Bender (The Core Four Series) Read online

  When the door opened, a short girl with jet black hair and a nose ring answered. Her eyes were caked with black eyeliner and her lipstick was… holy crap was that purple? She didn’t say anything, she was just staring. I felt like her eyes were laser pointers, and she was shooting me with her death rays. Ack! I was already uncomfortable. Needing to break the awkward silence, I stepped forward and held out my hand.

  “Hi, I’m Keegan, I called about the apartment.”

  She looked down and then back up at me. “Who’s that?” Her head tipped toward Macie.

  “That’s my friend Macie, she’s tagging along.”

  She looked Macie up and down, and then did the same to me. She must have deemed us acceptable, because she stepped aside and let us in. As I walked through the entryway hall, I heard music, if you could call it that. With each step I took, it got louder and louder. At first I thought, what an unusually long hallway, but when we got into the open living room, the better question was, how on earth did we not hear this racket from outside? There were drums set up in one corner with a guy sitting behind them, a microphone a few feet in front of the drums that another guy with a Mohawk was screaming into, and a person behind a guitar. I couldn’t say whether or not said person was a guy or girl… those people Macie and I called Pat. Either a Patrick or a Patty, but you didn’t know which. Turning around I looked at the girl who let us in. I oddly found myself hoping she was the possible roommate. She seemed less scary than Drummer boy, Mohawk Man, or Pat.

  When the screaming/singing stopped, I asked Goth Girl, “Are you Jennifer?” I almost laughed at the sweet name for her.

  “Yes. These are my bandmates. I’ll just start off by telling you that we practice every single day from three till seven, sometimes later. The manager let us soundproof the space when we moved in.”

  Macie mumbled under her breath, “That explains it.” I bit my lip to stifle my laugh.

  “Your room would be in the back. No overnight guests, if your friends have an issue with anybody in my band, you’re gone, and I hope you’re not a morning person because I sleep till noon.”

  Why was she still scowling at me like she wanted to pinch my head between her thumb and pointer fingers? “O-kay,” I drew out. “Would you mind if I opened the blinds at least? It’s pretty dark in here.”

  If looks could kill… “I’d rather you not. I like the dark. Dark makes me feel things, and then I write about it. The blinds stay closed.”

  This was obviously not going to work out, and I wasn’t even interested in seeing the bedroom. “I think I’m going to have to keep looking Jennifer. I’m probably too much of a morning person for you, I like sunlight, and I’m sure I’d be too noisy. Oh, and I thrive off of country music.” I added the last bit because I knew Macie was about to lose it.

  “K. You know where the door is.” She turned back toward the band, and they started their shouty singing again. Jennifer had effectively dismissed Macie and me like it was no sweat off her back.

  I grabbed Macie’s hand and hightailed it back down the long hallway and out into the sunlight. I took a deep breath in, not realizing I was feeling claustrophobic in the dark confines of the apartment.

  “Holy shit, Keegan, I think you have hit the motherload of weirdos today.”

  “Geez that was creepy and I was oddly afraid for my life. By the way, what was your verdict on the Pat?” I asked.

  Her grin spread. “I’m leaning toward chick. I was close to asking her to drop her pants so I could see.”

  “Hardy-har.” We got into her car and sat there for a few minutes. I leaned forward and put my face in my hands. I dug my palms into my eyes and rubbed hard. What if they were all like this? I’d rather just stick it out at my mom’s if they were.

  “Stop it. I can practically hear your mind working over there. Knock it off. We have this last place to go to, and they say third time’s the charm right?” Macie was trying to be optimistic.

  “Or three strikes you’re out.”

  She rolled her eyes. “The last place is by the school right? The Ridgewood Apartments?”

  “Yup.”

  “Well, let’s go. I have a feeling about this one.”

  Yeah, me too. Except my feeling was that I was going to be living with my mother for the next two years until I graduate.

