14

FUCKING COZY

QUINN

Sienna’s eyes popped open for a split second when the doorbell started ringing, but she quickly drifted back off when it stopped.

I assumed it was a late trick-or-treater, continuously pressing the doorbell in hopes of snagging some last minute candy or pranking the spooky house on the corner. But when I head downstairs a few minutes later, I hear Jack's stern daddy voice, scolding his friend for being so loud when he knew the baby was already asleep.

I wish he’d use that voice on me. The things he could get me to do with it…

I wasn’t aware he was expecting company and I am slightly disappointed. There is an insistent part of me that always wants a few extra minutes with Jack, even after my job responsibilities have ended for the day.

Sienna too, honestly.

Leaving either of them is hard.

Their hushed voices echo throughout the space and I am slightly nervous at the prospect of meeting his friends, even though it was bound to happen sometime or another with how often I am here. I don’t know why I feel anxious about it, it’s not like I am his girlfriend… just the nanny.

The living room is filled with laughter and the scent of a candle burning on the mantle. When I look closer, I realize it’s the same candle I was looking at while we were Halloween shopping, and it makes my stomach flip. Even though the little pumpkin has gone to bed, it’s clear that Halloween is still alive and well in the Hollis house.

Jack and his two friends are lounging on the couch with drinks already in hand. He notices me and motions for me to join them, patting the spot next to him.

“I should get back to my dorm,” I say, all while walking toward him regardless. My mind says leave , but my body has a mind of her own. “Yanno. Avoid my car getting egged.”

He takes my hand and pulls me down next to him, far too close and too comfortable for a nanny to be sitting next to her boss , or a student to her professor .

We have been a bit too comfortable with one another from the beginning, I think. But, he’s never been so forward like this. Especially not with other people around.

My eyes dart to his friends, anxious if they’re judging, simultaneously wondering what the fuck has gotten into him between five minutes ago and now.

Not that I mind.

I recognize Professor Birkner—Ezra—from campus; his long limbs stretch out in front of him, his inked forearms peeking out from under the sleeves of his hoodie. He’s got this casual, scruffy charm, like he doesn’t care much about appearances. Everyone swoons over him to a ridiculous extent. I can see why people would be drawn to him—he’s got that artsy, too-cool-to-care aura—but he’s not my type. Maybe if I were more into guys who give off a fuck boy vibe—or guys at all—I’d give him a second glance, because he is definitely attractive.

More Kruz’s type, to be honest, but I don’t think she’d ever fraternize with a professor.

I never imagined any of my professors would be my type, or that I would want to fraternize with them, but here we are.

Ezra gives me a bland smile that I return.

Next to him, grinning from ear to ear, is someone I don’t recognize. He’s equally as tall, though a little more lanky, with a mess of blond hair. He seems to vibrate, his sharp jawline and bright blue eyes holding my attention for a beat too long. The corner of his mouth twitches.

He scoots over to me with exaggerated enthusiasm, nearly spilling his drink in the process. "Fucking cozy. I like it."

I snort, dodging the sloshing liquid, but still find myself shoved even closer to Jack than I was before.

Jack pushes at his shoulder, forcing him away from me. “Fuck off, Stu.”

“Party pooper,” he whines, scooting back to his original spot.

“I’m not a party pooper, you’re just fucking annoying,” Jack replies, adjusting himself to give me a little more space.

I get the impression now that maybe he immediately pulled me down next to him as a form of protection from his friend’s lack of respect for other people’s personal space.

“I feel like I’m intruding,” I admit, moving to stand again. “I’m gonna bring Kronk in and say goodnight.”

“I forgot about the dog,” Stu is ecstatic. He stands and heads for the back door without waiting for a response, “I’ll get him,” he yells over his shoulder.

Jack tugs at my hand. I don’t know what’s gotten into him, but I really like it. “You’re not intruding. I love having you here.”

I feel a blush creeping across my face at his compliment, coupled with his possessive tone that is more endearing than overbearing, and I realize two things at once.

