Forced Proximity (Bluebell House Duet Book 1)
Forced Proximity: Chapter 13

We managed to make it through the hardware and grocery store without incident. Connor was on his best behavior, without a single snarky comment crossing his lips. He even lent his muscles to help get the sander, scraper, tools, and many gallons of paint into the back of his SUV.

He helped me get through Andrew’s list and even joined in when I added my own array of junk food, much to Ethan’s amusement. “Weird to see you not acting like an asshole. I’m starting to get concerned.”

Connor shrugged. “Don’t get used to it. I’m just trying to keep the peace for a few minutes.”

Something told me Ethan was absolutely not getting used to it. He’d been so great during our outing as well, and for a brief moment, as we argued about how to tell if the watermelon was ripe, it was almost as if we were a couple, doing our weekly shopping.

No attachments. Despite how familiar and safe they felt, these guys were strangers, and I couldn’t forget it.

No one had to show their identification when we reentered the college grounds, and when I asked about it, Ethan said, “Connor has special privileges that wouldn’t be afforded to most.”

Shocker.

I was surprised when Connor didn’t make a comment about how much better he was than me, choosing to just sit in the back surrounded by grocery bags. When Ethan pulled up in front of the house, Andrew and Haze were already waiting, and I was left to twiddle my thumbs as the four men carted everything into the house. Oh, wait, they did let me carry the smallest grocery bag that only held extra cleaning supplies.

“That’s what we’re here for,” Haze said shortly, carrying so many bags that I couldn’t see his damn arms. He was determined to get half of everything in one trip, and he did it with style.

Deciding my time was best spent putting it all away, I took out the cleaning supplies first and wiped down all the shelves in the pantry, fridge, and freezer. Thankfully, the appliances were fairly new, and after I got all of the cold and frozen items away, I moved on to organizing the pantry.

Andrew stopped in to supervise for a few seconds, and I tried not to smirk as his brow furrowed when I tossed a second bag of chips on the lower shelves—along with cookies, popcorn, and bags of candy. “For movie nights,” I said innocently, looking over my shoulder.

I almost laughed at how adorably confused he looked that his order hadn’t been carried out without a single deviation. Poor guy, he’d be used to it by the time he finished living with me.

“Where did you want to start with getting the house into shape?” Ethan asked as he strolled in, paint tins in hand.

“Eve’s room,” Andrew offered, and I was shocked enough to stumble as I attempted to navigate all the empty grocery bags on the floor.

“Wait, no,” I said as I caught my footing and straightened. “There’s no need for me to go first. Maybe we should focus on shared spaces?”

Ethan shook his head. “Andrew is right. You’re the only one of these assholes who doesn’t deserve to be here. Your room is first.”

He headed out then, and a few seconds later I could hear him hauling shit up the stairs. All of the food was away now, so I went to help the guys tackle my room.

First we got all the furniture out or covered up, and it was Connor—to my surprise—who showed the most skill as he sanded my floors, before sealing the wide boards with a dark stain. “Try not to walk on them for a few hours,” he said. “We can finish your walls tomorrow.”

While I’d been cleaning up the dust and other debris from the floors, Haze and Ethan had been prepping my walls, scraping off the old paint and wallpaper, before getting everything undercoated. Andrew had been mostly supervising and helping me clean. His anal-retentive ways meant he cleaned like he was the boy in the bubble and a speck of dust would kill him.

“Hopefully the smell will be completely gone by night,” Ethan said, looking around with a worried expression. “We got all the low VOC and environmentally friendly products, so it really should.” Plus, they’d left all the windows open and the fan on to give everything a chance to dry before I had to sleep in there tonight.

Connor, standing there covered in dust and giving blue-collar vibes for the first time, scoffed. “I’m sure she can share your bed, Eth. If hers is out of service.”

Ah, and that was when nice Connor fucked right off to make way for the asshole again.

That had been a nice reprieve.

I expected Ethan to snap back, but he just leveled the hottest fucking look I’d ever seen on me. “Excellent plan. Thanks, bro.”

Connor shook his head. “You’re the worst fucking professor. You know that, right?”

Turning away to hide my pink cheeks, I half hoped that the stain and paint scents lingered for a few days, because it was growing abundantly clear that at some point Ethan and I would be fucking. Neither of us was trying to fight our attraction, and as far as I knew, there was only one way to get this level of attraction out of our systems. Just as long as I did not get attached.

“Like I give a fuck what you think,” Ethan replied with a shrug.

“I think you all need a shower,” Andrew announced, casting a disgusted look my way. “Might I suggest a cold one, Eth? Things are getting a bit heated.”

Ethan just smirked, looking a whole lot like Connor in that moment. “Great idea. You wanna join me, Lilith?”

“What the fuck did you call her?” Connor snarled, and at the same time, Haze knocked over the ladder propped against the hallway wall. It went down with a crash and startled me enough to realize how out of hand things had gotten.

As quick as possible, I grabbed some clean clothes from the chest of drawers we’d moved into the hall and ducked into the shared bathroom. After just a short hesitation, I locked the door.

