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“Oh by the way… tonight’s your turn to do dishes!”

Twelve

CLAUDIA

It was cool. Fun. Amazing. And the best part? There was never a dull moment.

Living with three hot guys was like a dream come true. At first they were perfect gentlemen, giving me a wide berth, adhering to a strict shower schedule, being careful not to get caught around the house without shirts or shorts on. But as time went on…

As time went on things got a little lax.

It began with Brandon, who’d often frequent the living room in his boxers. The others yelled at him more than once to keep covered, but I could tell they were only doing it halfheartedly. He was at practice an awful lot, and dressed head to toe in heavy football gear. At home, it seemed the last thing he wanted to do was wear clothes.

And who was I to argue?

Colin, with his lithe, swimmer’s body, liked to go shirtless as well. He was always showering, to wash off the chlorine or salt or whatever it was from the pool. More than once I caught a glimpse of his beautiful abs or his tight, chiseled ass — either one of which were straight out of a Calvin Klein underwear ad.

Hunter was more private, and spent a lot more time in his room. His door was always closed, and I never could figure out what he was doing in there. Studying, I figured. Strange though, because he didn’t even play music or anything.

As for me, I was a good girl… for the most part. At times things got casual, and I’d dip downstairs in something like yoga pants or a tight shirt or a skirt that was a little on the shorter side. Nothing I wouldn’t wear normally though. Although normally, I wouldn’t wear these things around three hot guys I was trying not to be interested in.

Living in the old Victorian house was a welcome change from living in my old place, too. For one it was absolutely beautiful. Many of the original fixtures were still there, left intact or only minimally damaged by the hard-partying Delta Delta Taus. Room by room we stripped away wallpaper and livened the place up with a fresh coat of paint. Pulled up old carpeting to reveal beautiful, original flooring. Hunter turned out to be the consummate handyman. He knew how to do just about everything, and whenever he didn’t he always seemed to ‘know a guy.’

Too bad you can’t go after him, the little angel on my shoulder admonished. He’s an amazing catch…

But he’s also off limits.

The decision had been an easy one of course; they were all off limits. I couldn’t date any one of them without causing ripples between the others, and the last thing I wanted to do was screw up their friendship over the arrangement I’d made.

Which was really hard too, because I liked them all.

Besides, it was blatantly obvious from the start the three of them had made some sort of similar agreement. Any time one of them would even mildly flirt with me, the other two would deliver him a stern, withering look.

“So tell me,” I’d asked Colin once, figuring he was the easiest nut to crack “What’s the deal between you guys?”

I caught him in the middle of pouring pancakes on a Saturday morning, focusing on keeping every one a specific size and thickness. It was a ritual he was usually meticulous about, and I was feeling exceptionally playful.

“What deal?”

“The one where you all treat me like overprotective brothers looking out for an innocent sister.”

He’d laughed nervously at that, but in doing so, had screwed up pouring the batter. A trail of thick golden liquid ran up the side of the pan, spoiling his perfect record.

“And what’s wrong with brothers protecting a sister?”

“Nothing,” I shrugged, biting into a piece of bacon. “It’s just… well… sometimes I wonder what it would be like if one of you actually liked me.”

“We all like you,” he said simply.

“No,” I teased, leaning in just a little too close to his ear. “I mean like like me.”

I detected the change… the nearly imperceptible little twitch that ran down the side of his body. Colin might be off limits, sure. But that didn’t mean flirting with him was too.

“You know,” he said, turning to face me. “The whole idea of that would be cataclysmically bad.”

“For who?”

“For all of us!”