Room 452

“You’re harder to get rid of too.” Sawyer responds.

I smile at them both. “Aww aren’t you guys adorable.”

I hand Chip a plate with some of the food. “What are you guys up to today?” He asks as he takes a bite.

“Nothing.” I say at the same time Sawyer says, “We have plans.”

I look over at him. “We do?”

He clenches his jaw. “Yes. We do.”

I turn back to Chip. “We definitely don’t. Plans are too similar to a date, and we definitely aren’t doing that.”

Chip claps his hand together. “Oh perfect! Well, you do now!”

“Oh?” I ask as I take a sip of orange juice.

“Yes. We need to find me a girl now. I couldn’t possibly have Sawyer settle down before me. That would upset the natural balance of the world.” He says.

I laugh harder. “You don’t have to worry about that. Pretty sure he doesn’t have any plans of ever doing that.”

Sawyer leans up against the counter. “I never said that.”

I whip back around toward him with wide eyes. “Oh? Do you have plans of doing that?”

He brings his coffee up to his mouth. “I didn’t say that either.”

I roll my eyes and turn back to Chip. “Well, I guess we can search for a girl for Sawyer too then.” I take another bite of food. “What did you have in mind? I don’t have any clothes, or a toothbrush for that matter.”

“Beach! We can buy you a suit there! Sawyer, you have a spare toothbrush I’m sure.” He says.

Sawyer looks at me for approval, which is the first time he’s sought my input on anything. I nod, and he lets out a sigh. “Fine. Can you get lost for a while? I’ll text you when we’re ready.”

Chip chugs back the rest of his juice and sets his cup back on the table. “Fine, but if it’s more than a couple hours, I will come track you down.” He turns and walks out the door, leaving Sawyer and me alone again.

I turn to him. “Do you really keep spare toothbrushes?”

He shrugs. “The dentist gives them to you for free. I’m not going to throw it away.”

I laugh. “Why don’t you just tell them you don’t need one?”

He shrugs again. “They are free.”

I smirk and stare back at him until he feels uncomfortable. “What? I’m a cheap bastard, sue me.”

I laugh, but when he turns to put the dishes in the sink, I melt a little more for him. It suddenly makes sense. He probably didn’t have a lot growing up, going from home to home. If something was free, you’d keep it. Even now with all the money I know he’s making in commission, he doesn’t have anything extravagant. His house is minimalist. He has a decent amount of land, but other than that you’d never know. He must save it all out of habit.

I follow him into the bathroom, and he opens a drawer that has spare toothbrushes, floss, and mouthwash. “For someone who doesn’t like to have people over, you are being an awfully good host.”

He turns on his electric toothbrush and brushes his own teeth. “Just because I don’t like something, doesn’t mean I’m not good at it.”

“Oh.” I laugh. “Nevermind. We’re back to not being a good host.”

He laughs and then we stand quietly next to each other with the only sound being our toothbrushes in our mouths. It somehow feels so natural doing this. He finishes first, and I use the sink when he’s done. I don’t exactly know if I’ll need this again today, so instead of throwing the toothbrush out, I set it in the holder next to his.

My eyes meet his in the mirror, and I give him a half smile. He reaches down and pulls his shirt over his head. This throws me off balance for a moment. I whip around to face him. “What are you doing?” I ask, sounding surprised.

He steps closer and then drops his shorts. “Taking a shower.”