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The girl living in the apartment above the one I was supposed to be moving into right about now, might have flooded the place with her overzealous bath-time routine, causing enough water damage to deem it inhabitable, but I could figure something out.
“Relax, Sis. I was going to say storage. We don’t tend to party here. We have Lakers House for that.” He grinned, and I found myself smiling back.
I’d missed this.
Him.
Even if part of me still resented him.
“It’s really good to see you, Rory. I know things have been weird, but the last couple of years have been intense, and you were—”
“It’s fine.” I smiled. It felt all wrong, but Austin didn’t seem to notice.
As much as it hurt to admit, he never had.
“I’m just grateful to you and the guys for letting me stay here. The woman at student housing said it shouldn’t take too long to fix the water damage.”
“There’s no rush. Between practice and classes, we won’t be around all that much, and you have the entire third floor to yourself, so you’ll have plenty of space.”
“I’ll stay out of your way, I promise. I wouldn’t want to cramp anyone’s style.”
“Rory, come on, it isn’t even like that. You’re my sister. And some of the guys have girlfriends, so you shouldn’t feel like a spare part.”
A sinking feeling went through me. “Gee, thanks.”
“You know what I mean.” Austin laughed. “We’re not the sex-crazed, party animals you think we are.” I raised a brow at that, and his laughter intensified. “Fine. We’re mostly not like that. Holden can be a bit of a handful. But Connor is in deep with Ella.”
Ah, yes, Noah Holden. Lakeshore U’s resident playboy and star right-winger. He was the definite downside to moving in with my brother for a little bit. But it was either here or one of the girls’ dorms on campus, and that really was a last resort.
As in, never going to happen.
I liked my space and needed it after everything that had gone down senior year.
“You’ll love Ella. She’s good people. Pretty sure Connor is going to pop the question soon,” Austin went on as he gave me the tour. “Dude waited like two years for his shot with her. Two fucking years, I don’t get it personally.” he shrugged. “But they seem happy enough.”
“Still relationship-phobic?” I asked. He’d always been a player in high school, going through girls like the world was ending.
“Have you seen me?” He flashed me a cocky grin, sweeping a hand down his body. “I’m far too pretty to settle down.”
“Too pretty and vain, apparently.”
“You call it vain. I call it confident.”
“I see some things never change,” I murmured as I ducked past him to check out the kitchen.
It was impressive—a big open-plan space that had bi-fold doors leading to a deck only dreams were made of.
“Pretty neat, right?”
“It’s gorgeous.” I moved closer to the doors, taking in the huge sectional sheltered under a wooden gazebo complete with fairy lights and a fire pit.
I could imagine snuggling up out there with a cup of hot milk and one of my favorite books.
“Feel free to use it whenever you want. The guys and I want you to feel at home here.”
“Thanks, but I plan to lay low. I know it must suck having your little sister come to stay.”
It was a joke. I was joking. Except, the second the words landed between us, Austin’s hazel eyes turned cloudy with regret.
