Duke skirts around me, taking the lead—thank God—and I follow him through what should be a dining room, staring at his back muscles the entire way.
Thick neck.
Broad shoulders so wide he barely fits through the doorway.
The brothers are all in the kitchen, and I see they’ve already ordered pizza. The cardboard delivery boxes are stacked up on the counter, surrounded by all the things that should already be inside the cabinets.
“Why’s this such a damn mess? This stuff could have all stayed in here.”
Dallas nods. “Yeah, but Mom’s been nagging us to clean this shit, so I took it all out to clean it.”
“Did you?”
“No.” He laughs, turning to grab some paper plates and slapping them on the nearby table.
It’s barely ten thirty in the morning, and they’re already planning on scarfing down pizza. Huh. Must not have had breakfast.
“Do you guys always rent the same house?” I ask because of the comments Duke made, about how terrible the outside looks and how they should get a move on fixing the porch.
“No.” Dallas shakes his head. “We just bought it. That’s why we’re moving in before the end of the year.”
Duke nods. “Makes more sense financially to own instead of rent. When the boys aren’t here in the summer, we sublet with other students. Dallas had roommates his freshman and sophomore year, but now that the twins are here”—he takes a slice of pizza out of the top box and chews off the end of it—“we’ll sell it once the twins enter the draft.”
He sounds so confident as if their entering the draft is a done deal, not something they have to want and make happen through all their hard work.
He’s making it sound like it’s just…going to happen. No matter what.
No questions asked.
For all I know, it will. But part of me wonders if the other three have the same passion for football their eldest brother does. Surely, they don’t—can’t—surely, one of them doesn’t like it at all?
But what the hell do I know? I just met them.
“What do we need to get done today while I’m here?” Duke asks, taking another bite of pizza. It’s sausage and pepperoni, loaded with black olives, mushrooms, and peppers.
“I don’t know, thought we’d unpack everything.” Drew scratches his head. “Practice starts on Wednesday. I wanna have this shit done so we can relax. Maybe make the living room cute.”
His accent isn’t nearly as strong as his oldest brother.
While they’re talking and enjoying their pizza, I begin organizing the kitchen without being asked, separating the Tupperware containers and arranging them in the bottom cabinet next to the oven. Stack the cups and glasses and put them in the cabinet next to the sink.
I open and close all the drawers, wiping them out before putting the silverware and utensils inside. By the time they’re done eating and tossing the pizza boxes in the recycling bin at the side of the house, I have the entire tiny kitchen arranged.
I'm not sure how long it will stay tidy and organized, but I’m happy with how things turned out, where everything fit, and how everything should be easy for them to find.
Duke comes up behind me, puts his hand on my shoulder, and leans in. “You didn’t have to do this. So thank you.”
I shiver when he pulls me into a side hug.
I stand there looking at all the cabinet interiors while he’s still embracing me, sending tiny shock waves of electricity through my veins.
Ugh.
“Want something to drink?” he asks at long last.
“Sure. Do we have any water?”
“Yup.” Duke pulls the fridge open and grabs two bottles of water from the shelf, twisting both tops off before handing me one.