STRIPTEASED: A Standalone Reverse Harem Romance (Roommates Book 1)

“Hey, Emma.”

I looked up to see a familiar face entering the coffee shop. Maddie’s brunette curls bounced around her shoulders as she approached. “Thanks for coming,” I said as I stood. Was I supposed to hug her? I didn’t know her very well, but the night we met had been one of the worst and certainly one of the strangest of my life. It kind of felt like I’d known her for longer.

Maddie solved my dilemma by dropping her purse on an empty chair and reaching for me. Apparently she had no qualms about hugging a near stranger.

We sat down, and she crossed her legs as she looked at me. “All your stuff’s in my car.”

“Thank you,” I said fervently. I’d been so relieved when Maddie found me on Facebook and offered to get my things from Clint’s parents’ house. I never wanted to see any of those people again. Besides, I was getting pretty tired of wearing Denver’s clothes. The past few nights I’d had to wash my underwear and hang them on a towel rack to dry, which was awkward when sharing a bathroom with males.

I’d also been sleeping in an old t-shirt of Knox’s that was the size of a Buick. That I didn’t mind so much—it was soft and comfortable.

“How are you?” Maddie asked, and then immediately continued on. “That’s a dumb question. I’m really, really sorry about the breakup. Both that it happened and also the extremely rotten way that Clint did it.”

“Thank you.” Her sympathy was kind, but I’d been doing my best to concentrate on the future rather than the past, and I didn’t particularly want to think about Clint right now. Of course, it would’ve been easier to focus on the future if I had some clue what it might hold. “Would you like something to drink? It’s my turn to buy you one.”

Maddie laughed. “That hot bartender didn’t let me pay for it last time, so that doesn’t count. You stay right there, I’ll go get something.” She hopped up and headed to the counter before I could object.

A few minutes later, she was back with two chai lattes and a plate of cake pops. “Help yourself. It’s the least I can do.”

I paused in the middle of reaching for one with chocolate sprinkles. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve been kicking myself for leaving you at that club. You’d had such a shock, and Sonia was being so impatient, but I shouldn’t have let her leave you there.” Maddie’s earnest green eyes were troubled.

“It’s okay. Actually, I—”

“No, it isn’t. I’ve never left a friend in a club like that, and it was a shitty thing to do. I’m really sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Her concern touched me. “Sonia’s kind of hard to argue with sometimes.”

“Tell me about it,” Maddie said, her face twisting into a grimace. “She’s my boss.”

“She is?” I’d thought they were friends.

“Well, she’s my supervisor at work—that’s part of why I didn’t stand up to her. Trust me, I’ve felt awful about it ever since. Sonia and I aren’t especially close, but when she was asking around for people to attend your party, I volunteered because it sounded like fun and also good research.”

“You’re researching strippers?”

Maddie laughed. “I wish! But no, my sister’s getting married, and in a few months, I’m supposed to throw a bachelorette party for her.”

Ah, that made sense. “Did you learn a lot the other night?”

“I learned what not to do. I definitely won’t leave anyone behind. How did you get home, did you end up getting an Uber?”

“Well, actually, I—”

“And where are you living? Sonia told me how you and Clint were staying with their parents, that’s why I volunteered to get your things for you.” She shuddered. “You didn’t go back there that night, did you?”

“No, I—” Wow. This was going to be a bit hard to explain, partly because I still couldn’t quite understand it myself. “The twins took me home.”

Maddie’s mouth fell open so wide that I could practically see down her throat. “What? You went home with the strippers?”

“Yeah. I mean, I was practically unconscious. They brought me to their place.”

“Oh my God, are you okay? Did they… I mean, they didn’t try to…”

“They were perfect gentlemen, all of them.”

“All?”

“The twins, that bartender we met, and the bouncer.”

“You’re staying with four men? Four drop-dead gorgeous men?” Maddie’s voice was so loud it was echoing around the room.

People were staring, and I felt my face flush. “Yep.”

“But how… when… where? Do they live in some kind of strip club barracks or something?”

I laughed. “No, they share a big house over on the east side of town.”

Maddie stared at me as if I were an alien lifeform. “Tell me everything.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Everything! You’re living with two of the hottest guys on the planet. Three, actually, because that bartender was incredibly dreamy, too. And that bouncer! He was so big. Up close, is he as good-looking as the others?”

“Yes,” I said honestly. “But in a different way. He’s pretty quiet, but somehow very reassuring. It’s like I don’t have to worry about what I say or do when I’m around him. I’m not sure how to explain it.” Whatever it was, I was grateful for the big man’s calm demeanor.