One , Jack is staking a claim on me in front of his friends. He is making it abundantly clear to them that I am something more than just his nanny.

Am I?

Maybe he just wants his friends to lay off his nanny? I dunno.

But I do think that’s something we’ve both known from the start, though what even that something is doesn’t quite have a definition yet. At least not one we’ve spoken out loud or given a name to.

Two , I don’t think I mind.

I’m going to let him.

I kind of like it.

Okay, that was more than two things, but you get the picture.

But wouldn’t he have already told them if he has a thing for me? Do dude bros talk about this kind of stuff? Does he have a thing for me? Am I reading too much into this?

Wishful thinking?

With a loud thud, Kronk bursts into the room and rushes towards me. His paws hit my chest as he jumps, knocking me off balance and causing me to tumble awkwardly onto Jack's lap. I struggle to catch my breath as Kronk bounds onto the couch and smothers me with slobbery kisses all over my face.

I expect Jack to scold Kronk for jumping on me, or at least for jumping on the couch; that would be the normal thing to do. But instead, he throws his head back and laughs, twisting my body toward his and pulling me closer to his chest to shield me from Kronk's playful assault.

I love that he doesn’t mind how doofy my dog can be. Kronk and I have always wrestled around with each other like this, and I love playing with him, so it means a lot that Jack enjoys his crazy energy too.

After a few minutes of wrestling with my dog, who refuses to give up the game, Jack finally convinces him to hop down. "That's twice now," he says with a grin, scratching Kronk's neck with one hand while the other stays wrapped around my waist. He's referring to the two times Kronk has knocked me into his lap. " Good boy. "

I twist my head to get a better look at his face and the room seems to shrink to just the two of us.

Ezra stands from his place on the couch and pads off to the kitchen. The movement grabs my attention and I come to my senses. Thank god, because I really wanted to kiss him just now. How fucking awkward would that have been?

When I finally peel myself away from Jack, I find Stu leaned against the doorframe holding a freshly poured drink, watching us with curious eyes.

The tinge of embarrassment I should feel for being caught in such an intimate moment with my professor doesn’t come.

I plop down on the floor next to Jack’s feet and wrap my arms around Kronk’s furry body, giving him a squeeze. He’s less excitable now that he’s gotten past the initial sight of me, and he lays down next to me, resting his head on my thigh.

Jack squeezes the back of my neck. “You’ll stay, then?” he asks.

“For a bit,” I reply.

“Good.” He brushes my hair from my face and stands. “I’ll grab you a drink.”

Stu pushes off the wall and follows him into the kitchen, and I am left alone for a few minutes.

It’s nice being here with Kronk, hanging out inside like a normal girl who has a normal living situation with her dog. I wish it could be like this every day.

To prevent myself from thinking too hard about any of this, I pull my phone out and look over an assignment while waiting for them to return.

I’ve checked out when they finally come back into the living room, and I am absentmindedly scratching the top of Kronk’s head while reading over some mock case notes when Jack takes his seat on the couch behind me. He reaches around me to hand me a drink. When I snap back to reality, I find that his thighs are on either side of my shoulders.

Great. How am I supposed to not drool now? Maybe I could blame the drool spot on Kronk.

“Are you seriously doing homework?” He twists a strand of my hair between his fingers and I have to physically restrain myself from leaning into his touch.

“These blood spatter patterns are fascinating.” I hold my phone up to show him, as if he isn’t the one who gave me the assignment to begin with.

“Okay, Dexter. Calm the fuck down,” Stu interrupts, visibly cringing.

Ezra just snorts.

“Stu can’t handle blood,” Jack tells me. “Him’s just a widdle baby. It makes him all queasy,” he says teasingly.

Stu glares at him as I close out the screen on my phone and stick it back in my pocket.

“You can have your blood and guts, I’ll stick to malware and firewalls.”

Ezra ruffles his hair. “Your work is just as important for crime prevention, buddy.”

