When school started I woke up earlier than the boys. It always felt awkward when I was with them which is why my intentions were to always head out early to avoid them. It's worked smoothly so far. After getting dressed I would grab some breakfast and then drive over to campus. Then when I would get home, it would be dark and the boys were either having dinner or have retreated into their room.
I spend my whole day on campus. Between classes, studying, and meeting new people I would never see Pierce. A few times I caught a glimpse of him, but I would steer clear. He would be talking or laughing with a few people so it's not like he would notice me. The last thing I wanted was to be deeply tied or associated with Pierce.
It's not like I hated having the guys around. I just didn't feel this need to interact with them. I'm here for school and studies, not to bond excessively with my roommates who I was planning on replacing anyways. Yeah, I want a social life. But I couldn't see myself having a social life with these two.
When I arrived home, the brothers would typically be in the kitchen, talking and making dinner. I would acknowledge them, giving a wave or nod. Pierce would ask if I want dinner but I would always eat it before arriving. Then I would go to my room and study or finish homework. Once they were watching a movie and asked if I wanted to join. They must think I'm ridiculously lame for never participating, but I was simply never interested.
I sank into my room, drawing and studying. Making buildings that were probably never going to exist.
"Hey," Pierce knocked on my door one night. He walked in examining how my floor was suddenly occupied by blueprints, notes, and opened textbooks. "Aaron and I are going into the city. We wanted to know if you want to come?"
"I'm only on 17th Century architecture." I muttered on autopilot.
"So...that's a no." Pierce lingered for a moment longer before realizing I wasn't going to move. Before he walked away he said, "Look up French Baroque. It's beautiful."
I thought the boys had left but a few minutes later I felt another set of eyes on me. I turned over my shoulder to tell Pierce I couldn't go when I saw it was Aaron. He was watching me intently. His arms crossed over his broad chest. I stared back but soon realized I was being observed like a bug under a microscope.
"Having fun, Birdie?" He asked. Instead of waiting for an answer, he simply walked away with his brother.
That was my first Friday night in Miami. Everyone was out having fun and going to parties. I was left in my room, flipping through notes and pages of history. At night, all I could hear from my room was the party boats that drifted down the canal outside our building. Not me, I stayed home. Learning about the French Baroque technique.
It was Saturday morning when I realized, I didn't have school. It sounds like something stupid to realize, but over the week my ability to avoid the Mosdenea brothers was so good that I didn't want to break that streak. A part of me dreaded what would happen today. Maybe they would leave to do something in Miami because it's a Saturday. I'm not sure how to act or even talk to the boys. So it took me summoning all of my pride to walk out of my room.
My hair was an absolute mess and even though I should have cared, I didn't. If I was going to live with these two until I could find a replacement, they might as well get used to seeing me in a tank top and pajama shorts with zombie hair.
I was hoping that the boys would still be asleep. Instead, Pierce was at the stove flipping pancakes. "Hey Parker," he grinned at me. "Want some breakfast?"
I couldn't help but realize how amazing the food smelled. "You cook?" I asked.
"Yeah I used to cook all the time," He seemed to want to add something more to his comment but he stopped himself and took the pan off the stove. "Do you want some?"
A part of me felt guilty. Ever since the boys moved in, I tried my best to ignore them. But all Pierce showed me was kindness. He didn't seem to be affected by the fact I would walk by him on campus and completely ignore his presence. I was feeling very torn as to how to act with them. Pierce seems like a great guy but I wasn't planning on becoming best friends with him either. At the time, distancing myself seemed like the best option. Now, realizing he wasn't acting the same way as I am, it made me realize how much of a jerk I must be coming out as.
"I'm sorry," I said sitting on one of the high chairs. He placed the pancakes on the center of the table.
"What for?" Pierce asked setting a bowl of chocolate chips, strawberries, and bananas by the stack of pancakes.
"I've been really rude to you and Aaron lately."
Pierce looked up at me, laughing softly as he placed pancakes on his plate. "Parker, you've been desolate and a complete ghost," He chuckled sprinkling a few strawberries over his pancakes. "You're not rude. You're distant. And quiet. If you want to be rude, be Aaron. He's rude."
As if proving his point, Aaron walked into the kitchen only wearing a pair of sweatpants. His hair was still wild but this time because of sleep instead of his motorcycle. The band of his boxers showed under his sweats. Looking at Aaron bare-chested made my neck turn red. I looked down at the pancake on my plate and sprinkled a few chocolate chips in hopes he didn't notice my blush.
His eyes fell on me after he rubbed the sleep out of them. "Looks like Birdie finally came out of her nest."
His voice wasn't loud. I don't think in the short while we've been living together I've ever heard him raise his voice. It was always quiet but dense. Like the syrup I was pouring on my pancakes. Except now it was hoarse, which only seemed to add the effect of his voice.
