The man sighs noticeably, obviously weary with the process. I wonder how long ago he made the offer and how many times he's come knocking since. "I'll come by again on Wednesday," he says.
As I begin to close the door, the man stares up at the house. Is he looking for my foster brothers or dreaming about whatever he has planned for this building?
I stand with my back to the door, considering whether I should ask the boys about the offer or wait to see if they will tell me about it. This is my house too, and it's only fair that they should let me have a say in what happens to it. I decide to leave it a few days as a test to see how open and honest they are with me.
When I make it to the top of the stairs, I find Harley coming out of his room. "Sorry, I just needed to get something," he says.
"I'm feeling guilty that you guys have to sleep in the den. I'm happy for you to have your room back."
He shakes his head. "I won't have you sleeping downstairs," he says. "Not when we're all upstairs."
"Well, I could stay. The beds are plenty big enough."
Harley's eyebrows raise comically, and then he smiles. "Well, I wouldn't say no to sleeping in my own bed, especially if there's going to be a pretty girl in there too."
"Well, I'm not going to get to know anyone if I spend all my time alone in this bedroom, and I don't have a whole lot of time. I'm gonna have to go home soon, at least to sort out what's happening at school."
Harley nods. "Shall I tell Hunter too?"
Two brothers.
It wouldn't seem fair to leave Hunter out, although getting to know these men one at a time would be easier. "Do you guys always hang out as a twosome?" I ask.
Harley leans against the door frame and pushes his hand through his hair. "We tend to do most things together."
"Most things?"
"Well, we don't shower together, apart from after training, but then there are thirty dudes washing off, not just the two of us. That's about it."
"Wanna hang out now?"
"Sure… I'll go get Hunter."
I'm about to open my suitcase, so I can freshen up when Harley and Hunter appear at the door. Hunter has a basketball under his arm. "Fancy shooting some hoops?"
Well, I certainly hadn't considered that as something we'd do to hang out, but why the hell not? Unlike Sean, the twins don't seem to have the same agenda to move things into the bedroom, and although these guys are sexy as hell, I'm actually relieved that we might have a chance to have some fun and get to know each other.
"Sure."
"Can I play?" Reggie asks from the doorway.
"The more, the merrier."
Hunter snorts, his mind drifting somewhere smuttier than mine. Maybe they're not so different from Sean.
"I'll just grab my sneakers."
It turns out the hoop is at the back of the yard. The house is surrounded by more land than I expected, which wraps around it. No wonder the man with the big belly is interested in buying it. This house really wasn't built to make the most of the plot size.
Hunter tosses the ball to me, and I take a shot, getting it in the first time. Reggie whistles, and Harley claps. I guess they weren't expecting me to be good at basketball. Little do they know I've been playing since I was eight years old. The fitness I need to stay in the cheer squad only helps with my technique.
"I think we've been hustled," Hunter says.
"Now, to be fair, I never told you I was good or bad," I say. "And anyway, you didn't seriously think that I could play against you guys. You're all twice the size of me. The height and weight advantage would be…" I'm about to say unfair when Reggie jumps in.
"…dangerous. We gotta be careful not to barge you… the baby."
The twins nod solemnly, and part of me is really impressed at Reggie's thoughtfulness and Hunter and Harley's concern. The other half of me wants to show them that I'm not a fragile flower. The second half wins.
I spring into three cartwheels, then into a handstand, finally dropping into a bridge and then jumping to my feet. My body feels good, strong, and lean, ready for action. Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I'm weak. It doesn't have to take away the joy I feel in keeping active.
There are more whistles. "You on the cheer squad?" Reggie asks.
"I am… well, I was." The idea of leaving and not keeping my place in the team makes me want to weep.
"Reggie has a thing for cheerleaders," Hunter laughs.
"There's not a red-blooded man in this whole country who doesn't get a kick out of seeing girls in skimpy outfits jumping around looking happy."