Page 5 of Messing With My Brother's Best Friends

“The one where all the spoons were blackened?”

Apparently that was from cooking up heroin, something I hadn’t known was a thing until now. Barbie took one look at the cutlery, the place, and the inhabitants and steered us right out the door.

“I’m fairly sure these guys aren’t junkies.” We both looked back up the path speculatively, but she didn’t see what I saw. My teenage tormentors come back to haunt me. It was only the dire situation with rentals right now that even had me considering the idea of going inside with them. “You’ve obviously got some history with these guys.”

I nodded slowly before turning back to face them. Because I wasn’t eighteen anymore. I didn’t need to scuttle out of anywhere to get clear of them.

“Barbie…” I said. “These are my brother’s best friends and co-owners of his business. That’s Gage.” The prick barely nodded in acknowledgement. “And the one with a gormless smile is Van.” I watched it fade, feeling a surge of satisfaction when Van’s hand went to his chin in concern. “And that bastard is Connor.” I turned to face her. “You know how teenage brothers live to torment their sisters? Well, officially I only had one brother, but in reality I had four. They spent their entire existence invading my space, annoying the hell out of me, and basically making my life miserable.”

“Oh.” Her face fell. “So, no pool then?”

“Maybe we could take this inside?” Connor said coolly, looking out across the quiet street, nodding to the neighbours out cutting their lawns. “You can discuss all of our shortcomings over a cup of coffee.”

“How do I know you won’t use Mylanta instead of milk?” I asked sharply, remembering that particular incident all too well. “Or milk that’s off?”

“Because…” He tried to smile and failed, looking across to the other guys for support, but I didn’t give a rat’s arse about their opinions right now. “Because that was nine years ago, Kendall. We’re not the same dickheads doing dumb shit to get a girl’s attention anymore.”

“Get my attention?”

I didn’t want to be doing any of this. Not looking at people’s sheds or their corridors and considering paying nearly four hundred bucks a week for it. I assumed by now I’d meet a great guy, get married, have my own house I was paying off, not my rent going towards other people’s mortgages. Instead, I just stared at Connor, unable to stop myself from taking in all the ways he’d changed. There was no sign of the boy anymore, he was all man, a big, tall, so very muscular man.

While being convinced he hadn’t changed at all.

“You’re trying to tell me all of the crap you put me through was a way to get my attention?”

My voice was getting so shrill, only a dog would be able to hear it.

“Hey.” Barbie’s voice jerked me out of the rage spiral I was just starting to spin into. “Look at me.” I couldn’t do anything else but, her familiar face suppressing the urge to spontaneously start murdering people. “Lets just go inside and see what the place is like. Maybe it's ugly, mouldy, and has bad Feng Shui?”

“No mould, and if you don’t like it, we can remodel it.” Van’s words came out in a messy tumble, and I just stared at him. “I mean, we know how.”

He nodded to the work van that sported the same logo that was plastered across my brother’s work car: The Three Musketeers Construction. They used to pretend to be the musketeers when they were kids, arguing over which one of them was d’Artagnan.

“A room with access to a pool and guys who’re prepared to remodel it to your tastes?” She was using her best dickhead whisperer voice, pleading with me to be reasonable. “C’mon, you’ve gotta take a look.”

“G’day, mate,” another voice said from beyond the fence, and I turned around to see several guys standing there. “I’m here about the room?”

“Room’s taken.”

Gage nodded to the lot of them, his steely glare having them nodding and pulling away, ready to go back to their car. When his focus shifted back to me, one eyebrow rose slowly, willing me to contradict him. I saw the challenge and felt a need to step up to it, but the days of me being provoked by the three of them were long gone. I nodded and smiled, just like I did with difficult customers, showing way too much teeth.

This was just a quick pit stop. I could use this little catch up as a means to grab a drink and recollect my thoughts, working out what to do next. Mum and Dad had moved out of the city when property prices started going up, and had said I could always move back in with them…

“Fine,” I said with little grace. “Just a quick cuppa and then I’ll leave you to interview other people.”

“Still take it with milk and two sugars?” Van asked as I stepped into the house, watching me pause and take the place in with wide eyes. It was perfect. Of course, it was. This is what they did all day. Buy up old, dated places and then do them up before flipping them.

“Black,” I said, trying to stuff down my excitement as I took in the open plan living area, the glossy granite tiled floor. My focus shifted to Van, meeting his stare head on. “Like my soul.”

“Black coffee it is,” he said, wandering over to a shiny new coffee machine that almost had me salivating. The bakery I worked at didn’t even have something as fancy as that.

“So,” Connor said, leaning over the counter, no doubt aware that every muscle was popping, hoping to catch Barbie’s eye. “It’s been a while. What’ve you been up to?”

Chapter 4

Gage

I wanted to lock the front door. The need to grab my keys and shove it into the deadlock, making it impossible for anyone to come in or out, rode me hard.

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