Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 60851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Bags in hand, Dev stepped aside to let the guy past.
The runner pulled up in front of him with a grin. “It’s all right. I’m stopping here.” He jerked his head at the house next door to Dev’s. He was tall and broad-shouldered, and his chest heaved as he breathed hard. Sweat stuck his pale blue running shirt to his skin, showcasing the outline of nice pecs and nipples. Dev quickly snapped his gaze back to the guy’s face.
“Oh, me too,” Dev said. “I mean… I live here.” He raised a bag-laden hand and pointed his thumb at his own front door.
The ginger guy’s brow wrinkled with a frown. “I haven’t seen you before.”
He had a slight accent, Scottish, perhaps? His gaze scanned Dev in a way that made Dev’s skin tingle. Something flared in the amber eyes; could it be interest? Dev wasn’t used to that kind of attention. He must be imagining it. “Yeah. I just moved in.”
“Ah well, we’re neighbours, then. I’m Ewan.” He stuck out a hand.
Dev fumbled to pass a carrier bag of shopping to his other hand so he could shake. Ewan’s hand was big and warm, and he gripped Dev’s hand tightly. Dev’s heart beat faster and his cheeks heated. Ewan’s eyes were warm too, and his smile was infectious.
“I’m Dev. It’s good to meet you, Ewan.”
As soon as the words came out, Dev cursed himself for sounding so formal. Why couldn’t he just say hi like a normal person?
“Dev?” Ewan repeated.
Dev nodded. People often repeated his name to check, no matter how clearly he said it.
Ewan finally released his hand. “I expect I’ll see you around then, Dev. Bye.” He grabbed one of his ankles and pulled his foot behind him into a quad stretch.
Dev really tried not to look at the pale skin and lean muscles of Ewan’s thigh. “Yeah.” Belatedly, Dev realised the conversation was over. “Okay, then. I’ll just….”
He climbed the couple of steps to his front door, put his bags down, and fumbled with his keys in the lock for a few awkward seconds, convinced Ewan was watching him. But when he looked back, Ewan had dropped forward to stretch his hamstrings. With his back to Dev, the curve of his arse begged to be admired.
“Bye, then,” Dev said weakly.
Dev’s heart tripped faster for a different reason as he closed the front door behind him. Noises drifted from the kitchen. It was time to face his new housemates—or some of them, at least.
Although he’d met them all when he looked around the house a couple of weeks ago, Dev wasn’t sure he could remember their names.
Three guys worked side by side in the small kitchen. A stocky, sandy-haired bloke stood over a sandwich toaster; a tall guy with cropped dark hair stirred something in a pan; and a third with messy, dirty-blond hair, sat on the worktop near the cooker, with a beer in his hand.
“Um, hi,” Dev said as he walked in.
The blond guy on the counter grinned. “Hi, Dev. It is Dev, isn’t it? Not Des?”
The other blokes both looked up and nodded in greeting.
“Yeah, it’s Dev. Devrim, actually, but everyone calls me Dev. Sorry… can you remind me of your names again?”
“Sure. I’m Jez,” the blond, obviously the chatty one of the group, said. “And this is Mac,”—he indicated the tall guy who was cooking—“and Shawn.”
Shawn didn’t respond to the introduction, but Mac smiled. “Welcome to the madhouse.”
“Thanks.” Dev managed a shy smile back. He raised his shopping bags. “So… is there a particular cupboard for me or something?”
“Yeah. Let me show you.” Jez hopped down. He opened a cupboard over the microwave. “This one’s empty now, and in the fridge, the second shelf down is yours.” He opened the fridge. “Well it should be yours, but our stuff has spread to fill the space since Paul left. Hang on.” He moved a few things around. “There you go.”
“Thanks.” Dev was grateful for Jez’s cheerful chatter. Socially awkward, Dev was crap at keeping conversations going. It was always a relief when someone else did it for him.
“So, are you all settled in?” Jez asked as Dev put his few things in the fridge.
“Yeah, I think so.”
Shawn spoke next, and his tone was oddly accusing as he asked, “So, how come you moved out of halls partway through the year? You’re a first year, yes?”
Dev tensed. Avoiding Shawn’s curious gaze, he moved to the cupboard and started to stack stuff on the shelf. “Yeah. I, um… it just didn’t really work out very well, so I wanted a change.”
There was a short, uncomfortable silence. Dev was painfully aware of them absorbing his words. He might as well have just slapped a big sign on his head that read “Victim.” With his skinny frame, thick glasses, and slightly odd mannerisms, Dev had been a walking target for bullies when he was younger. But in his later years at school, he’d found his niche with weird, geeky gamers like himself, so he’d become complacent.