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Three helpers! I thought to myself. Three very big, very strong helpers. I imagined all the work I could get done. All the money I could save… money the university had already allotted to me for cleanup and repairs.
“Alright,” I sighed. “If you’re willing to live here I’m willing to work around you. And with you, now that you’ve all agreed to help out.”
In a way it was perfect. Not only would I get the house ready three times faster, I’d also have some company. It had been lonely so far, working all these extra hours by myself. And at night?
Well at night the place could be downright creepy.
“Fine,” I said, pointing up the staircase. “Each of you can take a spare bedroom. Leave the master though, I’ve been piling all the extra stuff in there temporarily. We’ll clean that one out last.”
Brandon’s face lit up instantly. “Yes!” he exclaimed. Grabbing his box, he sprinted up the stairs.
Colin smiled and extended a hand. “Thanks so much…” He paused, and his eyebrows knit together. “Ummmm….”
“Claudia,” I said, putting out my own.
“Claudia,” he repeated, shaking it happily — paint and all. “You’re really saving our asses here.”
His touch was warm and welcoming. It sent a little jolt of electricity up my arm.
Someone’s gotta save those asses, I thought wickedly, watching them from behind as they headed up the stairs.
Reaching for the brush again, I tried pushing those thoughts away.
Three
COLIN
“Did you see her?” Brandon whispered as we reached the upstairs landing. “She’s perfect!”
Hunter pushed past us, peering into each bedroom as he walked by. He’d take the best one for himself, I knew. That’s how it had always been; back when he’d been President of our fraternity house, and even before.
“Leave her alone,” I warned. “She’s off limits.”
“Really? And who decided that?”
“We did,” I snapped, “the moment we decided to move in here.”
Staring back at him, I could tell my friend still didn’t get it. Maybe he never would. To Brandon, the University’s latest in a string of football prodigies, restraint simply wasn’t in his vocabulary.
“Look, you don’t shit where you eat,” I explained. “All one of us has to do is piss her off and then we’re out on our asses again. It’ll be just like Omega Alpha.”
Omega Alpha. It was still a sore subject between the three of us. We’d made a pact not to talk about it, at least not until the semester ended. And the semester’s end was nowhere in sight.
“Hey, I’m not looking to piss her off,” Brandon replied. “Just the opposite! I’m looking to show her some fun. Make her happy. Get her all—”
“Get her all hot and bothered and into you,” I finished for him, “and then toss her away for the first cheerleader who throws a pom-pom your way.”
“No, no. It’s not like that.”
“It’s exactly like that,” I countered. “You don’t think, Brandon. Or rather, you think with the wrong head.”
Up ahead, I saw Hunter disappear into one of the rooms on the left. Apparently he’d made his decision.
“And besides,” I pointed out, “you’re on academic probation. Every spare minute you’re not practicing or working out you should be studying your face off. You don’t have time for a fling, or a girlfriend… hell you don’t even have time to jerk off!”
My friend lowered his head guiltily. He knew he was right.
“If you don’t get your grades up, you’re off the team,” I explained. “And if you’re off the team, you lose your scholarship. And if you lose your scholarship—”
