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CHAPTER FOUR

BECKHAM

“Chuck, baby! What the fuck is up?” Archie hops off the couch he was sitting on, rushes over to Charlie, and picks her up.

It pisses me off immediately. I hate that he calls her Chuck in his Texas drawl, and she thinks it’s so fucking funny. All the chicks love his accent, and it’s never bothered me—until now. Look, I love the guy. Trust him with my life even. Literally. He’s a tackle and a total beast, protecting my ass from getting drilled on the field. He may be one of my closest friends, but he has two seconds to put Charlie down before I lose it.

“Hey, Arch. Good to see you, as always. How’s it hangin’?” she asks him after giving him a squeeze, then drops from his hold.

“Well, Chuck, it’s hangin’ a little to the left today, but with a slight adjustment, we’ll be back in center,” he says while laughing and adjusting his junk.

And Charlie? She just fucking laughs. For the record, if I said something like that or adjusted my dick in front of her, she would have a meltdown.

“What up, Beck? You need some help or something? Need me to adjust your balls for you? Little slap on the ass?”

Archie’s taunting me. Under normal circumstances, I’d play along and laugh it off, but shit’s not funny right now.

I need to pull myself together, or this is going to be a long fucking week. Thank God classes start tomorrow. I can’t believe I’m saying that. Fuck.

“Where’s Baby King?” Pitz says as he strolls into the room with a white T-shirt with the words Welcome Home, Baby King written in Sharpie across his chest, his arms stretched out and a big-ass smile on his face.

What the actual fuck? I knew they didn’t mind her staying here, but they’re just rolling out the red fucking carpet for her.

Liam Pitz is our QB right now, but I have a feeling that’s going to change with this new freshman coming in. This kid, Bo Callaway, has an arm like a missile. If I were Pitz, I’d be concerned.

“You know I’m older than Casey, right, Pitzy?”

He lifts her in his arms and spins her so her back is facing me. He winks at me and has that cheesy grin on his face.

Motherfucker.

And where the fuck did Casey go? He should be keeping these assholes in line.

Archie shoves Pitz out of the way once he releases Charlie, wraps his arm around her shoulders, and obnoxiously says, “So, I hear we’re having a sleepover, Chuck. I have a Cali king in my room because I’m a big guy. In all areas. So, you can cuddle up with me.”

“Griff, get your slutty hands off my sister,” Casey says. With. A fucking. Laugh.

Raising his arms, Archie says, “I’m a hospitable guy, King. I promise I’ll take real good care of your sis.”

“Okay, Archie, before you get punched, come help me get my stuff out of the truck,” Charlie says.

“You got it, sugar. Let’s do this,” he says while following her out the door.

Casey walks over to me with a look in his eye that I can’t quite figure out. It’s a cross between amused and concerned.

He puts his hand on my shoulder and squeezes a little. “Look, if it gets to be too much, having her in your space, just say the word. I’ll switch with her. If I have to do an hour of stretching a day, I’ll do it. Plus, Aunt Linds says the cot she’s bringing over is more like a rollaway twin-size bed.”

“Case, you’re six foot four. Your legs will be hanging off that thing. I’ll be fine, I promise. You know I’m not the one with the problem. I wish I …” I leave my thoughts hanging.

Casey knows me better than anyone, except maybe Charlie, and nods in understanding.

“Okay, brother. Look, I have to run out for a bit. Once Charlie gets her stuff out of the truck, can you help her get settled and take her to the store so she can get some food she wants?”

“Where the fuck you going?” It’s not that I don’t want to take her; it’s more because I’m a nosy fucker.

“Noelle called, and she needs my help with something, so I’m going to grab a few things and head over to her place,” he says while rubbing the back of his neck.

“Is she okay? Did Trey drop by again?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it covered, but if I need anything, I’ll call you, man,” he says.

I nod, and we start walking out the door to the truck. Archie and Liam have already grabbed most of Charlie’s things by the time we get out there.

“Nice of you two to join us,” Pitz says as he and Archie pull some boxes out of the back of the truck.

“I’ll follow you to your room, Beck, so you can show me where you want me to put my things. I can keep most of it in Casey’s room though, so it won’t be in your way,” she says over her shoulder as she pulls out her duffel bag from the back of the cab.

“Nah, it’s fine. I have a walk-in closet, and I don’t have many clothes, so you can put your stuff in there,” I offer and grab another bag and a small box.

