Page 44 of Return Policy
“312,” Sage says, reading the number off the door in front of us. “This is it.”
Muffled chatter from deep male voices rumbles on the other side, and I inhale deeply, hoping it brings a hearty dose of serotonin with it. I’ve been doing my best to set boundaries, but if Elijah sees he’s been my muse, I will die on the spot. I will melt into a pile of embarrassed shit and die.
Cosmos, Jesus, Allah, Buddha, whoever you are, please don’t let him open my fucking notebook.
I hold my breath, raise my fist, and knock hard on the door. I’m about to try again when it swings open and the loud chattering drifts into the hallway. AnotherGQmodel stands in front of us with a crooked grin. I think he was at Burgers and Brews with Noah the other day.
“Uh, hi,” I say, shifting uncomfortably on my heels as he leans a shoulder against the door frame.
“Hi.” He smiles at the two of us while running a hand through his short dirty blonde hair.
“Does—uh, Elijah live here?”
He flashes a grin as his bluish-green eyes flick between Sage and me. “Who wants to know?”
“Cut the shit, gorgeous,” Sage says, and I stifle a laugh. “Is the honey dick here or not?”
He narrows his eyes at her and bites his lower lip before turning his head. “E!” he shouts, looking behind him. “Your fiancée’s here!”
Sage bumps me with her shoulder and waggles her eyebrows.
“His what? I’m not—”
“Hey there, Sunflower.” Elijah comes into view, sporting the world’s most breathtaking smile.
I flatten my lips to suppress the huge grin on my face from his infectious expression. “Hey.”
“Hi, Purple Skittle,” Elijah says, turning his attention towards her.
“Honey Dick.” She smirks back at him.
“Sage!” I whisper-shout at her, and I didn’t think it was possible, but Elijah’s smile grows as his eyes flick to mine, full of amusement. He opens the door wider and gestures for us to come inside.
A dozen massive guys crowd the small living room, watching a football game. Elijah clicks the front door shut, and twelve sets of eyes flick in our direction so obviously it’s almost comical.
“Guys, this is Sophia and Sage,” Elijah says, gesturing toward us. “Girls, this is Theo, my roommate.” He points at the smartass who opened the door. “And these… are the guys.”
“Hi, guys,” Sage says with her flirtiest smile—I would know, I’ve seen them all.
“Hey.” I wave awkwardly.
“Wowww, we don’t even have names?” Noah says, folding his muscular arms tightly over his chest. “We’re all justthe guys?”
Elijah rolls his eyes, turning his attention to me, and grabs my hand. “Come on.” My body is soaked with gasoline, and his single touch ignites me. “I have something for you.”
“Are you coming?” I ask Sage.
“I’ll be fine here,” she replies as Elijah tugs me away, leaving a burn trail towards his bedroom.
Once inside, he shuts the door behind us, presumably to give us some privacy from the Super Bowl party happening in his living room. I glance around, and my eyes snag on my sketchbook sitting atop his perfectly made full-sized bed.
“I can’t believe you found it!” I snatch up the sketchbook and flip quickly through the pages, then hug it tight to my chest. A rush of relief floods through me, and I turn to sit on the edge of his bed before my knees buckle from the overwhelming feeling. “Where was it?”
Maybe karma isn’t gunning for me after all.
“One of the guys found it in the library lost and found.” He grins down at me as his gaze sweeps from my head to my toes.
“So it’s true?” I ask once I’ve recovered from the laser beams.
