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I was still standing, still helpless and hopeless. Gently each of the guys took one of my hands in theirs. Moving together, they pulled me back to the couch.
“Out there you’re still a target,” Cody said, pointing to the door. “But at least here you’re safe.”
A warmth of acceptance stole over me. But the heat of that acceptance came with a strange, underlying tingle.
“Stay for now,” offered Silas. “That way we know you’re okay.”
In the midnight shadows of the cozy apartment, Cody slid a gentle arm over my shoulder. With the other hand, he patted one of the couch pillows.
“This place isn’t the Hilton,” he smiled, “but you’re welcome to crash here until we can figure things out.”
Nine
BRYNNE
“And this time, don’t forget the popcorn!”
I rolled my eyes as I carried the bowl back from the kitchen, then fell into my middle spot on the couch. Cody and Silas edged over, digging their greedy hands into the bowl. The plastic vessel’s placement — resting atop my mostly bare thighs — wasn’t lost on them… or me.
“Wasn’t it my turn to pick the movie?” I asked.
“Nope,” smiled Cody. “It was Silas’s.”
“Yeah but you guys keep pickingguymovies.”
“So?”
“So there are two of you, and only one of me.”
The way I worded the last sentence, though unintentional, wasn’t lost on them either. In retrospect, there had been a lot of flirting going on between us over the past three days. Not that I was fighting it or anything.
“Look, I’m just saying I should get two votes,” I offered. “That way it’s even.”
“You can watch whatever you want all day,” Silas pointed out. “But at night, while we’re here? Each of us getting our own vote seems more than fair.”
Our hands brushed against one another’s, deep in the bowl. Silas was freshly showered and smelled fantastic. He’d changed into a pair of sweatpants jaggedly cut into shorts by the world’s dullest scissor. He also sported a white T-shirt that conformed so tightly around his hard, beautiful body it looked painted on.
“So we’re watching another Jason Stratham movie then?” I asked, my voice very distracted.
“Sure are.”
“And you’rewelcome, by the way,” Cody offered with a chuckle. “If Santiago were here we’d be watching another Liam Neeson flick. Taken 16, or something like that.”
“They madethatmany Taken movies?” I laughed.
“Not really,” he shrugged. “But the man makes the same kidnap/revenge movie every time. After a while, they’reallTaken movies.”
Cody was fresh and clean too, although he’d showered before leaving the gym. He was wearing a sleeveless TAPOUT shirt that showed me he’d worked on arms and shoulders today. His muscles there were so pumped and swollen by whatever exercises he did, they almost didn’t seem real.
“Look roomie, tomorrow’s your night,” he said consolingly. “You can pick out another gripping rom-com with a tear-jerking twist at the end, and we can pretend to enjoy it.”
I stuck my tongue out at him, playfully. Extending two fingers, he feinted high then jabbed me in the ribs when I left my midsection exposed.
Tomorrow…
As safe and cozy as it was in the guys’ apartment, I was going absolutely stir-crazy and wasn’t looking forward to another day of house arrest. I’d spent the past seventy-two hours pretty much in hiding, having agreed it wasn’t safe to go back to my own place yet. I’d even called in sick at the restaurant — something I hadn’t done in all my time there. My boss wasn’t happy, but he also couldn’t complain. Especially since I told him I’d contracted the flu.
“Or you could finally admit that action movies blow rom-coms away,” added Cody. “Especially with guys like Jason Stratham.”