  We drove the few miles back toward campus and parked in front of the apartment complex. This was a place that I frequently passed by but had never been to. The grounds were well-maintained, there was a clubhouse that probably housed a small gym, and there was an outdoor pool and hot tub. No way would I be using those part of the facilities. I wasn’t a super big girl by any means, but I was pretty average. I wore a size ten jeans and had more than enough tits and ass, but I was very self-conscious about my body and curves. No bikinis for me.

  After the last two disastrous interviews, I wasn’t holding my breath for this one. The apartment number I was given was on the second floor. I looked at Macie and took a deep breath. Just before I knocked the door opened. Air whooshed around me and I caught a smell that was so mouthwatering my knees almost buckled. It was some sort of soap and a light aftershave. My eyes traveled up the long lean legs that clearly belonged to a man. The further up my eyes went, the more I liked what I saw. Gym shorts covered a trim waist and a plain white Nike t-shirt was stretched over a muscled chest. When I finally reached the face of the person in front of me, all the air that had filled me before left my lungs in a rush. This guy had piercing blue eyes and dark hair that was disheveled from just getting out of the shower. I didn’t have to look over at Macie to know that her jaw was hanging open like mine. Mister Hottie Pants gave us a delicious smirk that caused me to reach out for the door frame. He knew he was good looking, and I was hit too stupid to remember that I normally hated these kinds of guys.

  More awkward silence ensued before he held out his hand and said, “Hi, I’m Dodger, which one of you is Keegan?”

  MACIE NUDGED ME WITH HER ELBOW. Dodger noticed, and his smirk turned into a full megawatt smile. How was it possible for someone to have teeth like that? All white and shiny and straight… I continued to stare. Macie nudged me again, except harder this time.

  I coughed and cleared my throat. Oh dear God I was a deer in the headlights that got smacked in the forehead by some way too hot dude who knew I was checking him out. This was my future roommate, and I was ready to sign up. He needed me to sleep on the couch-check. If he needed the house to stay dark during the day-check. If he needed to sleep till noon and bring over guys that looked like him on a regular basis-double check. Oh Jesus, he was still standing there with his hand out waiting for me to take it. Get with the program Keegan, I scolded myself.

  “Gosh, I’m sorry. I’m Keegan, the one that called about the room.” I stood there again with my hand in his large palm. I heard Macie clear her throat beside me. “Shit. And this is my friend Macie.” I wasn’t recovering from my bout of stupidity very well. “She came with me for some extra support. I hope you don’t mind.”

  He released my hand and shook Macie’s as well. I watched her looking at him, and I recognized that sparkle in her eye. She was interested. Oh hell no, I was nipping this in the bud fast! No way was she ruining my possible perfect roommate situation because she wanted to jump in the sack with Mr. Hottie Pants. Ugh! And why did he have to look at her like he wanted to be doing the same thing? When they released each other, he turned to glance back in the apartment and said, “Please, come on in. It’s pretty picked up for the most part, but then again, it usually is.”

  He turned around and in a few short feet, we were standing in an open concept living room. Off to the left was a kitchen that had espresso-colored cabinets lining one wall with a granite island. The living room ceilings were large and expansive. They reached all the way up to the second story where there was a small lookout with a wooden rail.

  “The place is a two bedroom apartment. Majority of the rent is covered. Your portion would only be four
hundred dollars, plus half the electricity and water bills. If you ladies wouldn’t mind following me upstairs, I’ll show you which rooms are which.” His smooth Georgia accent was very evident.

  Macie leaned over and whispered, “I’d follow him into a fiery inferno if he asked me to. Did you see that ass?”

  Dodger looked over his shoulder and said, “It’s from squatting. I could show you good form sometime,” then continued up the stairs after winking at her.

  For the first time since, well, since I’ve known Macie, she looked genuinely embarrassed. Her cheeks were pink, and she looked down. Boy she was really crushing on the guy, and it had only been five minutes. Must be love, I thought after rolling my eyes.

  We got to the top of the beige carpeted staircase and there was once again an open space. I could see the rail that looked down to the living room in front of me. But off to the left there were two doors and to the right was one. Dodger opened the first door, and inside it was semi-dark because the shades were closed and heavy curtains blocked any light. A king-size bed in the center of one wall had a dark blue comforter and across from it was a large television mounted on the wall with a dresser just below. There was memorabilia on almost every single surface that I could see, but it was too dim to see what it was for.

