Page 2 of 4-Ever Theirs (4-Ever 1)

They were too much like brothers to ever see her as a woman. Which was exactly how she’d wanted things while they lived together. She grinned as she opened the door.

Reed squashed past her in the doorway, wedging them together when he froze. “Damn. Uh, you look…great.”

“The magic of wearing something other than sweats and one of your roommates’ old shirts sans a bra.” She shrugged.

“I kind of prefer the no-bra part.” Simon waggled his brows from where he scarfed another helping of now-cold pizza for second dinner.

When she turned to him with a smile, he paused mid-bite.

“What?” Andi finger-combed her hair as she stepped from the bathroom so Reed could relieve himself in peace. Not that the guys didn’t invade her privacy often when she was in the shower, or vice versa. The trials of a single bathroom for four people had absolutely played a part in her collegiate years.

“I told you,” Reed shouted through the door.

“They’re right. You’re hot.” Cooper took her hand and spun her around. “I’m not sure we should let you go out like this, young lady.”

“Whatever, Dad.” She chuckled until he finished twirling her, though it hadn’t entirely been a joke. With her parents both gone, these guys had stepped up and filled a huge, painful void as best they could. They were, and always would be, her family.

In the heels Andi had borrowed, she was closer to Cooper’s height. Meeting his warm stare, she caught the spark of something serious there.

Could he actually be attracted to her?

She knew each of them appealed to her in various ways—Cooper’s gentlemanliness and tact, Simon’s playfulness and daring, Reed’s sense of responsibility and control.

As if a sliver of possibility was the only prompt her subconscious required, she blurted the thoughts that had been haunting her for the past hour. Okay, longer than that. At least since she’d agreed to this outing. Probably since the day she co-signed their lease.

“Maybe you guys should come out too?” She prided herself on the fact that she only stammered a little when she said, “Or I could stay home and we could have a private party instead.”

Simon blinked at her, the pizza still lodged half-inside his mouth.

Cooper’s fingers tightened around hers. His other hand landed at her waist to steady her. But he didn’t say anything.

The door opening behind her broke the moment, forcing them apart.

Reed emerged as the toilet finished flushing in the background. It was as if her silly dreams circled the bowl then vanished down their clanky pipes when he grimaced. “What’s that? Don’t back out now. You’ve been looking forward to tonight all week. It’s about time you cut loose. On your own. You’ve earned this.”

“Oh. Okay.” If they noticed the tremble in her faux smile, they didn’t call her on it.

Andi decided to quit fucking around. Playing a game where she didn’t know the rules was a sure way to lose. Reed was right. She had to learn to stand on her own, without leaning on them. Because in a matter of days, they wouldn’t be part of her everyday existence anymore.

Graduation was a week away.

Her new life, the one where she’d be a lab tech in a prestigious pharmaceutical research firm—one that didn’t include her roommates—was calling.

“Go ahead. Have fun,” Simon said around a mouthful of pepperoni. “Besides, we’ve already—”

Cooper cleared his throat, but it was too late. She realized they must have dates. Of course they did.

“Hey, you’ll be fine,” he promised. He looked away before adding, “You don’t need us.”

Andi swallowed around the lump in her throat. She took a step forward and then another before grabbing her wristlet and keys out of the bowl at the end of the countertop. If she was going to do this, she couldn’t linger. Otherwise, she’d never convince herself to leave.

“Be safe!” Reed shouted as she closed the door softly behind her, determined not to let the stinging of her eyes turn into real tears and screw up her mascara.

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