Page 18 of There's No Us Without You
“There’s a powder room and shower down the end of the hall,” Will says, motioning to his left. “And a guest bedroom.”Then he starts up the dark-grey carpeted stairs, taking two at a time. “And the main bedrooms are up here.”
The carpet is so thick, my feet sink into it like warm dough. This is the type of carpet you could sleep on and still be able to function the next day.
When we reach the top of the stairs, Will nods to the end of the hall. “My room is the last one, and if you move in, yours will be next to mine and—” The third door opens at the exact moment Will points to it, and I’m met with those hazel eyes from last night.
You’ve got to be kidding me . . .
This is either some weird “only happens in books” kind of shit, or I’m hallucinating under the influence of Will’s attractiveness.
“You,” I say, my eyes wide as I take him in.
He’s freshly showered, his light-brown skin still wet and glistening with small beads of water that drip down his hairless chest and abdomen onto the soft carpet. There’s only a slight trail of dark hair creeping out above the elastic of his black running shorts—ones that show off his muscular thighs.
Andholy hellis he stunning. Long and lean, every inch of him screaming professional athlete.
I only know he’s an athlete because I may have googled him last night after he left me at the bar. And when I saymay have, I mean I definitely did.
Emerson Grant de Silva, born the 3rd of February 2000.
Professional soccer player for North Sydney Football Club.
Height: 190cm.
Position: Striker.
Number: 9.
Captain of the team.
Emerson freezes and blinks rapidly as he darts his focus between me and Will. Then, almost instantaneously, herecovers, revealing a half smirk I’m sure melts the clothes off any woman.
“And you— Wait, are you stalking me?” he says, rubbing his chin with his long fingers. “You really wanted to know my favourite colour, huh?” His smirk turns into a full-blown smile.
I snort. “Hardly.”
“You sure about that?” Emerson raises his eyebrows and presses his back against the wall, his hands now tucked into the pockets of his shorts.
First Will, now Emerson. The simple act of hands in pockets should not be as appealing as it is, yet here I am, unable to breathe around these two.
“I have no idea who you are,” I say, heat flushing my cheeks. “Will offered me a room, so here I am.” I fold my arms, attempting to stop my racing heart from leaping out of my chest.
“So youarethe one in white,” Will says, mostly to himself, as though he’s confirming his own suspicions.
“He told you?” I blow out a breath, my shoulders slumping forward. “Of course, he did. I bet you both had a great laugh at my expense.”
Will steps in front of me, his head tilted slightly as he wraps a small strand of my hair around his finger. “We share a lot of things. A house. Secrets... women.” His eyes meet mine when he says the last word, and I almost choke on absolutely nothing.
Our eyes remain locked until Emerson pushes off the wall and slings an arm around my shoulders, pulling Will’s attention to him.
“Come on,” he says, grinning down at me. “I’m sure Will has someone to tie up. I’ll show you the rest of the house.”
The grin he then flashes Will has me pinching my lips together. It’s probably not the best idea to taunt the grumpy one, especially when the look he gives Emerson has me wanting to take a step back.
“Whatever.” Will shakes his head and continues towards his room. “Just don’t touch my fucking stuff.”
Emerson keeps his focus on Will’s back until the bedroom door slams shut. He shrugs as though he didn’t just piss off his friend and puts his hands on his hips. “So,” he says, “do I get to know your name before you move in?”
“Eden.” I hold out my hand. “Eden Reeves.”
