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I pull my hands off the table once Nox gets the wounds all bandaged. “Don’t worry, princess. I’m already thinking about your new punishment.”
Zane pretends not to notice the way she shivers at that as he sends me a glare, but I ignore him. This girl is addictive, and at this point, I’ll start orchestrating scenarios so I can punish her.
Viviana
Exams went by fast. I wasn’t exactly worried after all the studying I’d done, but the anxiety that I would sit down and find that the test is written in Latin ate at me until the end of the week.
So here I am, sitting on my bed and watching Sandy pack up her things. The semester is over and she’s moving out. I didn’t realize I would be this sad to see her go. She takes a deep breath and glances over at me. “Are you sure you’ll be okay? You can come home with me for the holidays again, if you want,” she offers again for the twentieth time.
I can’t help but smile at her as she zips her duffel bag closed. I went with her for Thanksgiving, but all it did was make me miss my mom. Her family were all so kind and welcoming, but I’d rather be alone for the holidays than be reminded of what I no longer have. “No. Zane invited me over for Christmas and I already accepted.” Which is true, and I’m really looking forward to it.
She turns to quirk her brow at me. “Are you ever going to tell me what’s going on with you, Zane, and that guy who spent the night?”
I roll my eyes because I’ve already explained what I can. “Nox is just a friend and fell asleep here. He lives with Zane. They’re friends.”I don’t mention how I’ve already had sex with another one of Zane’s friends who also lives with him, though.
She shrugs. “Okay. Well, I’m ready to go. I’ll see you after break. Just because we won’t be living together doesn’t mean we won’t see each other anymore.”
I stand up and wrap her in a hug. “Good, because it’s your turn to get the pizza next time.”
She laughs and we pull away. I watch with sad eyes as she turns away and heads out of the room with one last look over her shoulder. The door closes with a thump of finality. I know we’ll still be friends, but I also know she’ll be a lot busier now with classes and sorority events. Some time with Sandy is worth more than no time with her, though.
Christmas morning, Zane picks me up from the dorms even though I offered to drive myself. I think it’s more about making sure I can’t leave without him knowing about it. I feel guilty getting into his car without anything. Back home, Christmas was a big deal. My dad and I would exchange presents and we’d have a meal catered by some fancy restaurant. The guys don’t do presents. Something about how Santa never visited their group home. Zane told me they never needed material things to have a good holiday as long as they had each other. It was so sweet, and I didn’t mind their differing traditions from my own.
When we pull into the driveway, Zane leads me into the house. Sloane is pouting at Cain where he sits on the couch, drinking what looks like eggnog.I wrinkle my nose, never having liked the beverage.
“Come on,” Sloane says, widening his eyes at Cain.
Cain scoffs, “You’re twenty. You get to drink the non-alcoholic eggnog.”
“But Nox gets to drink it!”
Cain’s eyes meet Sloane’s and he quirks one brow. “Nox is twenty-one. You can have it next year.”
I let go of Zane’s hand and wander into the kitchen, where I can hear pots and pans banging around. Nox is bent over the oven, basting a ham. I lean against the counter, watching him as he tucks it back away into the oven. He turns and jumps with a gasp when he sees me. “Merry Christmas, Nox,” I tell him with a smile. It serves him right after he scared me at my dorm a couple months ago.
He purses his lips, giving me a dry expression before he smiles as well. Opening his arms, he waits until I shrug and wrap my arms around his waist. “Merry Christmas, Viv.”
I smile at the nickname. I told him I preferred it during one of our many text conversations, and he accepted it without question. I lie my head against his shoulder. As the shortest of the guys, he’s still much taller than me, leaving my head at shoulder height. His arms feel just as strong as Sloane’s, and I don’t want to pull away. We just stand there for a moment, holding each other.
“Nox and Viv are making out in here!” Sloane shouts from the doorway.
I turn my head to scowl at him and he shrugs, chuckling as Zane pushes him out of the way to get into the kitchen. “Hands off!” Zane squares his shoulders like he’s going to fight Nox over me.
Nox chuckles, ducking down and hauling me over his shoulder. “Nope. Finders keepers,” he calls out and darts out of the room and through a door I assumed led to outside, but it really let out to on a small staircase. He locks the door behind us right before banging ensues and Zane starts yelling at him through the door.
Nox ignores him and sets me down on my feet. “Come on. I want to show you something.”
I bite my lip, but nod and follow him up the stairs. We go up two floors on the narrow stairs and he opens the top door with a key he pulls from his pocket. He pushes it open to reveal a long, dark hallway. Turning on the lights, he reveals the soft cream walls that are the same color as the walls on the second floor, where Zane, Cain, and Sloane all have their rooms. Glancing over, he gestures for me to go in.
Taking a tentative step forward, I look around, pushing doors open as I go. The first door opens to reveal a small kitchenwith a little table with two chairs. The next room is large, with built-in shelves against one wall with a bay window and a cushioned seat across the windowsill. A simple couch sits in the middle of the room with a TV mounted to the wall across from it over a white entertainment center. Next to that room is a bathroom with a huge clawfoot tub and shower combo. The last room is a bedroom with a closet and a door that leads back through the bathroom. The bed is bigger than mine, but a little smaller than the size of Zane’s queen, so probably a full.
I turn back to Nox. “What is this place?”
He shrugs. “It’s an apartment. We haven’t rented it out in a while. I wanted to see if you’d be interested in taking it.”
I shake my head quickly. “I can’t afford to pay rent for an apartment for four years. I’m only prepared to pay for temporary rentals during the summertime.”
Nox leans against the door frame and I realize he has me blocked into the bedroom. “No rent. I don’t charge the guys to live here either.”
