“I’m going to take these heels off, okay?” She’s kicking them off and putting them against the wall near the door without waiting for an answer.
I should have thought of that. “Oh yeah, you don’t need those.”
When she stands up, she’s lost a couple of inches, and the top of her head is at the same level as my lips.
“That’s one painful part of the night over,” she quips.
Suddenly, Grover makes an appearance, wagging his tail and scamping around our feet.
“Sorry, I was trying to give you a minute,” Landon says as he appears in the front. “But Grover had other ideas.”
“No worries, I love dogs.” She bends down and gives him the pet he’s demanding.
As she stands back up, my brother extends his hand. “It’s awesome to meet you, Avery, I’m Landon.”
She takes it and they shake quickly. “Great to meet you too.”
“Come on in. I’m sure Rawls will show you around.”
We make our way to the living room, and Connor’s there as well. He looks up and smiles in Avery’s direction. “Hi, again.”
“Hey there.” She turns to me. “Is there a restroom I can use?” I show her where the guest bathroom is off the room, and she disappears inside.
I turn back to my brothers and try to figure out where to start explaining what happened at Avery’s house.
Landon speaks before I do though. “Is she staying over? Do you have everything you need for her in your bathroom? I can grab extra towels.”
And then I realize—fuck—Landon thinks we’re dating, and we need to keep it that way. She can’t sleep in a different room than me, that would be weird. No one here is a Boy Scout, and we’d clearly be physically involved.
I flash a look of panic at Connor, and he gives an unhelpful shrug.Awesome.I return my gaze to Landon.
“Yeah, I think I have enough.”
“Okay, let me know.”
Avery returns, and my mind is calculating how to work this out. “I’ll show you around the place.”
“Sounds great.” She looks calmer than she has since we left her house, at least. “Thanks again for having me,” she says to Landon.
We walk through to the kitchen. “So this is where you made the magic happen with that paella?”
“Yeah, Landon’s not much of a chef, so I’m usually doing the heavy lifting on that front.” I look around to make sure no one else is approaching. “I’m sorry to add to the stress tonight, but one more thing has come up. Landon’s expecting you to stay in my room…”
Her eyes open wider for a beat. “And we can’t tell him the truth.”
“Nope. It’s okay though.” A solution clicks into place. “You can sleep in the bed, and I’ll take the floor. No big deal.”
She tilts her head. “That’s not fair to you. Why don’t we head there, and we can sort it out.”
I nod and we walk back through the living room, where Landon and Connor are watching the Marlins game.
We’re quiet, and they stay locked in on the TV until we pass into the hallway where my room is.
“How many bedrooms does this place have?”
“Other than the main bedroom, five. Each sibling has claimed one over the years.”
“Nice.”
