I stuffed the headphones into my ears and tried not to think about the date I had scheduled in a little more than 12 hours.
Breakfast. I just wanted to make breakfast and keep myself busy until 7 p.m.
Ok, Bonnie Bennett doesn't cook that often, but it was the only thing I could think of doing at the time.
My Grams always said that "Idle hands are the Devil's playground," so focused on making a meal before I found myself stalking my date on Facebook and Twitter.
I opened the fridge and was surprised to find that one of my roomies had actually taken the time to go grocery shopping yesterday. The usually vacant appliance was filled with fresh vegetables, meat, fruit, and an entire shelf of bottled water ready for consumption. I successfully contained my shock and joy at the discovery.
Living with two guys usually means a fridge stuffed with beer, pizza and Gatorade.
I pulled out the egg carton, the package of turkey sausage and some mushrooms. I planned on sautéing the mushrooms and tossing them in with the eggs while the sausage cooked in another pan.
I scanned through my playlist and found the song "Don't" by Ed Sheeran. I needed a mid-tempo tune that I could dance to while I flipped sausage and stirred eggs.
I turned the volume up, immersing myself in the music and the cooking while ignoring the rest of the world completely. My roommates wouldn't be up so early in the morning since they both worked the overnight shift as press operators at Quad Graphics.
I danced and cooked, lost in thought for several minutes until a pair of arms wrapped themselves around my waist and squeezed me harder then necessary to make me aware of his presence.
Once he let me go, he tousled my hair and walked around to the other side of the counter, forcing me to glare at him while I worked. It's a very dangerous thing to piss off a woman standing in room full of sharp utensils.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" I snapped, "I could have burned myself."
Kol Mikaelson smirked across the counter, his light brown hair sticking out in all directions like the shaggy goatee he was attempting to grow. His brown eyes twinkled with mischief before he actually decided to answer me.
"Oh, take it easy, Darling, I'd never let that happen," he said, attempting to cajole me with his New Zealand accent.
The man had lived in Virginia for years, but still kept the accent strong enough to seduce half the women of the city. Ok. Maybe not half of the women in the city, but enough for me to know he'd wield that weapon whenever he felt it would work to his advantage.
Kol treated me like a little sister, although we were only three years apart in age. While the hair tousles, and the playful nudging annoyed me, I had come to love the fierce protectiveness he had over me.
Once, I came home crying after my boss yelled at me for no reason, and the next day he showed up at my work offering to defend my honor. When I didn't let him, he still bought me chocolate ice cream and patiently watched five episodes of Scandal with me without complaint.
He's not too bad have around I suppose.
Kai Parker is our other roommate. He's a little serious and much more reserved than most guys I've met. He loves to cook, read, and likes playing basketball even though he's not that great at it.
I honestly thought he was into guys until I found out his solitude resulted from the hatefulness of his evil ex-girlfriend, Katherine.
He'd sworn off love for a while and had only begun to date again a few months ago. I've met two of the girls he's dated, but he doesn't seem to get past the second date for some reason.
Having them around helps me forget that I'm an only child, and that I live hundreds of miles away from anyone I can call a blood relative.
As I glared at Kol, I heard the shower turn on down the hall, which meant that I'd be throwing another serving of sausage and eggs into the frying pans.
"What are you two doing up this early anyway?" I asked, finishing up the eggs and working on another batch of sausage.
"We're helping Daniel move today, so your lovely breakfast will send us off full of energy...that is if you didn't mess this batch up like the last one," he teased.
Kol reached for a piece of sausage and I threw a dishtowel at him.
"I did NOT mess up the last batch of sausage. You distracted me and it burned. Your fault. Not mine!" I asserted, turning over the sausage to make sure it was a golden brown rather than an emerging piece of coal.
After a few minutes, the shower shut off and footsteps could be heard somewhere down the hallway, along with several loud yawns.
"Daniel must be a good friend for you to do this after a 10-hour shift last night," I told him.
"He's a good friend and he's paying is in cash, pizza and beer," Kol responded.
I finished up breakfast and put everything on a platter in the center of the kitchen table.
I then opened the kitchen cabinet as well as the silverware drawer.
"Make yourself useful," I nudged Kol before grabbing some water bottles from the fridge.
"Well, aren't we bossy this morning?" Kol said before getting out three plates and three forks, then placing everything on the table.
A heavy, very sleepy voice sounded behind me with a timbre that startled me at first.
"Leave her alone, Kol. She's feeding your lazy ass," Kai said from behind me.
The scent of his shampoo and musk-scented deodorant struck me before I actually saw him standing next to me – his toned body barely covered by a muscle shirt and black shorts. His black hair still a little damp from the shower, Kai gave me a playful little pinch on my left cheek until he noticed that I was looking at him a little longer than necessary.
He stared at me with his blue-grey eyes as he used the pad of his thumb to gently rub against the spot he'd pinched. The corners of his mouth turned up in a small smile.
I blushed. Shit. He saw it too; even beneath my brown skin, I'm sure he saw it.
He sat down to eat and I did my best to forget the brief incident.
Not to be ignored, Kol removed his t-shirt, balled it up and threw it at Kai's head. Kai ducked just in time.
"What's your problem?" Kai asked, loading his plate with food as if Kol didn't bother him at all.
Kol didn't answer and the two men shared a look I didn't fully understand. They appeared to have some telepathic conversation that took place between scowls, set jaw lines, and blinking eyes.
After a few tense seconds, Kol spun his chair around and mounted it like a horse. Kai just chuckled under his breath as they both started eating.
Kai finally broke the silence.
"This isn't bad, Bonster. Someone's been picking up my culinary skills," he said.
"Thanks, but it's just eggs and sausage," I told him, secretly giddy that I hadn't burned anything this time.
Kol spoke up, leaning his perfect, naked chest against the back of the chair and appraising me again.
"So, tell us about this Wes character," Kol said, "Is he worthy of our fair Bonnie?"
"Doubt it," Kai said, not looking up from his plate, and earning himself another strange look from Kol.
I paused for a moment, considering how much I should tell them about Wes Martin, the young attorney who worked in the office across the hall from my marketing firm.
I swallowed a bite of egg and decided to be as brief as possible for fear they'd scare the poor guy off when came to pick me up.
My handsome roommates continued to eat as I spoke.
"Well, he's 28, a new attorney - an associate – at Tanner and Ross. He's smart, polite, seems like a really nice guy," I blurt out quickly, hoping it's enough information to satisfy my makeshift bodyguards.
A pair of grunts and nods was about all I received until they were done chewing.
"You going to introduce us?" Kai asked before shoving another piece of sausage in his mouth.
"You're not afraid we'll run him off, are you?" Kol added, taking a drink of water out of his bottle. I tried to ignore the fact that a drop landed in his neck and slowly rolled down his throat, and then trickled down his chest.
I shook my head. I'm not allowed to think of either of them that way. No. Not allowed to do that. They were my friends. They were my roommates. They're not sexy. They're not sexy. I chanted to myself.
"I'm not afraid of anything," I asserted, pushing myself away from the table after barely touching my food.
I grabbed my plate and tossed it into the sink.
"I'm taking a shower," I said over my shoulder as I left the room.
"Do you want me to join you?" teased Kol.
"Hell no! No, she wants me to join her," Kai joked back.
I entered the bathroom and shut the door. I pressed my back against it, breathing heavily and pretending that the warmth blooming in my core had nothing to do with either of them or... oh God, both of them...
Next, I proceeded to take one of the longest, loneliest, coldest showers of my life.
Today is going to be a very, very, very long day.