I narrowed my eyes at him but he only held my gaze. When he turned to the refrigerator I caught a better glimpse of his tattoo. A fleur de lis with the roman numeral II below it. It was about the size of my palm and was placed strategically on his shoulder where T-shirts would cover it up.
"You want pancakes?" Pierce asked him.
Aaron pulled out the carton of milk and a bowl of cereal. "Did you put a lot of effort in those pancakes?" He asked.
"Yeah," Pierce beamed a smile with dimples that would make every mother and daughter on the planet swoon.
"Then no." Aaron took a spoon to match his cereal and walked past us to the sliding glass door That led to the balcony. When it closed behind him he simply admired the view. He leaned against the railing, one hand holding the bowl of cereal.
"See," Pierce nudged me. "That's just rude."
I couldn't help but chuckle and I started diving into the pancakes Pierce made. I was surprised by how delicious they turned out. They tasted like all the buttery and sweet things in the world combined. Pierce kept giving me pointers on what to add and how much to add in order to make a pancake the best thing in the world. By the end of breakfast, I ended up eating four.
"So," Pierce said. "What are you up to today?"
Our plates were stalked in the sink. Pierce started washing the dishes and handed them to me. I would dry them with a towel before placing them in the cabinet. We had a cycle going which meant doing the dishes was a lot easier than I thought.
"Job hunting." I answered.
"You don't have an on campus job?"
I shook my head, "I don't live on campus. So no. Why? What are you doing today?"
"Well my schedule just cleared up," He shut off the faucet and dried his hands with a towel. "I'm going to help you job search."
I looked up at him to see if he was kidding. Instead, he just kept grinning. My next question was filled with complete and utter wonder, "Why?"
There was no way someone could be this happy and nice at the same time as being this good looking. It wasn't even the good looks part that shocks me, it's the fact that Pierce is completely genuine. You could tell him that his favorite dog died and he would suddenly look for the bright-side of such terrible news. He lives on a silver lining that I truly don't understand.
"Just get dressed," He turned away and into his room. I was feeling slightly suspicious but pushed it aside. If Pierce wanted to kill me, he could have easily laced the pancakes with poison. Or stabbed me in my sleep. I just wasn't sure what he wanted.
**************************
"Can we take my car?" Pierce asked as we descended in the elevator. He had changed into a polo shirt and a pair of beach shorts. He kept twirling his car keys in his hand like he was trying to convince me to take his car.
I hesitated but caved in when he gave me puppy dog eyes. I asked again, "Why do you want to drive me around?"
"I haven't had a chance to get to know you. For all I know, you're distant all the time because you're a sociopath who is planning a way to kill my brother and I."
We walked through the building to the community garage. It hadn't occurred to me that the boys could possibly feel the same way about me the way I feel about them. I don't know anything about them but they know even less about me. It's not like we sat down for roommate/apartment bonding. They probably just think I'm some crazy person obsessed with school. Which is not a total lie but it's not one hundred percent accurate either.
"Which is your car?" I asked looking around the garage. Everyone is assigned a parking space by their apartment number. My car was sitting alone at the end of the garage next to other people on floor eighteen. I know however, some people pay extra money for certain spots.
Pierce led me down to the end of before stopping at the latest BMW 4 series convertible. The color itself was a dark silver that honestly made the BMW look like it belonged in a James Bond movie. I was never a huge car enthusiast but my brothers were. There's this specific look and vibe certain cars give. This one car looked flat out sexy.
"Ta da!" He spread his arms out like the car was a birthday surprise. The only surprise I was feeling was my jaw dropping. Never in my life would I be able to afford one of these cars. Everyone has a dream car, this one isn't mine, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't do anything to have a convertible like this. All I could do was stare at it and back at Pierce to make sure he wasn't kidding.
"This is your car?" I asked. When I was on campus I had seen this car parked in the student section. I had scoffed and rolled my eyes imagining how much of a jerk a student must be if their parents had gotten them such an expensive car. It seemed so pointless to have a car that costs so much when you're in college and probably struggling through debt. But if someone has enough money for a car like this, they obviously have enough money to pay for college.
"Yeah," Pierce looked back at the car. "She's my most prized possession. Just like that stupid bike is to Aaron."
I suddenly felt the pit of my stomach sink. What could they or their parents do to afford such a nice car? I never understood the big deal of why people spend so much money on cars, but later I started to realize it doesn't just show money and class, it's a possession you end up falling in love with and by the way Pierce was treating his car, he was definitely in love with his.
When I first got my car, I hated it. I hated it because it was passed down to me from my brothers. Then I started driving and now I would do anything for my car. Which is very impractical considering my car is an inanimate object.
