Zeke speaks first. “Take the shorts off.”
It takes me a moment to register what he’s saying because he’s got a pair of my plain white panties in his hand. Levi notices and snatches them from his hand. He stares at them for a moment as if he doesn’t know what they are. Zeke grabs them back, shoving them into his pocket.
“Stay focused,” he tells his brother, who nods and goes back to rummaging through my clothes.
“I can’t wear panties now?” I hop off the bed. “Should I take those off too?” I go for the button of my shorts.
“Olivia,” Zeke warns, making me smirk. He always says my full name.
“You told me to take them off.” I pop the button.
Levi turns to look my way his hands full of clothes. “Zeke.” He says his brother’s name as a plea. Zeke sucks in a breath, then curses as I start to pull down the zipper. He grabs his brother, pulling him from the room.
“Hey!” I call out as the door slams closed behind them. I stand there for a moment, wondering if they really left.
“Change the shorts,” Zeke says through the door. I’m about to say no, but when I hear his soft, pained utterance of, “please,” I cave.
“Okay,” I sigh, going over and finding a pair of jeans and slipping them on. I follow it up by changing my top to a thin sweater they gave me last Christmas that has their name across the back. “You’ll both be happy to know that I am covered from head to toe now!” I yell sarcastically at the door.
The door slowly opens a few beats later to reveal Erika standing there. “I don’t think I can handle two of them.” She points her thumb behind her, where Levi and Zeke are talking to some guy who looks to be about their age. The boys look ridiculous with their arms full of girls’ clothing.
“What are they doing?” I ask her.
“Interrogating him about why he was walking so close to our door.”
“As in, he was walking down the hallway?” I question, to make sure I’m understanding her right. She nods. I roll my eyes.
“Leave that poor man alone!” I shout , drawing their attention back to me. The man steals the chance to get away. I do a small twirl. “Does this meet your standards?” They both relax a touch when they see the sweater I’ve got on.
I turn at the sound of my phone dinging from inside my purse on the bed. I pick it up and clear out the reminder that I need to go to orientation.
“I have to go,” I sigh. I was enjoying this game a little too much. It made me miss living close to them. It reminded me of when we were younger and how they could so easily pop in and out of my everyday life. I thought being closer to them again would make things easier, but I’m not so sure that’s true. I want it all now.
They both walk over to me. Zeke puts his finger under my chin, making me look up at him. “You going to tell us what happened to your forehead?” he asks. I’d completely forgotten about trying to cover it up. Levi is right there next to him, holding his finger in front of my face and asking me to follow it with my eyes. I can’t help but laugh.
I shake my head no.
“You fell out of the bed, didn’t you?” Zeke says. His mouth pulls into a half-smile.
“You all have a camera in here?” My eyes bounce between the two of them.
“I wish,” Levi mumbles.
“Don’t be giving them ideas,” Erika deadpans. I bite my lip to keep from laughing.
“We just know you toss and turn when you sleep. You’re not used to a small bed.” Zeke draws my eyes back to him.
“What she needs is to be sleeping between us. Her ass would only toss and turn when we move her.”
Levi’s words take my breath away. Zeke pulls my lip out from between my teeth, tracing it with his thumb before he leans down, kissing me on my forehead where I know the mark is. He steps back, allowing Levi to do the same.
“Be a good girl at orientation,” Levi says before they turn and I watch them leave. How am I going to make it another four days, I have no idea.
7
Zeke
Orientation was boring the first time around, but it’s even more sleep-inducing after you’ve been on campus for two years. Two upperclassmen wearing uni T-shirts in the school colors are going over a PowerPoint presentation that must’ve been created about ten years ago, because the school map they’re using doesn’t even have the new science building.
Olivia is earnestly taking down notes as if Levi and I aren’t here to take her anywhere she needs to go. I’m not thrilled with how every guy within sniffing distance is staring at her bent head. Even covered up in her sweater and jeans, she attracts attention. I drag a frustrated hand through my hair. She needs to be out doing shit and experiencing life—whatever the hell that means—but do there have to be so many goddamned dicks near her? How many could I break off before someone hauled me off to jail? I feel like I could get a good dozen in. If Levi was with me, we could probably clean the room.