The Bucket List (A REVERSE HAREM ROMANCE)

12. ALBANY

A groan fell from my lips as I turned onto my side. I was too afraid to open my eyes because of the pounding in my skull. Alcohol and I have never been friends—it was something Crystal found hilarious. It was the second time I drank too much. I hated the hangover that followed a night of drinking, but there was no use saying that I wasn't going to drink again.

At least this time I was in my own bed and not a stranger's bed.

My eyes snapped open when I heard the sound of pots being banged around in my kitchen. Fear it hard, making me freeze for a few seconds. I swallowed and then slowly turned and raised my head.

The air left my lungs in a rush when I saw the cat sitting on the counter. I slumped back onto the bed with another groan.

"You need to stop sneaking into my apartment," I told the cat as I sat up to stare at it. "I don't have any more food for you and I can't buy you any either."

Throwing back the sheets, I got to my feet and patted into the kitchen. The cat stood and meowed as I approached. Reaching out, I picked it up and held it against my chest as I petted it.

"I still don't know whether you're a boy or a girl."

"A boy."

My body jerked in fright. I spun around and came face to face with a shirtless twin. Colour flooded my cheeks as heat washed through me when my eyes slowly trailed over him. He had tanned skin and a barely visible six-pack with a V-line that led down into low hanging jeans that showed off the band of his Calvin Klein boxers. The man wasn't overly muscled like Kieran and Severide but he was still in good shape.

"W-what are you doing here?" I croaked.

He smiled and slipped past me. "I stayed to make sure you were okay. You started throwing up halfway up the stairs."

I embarrassed myself. Another reason why I shouldn't drink. My eyes darted over his back and lingered on the two dimples above his butt. Okay, so puking allowed me the perfect view of a very fine specimen.

Just the other day I woke up to a view similar to this. Almost similar, Severide was dressed in only a towel for the most part until he dropped it and gave me a perfect view of his naked body.

The squirming cat pulled me back to reality. Shaking my head, I lowered the cat to the floor and slowly straightened.

"Think you can stomach breakfast?"

My eyes snapped over to his. "What?"

"How's your stomach?" He nodded down at it. "Think you can manage breakfast? I'm starving but I don't want to be rude by eating in front of you."

"Oh." I waved his words away. "Help yourself."

Spinning on my heels, I walked over to my bedroom and pulled clean clothes from the drawer. Without looking at him, I hurried towards the bathroom and firmly closed the door behind me. My hand lingered on the doorknob and then slid down to the lock. It flicked into place silently.

As I turned to place my clothes on the cabinet, my eyes fell on the wet t-shirt hanging over the shower railing.

"The cat peed on me," he called from the other side of the door. "I couldn't find your washing machine so I rinsed it."

"I don't have one. The tenants of the building use the ones in the basement."

Silence followed my words. Shrugging, I undressed and stepped under the water. There was no time to linger so I showered quickly and dressed again. With a towel wrapped around my hair, I exit the bathroom to find him moving around in the kitchen. My stomach rumbled as the smell of eggs and toast hit me.

"You don't have much to make breakfast with," he said as he glanced at me. "Eggs and toast okay?"

I nodded and took a seat at the island. Pulling the towel from my hair, I started drying it.

"So which twin are you?" I asked unable to figure it out.

He paused and raised his head to look at me. "You can't tell?"

I shook my head. "Nope. You and your brother look exactly the same to me."

"My brother's a little more muscular than me and his hair a bit longer." He slipped an egg onto the toast and placed the pan back on the stove. "We both have tattoos."

I blinked at him in surprise. Smirking, he placed the plate down in front of me and held out his arm at his side. On his triceps in cursive letters were the words: I solemnly swear. . .inked into his skin.

"My brother has the other part on his arm."

I waited but he didn't continue. My lips tilted up into a small smile when he glanced up at me again. "You're not going to tell me about his tattoo are you?"

"No." Chuckling, he filled his own plate and leaned his elbow on the counter as he took a bite of toast. "You can ask him about it. I'm sure my brother would be very eager to show you his tattoo."

We ate in silence after that. Clearing my plate, I slid from the chair and carried it over to the sink. Rinsing the plate, I placed it aside and then turned only to bump right into him. His hand shot out to grip my hip.

My eyes darted up to his and the words died down on my lips when our eyes locked. His eyes were almost like Severide's—very unusual but unique. There weren't a lot of people who had such pale grey eyes with darker rings around the irises.

"You have amazing eyes," I whispered.

He smiled. "So do you."

"You still haven't told me which brother you are."

"Take a wild guess, brown eyes."

He just gave himself away. "Steven."

Leaning to the side, he placed his plate down and then cupped my cheeks. His thumb swiped back and forth over my cheekbone and then dipped lower to rub along my bottom lip. They parted instantly.

My heartbeat increased as his head lowered and my eyes fluttered closed. His breath fanned my lips and then my cheek. I frowned when he pressed his lips to my cheeks instead of my lips.

"No kissing until the third date," Steven muttered, making my eyes snap open.

He pressed another kiss to my cheek and then slowly pulled away to look down at me. His lips tilted up to into smile as his eyes laughed down into mine.

"I want to take you on a date. What do you say?"

I licked my lips making his eyes drop to them. Steven stared at my lips for a few seconds before his eyes darted up to mine again.

"I don't know you," I muttered.

"You can get to know me over dinner."

"Funny," I muttered. "Severide said the exact same thing to me the other night."

Steven frowned and took a few steps away from me. He turned and started cleaning the mess he made while cooking us breakfast. Closing the bread, he wiped the crumbs into his hand and then turned to dump it into the trash can.

"You really want to go on a date with me?"

He paused and then slowly turned towards me. "Yes. Dinner, tomorrow?"

I shook my head as I filled the sink with dishwater to wash the dishes. Steven dried it and packed it away as if he'd been living with me for years. When I was done, I drained the water and wiped the counters before hanging the cloth over the rail.

When I turned, he was leaning back against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes trained on me.

"Dinner?"

"I can't tomorrow," I told him. "Dinner is a bit overrated, don't you think? Can't we do something else instead?"

Maybe it wasn't the best choice of words. Something flashed through his eyes but it was gone the next moment. For a moment he stared down at the floor and then he nodded as he straightened.

"I'll pick you up at nine on Saturday morning."