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Without another word, I hopped from the bed, grabbed the blanket, and placed it over a chair.
“What the hell are you doing?” Ronan asked in disbelief. I didn’t answer him as I shoved another corner of the blanket underneath the TV.
“Addie...”
Once every corner was weighed down, I crawled underneath my makeshift fort with a handful of pillows. And then I waited.
It only took a few moments for Ronan to crawl in as well, an eyebrow raised as he considered me.
“This is our fort,” I explained. He just continued to stare at me as if I had completely lost it. “In this fort, there are no responsibilities. No pain. No outside world. There’s just us and pillows.” I held up said pillow for emphasis. “For just a little bit, we’re going to pretend that the world isn’t a big shit fest - a shest - and we’re going to be happy. Can you do that with me? Can we be happy?”
Something changed in Ronan’s expression. I didn’t know how to describe it, but it was like a cloud moving away from the sun.
He cleared his throat. “I would very much like that.”
For the next half hour, there was just us, the fort, and silence.
* * *
I wokeup a second time at the butt crack of dawn.
Rubbing sleep from my eyes, I practically crawled from the hotel room to the van. My precious kitty, Mof, was snuggled in Tommy’s arms, and I immediately reached for him.
“No,” Tommy hissed, turning his back to me and effectively cutting off my view of the cat. “He’s mine now.”
I was too tired to argue with him, though I contemplated hitting him upside the head. Hopefully that would knock sense into him.
He couldn’t just steal my cat and expect to live.
“You look cranky today,” Fallon mused, coming to stand beside me. His muscles bulged as he lifted his suitcase into the trunk of the van. And yes, in my sleepy state, I did admire his sexy muscles longer than appropriate. Sue me.
“Fuck off,” I answered instead. Why couldn’t they have just let me sleep? Did they want me to go on a murder spree?
I didn’t even get my damn coffee.
Fallon smirked, obviously amused with my attitude, before nodding towards my clothing.
I gave him a confused stare before glancing down to see what had captured his attention.
My shirt was on backwards, the tag tickling my chin, and my jeans were unbuttoned. Oh well. At least I had actually remembered clothes.
The temperature outside was in that awkward in-between stage where you didn’t know whether it was acceptable to wear a tank-top or a winter coat. Currently, the wind was frigid against my arms, creating a trail of goosebumps in its wake. The sun was just barely peeking over the boughs of trees, but I could tell that it promised a sweltering heat.
Damn bipolar weather. Couldn’t it just decide to be warm or cold without all the drama?
Tam was near the front of the car, checking underneath the hood. His brown, disheveled hair was hanging limply in his face as he leaned forward. I noticed a smudge of grease over his cheekbone.
Absently, I licked my fingers and gently wiped at the smear. His eyes snapped up in alarm, a blush dusting his cheeks, but he didn’t pull away.
“Whatcha doing?” I asked in my cute voice. I figured if any of the guys could tame the beast that was me in the morning, it would be Tam. He was probably the only guy that I didn’t feel the need to snap at or curse to hell. How could I? He was sweetness personified, though I doubted he would take kindly for me telling him that.
“Making sure the engine’s running smoothly,” Tam said, shutting the hood. He wiped his dirty hands on his jeans. “We’re hoping to drive a while without stopping.”
“You know cars?” I asked, unable to hide my disbelief. I shouldn’t have been surprised that my Tam had more secrets hidden up his sleeve. After all, my lanky friend was an experienced MMA fighter. Anything was possible with these boys.
“Yeah. I learned a lot when I was younger.”
“Really?” I asked, intrigued. I didn’t know a lot about Tam’s past life, but I knew he had been homeless after his grandma had died. It was by mere chance that he met Fallon and the others, quickly becoming implemented into their team.
