Especially for a game day. There’s always music playing. Or football on tv. Someone cooking or screwing around on the Xbox.
Yet there are zero signs of life.
Which can’t be a good thing.
I drop my bag in the hall and head for the living room.
My roommates are lined up on the couch like they’re in timeout.
Because that’s not weird at all.
“What’s going on?” It’s the obvious question, though I’m not sure I want the answer. Not when they’re all staring at me like…I don’t know what.
“Why don’t you sit down?” Reid gestures to the empty loveseat and my Spidey-sense goes on high-alert.
“Is there a reason you’re treating me like a guest in my own house?” Shit. If that’s not a red flag, I don’t know what is. “Am I about to be voted off the island?”
“We’ve already got one drama queen in this house,” Vaughn says, nudging Coop. “Let’s not add another.”
“Dude.” Coop huffs out a breath and slowly turns to face him. “We talked about this. Positive, affirming statements only.”
“Thatwaspositive.” Vaughn strokes his beard like he’s fucking Dumbledore. “It was a warning. Like those fables they tell kids to keep them on the straight and narrow.”
“Straight? Narrow? Do you even hear yourself right now?” Coop turns to Reid, who’s seated on his other side. “And you thinkhe’sthe sensitive one.”
What. The. Actual. Fuck?
It’s like my roommates have been replaced by The Three Stooges.
Reid closes his eyes and I’m pretty sure he’s counting to ten.
He had a rough game today, and he’s dealing with personal shit—something to do with our kicker, Carter—which is enough to trigger my guilt complex. My feet are moving before I consciously decide to follow his suggestion.
“What’s up?” I lower myself onto the loveseat. Whatever it is, it must be important. Why else would they all be sitting here in silence, waiting for me?
Reid clears his throat, visibly uncomfortable. “We weren’t sure how to bring this up, but after what happened today...” Unease roils in my stomach. “With the Wildcat.”
For fuck’s sake. He can’t be serious. His last hookup was headline news. And every one of us has walked in on a Cooper DeLaurentis hookup at some point. But I get caught one time and it requires an intervention?
“What he means is, we weren’t sure if weshouldbring it up,” Vaughn interjects.
“Tomayto, tomahto.” Coop shrugs. “The point is, we respect your privacy, but we also want you to feel comfortable. After all, we’re roommates.”
“Friends,” Reid amends.
“Practically brothers.” Vaughn reaches over to clap me on the shoulder. “And we want you to know that we love you and support you. Unconditionally.”
“Good. I—” I shift uneasily, searching for the words that came so naturally to Vaughn. “I love you guys, too.” Though I’m not in the habit of saying it.
“There’s no judgment here.” Reid’s jaw is set and when his eyes meet mine, they’re brimming with sincerity. No surprise there. He’s always been a standup guy. “You can be your authentic self and live your truth, whatever that may be. You don’t need to hide. Not with us.”
Wait. What?
“And when you’re ready to take the next step,” Coop adds. “We’ll be right by your side.”
“Exactly.” Reid nods, like it’s a done deal. “We just wanted you to know. After what we saw earlier, we—”
“Hold up.” I throw up a hand, struggling to make sense of their words. “What exactly do you think you saw?”