  “Here’s the master bedroom. Sorry, obviously it’s going to be a bit bigger than your room,” Dodger said.

  “Oh, that’s not a problem. At least this one has a door.”

  Macie let out a little giggle. Dodger looked confused. She looked over at him with a smirk. “Don’t ask.”

  He walked in front of us and crossed the space to the second closed door. “Here’s the bathroom for upstairs. Unfortunately it’ll have to be shared. But it shouldn’t really be an issue. Well, unless you are wanting to put all that frilly pink shit on the toilet seat and a rug.” I grinned and shook my head. “Okay good.” He closed the door and went to the last opening. “Here would be your room. There’s a lock on the inside, if you feel like you need it. Although I can tell you that your privacy won’t be interrupted. Have a look around, and I’ll be downstairs in the kitchen.”

  He turned and left. I stepped forward and turned on the light. The room was a clean slate. It wasn’t huge, but it was bigger than where I was currently sleeping. My bedroom at home only had a bed and a dresser. But this room, this one I could put a bed, dresser, television on the wall, and a desk so I could finally have a place to study. I was mentally decorating the place and getting excited about all the possibilities. The only issue was that I wouldn’t be able to bring any of my furniture from my mom’s house. Even though it was mine, it technically belonged to her, and I still wasn’t sure how she was going to react to me moving out. With all of the thoughts flying around, I realized that I really wanted to move out. It wouldn’t take but a few months to earn enough money to start buying my own things. In the meantime I’d sleep on an air mattress. This apartment seemed perfect and almost too good to be true. College students didn’t typically live in places this nice. There was a nagging feeling that there must be some kind of catch. Like, did Dodger walk around the house naked? That didn’t really seem like a hardship I couldn’t handle. Did he bring girls over every night? Again, I could just close my door and ignore it. Was I going to be forced to cook for the both of us? I already did that at home so it wouldn’t make much difference.

  “So what do you think?” Macie asked in a hushed voice.

  I looked around again and glanced at the door. “It feels like I’m missing something. Like it’s too good to be true, if that makes any sense.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Pessimist. Dodger was pretty straight forward with what’s expected. I think you should take this one. Could you imagine going to anymore places like the last two?”

  I shivered. “I’d rather fail A&P and live with my mom.” She chortled. “It just seems too cheap though. I mean, four hundred dollars for a place like this? I mean, I know he said most of the rent is paid for, but why not split it evenly?”

  Macie shrugged with indifference, and it frustrated me. Sometimes it was hard to remember that money meant nothing to her, and that was because she’d always had it. “Take what’s being offered to you, Keegan. If you don’t, some other college girl is going to swoop in and snatch this place up.”

  “And would that be because of Mr. Hottie Pants downstairs?” I raised my eyebrow at her.

  “What? No! I’m not interested in Hottie Pa… I mean Dodger.” Her cheeks were turning pink for the second time today. She grabbed my hand. “Listen to me, this isn’t your typical college dorm room, or frat house, where you have no doors and bands screaming in your ears. This is a good shot Keeg, take it. Get out from under your mom’s manipulation and start living your life. Mr. Hottie Pants just makes this place’s rating go from a perfect ten to an eleven. He’s just a bonus. But this place will be perfect for you.”

  I smiled at her, knowing she was right. “If I take it, you can’t be sleeping with my roommate, Mace.” She scrunched her nose up like she was going to argue. “No I mean it. You’re my best friend, and I don’t want you to come over here if things go sour, and it be awkward for everyone. Dodger is off-limits.”

  She huffed. “Fine. Can we go downstairs and at least give him the good news?”

  I quietly clapped my hands like a young teenage girl. “Yes!”

  She grinned big and tugged me toward the stairs. When we got downstairs, Dodger was sitting at the table that made up the dining room. It still opened to the living room and kitchen, but it was separate from both spaces. He had a couple of papers in front of him. As I approached, he must have read my face, because he gloriously smiled at me and slid the papers my way. It was seriously a sin to look that good.

