Page 3 of Refusing Kendall

Small victories, got to take them where I can, since they out number me four to one on most things.

We push through the double doors at the end of the hallway and come out into a small area that’s marked off by temporary fences. Behind those, people stand, sometimes the whole game, just to get autographs from the team. If we are wanting to rush away from the stadium, we will walk out in a big group and catch them all at once. Normally though, the guys are super nice and spend at least thirty to forty-five minutes after each game signing autographs and just talking to them. Today is no different.

I hang back a little and just watch them taking selfies with the crowd and signing stuff that’s shoved in their faces. Goose is the first one to make it to the end of the line, and he holds a hand out to me, “Ready to go home?”

When I nod, he leads us away from the swarm and towards Lucas’ truck. A big black burly beast. Most people probably think that he’s a spoiled rich kid for it. Anyone who’s on the inside and know the four of them, however, know that even before me, they were always together. Big vehicles are a must around my quad, so they will all fit inside.

Lucas races around us and jumps into the driver’s seat as Goose climbs in behind me in the back. Teagan takes the other seat beside me, and Mav hops into the passenger side. I lean into Goose as Lucas backs the truck out and gets us started down the road.

Torturous Payback

The house the guys rented for us is only a block away from my campus, which is simply a sister school to theirs. It looks like it was built around the same time as the school, but the upkeep on it has been outstanding. I guess that has more, at least in part, to do with how close it is to both colleges. Rich parents are more likely to spend more money on the nicer places.

I never asked how much they dropped on this place, but I’m sure that it wasn’t cheap at all. It’s got that historic southern feel to it. The only downside to living this close to campus is it’s like everyone is practically living on top of each other. Houses all along the block are just shoved in as close as they can get together, having only tight spaces in between for the owner or renter’s vehicles. Mav’s Rover fits in the space just fine, but Lucas’s truck won’t even come close. He always has to park it on the street in front of the house.

There are four windows that face the street, and their red shutters stand out against the white siding. The only other window on the front is a tiny thing that leads into the basement. My favorite part about the house are the porches. Double stacked on top of each other on the right side, they are accessible by almost any room. The front door, itself, doesn’t lead into the house. It leads into the bottom half of the porch, then you have to go through another locked door to get into the house. I think that extra precaution makes the guys feel better about leaving me here alone throughout the week. I won’t lie, it makes me feel a little better, too.

We hop down from the truck and make our way inside. Goose is the first to the door, so he unlocks it and stands to the side to let me go first.Damn.That stuff I threw in several crockpots this morning smells delish.

As if he’s reading my mind, Goose wraps his arms around me from behind. His over six-foot body is so much taller than my own, and it makes me feel like I’m wrapped up in a Goose cocoon.Mmmm.

He breaks my train of thought, “I don’t know what you’ve got cooking, but it smells so fucking good in here.” Kissing the top of my head, he lets me go, and I follow him down the hall into the kitchen with the other guys right behind us. Something that I had to learn early on this season is that after a game, there’d best be food waiting. Otherwise, we risk four grown men full of testosterone and coming down off an adrenaline high getting hangry. It’s a legit thing around here. Someone could lose an arm or something, if they aren’t fed.

I drop my jacket on one of the chairs around our little dining room table, in the corner of the kitchen, as the guys head straight for the food. A small smile plays on my lips, and I shake my head at them as I watch them trying all of the stuff in the crockpots. That smile turns to a giggle as Teagan says, “Fuck,” and drops a chicken wing on the counter.

His chocolate-colored eyes narrow on me playfully, but I just shrug my shoulders, “What do you expect when you’re pulling food straight from the cooker?”

With a smile still on my face, I make my way over to the fridge to pull out some drinks for us. Next thing I know, T has me up in his arms twirling us around the kitchen. Only he would be able to dance to a beat that no one else can hear. He buries his face into my hair, “You know I could always get you back for that later.”

I get chill bumps down my arms both from his words and his hot breath in my ear. “Promise?” I whisper back.

