Forced Proximity (Bluebell House Duet Book 1)
Forced Proximity: Chapter 35

The mouthwatering scents of rich Italian tomato sauce hit my nose before I even opened the front door to Bluebell House that evening, and I groaned with hunger. I’d been too worked up about the Connor-Lacey thing at lunch to really eat, but now I was starving.

“That smells amazing,” I commented, kicking off my shoes in the foyer before excitedly hurrying through to the kitchen. My mood instantly soured when I realized who was cooking.

“Thanks, brat,” Connor replied, standing at the stove with a wooden spoon in hand. “How come you’re home so late?”

I pinched my lips together, trying not to let my feelings show all over my face. “I was catching up with Nina. She just got back last night from visiting her aunt in Vietnam.”

Connor looked like he was about to say something else, but I had come to a few harsh realities today, the biggest being that, despite his softened demeanor, he did not like me as anything more than his housemate. Everything else I’d imagined between us was just that: imagined. It was a bitter pill to swallow, and to be totally frank, it was embarrassing. So I’d made a pact with myself to just…gain a little distance. Let the hero worship die down.

Rather than hang around to chat, I abruptly left the kitchen and went upstairs to drop my books and charge my laptop up.

“Evie babe,” Brodie sang out, appearing in my doorway as I dropped my things on my bed. “I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever. Wanna have a sleepover in my room?”

My cunt blushed. “Forever? Brodie baby, we spent all Saturday night fucking in a dirty motel. I’m still sore.”

He gave an exaggerated pout, coming into my room and closing the door with his heel. “So…does that mean no sleepover? Or yes, sleepover so long as I promise to be gentle?”

I wet my lips, watching him prowl closer. God damn he was one handsome human being. I felt the need to pinch myself because surely it wasn’t real that Brodie Keller—the Brodie Keller—was currently looking at me like his favorite dessert.

“You can be gentle? I don’t believe you,” I taunted, tipping my head back to maintain eye contact when he came toe to toe with me. “Prove it.”

I was waving a red flag in front of a bull but I couldn’t help myself. Brodie smiled, his hand cupping the back of my neck ever so softly as he lowered his lips to mine. The kiss he offered was painfully gentle, slow and tender as he took his sweet fucking time exploring my lips with feather-soft caresses. I tried to lure him into a more passionate embrace but he held me firm, setting the pace and proving his fucking point.

“I don’t think I like you being gentle,” I grumbled.

Brodie smirked. Evil bastard. “I dunno, Evie babe, I could get used to this. Look how worked up you just got from a kiss. I bet those panties are soaked right now, aren’t they?”

They absolutely were. Totally saturated, to the point where I’d need to change before heading down to dinner for fear of sliding off my seat. And yet, I couldn’t seem to make myself put a foot on the brake.

I licked my lips. “Want to replace out?”

Brodie’s eyes blew wide, his pulse thumping in his throat at my eye level. “Fuck yes I do.”

Except apparently, fate had other ideas and a knock on my bedroom door made us pause. The boys of this house weren’t big on knocking politely. They usually knocked once, then yelled whatever they came to say through the door.

“Who is it?” I called out, frowning. If it was Andrew coming to play dad again, I’d probably kick him in the nuts. He was getting right on my last freaking nerve.

“It’s Lacey,” the surprising answer came, making me stiffen up like a board. “Connie invited me over for dinner but I thought we could hang out while he’s cooking?”

I stifled a groan, and Brodie gave me a puzzled look. “Lacey?” he asked softly. “As in Connor’s Lacey?”

Apparently, he also didn’t know she was returning to Meadowridge, but he definitely knew all about Lacey herself. When I nodded, his smile lit up and he quickly threw open my bedroom door to greet the perfect specimen of a woman standing there.

“Lace-face! You’re back!” he exclaimed, wrapping her in a huge hug and really sending a sharp pain through my chest. Did everyone love her? Christ, what the fuck was she doing dating a moody grump like Connor?

