Surrendering (Surrender 1)

get into the shower.

After the shower, when I’m dressed and ready for the day, I walk back into the kitchen to a somber looking Abbi and Ella. They seem to be whispering, but quit immediately.

Sensing the tension, I wave slightly and go to make my breakfast.

Abbi breaks the silence first, “Raven, let’s talk.”

“Okay, did I do something already to piss you off?”

“No, but we think you should know some things. It’ll be better to tell you now and let you decide for yourself how you want to move forward, especially when it comes to our brother.”

“I’m not sure what that even means, but I have to ask, is this about this morning?”

Ella cuts in, “Yes and no. I’m going to lay it out for you. We love our brother more than anything in the world. We lost our mom at an early age and my dad made sure we all grew up close. Declan’s the best to us in every single way. There’s nothing in the world he wouldn’t do to support and protect us.”

“This’s great news seeing as I have a brother of my own that I love infinitely. What’s the problem?”

“The way Declan treats us is different than how he treats other girls- no matter who they are.”

“What Abbi is trying to say is that our brother is a one-night stand kind of guy. He doesn’t do relationships, he doesn’t do sleepovers, and he doesn’t even know the names of all the girls he’s fucked. Our last roommate moved out because she was stupid enough to fall for him. She became clingy and started using us to get to him. He tried to let her down nicely, but she wouldn’t give up. Then he decided to shove other girls in her face to get her to leave him alone. By that time, our roommate relationship and friendship had taken a huge hit. She moved out and we asked Declan to never get involved with another roommate.”

I remembered our first conversation and it hit me, “Declan was the conflict of interest?”

“Yes.”

“So you are both here to tell me to stay away from your brother because he is a player and a cheat and there will never be anything serious going forward?”

“You have to see this from our side. Please understand. The Declan that you met last night for poker and Chinese food, and the Declan you went running with this morning, aren’t the same Declan Collins. We just want you to know that up-front before you decide to move forward in any way with him.”

“I think you both are overreacting a little bit. We just met formally last night and he showed me around some trails. I’m not sure this puts us up for relationship counseling this morning. I know you don’t know me too well, but I think I have a level head on my shoulders and I can make pretty good decisions. And when I don’t, I have Finn and my brother Robbie to give me shit. I appreciate the warning and I’ll take it, but don’t worry. I’m not going to run out of here in the night because Declan has broken my heart with groupies and flings.”

They both seem a little relieved so I go one step further. “Just so you know, I DO NOT do one- night stands, I DO sleepovers, and I insist on knowing the names of all the guys I fuck. So we wouldn’t be compatible anyway.”

Both girls look relieved.

“Okay, I’m going to wait for Finn in the living room. Thanks for the warnings.”

Chapter 7

Movie Night

It’s been a busy few weeks since I moved in. School starts for me on Monday. I’ve spent a lot of time with the girls, but I haven’t seen Declan much since the day we installed the alarm. Since I finally had a fully functioning kitchen, I decided I wanted to learn to cook. Ella, Abbi, and even Finn had commented that my culinary skills were improving daily. I fell into a comfortable routine.

When I received my class schedule, Finn and I went to campus to find where our classes will be and which parking garage we need to use. We both live too far away to walk so we’re going to carpool when possible. Our schedules are almost identical so it was the best solution. I was able to get all of my classes scheduled Monday through Thursday during the day; I got Fridays off. This is ideal for me for several reasons, but my favorite is that I will have three-day weekends for the whole semester.

It’s just past six on Friday night and I’m watching a “Pretty Little Liars” marathon with a glass of wine and a new romance novel; I’m in heaven. I’m alone because Abbi and Ella went to their dad’s tonight. Once a month they go over to hang out and spend the night so he isn’t always by himself. I thought that was a nice thing to do. Even though my dad travels a lot with his business, usually my mom can travel along. This is great for me and Robbie because we don’t have to worry about her being alone all the time. It’s also good because my mom loves to travel.

There’s a knock on the door and I can’t imagine who it is.

I answer the door and I’m shocked to see Declan standing in the doorway with a bag in his hand. He’s in faded jeans and a black shirt; I see he has a piercing on his lower lip and it’s sexy as hell. I’m thinking about how much I want to run my tongue over his lips when he clears his throat and looks at me.

Shit! I got caught staring again. Before I can do anything else, he straightens up and asks, “Do you have any plans tonight?”

“Um, well I have the PLL marathon that’s getting interesting and some smutty reading to catch up on. I’ve just poured myself a glass of wine.” Shut up. I’m babbling and I need to get a grip quickly. “Why, what’s up?”

“I don’t even know what the fuck a PLL marathon is and I’m pretty sure smutty reading can be done anytime. I was thinking we could have dinner and maybe watch a movie.”

“A movie? Like a movie night?”