He chuckles softly in my ear before placing me back on my feet. Turning my head, I capture his lips with my own. A few quick teases of his tongue gives me all the answer that I need to my question. His long-blond hair, that he has still yet to cut, falls around his face and caresses my cheek. Much to my dismay, he pulls back to go back to making himself a plate. I notice none of the other three have even batted an eye at his open display of affection.

Lucas is the only one that holds back as the other three make their plates and head off towards the basement, where our family room is set up. He holds an empty plate out to me with a smile, “Nothing ever changes, huh? Get us around food, and we become animals.”

I laugh as he wraps his arms around me and places a kiss against my lips. Grinning down at me, with those blue eyes crinkling around the edges, he says, “Make yourself a plate, baby. Then we can go downstairs and give the guys shit for not letting you go first.”

Letting out another small laugh, I place one more brief kiss on his lips before doing as he says. I’ve never been one to be shy around eating in front of people, even the guys. Before Gramps passed away, I would have said that I could probably lose a few pounds and be okay. There was no way of knowing I’d drop close to fifty in a matter of a few weeks just from not eating. Depression is no joke. It’ll suck you down into a black hole that you have to fight your way out of. Mav keeps giving me shit about putting my weight back on, but I don’t really care either way. Skinny. Fat. I am who I am.

Lucas makes no remark as I add a couple of the wings to my already stacked plate. I think he’s just as happy as Mav is to see me eating more, but only he doesn’t say anything about it. I wait for him, and we walk down together to join the guys.

This old house is truly amazing. The door from the porch leads into a very small sitting room. We made it into a small study area with a desk and setups for my laptop. I used it a lot more when we first got here. When the days were hot enough to fry an egg on the concrete, I’d hide inside with the air conditioner away from the heat. That’s summertime in the south. Now that the days are cooling off, I spend most of my time outside on the upper level porch. Only when the guys aren’t here, though. Studying while they’re here means that we’re all downstairs together. Teagan is the only one who will study with me outside. Past the small study, is the ginormous kitchen. It was recently remodeled with new, modern updates. It now has all chrome appliances, tan marble countertops, an island bar in the middle, and copper-colored sink. It’s such a large space that there’s room for a small dining room table over to the side that separates the study and kitchen. Though, we hardly ever use it.

There is a doorway in the back-left corner that leads back to the first-floor bathroom and master bedroom, or my room to be exact. With four bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs, the guys decided to let me have the master. I wanted to argue at first, but it’s always four against one on these kinds of matters, so I’m screwed either way.

Stairs leading up to the guys’ bedrooms are off to the right of the kitchen, and beside them, are the steps leading down to the basement. There’s a door that leads to both sets of stairs, but we never have it shut. I tend to forget that it’s even there sometimes.

Lucas follows behind me as I take those stairs down to the rest of the guys. The only noise that can be heard is an announcer from whatever game they decided to put it on. Normally their quiet would be worrisome, but I know that they’re too busy stuffing their faces to be yelling at the TV.

Three sets of eyes turn to me as we walk into the room. I could give them shit like Lucas suggested earlier, but I decide not to. I take a seat on the floor between Goose’s legs, so I can eat from the coffee table.

Lucas doesn’t let them off so easy, “You animals. Not letting Kendall get all her food first before you tore into everything. I thought we were raised better than that.”

If I thought it was quiet before, it’s deadly silent now. I can literally feel their shock as they look back and forth between him and me. Keeping my eyes on the food sitting in front of me, I’m hoping that I can hide the smile that’s trying to burst free on my face. Goose draws in a breath behind me like he’s going to say something, no doubt getting ready to apologize, when Lucas starts laughing. My laugh breaks free as his own over takes him.

“That’s so fucked up dude,” T says before turning to me. “He’s right, though. I’m sorry I didn’t let you go first. It just smelled so good.”

I wink at him, “It’s okay. Honestly. Luc was just trying to give you a hard time.”

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