AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The elevator stopped, and I sucked in a breath as I waited. It felt like forever, but the doors began to open, revealing what lay beyond. Noise greeted us as it opened into what appeared to be a common room. It was so different from upstairs that I almost felt like I’d stepped off into a different world. Maybe the elevatorwasmagic after all, because I definitely felt like an outsider stepping into this setting.
People stopped talking when they heard the elevator, and they turned to look at us. Cohen exited first and was greeted with a loud welcome as people began to converge on him. I stayed back with Asa and Milo as we watched it unfold.
“Is it me, or does it seem like he’s really popular here?” Milo whispered.
“No, I agree. I mean, he’s a friendly guy, that’s not the weird part, but I never took him as this…” Asa said, waving his hand around.
Nodding, I couldn’t help but agree. It was a whole new side of Cohen, but I didn’t hate it. He’d always been friendly and outgoing with me online. I hadn’t known when we met in person if it was the circumstances or if he was just more reserved face to face. With this new information, I had to guess it was the situation. Or maybe it was the fact he had to keep this part of his life hidden. I knew from experience that when you had to hide something, it began to bleed over into other areas, making you forget what you were hiding to start with after a while.
Cohen seemed to have noticed we’d stopped, turning to reach out a hand for me. I walked forward, waving awkwardly at the crowd.
“Fin, meet some of my old friends. This is Kristina, Asher, and Caleb. We went through training together.” A girl and two guys smiled back at me, assessing every part of me, making me feel like I was under a microscope.
“It’s nice to meet you all. This is Asa and Milo,” I said, wanting the attention off of me, and pointed to the two tall guys behind me. It worked as the trio began to observe the new guys, but I realized my mistake when I caught an interested gleam in Kristina’s eyes. “They’re mine,” I blurted, my face heating. “I mean, with me. Asa’s my boyfriend, and um...”
The guys chuckled. I could feel them all shuffling closer, so it didn’t seem to make them mad I’d just awkwardly claimed them in front of people without even discussing anything. I didn’t even know what we were, but I knew I wanted the chance to figure that out before other people began to make it messier.
Kristina smiled at me, making me feel less awkward. “It’s nice to meet you. We haven’t gotten to see Cohen in such a long time. I’m glad he was able to return and bring you. He used to talk about you all the time.”
I peered up at the man in question, finding him blushing; despite his insistence, he didn’t do that.
“Oh, really?” I teased, liking her now that she wasn’t drooling all over my men. Fuck, I needed to quit assuming things, but I couldn’t deny how nice it sounded and felt to claim them. Sawyer was right again; I needed to stop being scared and take what I wanted.
“Come on, let’s show you to your quarters and then grab some food. You must be starving after the trip. It’s never fun the first time coming up that mountain,” Asher offered, motioning for us to follow.
The other people gathered nodded, saying hello to Cohen and us as we passed. Most of the people were around our age, with a few younger and older mixed throughout. All in all, I’d guess there were about twenty people spread out in the room as we passed through it.
We stopped at a door, and once again, we had to scan our hands to get through it. Cohen hadn’t been kidding when he said they had this place wired with biometrics. Stopping at another one about ten down, Cohen placed his hand on the panel and then stepped back.
“Go ahead and scan yours. This door will be set up to allow only us entrance.” The three of us nodded, used to the drill now, and scanned our palms. Once that was done, it beeped, and the door opened.
“I’ll see you guys in the canteen,” Asher said, letting us walk into our quarters. I liked how much they respected privacy here. None of us had brought in our bags, considering we had such few things, so we walked in and looked around, but it didn’t take us long to take in the small kitchen, living room, bathroom, and two bedrooms.
“It’s nice.”
“You haven’t seen the best part,” Cohen said, grinning. He grabbed my hand, pulling me out of the room and down the hall toward another door. This one didn’t require a handprint, so he opened the door, and I was immediately greeted by the smell of detergent and dryer sheets.
“Yes!” I jumped up and down, the excitement coursing through me. “This is my new favorite room.” The guys laughed, but I’d gone so long without being able to clean clothes I was desperate for the easy access.
“You can do a load whenever you want. It’s free use for all. I know you just did some, but if you need to do anything, our bags should by in our rooms after we eat, once they’ve gone through checks.”
“Oh, I thought we were just waiting, but I guess that makes sense.” I shrugged, following them out of the laundry room, a contented sigh leaving me.
“Man, I’ve never known anyone to get so excited about laundry,” Milo whispered to Asa, making him chuckle.
“Fin loves her clothes, and having clean clothes is one of her favorite things.”
“I like having all the options laid out for me when deciding what to wear. It’s the worst thing in the world when I need a certain top to pull a look together, and it’s dirty! The travesty!”
The guys laughed, but I was serious. Fashion emergencies were no joke. Henry could attest to how many I’d had.
When food smells began to reach us, my stomach growled, no longer angry about all the switchback curves now that I’d settled. The canteen was full of people gathered around tables. It was set up like a restaurant that included a hostess station at the front, tables and booths around it, a bar to the side, and a stage in the back. It was lively, and I loved the energy of the place.
“Wow, this is awesome,” Asa said, echoing my thoughts. Cohen smiled that look again, like he’d won the lottery, leading us to the hostess. I finally realized what the look on his face meant. He was home, and he was proud to show it to us, introducing us to people he cared about.
“Cohen! It’s been so long. Give me a hug,” the woman at the front said, walking around to pull him into an embrace.
“Hey, Grams. I have some people for you to meet.” She pulled back, patting his face before turning to us.
