“Ready?” Troy asked quietly from behind us.
I stiffened while Drake chuckled, putting my bra back in place. “Just about,” he stated as he stepped back.
“Did I interrupt something?” Troy asked with laughter lacing his voice.
“You’re an ass,” I muttered to him as I pulled my pants on.
“We’ll meet you outside,” Drake informed me before squeezing my butt.
I sighed in frustration as I finished getting dressed. I grabbed my medical bag for my antibiotics, ointments, and dressing. I gingerly made my way through the darkened room. By the sounds of the gentle snoring and breathing, I could tell a lot of people were still asleep. A handful of shapes were making their way out of the room in front of me.
I carefully exited the partially opened door and winced at the sudden brightness of the hall. “Coffee?” I asked hopefully blinking so my eyes could adjust.
I noticed Remy, Drake, Troy, Jace, Gavin, Sierra, Terrance, and surprisingly Lincoln were already out in the hall waiting for me. They looked as tired as I felt.
“Coffee yes,” Troy enthused. “I grabbed our creamers last night and put them in the reach in.”
‘Yay,” I cheered as I followed them towards the kitchens.
“How’d you sleep?” Jace asked me gently as he grabbed my hand.
I tentatively looked back at Lincoln. “Great,” I said brightly. “I passed out the moment my head hit the pillow.”
I was surprised to see Will, Paul, and Kirk were already up and sitting at one of the tables drinking out of their mugs.
“Coffee is on the serving bar,” Will called out to us.
The tables here were a hodgepodge of shapes; some were rectangular, others octagons, and a few were round. The room wasn’t as spacious as the room upstairs, but it would still fit all of us with ease.
“Thanks, Pops,” Troy called back. “I’m going to get our flavored creamer,” he told me as he veered towards the kitchen doors.
“I’m going to check on the staff, see how they're doing,” Drake added as he followed Troy.
“Me, too,” I volunteered.
“It’s okay,” Drake smiled fondly at me. “Go get some coffee. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay,” I shrugged. I knew resistance was futile, and it was way too early to argue. I headed towards the serving bar and grabbed two of the largest cups I could. I filled them and added the sugar, making sure I left enough room up top for the creamer.
I sat down, and Lincoln took the seat beside me, with Jace on my other side.
“Hello, Blake, it’s great to finally meet you,” Kirk said immediately as I sat down. “I heard so much about you from Rayce.”
It took me a second to realize he was talking about his younger brother Ford. I really needed to remember that most of them had first names.
Kirk turned to Lincoln then. “It’s great to meet you as well, Lincoln Hudgens. My wives are going to be so upset that I met you.” He smirked. “Can you take a selfie with me later on?” he asked hopefully but with some embarrassment.
“Nice to meet you, too,” I said as Lincoln chuckled.
He barely blinked at Kirk’s mentions of wives, plural. “No problem man, just let me get my coffee first.”
Kirk laughed. “I don’t function until my third or fourth cup myself.”
“Same here,” Lincoln stated as he took a sip of his black coffee. He grimaced slightly.
“I’m sure it’s not what you’re used to,” I gently ribbed him.
“It’s fine. Just strong,” he murmured back.