And stepping into the box, I pushed five. We’ve got private elevators that open straight into our apartments, but what most people don’t know is that Mason and I have pads that are connected. I’ve got the fifth floor, he’s got the sixth, and to the back, there’s a staircase that connects the two, discreet and hidden. We don’t use it much, but yeah, actually our apartment is one huge space, if you want it that way.
So when the door dinged open, I took a deep breath. This wasn’t the time to be pissed, this was the time to celebrate. Our semi-illegal plan was working, and all I needed was a drink to relax, to alleviate the tension in my muscles. Some ESPN sounded mighty good, something to block out the confusion running through my brain, white noise to dull my senses.
But as I stepped into the spacious living room, modern furniture sleek and gleaming, Mason and Katie were already there waiting for me like nothing was the matter.
“Hey,” my buddy drawled, looking over his shoulder. “Welcome to the party.”
Katie looked perfectly poised and together, not a hair out of place, sitting on a divan with her legs demurely crossed. She was gorgeous, flat out divine with those luscious curves and curly brown hair. My body hummed to life despite the fact that I’d been dead-tired not two seconds ago.
“HI Derek,” she murmured, shooting a special smile my way. “We escaped the scrum, how did you do after we left?”
I decided not to comment on the fact that both were in my apartment, and merely settled onto the couch across from them, big form looking relaxed even though I was getting more juiced by the second.
“Hell as always,” I drawled lazily. “But you guys got it worse.”
Mason nodded as Katie laughed softly.
“That shit’s always bad, but I’d say we pulled it off,” he said with a sideways glance at the girl. “We pulled it off real good.”
Katie nodded, shooting us both admiring glances.
“We did really well,” she affirmed, “How about you Derek? You make out okay?”
I took a deep breath. On the one hand, I wanted to blurt out my feelings. I wanted to say, you guys look so perfect together, so where am I in all this? Is there room for me in this trio? What about me?
But on the other, what alpha gives in to stupid things like insecurity and goddamn feelings? I sounded desperate, disgusting myself. So nodding, I spread both arms spread out on the back of the couch, the picture of supreme male confidence and shot a grin their way.
“It’s all good,” I drawled lazily. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
Katie nodded, but her smile melted until she was gazing at us with serious eyes. Because oh shit, the little girl had something to say and she wasn’t taking no for an answer.
“I know what we’re doing is just pretend,” she began.
I stopped her there.
“That’s right, honey,” I ground out, stretching like I was worn out. But Katie wasn’t done yet. She shook her head, determined to be heard because there was something else on the female’s mind, something even more pressing.
“Fine with the fiancée stuff,” she said slowly. “I get that there’s a will out there where you have to be married, or pretend married, to access some cash. But I have to ask something,” she said, shooting a swift glance at both of us. “Ummm….”
“What is it little girl?” rumbled Mason, one dark eyebrow arched. Like me, he looked the picture of supreme male confidence, a huge animal relaxed on the sofa. “Shoot.”
Katie took a deep breath, nervously biting her lip before looking between us again.
“It’s just that,” she began. “It’s just that there’s something going on between the two of you. And don’t tell me I’m wrong,” she said quickly. “I can feel something in the air, it’s like lightning shooting between you guys. So what’s going on?” she asked again, brown eyes hesitant yet insistent at once. “What’s happening?”
Suddenly, the temp in the room went up about a hundred degrees, all of us on notice. Because I realized just how perceptive and intelligent our girl was. Katie had picked up on the vibes, on the hot looks between Mason and I despite our efforts to hide it. We’d acted like we were all about her, that she was the focal point of our trio, but in reality we were all equal partners.
My breath whooshed out with relief. Thank god, I was gonna get my day in the sunlight, the two of them weren’t going to move to the next level on their own.
But I didn’t want to give in right away, I wanted to play with her a bit.
“Why do you say that?” I drawled, shooting her a smile. “You think something’s off between me and him?”