“THERE ARE ONLY FOUR or five more boxes, and the label on this one is impossible to read. Do you know where you want it?” my brother asks from the doorway of my new place. Cam and his friends spent a few hours helping move me in. Most of them left a few minutes ago once the beer and pizza were gone. Now only a few remain, including Cam and Niko.
Jake and Niko walk in behind Cam, both carefully placing my flat screen TV down. I turn the box in Cam’s arms and stare at the squiggly line. The movers packed up a lot of my stuff, and by the handwriting, this is one of them.
“I think it says office,” I tell Cam and turn away so I don’t stare at the bulge of Niko’s arms as he and Jake make room for my television. I hear Cam walk down the hall and try to focus on anything but the man in front of me.
“Hey, sunshine, you want me to set this up for you while we’re here? I’ve got my tools in my truck. I’m not working tonight. I’m pretty sure Niko and Cam are both scheduled to work tonight, but I’d be more than happy to stick around to give you a hand with all this,” Jake asks me, and before I can say anything, Niko replies to Jake.
“Actually, Jake, I’m not working tonight, but it’s nice of you to keep tabs on my schedule.”
I look over to where Niko just spoke, Jake standing next to him. Although Niko has his back to me, I can see that his body appears rigid, like he’s tense and ready to blow up. I don’t know what he thinks, but what happened between us was indeed a one-time thing. I also get the feeling that Niko and Jake don’t care for one another. Interesting. Niko or no Niko, if I choose to get to know Jake, or any other man for that matter, it’s my right. I’m single.
After what I’ve dealt with in the past few months, I deserve to put myself out there. Play the field, so to speak. If Aly were here, she’d be pushing me to step out of my comfort zone. I know Jake is waiting for a reply, and when I look up at him, he winks at me.
“Um, sure. That would be great. Usually Cam does all that for me, but I’m sure he’d be happy to be let off the hook.” I smile at him, and Jake smiles back.
“We could grab dinner too. That way I can set up your surround sound. You know, take my time. Make sure I do it right and all that.”
Of course, Niko chooses that comment to turn around and glare at Jake, but I don’t care. He needs to mind his own business.
Jake is outright flirting with me now, and I’m honestly not feeling it, but I refuse to back down or let Niko know that I’m not interested in other men, especially while he’s standing here listening. I know I shouldn’t, but I want to push this. I want to see his reactions. See what Niko thinks.
“Sounds like a plan. Do you like Thai food?” I ask, grabbing my cell from the table.
“I love Thai. Whatever you get works for me. I’m not a picky man.”
I smile and then press the home button on my iPhone. “Hey Siri, find me a number for Thai food that delivers near me.”
“Why are you looking for Thai? We just had like twenty pizzas, Ev,” Cam says as he walks back into the room. Niko crosses his arms and smiles over at me before opening his big mouth, and I want to throw something at his smug face.
“Well, Sunshine here is planning on eating dinner with good old Bishop tonight while he helps her set up her surround sound and flat screen. Weren’t you doing that for her, Cam? That’s dirty of you to pass the job off on poor Jake here.”
“Sunshine? Who the hell is Sunshine?” Cam looks over at Jake and then to Niko, confusion written all over his face. Niko, the asshole that he is, moves his head toward me. Cam’s eyes light up as he swings his head toward Jake. I watch as his eyes narrow once it clicks for him. “Like hell he is! That’s my sister. My little sister.” He drags the word little out like we are all in special ed or something.
Really? And of course, Niko turns his head away, but not before I catch his smirk. Real mature, Nikolas.
“Well, your little sister isn’t so little, Hayes, or have you not noticed that we’re all here today helping her move into her own place?” Jake fires back, and I know this isn’t going to be good. My brother has always been protective of me, but he’s even worse now that he knows what’s going on with my ex. As much as I’d like to stick it to Niko right now, this isn’t a battle I want my brother to have with one of his firehouse buddies.
“It’s fine. It wasn’t like a date or anything, Cam. Calm down. I just figured I’d save you the time. I know you’re working tonight. It can wait if it’s that big a deal. No reason for you two to go all crazy over nothing,” I say, trying to diffuse the tension that Niko caused for nothing other than the fact that he’s a jerk. “He was only offering to help.”
“I bet he was,” my brother says to me, but he’s still giving poor Jake the famous Hayes stare down.
“Everyone is calm, Everly. No worries,” Niko says with his hands up as if he were surrendering.
Yeah, right.
Cam grabs the box from where he dropped it a few minutes ago and stands to eye Niko and Jake. Finally, he lets it go, bringing another box to me and placing in on the table.
“This one has no label. What do you want me to do with it?” Happy to change the subject, I grab the box cutter and walk over to Cam and the box. I ignore the testosterone levels in the room and try to forget that Niko is not even ten feet from me. I swear I can smell him from here, and it makes me remember things I shouldn’t.
I pull the box open and realize it’s some office items I packed last minute. I must have used this as my miscellaneous box when I got tired of packing.
