Page 60 of One Timer With A Wingman

I follow Aaron into the house. I’ve never been here before but my friends have described it to me. Before three of the guys living here got into serious relationships, this place was party central and the guys had a revolving door of girls.

The house is neat and the furniture is masculine. Aaron said everyone is still in bed. As we pass through the family room, he shouts, “House meeting, be down here in ten.”

My eyes bulge and he turns around. “Don’t worry. I just need everyone here. We don’t have a lot of time.”

I follow him through a swinging door, and we end up in a kitchen. It’s newish looking with stainless steel appliances and nice counters. It looks nothing like the place I am renting. Our appliances are from the late 90s and the cabinets must be from the 70s.

Aaron gets to work, taking two bagels out of the bag. “Do you want toasted?”

It takes me a moment to answer him. “Uh, that’s okay.”

“Do you like cream cheese? I got cinnamon flavored cream cheese or plain. Hope I did okay.”

“You did great. I’ll have the cinnamon,” I say.

“Okay.”

Aaron gets to work spreading the cheese on our bagels. He takes the two plates over to the table and waves me over to sit beside him.

“If anyone walks in right now, there are going to be lots of questions,” I say to him.

He gives me a knowing look.

“We have about seven minutes before they get down here,” he says.

We quickly eat and it really hits the spot.

“If I keep eating carbs, I’m going to be in big trouble,” I tell him.

“I was reading a balanced diet with carbs and plenty of calcium is good for you,” he responds, surprising me, although I wonder if I should really be surprised.

“Yeah, me too, but how will I ever get back into shape after my body bends out of shape?” I ask him just as Luc Chabot walks into the kitchen. At first he just goes for the coffee machine, but he does a double take when he sees us eating side by side and his eyes bulge.

“Holy shit. What is going on here?” He points between Aaron and me.

We quickly finish our bagels.

Aaron stands. “Come to the other room,” he says to Luc.

“Wait, is she the sexy as hell, flexible gymnast?” Luc asks.

Aaron’s cheeks turn bright red and he smacks Luc over the head.

“Ouch.” Luc winces.

“You idiot,” Aaron chides. Then he watches me. “Sorry, I thought we were over after Punta Cana.”

“I thought that too,” I admit. Luc’s words ring in my mind. Did Aaron really call me a sexy as hell, flexible gymnast? I don’t need to ask because his embarrassment shines bright on his face. It also gives me a much-needed ego boost right now.

We head into their family room. Ruby sees me and her eyes turn wide. “Briar, what are you doing here?”

“I was just about to ask the same thing,” Annie adds and Charlie mutters something similar.

Luc walks past us and sits on the couch. “Apparently, all your friends have magic pussies,” he says to Ruby before falling back on the couch.

“Shut the fuck up,” Hayden says. “This is too much.”

“What’s going on?” Finn asks, looking between me and Aaron.

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