It seemed so out of character that I burst into laughter. Craning my neck, I gazed up at him. He had a hint of a smile under that short beard of his. “Good one,” I mouthed as he let me go.
“Now that the Hugsie Twins are done, can we start the movie?” Tonio asked.
“They just wish they were twins,” Austin scoffed.
Denver laughed. “Is anyone else picturing a Knox who’s Emma’s height or an Emma who’s Knox’s height?”
“Well, now I am,” Tonio growled, and we all laughed.
On Sunday nights, the club was closed, so it was the only night we could all eat dinner together and hang out afterwards. Tonio and I had prepared a huge meal, and the twins had actually had some tortillas. Well, okay, it was mostly Tonio’s doing. And his mother had made the tortillas by hand earlier in the day and dropped them off. I’d been out back taking pictures with Knox at the time and missed meeting her. Though she was surely a nice woman—judging by how awesome her son was—I was a little bit relieved. What would she think about me living with four men, one of them her only son?
The twins were already on the sofa, one on either end, their long legs sprawled out in front of them. Knox sat down in a big sturdy recliner, raising the footrest and stretching out. For a moment, I had the impulse to sit on his lap. But instead I walked toward the couch, conscious of what the others might think about that.
Austin smiled when I neared and patted the couch right next to his thigh. Denver looked up and did the same. Since the couch was about eight feet long, it was impossible to sit right next to both of them. I hesitated in the middle, not wanting to offend either of them. Austin’s grin deepened while he looked up at me, aware of my dilemma. Denver looked amused, too. Finally, I turned on the spot and sat down on the floor, my back against the exact epicenter of the sofa.
The sofa cushions shifted behind me and I heard deep, masculine chuckling. Both twins scooted toward the center until there was a tan, well-muscled leg on either side of me. Grinning, I hooked an arm around each leg, hugging them against my sides.
From his position by the TV, Tonio looked over and rolled his eyes. “You look like you’re ready for a roller coaster ride with the world’s weirdest harness.”
“Doesn’t feel weird to me.” Their legs were made of perfectly sculpted, hard muscles, and I liked hugging them against me.
“When’s the movie going to start?” Denver asked.
“When it’s ready to stream.” Tonio sounded irritated. “If you’d let me upgrade our internet speed, we wouldn’t have to go through this each time.”
Austin leaned forward and whispered in my ear. “Someone’s crabby tonight.”
“I heard that,” Tonio said. Their behavior reminded me that they’d been friends since high school. That explained a lot. Sometimes they acted like teenagers. Not all the time, but sometimes.
“Finally.” The movie filled the large flat-screen TV. Tonio lowered the lights before settling into the recliner opposite Knox.
As we watched the beginning, I idly stroked the twins’ legs. It was nice being able to touch them without having to feel embarrassed about it like I would if I were touching some other part of them.
Just when I was starting to get into the movie, the screen went blank, surprising us all. Then an error message appeared.
“Son of a bitch,” Tonio muttered, hopping up.
The twins groaned, too. “Now what do we do?” Denver asked.
“Retell Star Wars?” Austin asked, and Denver and Tonio laughed.
I, however, was confused. So, it appeared, was Knox.
“It’s a Family Guy joke,” Tonio explained.
I nodded as if I knew what he meant.
“This is getting frustrating,” Tonio said. “Let’s just forget about it tonight and remember to get the damn upgrade sometime this week.”
“Agreed,” Austin said, and the others nodded.
“I can help pay for it,” I volunteered. I tried to pay for takeout and other things when I could, but it wasn’t often that the guys let me.
“Nah, we got it,” Denver said. “You help in other ways, like grocery shopping and straightening up.”
“And leg-stroking,” Austin added. He and Denver laughed, but it made my face go red.
Tonio had gone back to his recliner. “The twins get their legs stroked. Knox gets hugs. What do I get?”
“What do you want?” Austin asked before I could reply.
Tonio leveled a sharp look at Austin that I couldn’t quite interpret. Then he turned to me. “It’s a bit lonely over here on this side of the room. I could use some company.”
The way he said it made my heart rate speed up. Tonio patted his lap, which was clad in black jeans, and then shot me a direct look that made me gulp. Were we alone, I might have gone straight over there, but it felt weird to be considering it with the other guys here.