“How can you relax in a house with that much testosterone?”

Her words made me chuckle. “They’re not even there that much. They’re at the club at night, of course, and Tonio—he’s the bartender—takes college classes during the day. The twins work at a gym in the afternoons. I’m not sure what Knox does, but he’s not home much during the day, either.”

“Knox is the bouncer?” Maddie asked, and I nodded. “Look at you, casually recounting the daily activities of strippers. Do you feel like you’re about to melt into a puddle of lust the whole time you’re there?”

I looked down, my face heating.

Maddie instantly apologized. “I’m sorry, Em, that was crass. I know you’re still reeling from your breakup. It must’ve been devastating, and I’m sorry for implying otherwise.”

For some reason, I felt like I could be honest with Maddie even though it wasn’t really easy to put my conflicting feelings into words. “It’s… strange. I’m upset, of course, and truly shocked. If Clint wasn’t sure about us, why the hell did he make us move out here together? But also, well, for a while now, I’ve felt that things weren’t quite right in our relationship.”

Maddie took a drink of her chai latte. “How so?”

“Things just seemed harder than they should’ve been. He was the only real boyfriend I’ve ever had, so I didn’t have much to compare him to.” Even as the words came out of my mouth, I knew they weren’t entirely true. I’d often compared Clint to the amazing heroes in romance novels, but that wasn’t a fair comparison. Men like that didn’t exist in real life.

I sipped my own drink while I thought about it. “You know how, sometimes, you hear couples talk about how they thought things would be different when they had a baby? Almost like they expected the baby to save the marriage?” Maddie nodded. “In retrospect, it kind of feels like moving out here was a last-ditch effort to save our relationship. Things weren’t going great, but I figured that a fresh start might help. Moving in together. Finding jobs together. And, of course, I figured he must be serious about me if he asked me to marry him and move out here with him. I never dreamed he’d get back together with his high school girlfriend almost instantly.”

Maddie leaned across the table and patted my hand. “That was like, the shittiest thing to do ever. But you know what they say—living well is the best revenge.”

I shook my head. “Then I’m failing. No job. No clue what to do next.”

“Are you kidding? You live with a pack of hot men. That’s like the best revenge ever.”

“I doubt Clint would think so,” I replied. “He probably doesn’t even know.”

“I may just have to accidentally mention that fact in front of Sonia. She was quite taken with the twins, you know. So at least she’ll be jealous even if Clint’s got his head too far up his ass to be.” She grinned when I raised my eyebrow. “I’ve met him once or twice, so I’m allowed to say that.”

“I definitely wasn’t arguing about that assessment.” My smile faded as my mind returned to weightier subjects. “Truthfully, it still hurts. No one likes to be rejected. But I’ve also been questioning what I was doing with him in the first place. He really caught me off guard when he proposed, and I suppose I got swept up in it. I hadn’t ever dreamed he cared enough to ask for my hand in marriage.”

“I get it. What woman doesn’t want to feel loved and cherished?” The kindness in her eyes told me she understood. But then the corners of her eyes crinkled as she grinned. “Now you can be loved and cherished by hot-as-hell strippers, plus a bonus, bouncer and bartender as well.”

“It’s really not like that. They’re just nice guys.”

“Nice, perfectly normal, drop-dead gorgeous guys. Doesn’t sound like a bad way to rebound to me.”

I shook my head, trying not to grin.

“I’m serious, girl. You won the frickin’ lottery. Tell me more about them. All of them.”

Her enthusiasm was contagious. I tried to think of details that wouldn’t betray the guys’ privacy, since they’d been nothing but kind to me. “They eat a lot. I’ve been going to the grocery store because they don’t always have time, and I have to go practically every day.”

“That makes sense. The twins must really work up a sweat on stage.”

“Yeah, and they’re all about protein and low carbs, but Tonio and Knox like pasta and bread and stuff. The guys have barbecued twice since I’ve been there because that’s something they can all eat. They have a nice little setup in the backyard. There’s a firepit and chairs and stuff, too.”

“Sounds fun, especially when the weather cools off a bit.”

“Yeah—though I won’t be there then.”

“Why not? Sounds like it’s working out. What’s the rest of the house like?”

Ignoring Maddie’s first question, I described it to her. How I was still in Denver’s room, so I shared a bathroom with Tonio. Knox’s bedroom was on the first floor off the living room, and Austin’s was in the basement.

“Where does Denver sleep?”

