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5
My phone alarm woke me at 8:00 a.m., and I stretched, disorientated for a second, before I remembered where I was. My bedroom in my new house.
The events of the previous day came back to me in a rush, and I lay back with a groan. When I’d first walked into the kitchen yesterday morning and been confronted by the fact that I’d somehow ended up living my worst nightmare—surrounded by a load of football players—I’d been filled with a sick dread. It had lasted most of the day, even though everyone had been quick to reassure me that they didn’t think any less of me, and I was still welcome in the house. Everyone except Liam, that was, but that was no surprise. He’d managed to piss me off last night at the student union too, and I’d stormed out. It wasn’t a move I was proud of, but it was probably for the best anyway—I shouldn’t be out buying drinks when I knew I had to pay Liam for his car repairs.
Pulling on a pair of loose grey shorts, I stepped out of my room, yawning widely. Before anything else, even a shower, I needed coffee.
As I reached Liam’s door, I had to jump backwards to avoid walking into a girl who’d just emerged from his room. “Sorry,” I automatically apologised, waiting for her to go ahead of me. It looked like Liam had managed to get lucky last night, then.
My stomach twisted—an irrational, unwanted reaction.Veryunwanted.
The girl looked me up and down with an appreciative smile. Licking her lips, she stepped closer. “Nothing to apologise for. Especially not when you look like that.”
Before I could respond, the door opened again, and this time, Liam appeared, all sleepy and gorgeous, dressed similarly to me in just a pair of loose shorts, his tanned, sculpted body on display.Fuck. My dick liked the view far too much. I quickly moved around them both before either of them noticed, but Liam’s voice stopped me in my tracks. Even his morning voice sounded sexy, a low rasp that went straight to my dick, increasing my current problem.
“Really? You’re hitting on her?”
Without turning around, I threw over my shoulder, “I’m only into dick, so, no.” Then I legged it downstairs before I got into another war of words with my housemate.
I stopped in the lounge before I headed into the kitchen, making a point to say hi to Travis and Preston. I was still a little unsure of my standing in this house, after finding out that my housemates were all footballers and they’d expected that I was too, but I wanted to put the effort in. My school experiences with Kyle and his teammates were relegated to my past, and now it was time to look forward to my future. No one here had done anything to make me uncomfortable yet, and if they could treat me normally, like they had done so far, maybe it was time for me to start letting go of my prejudices about football players.
That done, I made my way into the kitchen and helped myself to instant coffee from the communal tin, dumping a spoonful into a sky-blue mug branded with the LSU crest. While I waited for the kettle to boil, I logged into my online bank account to check my balance, then texted Liam. Might as well give it one last try, even though I knew it would piss him off. A small smile tugged at my lips at the thought. I didn’t know what it was about him that made me keep pushing for a reaction from him, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it in a way.
Me:Have you reconsidered letting me bang the dent out of your car? I’m great with my hands
I saw the notification to say he’d seen it, but he didn’t reply. He was probably too busy with that girl.
Ignoring the tiny sting of jealousy in my chest, I poured the hot water from the kettle into my mug and gave it a stir. Instant coffee wasn’t my favourite, but my options were limited at this point. At least I only had a week until my student loan came in, hopefully.
Opening the fridge, I bypassed my empty shelf and grabbed a carton of semi-skimmed milk from the door. Liam’s name was written on the front in black Sharpie. I paused, thinking for a minute. He owed me, both for putting me in this situation where I had to pay him what little money I had, plus all the digs he’d been making at me. Like just a few minutes ago. Who the fuck would try hitting on a housemate’s one-night stand the very next morning? Maybe some guys would, but I would never stoop that low. Fuck him for daring to suggest it. With that thought in mind, I helped myself to his milk, then found his food cupboard and took two of his slices of bread to put in the toaster.
A throat cleared as I was closing his cupboard door, making me jump. “What are you doing? That’s my food cupboard.”
I twisted around to see Liam leaning against the doorjamb, his eyes narrowed at me suspiciously. The girl was nowhere in sight.
“Just checking out the kitchen,” I said innocently, opening and closing a few more doors at random. He looked far from convinced, but he stepped into the kitchen, helping himself to a mug and popping a coffee pod into the machine on the countertop. I took a sip of my instant coffee, trying my hardest to ignore the rich aroma of his drink.
I should’ve made tea instead of coffee. Or helped myself to one of Liam’s pods.
My toast popped up, so I busied myself with that, using a sliver of the butter from the dish that was sitting out on the side. An uncomfortable silence fell between us as we did our best to ignore each other, but when I took a seat at the kitchen table, he sat down with me.
I stared at him in shock, but before I could say anything, he slid his phone across the table. “Here. These are my bank details. You can pay me now.”
Oh.Thatwas why he was sitting with me. I took my time chewing my mouthful of toast before I replied. Every second I kept him waiting, his jaw tightened even further. “You’re really precious about your car, huh?” I said eventually, watching with satisfaction as he ground his teeth. How was it that he looked good even when he was all wound up and directing his anger at me?
“Money,” he bit out. As he spoke, he shifted on the bench, and his leg brushed against mine.
I tried my hardest to ignore the sudden heat that shot through me, instead focusing very hard on the fact that I was annoyed with him.
“Are you sure—”
His leg pressed against mine, harder. Did he think it would intimidate me? Because it was having the opposite effect, and my dick was starting to take notice of his proximity. “Don’t even fuckingthinkabout suggesting that you knock out the dent again. You pay me, right now, and then we never have to deal with each other again. You stay out of my way, and I’ll stay out of yours.”
“Okay, okay.” Sliding away from him before my dick got the wrong idea about having a hot boy pressed up against me, I picked up my phone and logged back into my bank account. I input the details from his phone, then shoved my phone in his face to show him the confirmation screen. “There. It’s done. Happy now?” I didn’t even want to look at the remaining balance. I just hoped I had enough in there to buy food.
“I’d be happier if you stayed away from me.”
I chewed another mouthful of toast, glaring back at him. “With pleasure. Stay away from me too.”