The only other question that came to my mind is why would Aaron and Pierce need to share an apartment with me when they can obviously afford better.
"We can take your car if you want." Pierce added when I still didn't say anything.
I snorted, thinking of my rusty Volkswagen Jetta. It smells purely of nachos and barbecue smoke from the countless times my brothers took it to tailgates. I still couldn't believe I drove all the way here in that rust bucket.
"Where's your car?" Pierce asked looking around.
I pointed at the end, "You see that car that's a mix of blue and brown? That's Daisy."
"You named your car Daisy?"
"My brother did. He was eight."
"How old is he now?"
"Graduated college."
"Holy shit," Pierce said. "How is that car even running?"
I couldn't help but laugh. It was a question I was asked frequently by several people. No one truly knows how Daisy is still running, she just is. My brothers back home would have to repair her all the time. Eventually, they all saved enough to get their own cars. That left Daisy to me. And now that I'm living so far off from home, there's no way I would be able to buy a new car.
"We'll take your car," I said to Pierce. He unlocked his BMW and I quickly slid into the passenger's seat.
Pierce smiled climbing into the driver's. The car smelled new. New car smell is one of the best feelings in the world. The seats were leather and cushioned well. I can't even recall ever sitting in a sporty leather-seated car. It didn't feel like Pierce had this car for long. It was spotless inside, hardly any dust anywhere either. I was actually shocked by how nice it feels to be inside such a luxurious vehicle. This made Daisy look like scraps.
Poor Daisy.
"So where are we going?" Pierce asked as we pulled out of the building. There was an instant view of palm trees and people walking to the beach. The sun came down on us causing us to pull out our sunglasses.
I pulled out my phone giving him the address of one of the many places I was applying to. He nodded like he knew where the address was. "I want to practice learning where everything is." Pierce said after a minute of driving. I couldn't really see his eyes because they were hidden behind his shades.
"Also, now you can't lock yourself behind a door." He gave me a grin. It took me a moment to realize what he meant. I had been locking myself in my room so often that he had never had the chance to ask me questions. I guess now that I'm in a confided area with him, I have no choice.
I guess this is moment I die because he's going to drive us off a cliff, I thought to myself.
"You're driving me around to interrogate me?" I asked.
He didn't answer right away but then said, "So Parker..."
"Oh boy."
"Tell me about your family."
I laughed. Not necessarily because of the question, but because the thought about my family just hadn't crossed my mind. Ever since I moved here the most I had spoken to my mom was whenever she called to make sure I was ok. If I called my dad it was because I needed money transferred into my bank account. As for my brothers, the group chat we all have was composed of random pictures. One day I would send a picture of a seashell and in return I would get a shirtless picture of my brother pretending to be a giraffe.
"I have a mom and dad," I said casually. "And three older brothers that are a pain in my ass."
"Yeah I know how that can be." Pierce smirked. He rolled his eyes and for a second I wondered what his relationship with Aaron was like. Of course they're brothers, but are they the kind that get along or absolutely hate each other?
"What about you?" I asked. "Is it just you and Aaron?"
"Just me and Aaron."
"What about parents?"
"Well I wouldn't be alive without them," He gave me a small smile before looking back at the road. His jaw clenched slightly, "No. Aaron is my only family."
I raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Just him and me. Me and him. The duo."
"How'd you afford this car then?" I blurted out. "Or our apartment?"
Pierce laughed and gave me another dimple-faced smile. "We won the lottery."
I wasn't sure if he was serious or not. But it looked like he was. Sometimes it was hard to tell when Pierce and Aaron were lying or not.
In a few minutes of driving, Pierce found out my favorite food was Mac-N-Cheese. I found out he loves any baked goods. Or anything home-made. And his favorite meal is breakfast which is why his are always extraordinary. We talked about how I've always wanted to travel to other countries. And Pierce told me that the main reason he's studying linguistics is so he'll be able to do just that. He's learning about every language I could think of and the farthest I ever got in language studies was two years of high school Spanish.
We started talking about music. He likes just about anything and asked if Coldplay was my favorite because of the poster of my bed. We decided to turn on the radio trying to discover different stations. We settled for a Latino pop and as he drove, Pierce danced along.
"Here we are," Pierce parked outside of the hairdresser. I wasn't very experienced but I had heard they were asking for a receptionist. I used to work as a cashier at an ice cream parlor back home, I don't think being a receptionist would be that much different.
I got out of the car and even though I didn't expect Pierce to follow, he did. The moment we walked through the door we were greeted by the sound of blow-driers mixed with Latin music.
"Ey!" An older lady yelled at us. All the hairdressers turned in our direction. The little place was like a hole in the wall. Nothing too high end but they were very busy with customers. Every hairdresser in the vicinity had someone in their chair. On the side was a line of elderly ladies waiting with magazines in their hands.
