Part 7 (1/2)
Both Raven and Xander stare at me as if I'm intruding. The three of us have been sleeping together for over a decade and suddenly I'm an intruder. In my own f.u.c.king bed.
”Where am I supposed to sleep?”
They both look at the ceiling, the floor, the wall, anywhere but directly at me.
”Forget it,” I turn my back on the two of them before I say something I'll really regret.
Then I hear the door close without so much as a goodnight.
I know I shouldn't, but I put my ear to the door and listen for a few seconds. My heart sinks when they start laughing again. Obviously they're having a great time without me.
As much as I hate to do it I don't have much of a choice. I make my way to the main house and knock on Rayne and Harper's bedroom door.
I'm not surprised when Rayne opens the door and he's in nothing but his boxer briefs. I am surprised when he wipes sleep from his eyes.
”Dude, it's not even ten thirty.”
”Harper likes to go to sleep early.”
I pantomime a whip and make an exaggerated whipping sound.
He rolls his eyes at me. ”I know. I'm whipped.” Then he stares at me for a long moment as if he's trying to figure out why I'm standing at his bedroom door in the middle of the night.
”I need someplace to sleep.”
His eyes narrow. ”You sleep with Xander and Raven.”
”I used to sleep with them. Apparently I don't anymore.”
He rubs his forehead for a few seconds. ”And you're not sleeping with Brooke.”
”Not yet,” I correct.
”Give me a sec, okay?”
”I'm not going anywhere.”
He shuts to door. A few seconds pa.s.s before the door opens again. I'm surprised to see it's Harper in fuzzy bunny slippers and a gigantic robe that looks about five sizes too big. She looks like she belongs in a cartoon.
”The guest room next to Brooke's is clean and ready.” She's much too perky for just waking up. Not that she isn't too perky most of the time. It just seems to grate on my nerves this late at night.
Or maybe I'm just p.i.s.sed that everyone has a bed buddy but me.
”Thanks,” I mutter.
”Where's your stuff?”
I'm not sure why I'm suddenly embarra.s.sed. Not much embarra.s.s me. But I feel like a man without a home.
When she glances down at my empty hands I realize the few belongings I own are still in Xander and Raven's bedroom. What a friggen weird concept to think of Xander and Raven having a bedroom that doesn't include me.
”I'll get it tomorrow,” I try to sound as laid-back as possible, even though it's still killing me inside.
She bites her bottom lip like she wants to say more, but doesn't want to at the same time.
”Just say it,” I urge.
”Do you need something to sleep in? Pajamas?”
”Rayne has some I can borrow?” I laugh. The Rayne I've known my whole life used to sleep in the nude. I've never seen the guy wear pajamas. Of course that was before Harper.
As her face reddens I realize I may have crossed the line just a bit. At least Rayne's not here at the moment. I don't want him to punch me for saying something inappropriate to his girl. He's extremely protective of Harper.
She shakes her head. ”No-um-Nic doesn't...”
”It's okay. I don't need pajamas.”
She exhales and then I follow her as she leads me toward the guest bedroom, which is right next to Brooke's room. My entire body heats when I think about the two of us making out against her bedroom door less than an hour ago.
”There's one thing I need to tell you,” Harper says as she opens the door and I follow her into the room.
”What's that?” The place is really decked out. It's a lot nicer than the room I shared with Xander and Raven in the guest house, and I thought that room was great.
”You share a bathroom with Brooke.”
I do my best to bite back a grin. Talk about being dealt a winning hand. My mind fills with all the ways I can accidently run into Brooke in the bathroom.
Harper wrings her hands. ”I just thought you should know. About the bathroom.” She clears her throat. ”If you're not going to wear pajamas.”
I laugh. ”Brooke's already seen me naked. I spent an entire night inside of her.” And oh, what a night it was. I'm already at half-mast just thinking about it.
When I see she's frowning I try to be a little more of a gentleman. ”I'll knock on the bathroom door. I won't just barge in.”
”Good idea.” She glances around the big a.s.s room. It's as large as the finest luxury suites we've stayed in on tour. ”If you need anything else, just let me know.”
”I'm good,” I a.s.sure her.
”Good night then.” She obviously wants to say more because she's made no move to actually leave.
”You're marrying my cousin,” I tell her. ”You're family. You can say whatever you want.”
She gulps. Harper is definitely not like anyone I've ever known. In high school good girls like Harper wouldn't give bad boys like me a second look. And girls like Harper definitely don't f.u.c.k rock stars.
Except for Rayne.
But he's different.
If he had a family that gave a s.h.i.+t about him he could have gone to college. Probably even Harvard. But then he probably wouldn't have been a celebrity. Life is weird that way.