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“Drake, just stay with us,” she says in a sweet, pleading tone.
“Like I said, I wish I could—"
“No. I mean…stay with us. At the house. I mean…you built the damn thing. I’m not going to let you rush into finding a new apartment. Put your stuff in storage and just take the extra room at our place until you get something more permanent. And for God’s sake, buy this time.”
I let out a huff, my shoulders sagging as I smile at her. “I can’t do that, Isabel. I’m up Hunter’s ass enough as it is.”
The bell on the front door chimes as it opens, and we both look up to see the dark curls and tan skin of the devil himself as he emerges from the shop. “What’s up?” He immediately notices our serious expressions.
“Tell Drake to stay with us.”
Hunter freezes. “Okay…Drake, stay with us,” he says, obeying his wife without question.
“His landlord is evicting himthismonth to turn his apartment into a parking garage,” she adds.
“Seriously?”
I nod, letting out a heavy sigh. “They want me out by the end of the month. I need to cut my trip short. I’ll fly out of Austin.”
If I wanted Isabel to look disappointed at the news of me leaving, it was nothing compared to how good it feels to see Hunter’s immediately gutted response at the news. Then, in true Hunter fashion, he takes control of the situation.
“No. You can’t leave early. I need your help. You’re looking at club infrastructures, remember? I don’t know shit about that. So you have to stay on the trip.”
“Dude, I have three weeks to move out and find a new place to live.”
“Isabel’s right. Just stay with us. You’ll have a week to move your stuff into storage after we get home. You practically live at our place as it is. So, enjoy the rest of the road trip with us and worry about your apartment when we get back.”
My jaw clenches as I realize I’ve been cornered. There is no arguing with Hunter. He’s always been like this. The leader, decision-maker, commander-in-chief of our friendship, and I’d be lying if I said it bothered me. The truth is, it’s always given me a strange sense of comfort, knowing that everything is in his hands. Even, sometimes, my life.
“Besides, all you own is a bed and a couch. You don’t even have a TV in that apartment. It’ll take us less than an hour to move it all out. So just relax.”
He bumps my shoulder as he passes by, throwing an arm around Isabel and leading her to the car.
I’m not sure why this is bothering me so much. If I love handing over control, then why is this one time troubling me so much? Maybe because Hunter has no idea just how much it scares me to live with them. It has nothing to do with sharing a space with them. I mean, obviously. We’re on this two-week road trip together, sharing rental houses and the car, and like he said, I stay over at their place all the time. And I’ve lived with them before.
But something aboutlivingwith them now, even if it’s temporary, is making me anxious. What if I don’t find a place right away? What if I get used to being there? Drinking coffee with Isabel every morning. Staying up late with Hunter every night. Sharing meals and doing laundry together. It’s so fucking domestic, and something about that makes my skin crawl.
I love Hunter and Isabel, but their happy little married life is not for me. Sleeping with the same person every night and waking up with the same person every morning. The monotony of it sounds so draining.
And what about bringing home women? I can’t possibly bring a hookup into their house. I’ve never done it before and it’s clearly different from a vacation rental. That’s their home.
I guess it’s a good thing I have the club.
Fuck, between work and Salacious, I doubt I’d ever be at their house anyway.
And I do hate the idea of cutting this trip short, even after the awkward stage moment last night.
“Fine,” I mutter from the back seat of Hunter’s Durango as we pull out of the gas station.
Isabel turns toward me with excitement. “You’ll do it? You’ll stay?”
A smirk tugs on the corner of my mouth. “Yeah. I’ll stay. But only for a week or two. Until I find a better place.”
“Of course,” she says, a beaming smile spreading across her cheeks.
Our eyes meet, and the excitement in her expression morphs into something else, something more loaded than just eagerness. I’d give my right arm to know what she’s thinking right now, to know how excited she really is, and why.
“You can stay as long as you want,” Hunter says, glancing at me through the rearview mirror, and I quickly avert my eyes from both of their gazes.
