Stuck With The Four Hotties

There are five gorgeous guys in my bedroom.Content is property © NôvelDrama.Org.

The tension is so thick, it could be cut with a knife. This is insane, I think as I exhale and inadvertently draw every gaze in the room. Frankly, I’m still reeling from last night. Having five boys invite me to spend summer vacation with them … priceless. Also, confusing. Heart attack inducing. Squeal worthy.

Their attention makes me shift uncomfortably, and Windsor grins.

“Do you how many girls at Burberry would give their entire family fortune to be in your position right now?” he asks, and it takes a lot of effort not to roll my eyes. Then he winks at me and licks his lower lip, and I’m rolling my eyes anyway.

“And what position, exactly, is it that I’m in?” I ask, crossing my arms over my baggy t-shirt. As soon as the guys swarmed my dad’s new little rental home in Grenadine Heights, I changed clothes. My party dress from last night is now in a plastic bag near the front door. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to wear it again.

I shiver.

Zack notices and his face softens. He’s got three stitches in his forehead, a swollen left eye, and a seriously puffy lower lip. I mean, puffier than normal.

He’s always had a nice, full mouth …

“The five hottest, richest guys at the academy, all right here in your

boudoir,” Windsor purrs, standing up from his position in the corner and

sliding his palms down the front of his short-sleeved, pale blue button-down. “You now get to make the tricky choice of deciding exactly who you’d like to bunk with during the summer.”

“Assuming my dad says I can go,” I insert slowly, my eyes catching on Tristan’s gray ones for a moment. He’s not engaged to Harper anymore! Part of me wants to run in the bathroom, close the door, and squeal. The rest of me … has no idea why he’s even here. Zayd, either, for that matter. Windsor is my friend; Zack has a crush on me. What about Creed?

I try my best not to look at him because every time I do, I think about the way his eyes looked when he cornered me in The Mess that day. “Avoiding me won’t do you any good.” He notices me looking and lightly rests his fingers under his chin.

“She’ll stay with me, obviously. She can room with Miranda. My sister won’t accept anything less.”

“Bullshit,” Zack snorts as he shakes his head, eyeing the three Idol boys warily. “You can’t make that decision for her.” He doesn’t trust them anymore now than he did yesterday. But … maybe I do? Hell, I’m not sure. I’m not sure about anything at this moment. Well, except for the fact that Dad’s at work. He’s a pretty chill parent, but I don’t think he’d appreciate me inviting all these guys over while he’s not home, particularly when all but one of them have been involved in bullying me.

Oh, and I’m pretty sure all of them are man-whores, too. Charlie would most certainly not appreciate that part of the equation.

“No doubt I’ll be alone at my place,” Zayd interjects, his emerald gaze dark with emotion as he eyes me from across the room. There’s this broken sort of tenderness between us that feels even more difficult to traverse than the shit I have to deal with in regards to Tristan or Creed. “And I’ll give you the master upstairs, so you won’t have to see much of me … unless you want to.” His already husky rockstar purr gets a little rougher, a little more strained.

“It’s probably best you don’t come with me,” Tristan says, his voice this cold thread of steel. There’s a throbbing sort of anger inside of him that I can see quite plainly in the tightness of his shoulders, the ticking muscle in his jaw, the heat in his gray eyes. He keeps it pretty well-contained though. “My father doesn’t know that Harper and I broke up, and I’d rather nobody but me was around when he finds out.”

My heart clenches, and my nostrils flare. That sounds like a really, really bad idea to me. I don’t want Tristan to get hit again. If I had my way, I’d follow him around forever to keep his father away. Maybe I should go and stay with him? But only if I might be able to help, not if I’ll make things worse.

“Why are you even here then?” Windsor asks, putting his hands on his hips and looking down at Tristan with an expression that reminds me of a cat stalking a rat. Tristan glances up at him and scowls.

“We have a common enemy now, don’t we?” he snaps, and Windsor raises his red eyebrows.

“Wait, wait, wait, let me get this straight: you’re here because of … Harper?” He just stares at Tristan, but the king of the school simply crosses his arms over his chest and says nothing. “You’re not at all interested in that girl over there?” Windsor points in my direction, and I flush. “Because I’m pretty sure that’s what all these other assholes are after: they want Marnye.”

The sound of the back door opening startles me, and I stand up from the edge of the bed just in time for Charlie to appear in the hallway. He sees me and starts to smile … and then notices the cadre of well-dressed boys in my room.

“Marnye,” he starts, brown eyes taking in the guys with surprise, anger, and then disgust. “What are these three doing here?” His voice is a hard snap, and I cringe. My dad is glaring at the Idols like he’d kill them if he could, snap their necks and toss them onto the driveway for the seagulls. He hazards a wary glance for Zack, too, and then looks at Windsor with confusion before turning back to me.

I open my mouth, but no words will come out.

A loud knock interrupts us all, and the sound of a door being thrown open is followed by Miranda’s voice calling out.

“Marnye?”

“In here,” I reply, holding my breath until she rounds the corner to my room, face flushed, floral skirt flying. Miranda has her phone clutched in one hand, a purse strung over the opposite shoulder, and a glare laser-focused on her twin.

Creed stares back at her and narrows his ice-blue eyes to slits before she turns away and throws a smile in my dad’s direction.

“Hello, Mr. Reed, sorry I’m late.” She grins, and I grimace. Her attempted cover-up is a little too peppy and excited. “I love your new home, by the

way.” Dad smiles at her, but he’s still not happy with me, tucking his fingers into his overalls po

ckets and glancing my way again