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For example, I wanted to scale back the cooking classes to spend more time here, at the house. One, because I was really growing to love the guys’ company. But two, the boys had a state-of-the art kitchen, and I had full access to it.
Full, uninhibited, glorious access.
The amenities included Sub-Zero refrigeration and freezer storage, a six-burner Wolf stove, and a pantry bigger than my first apartment. I couldn’t wait to try new designer dishes. Cook up things that were delicious and exotic, yet popular enough overall that they’d draw flocks of hungry crowds to my one-day food truck.
I still didn’t know who was responsible for such a legendary kitchen, but so far the guys had been using it to boil pasta, grill burgers, and make the basic American breakfast. Joshua admittedly had some basic culinary knowledge; most likely because his mother had left when he was younger, and he’d had to cook for himself. Evan also fended for himself at a young age, as most of his siblings were already teenagers by the time he was born.
I’d learned little things like this naturally, over the course of bunking with the guys. Cole grew up in a large family, just like myself, and Joshua was a military brat forced to follow his father all over the country. Evan hadn’t planned on enlisting at all, but signed up to take the ASVAB test as a joke during a high school recruitment drive… and somehow ended up with a near perfect score.
And there were darker secrets, too. Ones that nearly slipped out from time to time, when the guys spoke with such ease and familiarity around each other. They generally stopped short of revealing anything too juicy, and they hardly ever talked about their time overseas. But I could always tell when they cut something short. Like there was more to the story; something important, just beneath the surface.
A noise in the hallway caused me to bolt upright. After a quick look, I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hey…”
Joshua was standing there, smiling sheepishly.
“I saw your light was on, so…”
“Of course, come in!” I smiled, patting the blankets beside me.
He entered without hesitation, and sat down on the bed. Originally I thought Joshua was a night-owl, and he was, to an extent. But I saw him up all the time, long after he’d supposedly gone to bed. The way he wandered the empty house, I figured he had insomnia.
“What are you writing?”
I showed him the blank piece of paper. “Nothing, tonight. But I can’t shut my brain off.”
His smile widened as he ran five thick fingers though his sleep-tousled hair. “You and me both.”
Joshua’s eyes shone in the dim lamplight, reflecting a depth I hadn’t seen before. His normally clean-cut jawline stubbled with a sexy five o’clock shadow. Or a two-in-the-morning shadow, depending upon how you looked at it.
Even so, he didn’t look tired. His eyes had this far-away look to them, but there were no bags under them.
“Hungry?” I asked, hoping he’d say yes.
He fingered his odd leather necklace for a moment. “No.”
“Ah. I wanted to make you something.”
“Oh yeah?” He looked suddenly intrigued. “You haven’t made much of anything since you got here.”
“That’s because I haven’t had the time.” A night chill sent a sudden shiver through me. “But I plan on making time, now that…”
My sentence trailed off as he shifted closer, moving his body nearer to mine. He reached out with two hands. I thought I knew for what.
Oh… oh wow…
But then he lifted the hem of my comforter and brought it up to cover my shoulders.
“You looked cold,” he said simply.
I bit my lip. “Thanks.”
Fuck. I sucked at reading men. Or rather, I sucked at readingthesemen. I used to be so good at this, too.
“Why can’t you sleep?” I asked him.
He paused for a moment, perhaps considering the veracity of his answer. I could tell by his body language that truth won out.