The older hairdresser wiped her hands on her apron. She smiled at me walking to the empty reception desk, "¿Con que te puedo ayudar?"
"Uh..." I said stuttering.
Pierce put his hand on my shoulder, "Ella solo habla poco Español. Pero ella quiere practicar."
The hairdresser started laughing hysterically, "Your novio is a very good speaker."
"I'm not her boyfriend."
"He's not my boyfriend."
Pierce and I said it quickly. The message better be out because we both did not seem at all interested in one another. I may have only taken a few years of Spanish in high school, but I still understood certain words and phrases. My biggest regret was not taking it more seriously or following through with it all four years of high school. In Miami, Spanish is more commonly used than English. I am not at all prepared.
"Ah-hah." The hairdresser said before looking at me. "So what can I do for you, chica?"
I handed her the job request flier I had found. "I want a job."
The hairdresser pulled out her reading glasses before looking at me with a cocked eyebrow. "Says here, speak Spanish."
"Yo hablo poco Español." I said with a terrible accent. I could already feel my neck turning red. My whole body flinched at my terrible accent. I could only imagine what the other ladies were thinking.
Everyone seemed to look up at me. All the hairdressers started laughing. Hysterically. I hung my head down letting my hair fall and keep from them seeing how red I had turned. I couldn't blame them for laughing, I sounded utterly horrendous.
"Isabella," A hairdresser from the back said holding a pair of scissors away from her laughing client. "Give the gringa a chance."
"Por lo menos es bonita." Another added to her client.
Pierce stood behind me laughing softly at all the commentary. I instinctively hit him in the side which only seemed to make him laugh harder. When he spoke Spanish, it was noticeable it wasn't his first language. But it was good enough to understand exactly what he was saying. Whenever I spoke, everything just sounded wrong.
The hairdresser in front of me—Isabella—looked me up and down. I was pretty sure she was about to reject me, except a girl my age came up to her. She looked exactly like Isabella but twenty years younger. Tan skin, dark black hair, and deep brown eyes. Now, I may not know a lot about the different Hispanic nationalities, but she looked like she was from Puerto Rico or Venezuela.
"Mama," She said placing her hand on her mother's shoulder. "Ella es mi edad."
Isabella gave me another look before adding, "How old are you?"
"Almost twenty."
"Why you need job?" Isabella asked me suddenly curious.
"College..."
The young girl perked up. Unlike the rest of the ladies her English was just as perfect as her Spanish. "See Mama," She said. "She needs help. What would you do if I went somewhere for a job? I need to pay off college too."
Isabella rolled her eyes, "Mi amor, you don't need to find a job. You have job here."
"I can train her." The girl said. "I'll help her learn Spanish too. Gringas en Miami are the worst."
Isabella chuckled patting her daughter's hand that was placed on her shoulder. She glanced at me again and nodded. "Let me get you a form."
Isabella's daughter squealed. Pierce chuckled behind me, "Looks like you made a new friend that isn't me. Should I be jealous?"
"I'm Victoria." Isabella's daughter said basically tackling me into a hug. "You have no idea how happy I am you're here. I'm always surrounded by these viejas. It's nice seeing someone new, and my age."
"I'm Parker." I replied after Victoria branched away. I pointed at Pierce who gave one of his sly dimple-filled smiles. "This is Pierce he's my—"
"Roommate slash friend." He shook Victoria's hand and for a second I thought she was going to faint. Victoria and I spoke a little bit while waiting for her mother to come back. She kept her eyes trained on me and Pierce. Seeing her checking Pierce out almost had me laughing.
Isabella came back with a stack of papers. "Sientate and fill this out," She said handing it to me while pointing at a seat. "Victoria will call you in a few days to figure out your schedule."
"Thank you," I said looking between Isabella and Victoria. It was astounding how much Victoria looks like her mother. "Thank you so much."
After I finished filling out the paperwork and stapling my resume to the back, Pierce and I walked out of the salon and I couldn't control the smile on my face. "Happy?" Pierce asked. He was grinning at me like I had just opened his Christmas present to me and was wondering if I liked it or not.
We got into his car and he started blasting the AC. As he and I got settled he held a button down that started moving the roof of the car back. With our shades on and the top down, we started cruising through the parking lot and onto the interstate.
"Yeah," I answered grinning.
"Good," Pierce turned up the music. My hair was flowing through with the wind and neither of us could stop smiling. It was hard to hear him, but still manageable. "Let's go get some Cuban food. I'm starving."
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It's Monday :) I hate Monday's but I hope you liked my chapter enough that it was one good thing out of the day. Like promised, here it is.
Keep the little stars and comments going, they make me really happy to see :)
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