Steven was right.
Sleeping helped clear my mind but not by much. The moment I opened my eyes and the sleep faded, the worries started to pile up. Lee was supposed to be my friend; I had trusted her to take care of my bakery while I couldn't.
How could she betray me like that?
Reaching up, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and blinked up at the ceiling. After a few seconds, I sat up and threw my legs over the side of the bed. My eyes darted around the bedroom.
Everything was neat and placed in their spot. His room was a lot cleaner than my bathroom at my apartment. The urge to snoop was strong but I pushed it aside and made my way over to the door.
It was slightly ajar so I only had to push it open a few inches more to slip outside. My eyes darted up and down the hall. To the right were two doors—one was open, revealing a bathroom—and the other one were closed.
I turned left and walked out into a spacious living room. A wall separated the living room from what looked like a sunroom with green plants and weaved couches.
Voice pulled me into the back of the house towards the kitchen. I folded my arms across my chest and leaned in the doorway and silently watched them.
Steven stood by the stove, stirring something in a pot. He was still dressed in his wrinkled close from earlier but he had discarded his shoes and now stood in dark grey socks.
His brother sat at a long table, eyes focused on his phone.
"Severide is a damn genius," Thomas was saying. "Why hadn't I thought of that?"
"Invading someone's privacy is not genius," Steven muttered.
"He didn't invade her privacy, he found it."
"It's still the same."
"I'm not going to argue with you."
"Good." The silence lasted for only a few seconds. "She has a few interesting things on here. Have you read it yet?"
Steven glanced at his brother over his shoulder. "As far as I can understand, Severide has the list and he never agreed to share it with any of us. How did you get it?"
"I sent the photo to myself when he wasn't looking."
Whatever Steven muttered was too low for me to hear. Silence settled in the kitchen again with the only sound being Steven moving about as he cooked. The smell that filled my nostrils made my stomach grumble. I was hungry and I was too stressed to even notice it.
"You should see the things she has on the list."
"Things you're planning on using to get her—"
"What did you do on you date?" Thomas interrupted.
"It's none of you business," Steven muttered.
"Did you have sex?"
Steven chuckled. "Why, are you scared she'd take off running when she sees your dick?"
"Leave my dick out of this," Thomas called.
I straightened and entered the kitchen. "What's wrong with your penis?"
Apparently whatever I said was hilarious because Steven started laughing his ass off. Thomas stared at me with his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide in shock. I tilted my head to the side and raised a questioning eyebrow at him.
Thomas slammed his fist down on the elbow, making me jump. He got to his feet and turned his head to glare at his twin.
"Why the hell didn't you tell me that Albany was here?"
Steven's laughter died down slightly but it started up immediately when he took one glance at his brother's face.
To my surprise I could feel my lips twitching. I wasn't exactly sure what Steven was finding so funny but I loved hearing his laugh. I stared at him for a few more seconds before looking at Thomas.
He glared at his brother for a few more seconds before he placed his phone down and walked over to me. I froze when he pulled me in for a tight hug. My arms hung limp at my side as my mind raced. How was I supposed to react to it?
Before I could make up my mind, Thomas pulled away and led me over to the table where he pulled out a chair and pushed me down onto it. A few minutes later he placed a glass of cola down in front of me.
"So, what's wrong with your penis?" I repeated my earlier question after taking a sip of the cola.
Thomas picked up his phone and pressed a few buttons before he placed it down again. It was Steven who answered the question for him.
"Thomas got his dick pierced," he told me.
"Shut up!"
"Get this," Steven continued, ignoring his brother. "We were about to have sex. The woman and I were already naked and on the bed, but the moment Thomas lowered his pants. . ." he trailed off as laughter hit him once again. "I've never seen a woman run from him so fucking fast."
I laughed along with him as the image he described ran through my mind. My laughter died down when my eyes locked on Thomas. His face was flashed with colour and his fists clenched at his side.
"I'm sorry," I breathed when my laughter died down. "It is funny."