“It’s just odds and ends. Mostly office things. This can stay here on the table until I get my desk and everything in my office set up.” Cam pulls the flap open after I just closed it and started pulling a few things out.
“Everly Hayes! Do you collect every colored Post-it known to mankind? What is your deal with them?” He’s sarcastic, but I don’t care. I don’t judge him for being the most unorganized slob ever known to mankind.
“They keep me organized. Just put them back, okay?” I pull the brand new rainbow-colored package of Post-it notes from my brother’s hands. He’s always teased me about it since I started doing it in junior high school.
“I don’t understand you. We live in a time where we use Siri to set reminders for us on our cell phones, but yet, you have a paper calendar and Post-it notes all over the place to remind you to take a piss at certain hours of the day. I told Mom and Dad they should have had you evaluated. It’s just not normal.”
“Bite me, Cameron. You’re not normal. You’d forget your name if someone wasn’t constantly saying it to remind you of who you are, so shut it and put my stickies down. I don’t need to ask Siri everything all the time. Sometimes you need an old-fashioned reminder rather than to rely on some computer or electronic device. You should try it sometime. Maybe then you’d remember more than your birthday!”
Hands up, he steps back, laughing at my outbursts. “Touchy, touchy, little sister. I’m just saying. You need to step into the now and leave 2005 behind you. Times have changed, and I have to say for the better. And I already said I was sorry about missing your birthday. I was on call that day, and it slipped my mind. I did call you, though.”
I roll my eyes and stuff the pads back in the box. “Whatever, Cameron. You called me at one in the morning the next day. You know what? Niko was right—you are an ass.” The mention of Niko causes Cam to laugh harder, and I want to punch him in his neck. Niko, who is helping Jake with some of the bigger stuff, seems to be ignoring us, but I know he’s listening. You can just tell.
“Speaking of Niko.” Cam says and claps his hands together. “Where do you get your supply of Post-it notes, Ev? Niko here had his bone broken by some hooker at the pub not too long ago. She left him high and dry after a wild, rock ‘em sock ‘em night of dirty sex and had the nerve to leave him with nothing but a Post-it note thanking his junk for his services.”
My eyes grow wide, and I look over to Niko who stiffens and then tells Jake he needs a break. They put the treadmill down where they’re standing, and Niko turns to glare at my brother while Jake smiles, trying to hold in a laugh I’m sure.
“Maybe Ev can give you her supplier, and you can track down the chick that wrecked you for all womankind. You can track her down as they do on that damn CSI show you watch, bone her again, and get that shit out of your system so we can all get back to normal, eh?”
“Fuck off, Cam. Cut the shit already, would you? This is getting old.” Niko storms off and heads outside.
I don’t blame him. My brother is being a total dick, and I’m basically to blame for it. I hit my brother on the back of his head for being rude.
“Ouch! What was that for, dammit!” he says, rubbing the spot I just smacked.
“For being rude. Niko is here on his day off, helping me, your sister, move into a new place. He doesn’t have to be here, and you’ve been giving him a hard time all day. Cut it out before he leaves, and then you’ll be stuck here helping all alone.” A throat clears behind us, and I turn to see Jake sitting on one of the breakfast stools.
“I just want to state for the record that all is normal on my end,” Jake says with a mischievous grin.
“Shut up, rookie. Don’t get Niko fired up again. I’ll have to hold him back from kicking your ass when we all leave. Trust me, he’s a dirty fighter.”
“Seriously, Cameron? You’re telling other people not to antagonize Niko, but you haven’t stopped since you guys got here. What is wrong with you guys?” I don’t understand men sometimes. It’s like having third graders in front of me all day and having to play referee or they’ll kill each other. This is why I’m never having kids. I’d be too afraid of having a child that would turn out like my brother.
“I’ve got no plans tonight, so I can stay and help with whatever you need. I’m just letting you know. All’s good here.” Jake says as he smiles at me.
“Yeah? Well, you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here. So whatever thoughts you had about Thai tonight for dinner with Sunshine here, you can go get it on your own, because my sister is off limits, Bishop.”
“I was just offering to help, Hayes. I figured if you and Niko are working tonight, I’d be a gentleman and stay. I was only being helpful.”
“I’m sure you were, but actually, Niko’s not working tonight. I am, and Niko already offered to stay and help my sister with the rest, and setting up, so you can get gone anytime you’d like. She’s all set.”
I glance over to the door where Niko is coming in with another box and raise my eyebrow. Niko looks like this is brand-new news to him, but he doesn’t say anything to correct Cam. Good Lord. What am I missing?
I look back toward Cam and Jake, only now the two of them seem to be having some standoff in my new living room, and I’m not sure what to do. Niko notices the tension in the room. He looks at Cameron, then Jake, and then over to me. I shrug, and he narrows his eyes at me. I don’t think he likes when I do that, but whatever.
“All good in here?” he says and looks at Cam.
Cam pulls his eyes from Jake and nods his head. “Yeah. Everything’s good. We about done out there?”
“Yeah. Just two more boxes and then she’s golden.”
He looks around at the mess of boxes piled everywhere. “Well . . . all the lifting is done anyway.”