  “Here’s the contract stating what you are expected to pay, the dates that everything is due, and a few other minor things that we didn’t really go over. Like no painting the walls crazy colors, having overnight guests without letting the roommate know… blah, blah, blah, that sort of thing. Majority of it is basically taken verbatim from the lease that was signed to live here. I’m sure you understand.” His blue eyes sparkled with excitement.

  “Yes, I understand.” I bit my lip to keep from reciprocating the grin.

  “Okay then, here’s a pen, and I put tabs where you need to sign.” I took the pen from his hand and sat down in the chair next to him. Just as I pressed the tip against the paper, the front door opened and in walked a man that blew Dodger’s good looks straight out of the water. He was tall and built. He was wearing gym clothes, and I assumed that was where he’d just come from. His brown hair was short, but spiky, and it was wet with sweat. The clothes he was wearing were clinging to him like a second skin, and I could see the outline of sweat across parts of his shirt. My eyes took in every inch of him as he stepped inside and set his gym bag down near the kitchen. I gasped when he bent over, and I got a good look at his backside. Ever heard of the term ‘buns of steel’? I think he gave it new meaning. When he stood back up, he grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and started chugging as he slowly turned around. He must have finally sensed that there were people in the room watching him. When I got a good look at his face, I gasped again but more audibly. Dodger was trying not to laugh beside me, and Macie’s mouth was once again gaping open like a fish. His face looked so familiar and yet not. His cheeks were high and sharp, and his jaw was perfectly square. What stood out to me the most were his eyes. Almond shaped and dark chocolate brown eyes were narrowed, looking at me and the pen in my hand. I gulped. He looked almost menacing how he watched me.

  “Dodger, you fucker, you can’t interview people without me here.” His voice sent a shiver down my spine. It was deep, and it resonated inside my chest.

  He held up his hands. Still smiling like this guy had no effect on him. “You told me to interview, so I did. And,” he looked over at me, winking, “I’ve found you a roommate.”

  “Excuse me?” His hard brown eyes turned
back to me. “You just gave her the contract to sign without discussing with me if it was okay?”

  The way he said ‘her’ made me feel like I was small and insignificant.

  “She’s just what you’re looking for. I figured you wouldn’t mind.”

  Dodger’s nonchalant attitude about the situation was putting me on edge. My brain was having trouble catching up with the conversation, but when it did, it all clicked into place.

  “Wait a second. You don’t live here?” I aimed my question to Dodger.

  “Nah, that dickhead does.” He nodded toward Mr. Tall, Dark, and Angry. “He’s my brother. I’m here a lot more than my other brothers, so I took on the role of interviewer.”

  An excited sounding Macie said, “There’s more of you?” I kicked her under the table. “Ouch!”

  Dodger’s head tilted to the side, but he smirked at my friend. “Yes, there’s four of us.” He was well-aware of what he was doing to her.

  “Wait, wait, wait. You made me think you’d be my roommate.”

  “You assumed I’d be, but I never once said I lived here.” I scowled at him. “Alright, I suppose I wasn’t exactly forthcoming with the info but my brother here can be kind of temperamental, and he’s scared off a few others who have come to see the place.”

  Yeah, no kidding. His arduous eyes watching me, I could see the tick in his jaw as he ground his teeth together. “Dodge, get your ass in here, we need to talk.”

  I glanced over at Macie, and her expression was dancing with delight. Yeah I bet she was excited. A little bit of drama with a couple of good-looking guys thrown in the mix, she lived for this stuff. Me on the other hand, my stomach was churning, and I felt like getting up and leaving. I kept playing over and over again how Dodger showed me every room, but he really never did say that it was his room, his bathroom, his apartment. My head was starting to hurt. Rubbing my temples with my fingertips, I had my elbows on the table to support me. This wasn’t going to work out. This was the ball I knew was going to drop. Nothing ever went right for me. I could hear Dodger and his brother, whose name I hadn’t yet gotten, speaking low but loud enough to catch.