“He’s bunking with his brother. The basement is apparently Austin’s domain. One of the guys said there’s some sort of workout equipment down there, too, but I’ve never been down there.”

“Wow. Two twins in one bed. Kind of makes your mind wander a bit.”

“Yeah, sometimes.” I couldn’t help the smile that slipped out.

She grinned too, and then suddenly we were giggling like little girls. “I don’t know how you keep your cool. Austin and Denver are pure perfection. I could barely handle talking to that bartender, and he had his clothes on.”

“Austin often goes around in just his boxer shorts,” I confided.

“No! I’d die on the spot. And die happy, mind you. How do you stand it?”

“I don’t know,” I said truthfully. “All of that plus the sudden end of things with Clint—it all still kind of feels surreal. So I mostly just go with the flow, and every so often I wonder if this is all a dream and one morning I’ll wake up back in my tiny studio apartment back east.”

“Well, it’s not a dream and I don’t want you to go back because I’m glad we met.”

Aww. For a moment, Maddie’s words made me choke up. It was funny how Clint’s extraordinary rudeness had led to so many acts of kindness from others.

Maddie’s smile was kind. “Anyway, sorry, but I need to get back to work soon. Sonia was relieved when I said I’d get your stuff so that none of them would have to deal with it, but she won’t be pleased if I’m gone too long. Are you ready to go make the transfer?”

I nodded and got up. Denver had lent me his car, and it was only a few spaces away from where Maddie had parked. I asked about her sister’s wedding while we transferred my suitcases, boxes, and stuff from one car to the other.

“My sister is excited, but she keeps me hopping. I’ve got maid of honor duties on top of the dress fittings.”

“She’s found a dress? I hadn’t even started looking for mine.”

“No, I’m making it for her.”

“What? You know how to do that?”

“Sure. I started sewing when I was a child, doll clothes and such. I always wanted to design my own wedding dress, but since it looks like that’s not going to be an option any time soon, I offered to make hers.”

“I still can’t believe you know how to do that.” That seemed like a skill far beyond anything I could do.

“It’s fun. Time-consuming, but fun. The only problem is that I can’t find a veil that goes with the dress I’m making. We’ve looked at dozens, and none are quite right.”

That made me pause right in the middle of the parking lot, a big box in my arms. “What kind of veil are you looking for?”

Maddie set down a stack of my pillows and blankets in Denver’s back seat. “It’s kind of like I’ll know it when I see it. It’s got to be soft and feminine. The dress has some floral detailing on it. But it needs to be full, too, and cascade down her back. She’s got the most gorgeous head of long hair, not curly like mine. I want something that looks perfect with it.”

“Stay right there,” I said, pulling boxes back out of Denver’s trunk.

“But there’s still more stuff in my car.”

“Just wait.” I found the box I was looking for. Hastily pulling it open, I shoved aside shirts and sweaters until I located a brittle, cream-colored box at the bottom. As I straightened up, I unwrapped the towels I’d padded around it to keep it safe.

“What’s that?”

“I didn’t have a dress, but I did have this.” I opened the box and carefully lifted the white, lacy veil.

Maddie gasped. “That’s gorgeous! I have to find one exactly like it for my sister. Where did you get it?”

“It was my mother’s.” It was one of the few things my grandmother had saved for me, and I’d dreamed of wearing it for my wedding since I was a little girl. But Clint had dashed that dream to the ground and stomped all over it. “I want you to have it.”

“No,” Maddie said instantly. “There’s no way I could do that. But if you let me study it, maybe I could—”

“It’s yours. Well, your sister’s. I don’t want it anymore, it’ll only remind me of Clint.”

Maddie’s green eyes were wide. “Seriously, Emma, I can’t. I—”

“I recently thought I couldn’t do something, and it turns out I really could.” I smiled at the memory of that breakfast in which the guys convinced me to stay. “You’ve been very nice to me and I’m glad we’re becoming friends. I truly want you to have it.”

I put the veil back in the box and handed it to her. She took the box with reverent care. “Thank you. My sister is going to be ecstatic. But if you ever decide you want it back, just let me know and I’ll return it instantly. Seriously, Emma, just say the word and it’s yours again—even on the day of the wedding.”

I laughed softly at that. It did hurt a little to hand over the veil, but right now it didn’t remind me of my mother. It just made me think of Clint and all the hopes and dreams I’d had about my life with him. “I hope your sister will be happy wearing it.”

“Me too, and I’m glad you’re staying in town,” she said as she helped me put the last of my things in the car. Then she looked at me with a twinkle in her eye. “And not just because you might introduce me to those strippers.”