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Emily
“Nice place.”
I stare down the long gravel driveway toward the house. “Thanks. It’s my brother’s.”
The cabbie just shrugs. I hand him a twenty and he rolls up the window, not even bothering to offer me change.
“Dick,” I say as he drives off.
I stare at my bag on the ground for a second. The smell of the ocean almost overwhelms me. I haven’t been near the beach in years, not since I was a little girl. I live in Philadelphia these days, and I go to the University of Pennsylvania. I’m used to the big city, lots of cars, sirens, homeless guys trying to grab my ass, the usual crap. Out here though, it’s a whole different world.
I start up the driveway toward the house. It looms huge, dunes on either side, pristine and white and glass. The beach is maybe five feet away, and I can hear the ocean lapping up against the sand. The sun is high in the sky and I have to block my eyes as I drag my suitcase behind me, stumbling on along like an idiot.
I’m not dressed for this. I have on short jean shorts and a crappy Ramones t-shirt. I feel totally out of place heading up toward this multi-million dollar mansion. I mean, I knew my brother was rich, but this is a little ridiculous. I saw some pictures after he bought it and my parents told me about it, but I haven’t actually gotten to see it yet.
Henry’s nine years older than me. I’m twenty-one, and he just turned thirty this year. We’re not super close, since we basically grew up in different households. When we do talk, he likes to remind me that I was the mistake baby, which I guess is true. My parents always tell me that’s not true, especially my dad. He just smiles and says, “You were the gift baby, not the mistake.”
That’s typical of my dad. My parents are both pretty mild-mannered academics, or at least they used to be. My mom worked at Penn for years, which is why I’m going there, and my dad was at Temple, another school in the city. Dad was a chemist back in the day before teaching, and mom was already a teacher as far as I know. She does liberal arts, and together they like to joke that they have all the bases covered in terms of academics.
They’re retired now, though. I wish they weren’t. I’d much rather go home, but I’m stuck coming here. My parents are on safari, and their house is getting renovated, so I’m shit out of luck.
Henry is my only hope. I got evicted yesterday, well, sort of evicted. My landlord got arrested for cooking meth in the basement and apparently the building isn’t safe to live in anymore. So I had to pack my stuff and get out of there. Henry agreed to let me come stay with him until I can find a new place in the city, but he didn’t sound excited about it.
I’m not excited, either. I didn’t expect to spend my summer vacation in New Jersey, of all freaking places.
But I guess it could be worse. I get to the front door, this big behemoth of a thing, and I ring the bell. It echoes like a gong inside, and I’m picturing cavernous ceilings, modern paintings on the walls, all glass and steel and white.
The door slowly opens, but it’s not Henry looking out at me. Instead, it’s one of the most handsome men I’ve ever met in my life, and he’s not wearing a shirt.
I stare at his chest, surprised, before quickly catching myself. “Ah, uh, is this Henry’s place?” I don’t know why I’m asking. I know this is my brother’s house.
“Sure is,” he says, crossing his arms. “Are you Emily?”
I nod quickly. “Yeah. I’m the sister.”
He grins at me. “Welcome then. I’m Aiden.”
We shake hands awkwardly. “Nice to, uh, meet you. Are you a friend of Henry’s?”
“Sure am. Here, let me get that.” He grabs my bag from me, effortlessly hoisting it onto his sculpted shoulder. I get a chance to check out his muscular back as he turns in toward the house. “There are a few of us staying here, you’ll meet the crew. Henry said you were coming.”
“Yeah, uh, sorry to intrude like this. I didn’t mean to drop in on boy time.”
“Nonsense,” he says, flashing me this charming, gleaming white smile. His handsome face is covered in stubble and I think his back is almost as hot as his chest. “We’re happy to have a little femininity around here.”
I don’t feel super feminine in my ill-fitting t-shirt, but I don’t tell him that. I follow Aiden into the house, and it’s about what I expected: gleaming chrome, white, minimalistic décor, the sort of shit you expect from a rich bachelor.
The main hallway (high ceilings, tasteful modern chandelier) leads into the main great room. Couches are to the right in front of a huge screen, old arcade games line the one far wall, and a kitchen is to the left.
And four more absurdly handsome guys are lounging around the space. Two are playing ping-pong, one is making a drink, and the other is reading on the couch.
The four guys all look up at me as I walk into the room.
“Hey, guys,” Aiden says. “This is Henry’s sister, Emily.”
They all snap to attention, and I’m feeling so exposed it’s insane. The ping-pong ball bounces to the floor, the guy making his drink stops and sips it, and all five pairs of eyes are staring directly at me. I’m center stage, with five hot as hell guys staring at me, and I don’t know what to do.
“Uh, hi,” I say stupidly.
