My bedroom door slams open, and I feel its thwump as it hits the wall. Paul is a bear in the morning, and he doesn’t wake anyone up easily. He goes around, throwing open doors and turning on lights until the twins are up and ready for school. They’re both seniors in high school and have to be there early. I look up at him as he stops in my doorway.
I knew you wouldn’t stay on the couch the whole night, he signs to me. He doesn’t say it out loud. Probably so he won’t wake her up. Kit’s asleep on her stomach, her hand tucked beneath the pillow and one leg pushed out to the side. I sit up and look down at her. My AC/DC shirt has risen up around her waist, and one side of her pink panties has migrated to tuck in the crack of her ass. Her left ass cheek is on display, the firm, round globe taught but relaxed. I toss the blanket over her bottom as I get up.
Shut up, I sign to Paul.
I reach over and grab my jeans, shoving my legs into them quickly. I put on my boxers before I went to sleep last night.
Paul is wearing a pair of lounge pants and no shirt. When I get to the kitchen, the twins are eating bowls of cereal, both in their boxers.
Put some clothes on, I sign to them. Kit’s still here.
“That’s her name? Kit?” Sam asks.
I shake my head. I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure that’s not her name. It’s what some guy on the street called her.
“Where’s she from?” Pete asks.
I don’t know. She won’t tell me.
Paul motions to the couch. “How’d you sleep?” He grins.
My neck still hurts from being on the couch. Fine, I say.
“She slept in your bed. With you.” Paul’s grin has turned into a glare.
I nod. Not the whole night. Just part of it. I fumble for a cup of coffee, but the coffee pot’s not where we left it. What the fuck happened to the kitchen?
Paul has his hip hitched against the counter top and he’s staring at me. “We woke up to it looking like this.” He motions toward the expanse that is our clean countertop. I can’t remember the last time I saw the Formica.
Where is all the stuff?
He opens the pantry door and points inside. She put it all away? The sink is empty of dishes, until Sam puts his bowl in it. Put it in the dish washer, I tell him. If she worked this hard to clean the kitchen, we can try to keep it looking like this, can’t we?
“Aww, man,” Sam complains. But he opens the dish washer and puts his bowl in there.
“You two get to school,” Paul says. He shoos them toward their room so they can get dressed. “Next time, put some clothes on before you come out of your rooms,” he warns. He looks at me. “How long will Kit be here?”
Paul looks over my shoulder and smiles at something. I turn around and see that it’s Kit. She’s all rumpled and she has a dent in her cheek from the crease of the pillow case. “I’ll leave today,” she says. She walks toward the coffee pot, which is now on a different counter. Granted, it’s more convenient where she put it, but it’s still not where it goes. She takes out a coffee cup and pours herself a full mug, and then she turns and says, “Thank you for letting me stay last night. I appreciate it.”
I want to ask her about cleaning the kitchen and tell her thank you, but I can’t use my voice in front of my brothers.
“She cleaned the bathroom, too,” Sam says as he comes around the corner. His hair is wet and he leans toward me. “Do I smell too much like a girl?” he asks. He looks slightly abashedly at Kit. “I used your shampoo. And your soap.”
Paul shoves him in the shoulder. “He would have used your tampons if you’d left any in there.”
Her face colors prettily.
“Stay out of her stuff, dickwad,” Paul warns.
Paul adjusts his jeans. “She folded my jeans. It doesn’t feel quite right wearing something that wasn’t rolled up in a ball in the basket in the corner of the room.”
I glare at her. She did all this while we were sleeping? I want to tell her she doesn’t have to work to stay here.
“What?” she asks. “I couldn’t sleep.”
She was sleeping pretty well in my arms. I don’t want to think about that, because I can’t get over the fact that I liked it as much as I did.
Sam leans over and kisses her on the cheek, just as Pete kisses her other cheek. She scrunches up her face, but she doesn’t slap either of them. “I vote that we let her stay another day,” Pete says. He looks down at her naked legs. Honestly, I’ve seen women at night clubs show a lot more skin than she’s showing. “She’s cute,” he says. Then he grabs a banana off the counter and runs for the door. Sam is right behind him. He closes the door behind him and Sam sticks his head back in. “I second that vote,” Sam says. Then the door slams and they’re gone.
Kit smiles and looks over my shoulder. Matt is up, and he looks like death warmed over. “I third,” he says as he sits down in a chair and puts his face in his hands.
Paul shrugs. “It’s fine with me,” Paul says. “But it’s Logan’s call. It’s his bed.”