"It's not fucking funny," Thomas hissed. "I've never felt so embarrassed in my life."
Steven chuckled. "Nobody forced you into—"
"You fucking dared me to do it!"
"I didn't know that you were going to really do it!" Steven yelled back. "You could've walked away but you had to—"
"Shut up," Thomas hissed. "Or I'll tell Albany about your tattoo."
I sat up a little straighter in my seat and glanced between them. The conversation was getting more interesting by the minute. I pursed my lips to stop myself from asking any questions, but they slipped past my lips anyway.
"You have two tattoos?"
"Two?" Thomas looked at me. "You know about his tattoos?"
I nodded. "I saw the one on his arm the other morning."
"So you did have sex!" he exclaimed.
Running a hand through my messy hair, I narrowed my eyes at him. "I don't understand why you're so interested in—"
My words were cut off when a loud horn blared from outside. Unease gripped me when Thomas left the kitchen to unlock the gate. It suddenly hit me that I was at the house of two strangers and more were about to enter.
Standing, I pushed the chair under the table and turned towards Steven.
"Thank you for helping me today, Steven," I said softly. "I should get going. I don't want to intrude."
Steven stepped closer and gave me a small smile. "You're not intruding. Stay for dinner."
"I—"
"Please?" He took another step closer and reached up.
I froze as he brushed the back of his knuckles down my cheek and down my neck to my collarbone. Swallowing, I dropped my eyes and took a small step back. His touch unnerved me and calmed me at the same time.
"You have guests and I—"
"It's probably Severide," Steven muttered. "I called him earlier to tell him about the eviction letter."
"Why would you do that?" I yelled at him. "I don't want the whole world to fucking know about my problems. If I'd known that you would blab it out to everyone I'd never have told you about it."
Anger flashed through his eyes and his body tensed. "Are you done?"
My head dropped, and without answering him, I spun on my heels and retraced my steps to his bedroom. I was planning on grabbing my things and leaving, but when I entered his room, the urge to leave left me. I perched on the edge of his bed and stared down at my feet.
"I only want to help," Steven said softly from the doorway. "I'm good with numbers but Severide knows more about this shit than I do. He'll be able to—"
"I'm sorry for yelling at you." I looked up at him and gave him a small smile. "I'm used to handling things on my own of having Crystal help me with it. Not having her around anymore. . ." I shrugged. "I don't know any of you, Steven. Can you understand why I'm skeptical about accepting help from strangers? I accepted Lee's offer to help and look where that got me."
He was silent for a few minutes before he answered. "I assure you that we only want to help. We might not have know each other for very long, but there's something about you that draws us all in. There's something about you that makes us want to protect you."
Colour flooded my cheeks. "I don't know what to make of this."
"Don't over think things, brown eyes. For once in your life just allow the current to guide you." He winked at me. "Dinner should be ready in fifteen minutes."
"Where's your other tattoo?" I asked him before he could walk away.
He paused and hesitated before he slowly turned back to face me. My eyes dropped to his hands. Steven slowly unbuckled his belt and then slipped the button through the hole. My heartbeat increased when he slowly pulled the zip down.
"We were drunk," he muttered. "Thomas and I. He dared me to get a tattoo and I dared him to get a piercing."
My eyes darted up to his face and locked onto the tip of his tongue as it slipped out to swipe across his bottom lip.
"Show me," I breathed.
His thumbs slipped into the back of his underwear and pants and ever so slowly he lowered them. A laugh burst from my lips.
"Oh my god!" I pressed a hand to my mouth to stop the laughter but it didn't help.
Steven had and elephant head tattooed on his pubic area. From what I could make out from the distance between us, his penis was the elephant's trunk.
"Women don't run when they see that?" I asked between fits of laughter.
Amusement flashed through his eyes as he fixed his pants. "I keep them too occupied to notice."
With a wink, he left the room and disappeared down the hall. I dropped back onto the bed and allowed the laughter to take over once again. Damn, those brothers were seriously something else.