Page 52 of Open To Negotiation

“Watch it, Hutchinson,” Theo grumbled, moving to lift Noah’s arm off me. Once I was free, he gave Noah a playful shove toward the living room.

Will held up a few bags. “Food downstairs?”

“Yeah,” Theo said as a knock sounded at the door a second before it opened and the timer went off. I had no idea what was downstairs since I hadn't exactly gotten time to explore the house. I left Theo to handle his friends and went to check on my food.

“Is he forcing you to cook?” I looked up at Asher as I placed the egg muffins on the cooling rack. His face was serious, like he was actually concerned I’d been forced into the kitchen.

“No, I didn’t get much warning and felt under prepared. I could have done more if I knew but of course he failed to mention this was the plan until we were just waking up.”

“Smells way better than beer at eleven in the morning.” I knew from comments made by Theo that Asher wasn’t overly talkative, which was why I felt the need to over explain so he didn’t have to add much. I appreciated that it seemed like he was making an effort with me.

“What is it exactly that we’re doing here?” I asked as I scooped the muffins out of the tin and onto a plate. “Theo gave me very little information.”

“Watching a football match,” Jaxson answered as he came into the kitchen and leaned on the island beside me. “We rotate the person hosting but if Theo is finally going to spend time here, I say we force him to do it every time.”

“You guys hang out a lot. You must really like each other.” I slapped Jaxson’s hand away as he reached for a French toast and pointed a finger at him.

“We do like each other,” Noah boasted as he, Oli, Will, and Theo came into the room.

“It’s a lot,” Theo muttered as he grabbed the coffee pot and everyone started grabbing the food and cups off the island.

Guess they did coffee before beer.

“Let’s get settled, the game starts soon and I feel giddy getting to watch it here,” Noah said as he walked out of the room first, heading down the stairs and we all followed behind.

From my conversations with Theo, I knew there was a gym, a bedroom and bathroom down here along with a movie and games room. We passed the gym that had fancy equipment and a treadmill heading toward an open door at the back.

It was a big room, blackout curtains covering a window on the side. A TV took up most of the back wall, I’d literally never seen a screen so big. A speaker ran along the bottom and there seemed to be speakers in the ceiling as well. There was a massive sectional couch and two chairs on the right side. A massive coffee table was starting to fill with all the things everyone had brought. At the back there was a pool table and a bar, both still with good views of the screen.

“That TV is huge,” I marvelled as Oli passed me.

“He had it custom ordered for down here,” he said, heading to the table.

“So do you watch football often?” Will asked me as he settled into one of the chairs.

I lingered near the back of the room, trying to let everyone claim their place before moving. Theo looked at me with a quirked eyebrow and held his hand out for me. I grabbed his and let him pull me around the couch and down in the middle of the sofa between Theo and Asher.

“Nope, never have. The last time I watched any sports was with Lucas when we were together.”

“Don’t mention his name,” Theo practically growled from beside me as everyone started filling their plates with food. I was pleased to see someone did bring fruit and they were starting with egg muffins and French toast before the rest of the junk.

“I forgot to ask, how are the bruises?” Noah dipped his chin to my arms before he took a bite of his eggs. “Damn, these are really good!”

I smiled at him. “Glad you like them. And my arms aren’t that bad, thanks for asking.”

“She’s lying.” Theo threw his arm on the back of the couch behind me. “She winces every time something even brushes her arms.”

I turned to look at him, a little surprised that he noticed. I thought I’d been hiding it well. Good to know that the man was that observant.

“Oh shit!” I glanced back at Noah. He was looking at me with what could only be described as apologetic puppy dog eyes. “Did I hurt you with my hug earlier?”

“No, no, it’s fine.” I said at the same time that Theo spoke.

“Maybe that will teach you to keep your hands to yourself.”

I shoved an elbow into Theo’s ribs, getting a grunt.

“Sports!” I exclaimed as Noah opened his mouth to fire something back. “Someone better teach me the rules before it starts or I will be completely lost.” I heard a single laugh from Asher beside me as Will took up the task of teaching me the rules.