The massive window beside us overlooked the ocean. No one could see into it from anywhere on land. The house itself was set back from the road, so they wouldn't see us from there either. The properties to either side were likewise spaced out, giving us all privacy.
Just as well, given who our neighbours were.
"We would have found somewhere quickly," he said. "Maybe somewhere you like better than this."
I regarded him for a moment. "Is that what's bothering you? You don't think I like living here?"
"I think you like to make choices for yourself," he said slowly. "Storm didn't let you when he insisted you move in with him. And you didn't get to do that now either." He seemed irritated with himself, but he didn't need to be. He'd acted while the rest of us waited for— What? The time to be right? When would that have happened, if ever? But if he needed reassurance, I'd give that to him.
"I choose to be alive and not somewhere I can be targeted again," I said. "Right now, that's the most important thing. But—" I held up my hand before he could respond "—I love it here. I would totally have chosen this place. You did good. Correction, you didgreat."
"You think so?" he asked. Evidently he wasn't convinced yet. "I tend to jump in with both feet and not think about the consequences until afterward. That's why I own that cottage off in the forest. It seemed like a good idea at the time." He shrugged one shoulder.
"I like it there too," I said. Especially the memories of the guys taking me there and fucking me rough and hard. "I think we should put you in charge of buying all the real estate."
His body shook slightly as he laughed. "I don’t think the others would agree. I might go off and buy something they hate, like a vibrator factory."
"I don't think they'd object to you buying one of those," I said. "I certainly wouldn't. You'd probably make a shit ton of money from it."
"Probably," he agreed. "And it would be a good front for any shady shit. Who would suspect the…" He paused for dramatic effect."The vibrator factory?"
It was my turn to laugh. "Not me. That'd be like suspecting suspicious goings on at an ice cream factory."
"Or with a rugby union team," he said. "On second thoughts, scratch that. Us Smashers are about as suspicious-as-fuck as they come."
"I disagree," I said. "Remember when we first met? I thought you were a lot more innocent than you turned out to be. You could get up to all sorts of things and no one would suspect you."
"Don't say that too loud, there's probably people who still think I'm innocent," he said jokingly. "Maybe I should try harder to act the part. Who knows where it might get me?"
"Where do you want it to get you?" I asked. I leaned to the side to look at him.
"Nowhere," he said after a few moments thought. "I'm already exactly where I want to be. Right here, with you. We have a home game tomorrow night, which we're going to win. I have five… Should I call them brothers? Storm is a boyfriend and Atlas and Jay might be too, but saying boyfriends-and-the-other-guys-I-share-a-house-with is clunky as fuck."
"I think brothers works," I said. "As a blanket term. Or partners. Or people-I-care-about-but-only-want-to-sleep-with-three-of-them."
His body shook again. "That's a mouthful. And I want to sleep with four of you. For the record, I wouldn't say no to Dallas or Ramsey, but they're not into me like that. Which is totally fine with me. They can't all have impeccable taste." He sniffed as though he was some high-class gentleman from two hundred years ago.
"No they can't," I agreed. Of course, it didn't come down to taste, just preference, but we could joke around about it.
His body stiffened. "I realised something."
Alarmed, I sat up and looked at him, eyes wide. "What is it?"
"I realised I might have insulted you by suggesting they don't have the best taste," he said. His eyes were also wide, but he was trying not to smile. "Of course, they have incredible taste. The very best."
I gave him a mock dubious look and settled back against him. "We all have the best taste, that's why we're here. We were drawn together by mutual awesomeness."
"Yes, we were, and, as far as I can tell, a mutual love of cheese and orgasms." He tangled his fingers in my hair, his thumb stroking my scalp gently.
"Those are two of the best things in life," I said. "What could be better than cheese and orgasms?"
"Cheese,footballand orgasms," he said. "With the occasional side of beer and pizza."
"And chocolate," I said. "We can't forget the chocolate."
"We definitely can't," he agreed. "That should have been on the list sooner. What was I thinking?" He slapped his spare hand to his forehead.
"You got there eventually," I said. "So, you're feeling good about tomorrow night's game? Even with the new coach?"
