Page 3 of Bro Amazing

Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, they'reallpretty attractive.

"Powerspike," calls Quintin, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice.

Is this what they're always like? Bickering and mocking each other? That would be a lot to put up with in roommates. It's too weird in my mind to think of them as potential boyfriends. Eyeing them up as roommates is much easier, and keeps me breathing.

"Fuck you both. Of course I did," says Helix, but he covertly glances at the flyer. "Anyway, you'd have your own room, and we'd do all the grocery shopping. Well, we order them online and they're delivered. We don't really cook, kind of just eat whatever, whenever."

"Although if you cook, we wouldn't stop you," says Lionel.

"Sure, yeah, that'd be nice, but not a requirement," says Helix. "We don't want to make expectations too high or no one is going to say yes to us."

"Just saying," says Lionel, "it'd be nice to get a home-cooked meal sometimes is all."

"I do know how to cook, a little at least. Nothing really impressive, but I can get by." What am I doing? They're interviewing me to be their live-in girlfriend, and I'm over here offering to work extra. I can't believe I'm this hard up for money that I've come to this.

These guys haven't even asked me any questions about myself and I'm not sure how much they want to learn, yet they're already asking how much extra I'd be willing to do around the house. Although from the little bits of the house I've seen so far, this place is in more than a little need of TLC.

This whole idea is crazy. I should just get up and walk out while I still can.

"Oh, sweet!" says Lionel, bumping knuckles with Quinton in the chair next to him.

"Moving on." Helix gives Lionel a second look before turning back to me. "If you have dietary needs, we'd accommodate that as well. The one limitation would be that this room would be off-limits because the equipment is quite expensive."

"And we don't want our chairs adjusted," adds Quintin.

"Oh, yeah," agrees Miles. "That would be the worst."

"She'd fucking drain tank us," mumbles Quintin. "I don't champion if the positioning is off."

"What do you do in here?" Before we get any further in this ridiculous farce of an interview, I need to ensure these guys aren't doing something illegal. This neighborhood isn't the greatest, but it's still a big house and close to public transport, so it must be pricey. How can they afford to support themselves and cover my living expenses too? I mean, whoever takes theposition as their live-in girlfriend, not necessarily me. I haven't made any decisions yet.

The guys all share a look before Miles offers, "We're e-athletes."

"I don't understand." They answered very simply, but it definitely wasn't clear.

"Look, that isn't important. We don't expect whoever accepts the position to understand what we do or show an interest in it," says Helix dismissively.

"At least for any of the right reasons," mumbles Lionel.

"Okay," I say uncertainly. They sound super jaded, but if I'm not allowed to know everything about their job, or not expected to, then they can easily be left in the dark about my own job.

It's always awkward when people learn that I write romances. They either look at me like I'm pathetic or become a bit lecherous. Very few people have shown they're actually cool with what I write, which is why I spend most of my time writing alone or with others, particularly my critique group.

Although my critique group has never been too impressed with my writing. It's yet another sign that I'm not succeeding in my chosen career field.

"We work a lot and sometimes at odd hours of the day due to the worldwide aspect of our jobs. So you'll have to be able to entertain yourself when we're busy. Basically, if we're in here, we're not to be disturbed," says Helix.

Which means lots of time to do my own writing undisturbed by them.

"What, um." I have to ask the big question, but I'm scared. "What is required of the, uh, the girlfriend aspect of the … flyer?"

If I sayjob, it makes it sound a little too salacious for my ears. Which is why I've always shied away from writing the spicy stuff that sells, sticking more to fade-to-black romances.

Helix tugs on his ear, glancing around the room at the other guys. "We would require all the, uh, conveniences of a girlfriend."

"But one who respects our space, and is more there when we have some free time for that sort of thing," adds Lionel, crossing his arms.

I can feel my eyes bugging out as my brain struggles to process what they're saying without actually coming out and saying it. I could pretend I'd imagined it a moment ago, but now they're talking about it again.

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