I have to say, I’m impressed that my tone doesn’t sound too eager. This all plays into my plan, so I’m not sad about it. Having her in my space? Yeah, it doesn’t suck.

“Oh. Okay, thanks. What about the bathroom? You have your own bathroom too, right? Should I use the one in the hall or yours?” she asks as we all walk into the house.

When we moved into this house, we pulled straws. We all contribute to the rent equally, so it really was the luck of the draw. And my straw was the biggest. I got the largest bedroom that not only has a walk-in closet, but its own bathroom as well. Not gonna lie—it’s a sweet setup as far as older houses go. A lot of the houses around campus aren’t nearly as nice as this one. We got lucky. I’m sure it helped that the guy who owns it is a huge Walker University Stallions fan.

“Nah, you can just use mine. I mean, you won’t really be here long enough to make a mess with all your girlie shit anyway. Plus, these guys are pigs,” I say with a laugh.

“Pardon me. I’m exceptionally clean. I take hygiene very seriously,” Archie says with a hand on his chest as he walks in front of us into my room. “I even clean up my ball hair, unlike you fuckers.”

Holding up her hand, Charlie says, “Welp, I just lost my appetite, and I’m definitely not using your bathroom—ever—Arch.”

“Chuck, baby, if only these fuckers took after my example, they’d pull more ladies too. Liam over here—he leaves toothpaste in the sink and also drinks out of the juice carton.” He shifts the box in his hold to one arm and rests it on his hip, then points at Pitz and laughs.

Pitz interrupts by muttering, “Asshole.”

Which just spurs Archie on further, and then he moves his arm to point at Casey. “And your brother—well, you grew up with him, so you know how nasty he is,” Archie says while tossing a wink at Casey, who just rolls his eyes.

“In my brother’s defense, he’s actually not that bad,” Charlie says.

Casey walks over to her and puts his arm around her shoulders. “Thank you, Char. Twins unite, motherfuckers.”

“With that said, he does leave the toilet seat up, which I’ve suffered the consequences of multiple times. Do you know how bad that sucks? You wake up in the middle of the night to pee, you’re half asleep, you pull your drawers down and squat to take a seat, and then your ass hits cold water. It’s a horrible experience, and I do not recommend it. I’m just grateful he is diligent about flushing. Mom would literally gag if she walked by a bathroom that smelled like pee, so he learned pretty fast not to let that happen. Oh, and he does leave water bottles and candy wrappers in his room. He used to try to hide it from our mom, but I think she gave up on him once we got into high school.” She pauses to take a breath. “Casey also likes to leave empty boxes in the pantry. Have you guys noticed that yet? He’s the culprit, just so you know.”

“Dude, Charlie, why are you dogging me like this to my boys? What about twin code, yo?” He looks at her incredulously, which just makes her snicker.

We walk into my room, and Arch and Pitz set Charlie’s boxes in my closet. She walks in behind them, Casey behind her.

I head over to the bathroom to make sure it is, in fact, clean. And that I flushed the toilet and put the seat down. I remember one of those nights she fell into the toilet. I don’t want to hear that screeching again. Ever.

When I come out of the bathroom, I see Charlie looking around my room. Not much is different from my bedroom at home, honestly. I have the same bedding, and I’m the same neat freak I’ve always been. I can’t help it. I like order, and I like everything in my room to have its place.

I can tell by the look on her face that she’s counting. She counts in threes. Always has. Panels, windowpanes, anything she can find in threes.

I give her space as I let her work through her numbers, knowing it’s something she needs.

Casey comes out of the closet and hugs Charlie. “I have to run out, but I’ll be back later. Beck is going to take you to the store to get anything you need. Mom said she already deposited money into our accounts for groceries.”

Charlie takes ahold of his arm as he starts to walk out. “Case, wait. Where are you going? Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, everything is fine. I just have to go get something for Noelle. I’ll be back later, I promise. Want to watch Game of Thrones or something?” he asks.

“Uh, yeah, I guess. I’m pretty tired though, so it depends on when you get back.”

“Heard,” he says, then nods at me. “Becks, take care of our girl. Be back later.” He taps the doorframe with his palm as he walks out of my room.

I know I won’t change his mind about leaving since it’s Noelle, but, shit, this is going to be awkward as fuck. But again, I’m not mad about it. I just need her to warm up to the idea of hanging out with me without wanting to kill me.