“Brodester! Holy shit, I missed you!” She laughed as she hugged him back, and a sick sensation of pure jealousy swelled in my gut. “Did you get bigger? Damn, they were working you hard onset for Resurrection, huh?” She squeezed his bicep and I nearly choked on my own tongue.

Brodie laughed at that and released her, gesturing for me. “So you already met Evie? When’d that happen? Aren’t you supposed to be in Haiti for another six months?”

Lacey rolled her eyes and shot me a smile as if to say, this guy! “I was in Malawi this time. Haiti was last year, doofus.” Shifting her attention to me, she shrugged. “I work with a volunteer organization that provides schools and housing to poverty-stricken communities.”

I nodded, trying really freaking hard not to be a bitch to the literal reincarnation of Princess Diana, but damn it was tough when her perfectly manicured hand was on Brodie’s arm.

Snap out of it, Eve. She’s not a fucking threat, you cavewoman.

“That’s…very admirable,” I muttered, brushing past Brodie. “We were just heading downstairs to play Call of Duty.”

Brodie gave me a squinty look. “We were? I thought we were about to⁠—”

“Play COD,” I cut him off sharply. “Yes, we are. I promised Haze a rematch before dinner.”

Total bullshit, I’d done nothing of the sort. But Lacey’s arrival at our house had really turned the cold taps on that heated moment with Brodie so that wasn’t going to continue. Maybe I could sneak away for dinner tonight or something.

Leaving her standing there with Brodie, I raced downstairs to replace the house abuzz with conversation. Our other roommates had returned, and everyone stood in the kitchen catching up. I found myself pausing just outside the door, enjoying the banter between Andrew and Connor, Haze even piped up every now and then with his dry humor that I secretly loved, and for once, Ethan and Connor weren’t in the middle of a sibling rivalry which should have died out when they were kids.

“You have the worst luck with students,” Connor said, laughing, like the asshole he was. “How do you manage to replace them naked in your office at least once a week?”

Okay, now they really had my attention.

Brodie appeared behind me as I leaned in to listen, but he didn’t push me to enter the room, choosing to wrap his hands around my hips and hold me against his hard length. Fuck. I almost groaned and gave our position away.

“Trust me, I kick their asses out so fast, their tits flap in the fucking breeze. It’s annoying as hell, but rich bitches think the world owes them everything, and they can’t seem to take no for an answer. If any of them cost me Eve with this bullshit, I will murder them.”

Well well, who knew the threat of murder could be so romantic?

My fists still clenched at the thought of those thirsty bitches, the cut on my palm smarting at me, and Brodie chuckled lightly. “Easy there, Evie babe. You heard Ethan. He hasn’t got eyes for any other student in the college.”

I was distracted when Andrew asked, “Why didn’t you do the same with Eve? I replace it odd that after two years as a professor, turning down students left, right, and center, you suddenly found yourself dick deep in the one we need to keep safe.”

Need to keep safe? What the fuck was he talki⁠—

“What’s happening?” Lacey asked, having finally joined us downstairs. I had no idea what she’d been doing since I raced out of my room, but hopefully it wasn’t planting cameras in there to spy on me. No one could be as altruistic as she appeared…there had to be a dark side.

Clearing my throat, I stepped into the kitchen like I hadn’t been creepily hovering outside the door. Brodie remained close, and when I crossed to press my lips against Ethan’s, I found myself sandwiched between the two.

When my gaze met Haze’s neutral expression, I remembered my excuse for rushing down here. “We need to have our rematch of Call of Duty,” I said, hoping he’d play along.

I did my best not to glance over to where Connor and Andrew stood, though my curiosity over what he’d meant by keeping me safe was filling my brain to capacity.

There’d been so many little oddities I’d ignored since meeting Andrew Knightsbridge, starting with his actual interest in me in the first place, followed by the weird fight in the dining hall and the punishment that followed.

Now that I knew them all better, absolutely none of this situation made an ounce of fucking sense. In my stupid grief, trauma, and sleep deprivation, I’d just been ignoring all the warning signs and red flags in my life, but my spark of clarity today—and maybe that full night’s sleep—was opening my eyes in a whole new way. Andrew was up to something, and it involved me.

