“Wait, what?” I asked still feeling blindsided. “So, Terrance and Marcel have found girls already, too?”
“I wouldn’t say they found girls, per say. Sam and Rachel’s been solid, but not the other two. We haven’t exactly been following the no-gifts-allowed rule,” Dawn said. “We feel like our gifts is likea muscle—if we don’t exercise it, we’ll get weak. It goes without saying when we use our gifts, we want other things.”
When we used our gifts extensively, our other appetites tend to rise or it would make us tired. We would get hungrier, want to sleep, or sometimes the need to be intimate with another person was increased. Since they had been using their gifts regularly, the need for sex would have risen.
I sighed, feeling like an idiot. I hadn’t thought about it much. I would use my empath gift from time to time, but I hadn’t used my other gifts until last night and today. They had a good point: I needed to ask the guys if they had been using their gifts. Then there was the fact that Rachel and Sam have basically been a couple for the last few weeks.
“So here, give one of those guys a lucky treat,” Rachel said shoving the bla
ck lingerie in my hands. “Or you can grab six different ones and give them each a treat. Or you can just get the one and let all of them see you like that.” Rachel gave me a wicked smile. “You’re pretty quiet about that stuff, so who knows how freaky ya’ll get.”
When all three of them gave me a contemplative look, I took the lingerie and a few other pieces with the rest of my purchases. I was going to let them keep guessing. “I’m going next door.” I stated as I heard them wickedly giggle behind my retreating back.
I no longer wanted to be the butt of their jokes, and I really did want to check out the store next door.
On the way in, I had seen a store for everything you could want or need for a kitchen. I knew our small apartment was lacking in a lot of our normal conveniences. I went to an ATM to see how much was in my bank account. We had to order new cards, and honestly, I hadn’t checked my account in ages.
I originally opened it up and put in all the money I had from when I used to work at the bar. We had made a special trip back to the trailer awhile back and retrieved my trunk of mementoes and all my money I had stashed there. I was thankful I had stashed it at Remy’s, so it hadn’t gone up with the house.
Over time, despite my protest, Will had deposited money in there for the work I did for the school. I knew he had paid me well, just not how much. He had handed Jemmy, Jaxson, Rachel, and I, our cards before leaving the facility. He told us he had ordered new cards. The other guys had ordered there’s almost immediately. To be honest, I hadn’t really thought about it.
The guys took care of me. If we ran to the shoppette, they automatically grabbed me the things I liked to snack on or drink. My protest fell on deaf ears. They insisted it was normal in a relationship to take care of each other. I just always felt like it was one sided.
Today I was going to get Drake some much needed supplies for our kitchen. Even though I had every intention on helping him in there as well. I really wished his recipes hadn’t gone up with the house. He didn’t care about most of the things we had lost, except for his recipes. With a shrug, I determined I was going to get him some new cook books.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I pulled it out. It was a group text from Troy.
Troy: We’re hungry are you almost finished?
Micah: We’re ready.
Micah: And hungry too!
Drake: Just finished loading up our purchases. We can wait out here.
Jemmy: We haven’t even been here for two hours! :’(
Me: Give me 20 minutes please :)
Troy: Meet you all at the trucks in 30, you too Jemmy!
I looked down at my account balance and gasped. There was no way I made that much money in such a short amount of time. I mentally noted to ask Will about it.
I pulled some cash out for my shopping excursion, then quickly went through the store with a cart and added all the items we needed to stock our small kitchen. I knew it would lift all our spirits to feel more normal.
Our new accommodations were a huge adjustment. There was no way we would feel like it was home, but this would help some.
I perused the cookbooks and added them to the cart as well. They wouldn’t replace Drake’s haphazardly thrown together binders, but it was a start.
We found Koreatown and spotted a hole in the wall place that had a long line of people. We didn’t mind waiting since all the reviews raved about it. Terrance regaled us with tales of when he was in the Army and was stationed in Korea. I hadn’t known that information about him and found myself sucked into his stories.
I looked over at Rachel and noticed the way she and Sam were quietly talking to each other. It reminded me about our earlier conversation. I frowned, wondering how I could have been so oblivious. It also reminded me that I hadn’t been with any of my guys in weeks. I knew I had to remedy that situation soon.
“Are you okay?” Remy asked as he pulled me into an embrace.
“Mm hmm,” I answered him a bit preoccupied with my thoughts.
“Liar,’ he muttered with a smile.