best for everyone.”
“Dal.” Maverick stands up, and his eyes look a little less glassy. He moves toward me with his long legs and long arms and clamps a hand on my shoulder. “Do you think it’s possible you’re trying to overcompensate here?”
“What am I overcompensating for?” I ask.
“Maybe you have feelings for Maven, and you’re expressing those feelings through wanting to make your apartment look nice for her,” Reid says.
“I don’t have feelings for her. I just…” I sigh and take Maverick’s spot on the couch. “I’ll admit she’s hot.”
“Fucking finally,” Maverick grumbles. “Took you long enough.”
“I like spending time with her, but I’m also aware Ican’tdo anything about it, and I don’twantto do anything about it. My life is complicated as it is. Adding a relationship to it would be messy.”
“Sounds like the definition of feelings to me.” Maverick lifts his chin toward Reid. “Come on, Duncan. You’re the relationship guy out of the three of us.”
“I’ve dated two women in four years,” he argues. “But, fine. I’ll bite. Dal, it’s normal to be attracted to someone you spend a lot of time with, especially because you’ve never had these kinds of interactions with women before. You’re guarded. Careful about who you let close to you, and for good reason. This is the first time you’re hanging out with someone who doesn’t make you feel like you have to throw all your normal walls up, so you want to go above and beyond for her.”
“That’s alarmingly accurate,” I say. “Everything just feels easy with Maven. This sounds so stupid, but it’s like I’m safe with her. Icanlet my guard down and just… fuckingbe. We’ve known each other for awhile and have always been nice and friendly, but we’ve never beenfriends. I never thought she’d be someone who I could sit with on the couch and just shoot the shit with, but she is. She’s down to earth, and I like that she doesn’t give a shit that I play football. Like, if I lost my career tomorrow, she’d still hang around. I don’t think I could say that for many people.”