What was going on with me and Ethan? He wasn’t even remotely trying to hide his attraction, and neither of us had addressed the age gap or somewhat taboo nature of our roles within Meadowridge. I really, really needed to have a serious chat with him before I slipped and fell onto his dick.

To my relief—and slight disappointment—no one knocked on the door to interrupt my shower, but I kept it brief anyway. The house had three bathrooms but one was in desperate need of a whole gut-out renovation and wasn’t currently usable. Which meant I needed to be mindful of others waiting on this bathroom.

After I dressed, I checked my phone and found a message from Nina asking if I wanted to meet her and Ursa for dinner. I debated declining, but then glanced at my room, which wouldn’t be habitable again for hours. Downstairs, the raised voices of an argument echoed up to me and I grimaced. Somehow, I had a feeling that was about me, so I replied to Nina and said I’d be there shortly.

Not wanting to be saddled with another escort, I slipped quietly out the back door while the guys continued arguing in the living room. None of them saw me, and by the time I reached the main campus, I found I could breathe a little easier. It had gotten more intense than I’d expected in the house with all the guys.

“Yay, you made it!” Nina exclaimed when I approached her little picnic set up on the lawn. “I wasn’t sure if you had like a curfew or something…” She trailed off with a grimace and I shook my head.

“Nah, nothing like that.”

She’d already cornered me yesterday to apologize for breaking Laura’s nose, so we’d moved past that. But I knew she’d want gossip from the house, and I was legally bound to hold my tongue.

“So…tell us everything,” Nina urged with a grin. “What’s it like? Are they being nice or total assholes? Has anyone punched anyone? Give us the juicy details, girl.”

“Yes!” Ursa enthused. “Tell us!”

I bit the inside of my cheek, already regretting coming out when I couldn’t actually talk about what was going on in Bluebell House. Then again…the NDA said I couldn’t disclose anything true. It said nothing about spinning absolute bullshit. The guys all seemed determined to cultivate the idea they were arch enemies—Connor and Andrew in particular—so why not play along with that idea?

“It’s awful.” I groaned dramatically. “They’re constantly at each other’s throats. I seriously wouldn’t be surprised if someone gets smothered with a pillow before long. And to be fair, it might be me doing the smothering.”

Nina winced. “That bad? Shit, girl, I am so freaking sorry. I’ll go to Dean Attworth again and see if there’s anything I can do.”

I shrugged. “It’s fine. Seriously. Connor just has a really awful singing voice, and he insists on putting on a full-length Eras Tour performance every time he showers. Also, Andrew keeps using my razor and not rinsing the hair off.” I gave a dramatic shudder, giggling internally at my fabricated gossip.

Nina and Ursa were one hundred percent lapping it up, too. “You’re kidding! For his face?” I shook my head ominously and Nina gagged. “Ew. Come on. Ewww. Maybe it’s his legs? He seems like the kind of guy who might shave his legs…sort of?”

“He’s the kind of guy who shaves his balls, too,” Ursa added with a giggle.

For the love of all hell, now she had me thinking about Andrews balls…and whether shaving them made his dick look bigger. Did he need those kinds of optical illusions? I really didn’t want to replace out, did I? No. Definitely not. Okay, maybe a little bit…

Pushing the mental image—entirely made up—of Andrew’s dick out of my head, I focused on making up more harmless but ridiculous lies about the guys I lived with. Mostly about Connor and Andrew, to be fair. Brodie was too fucking likeable, and Haze genuinely scared me, so I wasn’t keen to get on his bad side. And then there was Ethan…I was worried Nina would see right through me if I so much as said his name, so I danced all the way around the teacher supervision subject.

The girls convinced me to join them for a dorm party at Sven’s building, and it was fun. More fun than I’d had in a long time, despite my refusal to drink anything.

Sven was kind enough to walk me home, which I was quietly relieved about since it was after midnight and the path through the woods was creepy at the best of times. I could have taken the road, but it was nearly three times the distance, as it circled around the outskirts of the campus.

The floorboards creaked as I let myself into the house as quietly as possible, and I wrinkled my nose. The last thing I needed was a lecture about ignoring my phone…which I’d done plenty of over the last few hours.

Fortunately, no one popped out of the closet to scold me. In fact, the whole house was silent. Were the guys asleep already? Tiptoeing my way upstairs, I noted that their bedroom doors were closed so it was possible. Or maybe they’d all gone out? It was Saturday night, after all.

Stepping into my room, I gagged at the strong smell of floor stain. The windows I’d left open had blown shut and the fumes were lingering like a bitch. Someone had thoughtfully moved my bed back into the room so I could sleep, but just the few minutes I spent in there changing my clothes gave me a headache. There was no way I could spend a whole night inhaling that smell.

With a sigh, I gathered my pillow and blankets up in my arms and quietly padded back downstairs. The house itself had plenty of empty bedrooms but none were furnished, and I really wasn’t in the mood to go hauling beds around in the middle of the night.

The couch would be just fine.

I made myself a cozy nest, then snuggled into it and closed my eyes. Only to immediately open them again when the house creaked ominously.

“Stop it,” I hissed. “You’re not haunted, no matter what Brode thinks.”

That was what I kept telling myself, over and over, until I eventually fell asleep.