“Fine,” she mumbles. “Everything is okay though, right, Nikki?”
“Everything is fine, Layla. Come on, let’s go eat.”
We walk out of the bathroom, arms linked, and head back to the table.
******
I move in a week later, and all three guys help out. My parents aren’t home when I leave; they have to work, so all the guys come over to help me lug boxes into their cars and mine. Kade insists on helping me unpack, too. I'm fine with it until he starts unpacking my underwear.
“Hey, leave that, I can do it,” I shout over at him.
“Why? I’ll be getting better acquainted with these soon enough,” he says, smirking and holding up a pair of my Victoria's Secret lacy panties.
Boundaries, we seriously need some.
I shake my head, not bothering to retort. We finish unpacking all of my stuff within hours thanks to everyone pitching in.
So, I guess its official. I’m the new roommate. What the hell am I getting myself into?
Chapter Nine
My first day in the house is quiet. James isn’t home. I ask Kade where he is and he just says out. Layla is so right, everyone is so f**king secretive when it comes to James.
Kade is his normal flirty self, but honestly, I don’t want anything to do with him. Why can’t he just leave me alone? After I finish supper, which Kade bitched that I didn’t make him anything, I go to my room and lock the door. I put a TV in the room, so I wouldn’t have to spend time out in the living area around Kade.
The second night Kade isn’t home so I spend the night with James who had returned home early this morning.
“So James, where were you last night?” I ask nosily.
“Out. I had some stuff to do,” he tells me.
“Like what?” I ask, my nose scrunched up.
“Not you, too,” he mumbles under his breath.
“Me, too, what?” I ask, my brows furrowed.
“You, too. Another nosey roomie,” he says with a grin.
“Hey! I’m not nosey!” I say with mock indignation.
We both start laughing. I totally am.
The third night they all have a party. I finally met Derek, he flirts with me a bit and I can see Kade getting pissed. So, I play up the flirting some more.
“So. You and Layla are good friends, I hear,” I tell him.
“We are. I don’t get to see her much anymore with her guard dog,” he says with a smirk.
I laugh. So true, Chase keeps her well-guarded.
“I’m sure she would sneak away,” I say knowingly.
“Oh, she does. We usually have lunch once a month or so,” he says with a small smile. I can tell he is fond of her.
“I never knew Layla had such a hot best friend,” he adds, his eyes raking over me.
“Oh, really? Well, she does,” I say, waggling my eyebrows. Derek laughs out loud.
“Derek?” I hear Kade call out.
“I’ll talk to you in a bit. I think they want to play PS3,” Derek says.
“Okay,” I say, frowning. I look back to Kade, who is now grinning, total c**k block.
******
I’ve been living in the house for a week, and so far, Kade and I are doing fine. No drama or anything like that, we're getting along as house mates. On my way home from work I get a call from Layla asking me to pick up some food. She messages me exactly what she wants and how much. I put it on my credit card because the amount ends up being huge. I walk into the house, hands full of bags, and make my way over to Layla.
“You're the best, Nik,” Layla says as she takes a bag and rummages through it. I put the other bags on the counter, my arms dropping with relief. I thought my arms were going to break.
“Hello, I’m Ashley. Who are you?” some short brunette introduces herself. She's wearing short shorts and a white tank top, practically see through, and her ni**les are visible. Yikes. Her beady eyes are slightly narrowed, contradicting her saccharine sweet tone.
“This is my best friend, Nikki, she lives here now,” Layla says, a slight warning in her tone. Interesting.
Ashley and I eye each other for a moment. It suddenly occurs to me who this must be. Oh, I’ve heard about this chick.
“Oh yeah, you’re that bitch who told Layla to stay away from Kade!” I say, chuckling evilly.
“Oh, I’ll get Kade,” Ashley purrs smugly. “I did enjoy the other two, especially Chase,” she gives Layla a boastful smirk. Fucking bitch! My eyes narrow menacingly.
Ashley steps closer and taunts me. “So you're the trash Kade has been interested in. Don’t worry, honey, once he's done with you, he'll come back to me.”
“Is that so? Then how come you haven’t already had him?” I ask snidely.
“Oh, I’ll have him, trust me, and when I do, I’m going to be the one that’s permanent. You see, Kade cares about me too much to sleep with me and throw me away like he does with all the others. When he's ready to settle down, he's going to come looking for me. And I will be waiting,” she says in a knowing tone.
“Keep telling yourself that, Ashley,” I scoff.
“He told me he just wants to get you in bed again, Nikki. Apparently you’re the kind of girl who never says no,” she says with a raised eyebrow.
Oh, that is it, I’ve had it. She leans in once more, sealing her fate.
“I’m sure even Chase will want another taste of me once Layla gets fat with that bastard child of hers.”