“That’s right. I’ll get it loading,” Haze said, striding toward the door like he’d known this was the plan all along.

Lacey squealed, and I wondered why she stood so close to me and my guys, and hadn’t raced around to hang off her massive boyfriend, who stirred his stupid pasta on the other side of the island. “I don’t know how to game,” she said, “but I love to watch. It’s so cool that you can hold your own with the boys. I knew there was a reason I liked you.”

Liked me? She’d known me for about eight seconds of life, and I was the chick who had all but taken her place in this group, crushing on every guy in this house, including her boyfriend. Not that she knew that part of the equation, but still, this was weird.

“I’m really not that good,” I mumbled, before shooting her what had to be the most awkward smile in existence. I felt like a fucking alien wearing a skin suit with no idea how humans actually acted.

Sure enough, the other guys were all looking at me weirdly, which I ignored as I made my legs move into the living room. Haze already had the system set up, and I crashed on the couch a few feet from him, wondering if the horror of my awkwardness was still written all over my face.

“I need to change your bandage,” he said, glancing at the space between us. Lacey was temporarily wiped from my mind when he adjusted his seat, moving us much closer together, until I could feel the heat from his arm near mine.

“Yeah, thanks. I don’t want it to get infected.”

There wasn’t a lot of pain, just tenderness when I clenched my hand, so I figured it was healing fairly well.

Haze made quick work of rebandaging my hand, but our fingers brushed on multiple occasions which earned a wide-eyed stare of confusion from Brodie when he entered the room.

My back straightened when the others joined us, Lacey chatting animatedly to Andrew, who was actually smiling and chatting back. She had them all completely charmed, and all I could think was how hard it had been for me to win even the smallest step of trust and friendship with half the guys in Bluebell House. Lacey, on the other hand, was their favorite darling, knowing everything about their lives and showing genuine caring in her questions and conversation.

Monster.

“Boom!” Brodie shouted. “Evie, headshot again. Babe, what’s happening? You’re letting Haze own you.”

He dropped down on my free side, and Ethan slid in between my legs on the floor, the pair offering me comfort, though I doubted they knew how badly I needed it. Even Haze being so close felt nice, and for the first time since I’d run into Lacey this morning, I was finally able to relax.

Until Connor opened his big fucking mouth. “Maybe last night was just a fluke. You oversold your skills, brat.”

Focusing on the game for the first time, I grunted in response, not bothering to give him more of my time than that. The focus at least allowed me to get my head back into the game, even as I swore I felt a green-eyed gaze boring into the side of my face.

I managed to kill a few more of the bots we played against and got Haze more than once, and all the time Connor kept niggling at me. “Pouting doesn’t suit you, Evelyn,” he grumbled at one point, and I swung around like I hadn’t even known he was there.

“Oh, Sullivan. I thought you were on kitchen duty today. Shouldn’t you be checking on the pasta?”

He smirked, and the temptation to smack it off his face was strong. “It’s well in hand. You’ll replace that there’s very little outside of my control. Ever.”

Was that fucking right? Well, he was about to learn a hard lesson then. “You know what?” I said brightly, before I reached out and wrapped my hands around Ethan and Brodie’s shoulders. “I’m not really feeling pasta. I think a nice dinner out is exactly what we need tonight. A few drinks, food that’s edible, and a chance to relax. What do you think, boys?”

Brodie was on his feet before I even finished speaking, and while Ethan turned his shrewd gaze on me, sensing I remained out of sorts, thankfully he didn’t call me out in front of everyone. He just tilted his head and pressed his lips to my hand on his shoulder. “That sounds perfect, and I know just the place.”

He got up first and pulled me to my feet, all but lifting me into his arms.

“Don’t wait up for us,” Brodie called, bouncing on his toes. “It’s fucking date night.”

Date night with two guys. Well, that was one way to take my mind off the other shit in my life.