Page 86 of The Revenge Agenda

Pain tickles my heart. Nope. Don’t like that.

“Just put the ugly flip-flops on,” I say.

Hunter tears into the box, and Madden gets it all set up. And sure, I might be a tiny bit self-conscious when it comes to Hunter and other men being around, but seeing them joke and make fun of the foot cleaner things really does make me happy inside. My roommates are my family, that will never change, and even with Émile and Molly joining the group, it’s only making my family get bigger. Will Hunter and I ever have that one day?

It’s what I’d imagined with Ian. A natural progression. He’d meet them and love them and want to hang out here all the time. I’m glad that never happened, though, because the breakup was hard enough without any of them having to go through it with me.

That urge prickles my brain again. Ian. I have to do something about him. There’s no way Hunter deserves half of the shit he’s done to him, and Ian is carrying on with life like he isn’t a total fuckface.

“In a hotel?” Madden scowls. “Dude, no. Not cool. Move in here.”

Hunter chokes back a laugh. “Rush has offered, and it was a solid no. Nothing personal, but we work together and are trying out dating. Living together would be too much.”

Madden tilts his head. “Seven’s right. You are mentally stable. What’s that like anyway?”

Hunter throws a look my way, just for us. “Calm.”

“Sounds boring.”

“Eh. It works for me.”

Penn’s looking between them both. “Why don’t you find a place to live? Not here long?”

“His—our—” I correct, “Ex blacklisted him.”

“No shit.” Penn glances Madden’s way again. “Guess you’ll have to head back to … where was it again? Portsmouth.”

“Portland.”

“Eh, Portsmouth sounds better. And further.”

“You sound annoyed,” I say, eyeing Penn. “Are you annoyed?”

“What would I have to be annoyed about?”

“Well, I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking.”

He crosses his arms. “Just wanted to be the one trying out those things, is all. The least they could do is remember we’re in the room.”

Madden lets out his booming laugh and slings one arm around Penn’s shoulders before driving his knuckles into the top of his head. They both topple over, and while they roughhouse, Hunter and I exchange a look.

“Was I ignoring you?”

That’s a ridiculous question. “I’m right here. You were trying the shoe things like we all agreed on.”

“Well.” His lips twitch. “Apparently, not all of us.”

The laughter from Madden and Penn dies down as they separate. They’re both sprawled on the ground, and Madden suddenly props himself up. “I’ve got it.”

“Got what?”

“The solution.”

“The solution to what?”

Madden rolls his hand in our direction. “The blacklisting thing. The guys who own Bertha have a few places, right? Maybe one of their other houses has a room Hunter can rent.”

Hunter perks up from where he’s rubbing his feet over the brushes on the flip-flops. “You think they might?”

---