Page 99 of Neighbors With Benefits

Not for the purposes of joining the weird relationship I had with Aiden and Bash, of course. At this point, I just wanted him to treat me like anything other than an enemy.

He tossed me a pair of protective goggles and then pulled out his blowtorch thingy. I didn’t know the exact name for it, but it was hooked up to a tank of flammable gas, and he used it to melt metal. I gripped the long bar with gloved hands while he cut it into three smaller lengths, measuring before the cutting and after.

“So,” he said while climbing up the ladder to repair the last remaining hole in the greenhouse. “You and the guys still getting along?”

I gave a start. Was he actually trying to make conversation?

“Getting along? Is that what we’re calling it?”

He didn’t respond.

“Yeah, things are good,” I admitted. How much did he want me to say? “It sucks they’re both out of town at the same time.”

“They usually aren’t,” Dante said.

“That’s what Aiden said. This was just some emergency. It sucks.”

“Nah. It’s great.”

“It’s great? Why do you say that?”

Dante paused to do something at the top of the ladder. “I usually never get any alone time. It’s nice having the house all to myself.”

“Ah, I bet. I haven’t had a roommate since college. I like my own space.”

“Same,” he admitted. “But it’s nice to save money. And have someone who can water the plants. And since we’re all out of town so often, it makes less sense to live alone.”

“Definitely,” I said. This was the most conversation we’d had since I discovered him in my back yard Saturday morning.

“It’s definitely strange,” I said. “The whole… situation, I mean. It took me a while to wrap my head around it.”

“Uh huh.”

It felt like he was done chatting, but I decided to press my luck. “It’s cool, though. If it works. Being in a relationship with multiple guys, and they know about it… I never thought something like this could happen.”

“It’s easier with three guys,” he said. “Women are needy.”

“You’ve been hooking up with the wrong women, then.”

To my surprise, Dante barked a laugh. “That’s the first true thing you’ve said since moving in.”

I blinked at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means you hide things.”

“What? No I don’t.”

Dante glanced down at me. “First you hooked up with Aiden. You kept that a secret. Then you hooked up with Bash and kept that a secret, too.”

“Only because I wanted to tell Aiden in person!” I argued. “Besides, you guys kept the biggest secret from me. And Aiden lied about the text, and used his work phone to cover up the lie.”

“Yup,” Dante agreed. “Too much lying.”

“I hate lying,” I insisted. “I’m bad at it. Please don’t use the situation with your two roommates against me.”

“Okay,” he said.

“What do you mean, okay?” I asked.

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