He beams, flashing us the caricature of a proud face, then says, “Too true. Also, I would like to thank Quinn for being the only person in your academic circle I’ve met that hasn’t attempted to make me pass out with whatever gross shit she was just looking at on her phone.”

“I would never,” I laugh.

“And you are alone in that,” Ezra says proudly.

“So mean,” I lean into the couch cushion—into Jack—as I down the rest of my drink.

“So many unwanted images seared into my brain.” Stu shakes his head as if he’s trying to rattle them free.

“You should see the real thing sometime,” Jack teases. “An entirely different experience.”

“Yeah, hard pass,” he replies. “I’ll stick to clickity clacking on my little keyboard, thanks.”

“I guess that means you won’t be joining us on our trip to the body farm next month.” Ezra claps him on the back. “You’ll have to miss out on all the fun things we have planned.”

I suspect he’s just teasing him further, because the body farm isn’t open to visitors, even from other universities. I know because I’ve looked into it.

“Fun for you . I’d be the guy puking, crying, and dying in the corner.”

“Lame.” Ezra slouches further into the couch. “I can't wait to get up close and personal with those ripe, decomposing bodies—maybe even take a deep breath and savor the blessed scent of science in action.”

Stu dry heaves and Jack and Ezra both laugh loudly, confirming my suspicions.

“We’ll be sure to bring smelling salts if you change your mind,” Jack offers.

Stu just flips him off.

I am mildly buzzed from drinking whatever Jack just handed me so fast, and while I have been trying really hard not to laugh at his discomfort throughout this conversation, I find myself wanting to play along now too.

“I can’t believe you guys didn’t invite me,” I say with a frown. “I don’t wanna miss out on watching those cute lil’ maggots wriggle through half decayed flesh. I don’t think I’d ever feel as at home as I would while up to my elbows in rotting cadavers.”

Jack squeezes my shoulder, giggling as Stu gags again, takes a deep breath to steady himself, and downs his drink. “Fuck all of you. I thought we were going to be friends,” he says to me.

“I mean, you’re their friends.” I gesture between Jack and Ezra.

“Yeah but they’re assholes and they team up on me. Where is my teammate?”

“Look elsewhere,” Jack says, banding a possessive arm around my chest and resting his cheek on the top of my head.

I decide I want to tease him too.

“I’m sorry, Stu,” I say. “Bad first impression. What can I do to make it up to you?”

It’s like he reads my mind, because the look on his face is pure mischief when he responds. “I do need a date for my sister’s wedding next month.” He raises an eyebrow.

Jack goes completely still, and his body’s reactions tell me everything I need to know.

I understand now why his attitude toward me has been so different with them here—why he felt the need to stake his claim.

Stu seems like he might just be a big ol’ flirt.

And while I initially did want to tease Jack a little and I do think Stu is harmless, I can’t bring myself to respond to him in any kind of way that might make Jack feel like I am interested in anyone but him.

Because I am most assuredly not.

“In your dreams.” I give a breathy laugh, and the words aren’t even fully out of my mouth before I feel Jack relax again.

It makes me want to giggle and kick my feet and scream into my pillow.

Stu must have zero sense of self preservation, because his response causes me to chuckle and Jack to heave a throw pillow at his head. “Every night, pretty girl.”

The rest of the evening passes with me trying to leave several times and Jack insisting that I stay for multiple card games, which I assume is what old dudes do for fun these days because I’ve never played a game of rummy before in my life until tonight.

Ezra's reserved and moody demeanor is day and night from Stu's unpredictable and freaking hyper personality. Jack, on the other hand, seems to fall somewhere in between the two and they both seem endlessly entertained by him, as if he's a playful puppy they adopted somewhere along the way, but I suppose that is how a lot of friend groups fall into place.

It’s close to midnight when they finally say their goodbyes. I wave them off and head to the upstairs bathroom. There are multiple on the main floor, but I can never resist checking in on Sienna one last time. I need to take the longest breath I can before heading home myself. I have not peopled this much for a really long time, and I am peopled out .

I lean against the cold wall next to baby girl’s bedroom door, regather myself, then head back downstairs.