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“You should go first,” Lik says as he pushes Rose in front of apartment twenty-three.
She rings the doorbell, and nothing happens for a while.
“They’re probably in class,” Rachel explains.
“Yes, that’s why people tend to call before they show up,” I growl. I press the doorbell again.
Nothing.
I decide to bang harshly on the door a few times. Some movement is heard inside, and a loud bark makes us all take a step back, apart from Rose.
“Maggie! Auntie’s here!” she cheers.
The door opens in a sudden movement to a shirtless Jake, holding sheets around his waist.
“What the fuck are you doing here…” he tells Rose before the door is even fully open, having recognized her voice right away.
He squints, probably not wearing his contacts. “What the fuck areyoudoing here?” he spits at me. He notices the rest of our little group and shakes his head. “Ozy…”
“I can explain,” she smiles. “You might want to get dressed,” she adds as she shoves forward.
We all follow silently.
When Jake comes back to us, he’s got on some gray sweatpants and is missing a t-shirt. Of all the years I’ve seen him when he was living with Bianco, I have never seen him wear a t-shirt in the morning. He walks past us and goes straight for the kitchen, filling up a cup of water.
“I’ll be back,” he says, walking back to the room he just exited.
I catch Lik ogling him, practically drooling, and I have to put a possessive hand at the back of his neck to bring him back to reality. Once I feel he’s left whatever fantasy he was in, I sit down on a small sofa facing the chair Lik is sitting in, and I tap my upper arm with one finger. He knows what it means: strike one.
The small apartment consists of a kitchen/living room and two doors that must lead to a bedroom and a bathroom. It’s small, but I’m sure it’s plenty enough space for a couple. Probably not for the giant German Shepherd Rose is currently playing with. She’s rolling herself on the floor with Maggie, trying to teach her how to play dead. I catch myself smiling just because she’s happy.
Rachel sits next to me on the sofa and drops her head on my shoulder. My heart kicks up, loving the tender gesture. I’d never met someone I feel so close to loving on a deeper level, yet not feel anything toward them sexually. I think Rachel feels the same way about me, and every single moment of soft loving that we give to each other feels like a precious gift.
I wrap an arm around her waist, and I don’t need to look at her to know we’re both watching Rose.
“Okay, what the hell is this about,” Jake snaps as soon as he walks back into the living room.
“We need you,” Rose vaguely throws his way. “Bang! Bang, Maggie!” She tries her best to roll the dog on the floor to no avail.
“She doesn’t do tricks. Leave her the fuck alone.”
I bet I could get her to do tricks. I’m good at training.
“Boring,” Rose answers as she gets up and dusts herself off. She sits on Lik’s lap, and I watch Jake starting to put two and two together.
“Ozy,” he huffs as he runs a hand through his hair. “Don’t tell me—”
“Can you turn a tracker on remotely?” she cuts him off.
I see it, the way he goes to say ‘yes’ but stops himself. “Why?”
“’Cause I need you to. Stop being annoying.”
He takes a moment to stare at all of us. Lik’s hand on Rose’s waist. Rachel’s head on my shoulder.
“Are you all like…a thing?” he attempts.
“This is not the topic of the conversation. Stop asking questions you don’t want the answer to,” she tells him off.
