Unconventional

by Rebecca Royce

  “You wore me out. That hot mouth of yours. Damn, sweetheart, I don’t remember the last time I came that hard.”

  I smiled at him. “Thanks. You were pretty hot there yourself.”

  “My head is drifting. I’m going to pass out. Most nights I have nightmares. You saw me after one. But I won’t wake you. I’m quiet about it.”

  I almost asked him if he wanted to talk about it, but he’d just told me he wanted to sleep. “Do you sleep with the light on?”

  He shook his head and clapped his hands. The lights went out. “I’m lazy.”

  I laughed. Banyan was fun and sweet. There were much worse ways to spend the night.

  I closed my eyes.

  It felt like I’d only been asleep a few minutes when I heard the sirens. Fire trucks. I gasped. We had to get out. If there was a fire, then we had to get out. I had to run. Grab my shoes. Get out of the dorm. Wait. Where was I? Where was the fire?

  “Sshh.” Banyan tugged me closer. “I hear them. It’s not here. Close, but not here. I’ve got you.” He kissed my cheek. “You’re safe, sweetheart, you’ll always be safe with me. I promise. No fire.”

  I nodded. Yes, now that my head was clearing from sleep, I could tell he was right. The alarms weren’t here. Banyan scooted out of the bed, pulling a new pair of boxers out of his dresser and sticking them on. He followed with a t-shirt. Then his pants and a sweater. We should get dressed. I swung my legs over the bed.

  “Stay here, okay? I’m going to go find out what’s happening, but you should stay here. It’s snowing out there. Stay warm.”

  He grabbed his coat and bent over to kiss my cheek. “Go back to sleep. You’re safe. I’ll be right back.”

  Banyan left the room before I could truly make my mind turn on. There was another fire? Maven had said someone lit the laundry room of my dorm on fire but I’d thought it was some drunk asshole being stupid. Another fire? Was someone doing this on purpose?

  I got out of bed and dressed myself in my pajamas. Flannel pants and a white t-shirt weren’t sexy, but they were warm. I didn’t want to be naked if this place went up next. I threw on my sneakers and walked to the window. The fraternity house closest to Brentwood Avenue was ablaze. I gasped. We’d been lucky in our dorm. Was anyone there in that house? I pressed my fingers to the window just as my phone beeped across the room.

  I ran over. Maven had texted me. It’s the Alpha house. No one there over the holiday. Stay inside. It’s a mess out here.

  Tears flooded my eyes. Whatever was happening, it needed to stop. Someone was going to get hurt. I’d never given fire the slightest thought. I’d seen flood, famine. I’d witnessed suffering all over the planet. I somehow had been spared fire, and now it was burning up my wealthy college campus.

  I texted Maven. I could come help you do whatever you’re doing.

  He responded right away. Not doing anything. Coming right back. No one to help. Firemen are doing their jobs.

  Well, there went that idea. I clapped my hands to turn on the lights, and then grabbed one of my books and sat down on Banyan’s bed. I’d taken this story from Chance, and it seemed like a good premise. I couldn’t get into it since it was hard to tell if the narration was horrible or the world was burning down and so I couldn’t concentrate.

  It didn’t matter. Banyan appeared a few seconds later, throwing off his shoes and his coat before plopping down on the bed. He clapped his hands, and the lights went off.

  We hadn’t spoken a word, and yet he curled up against me on the bed. I dropped my book onto the floor and rolled toward him.

  “That house is gone. And one of the firemen said it was an incredibly fast blaze.” His voice was low. Through his curtains, I could see flashing lights on the streets. The lights of the crews trying to save what they could. Heroes. They ran in where people ran out.

  “Banyan, this is the strangest winter vacation of my life.”

  He nodded. “Me, too. But not all in a bad way. I mean… a lot of it has been fantastic.”

  We fell asleep just like that, both of us fully dressed with the lights outside his window flashing and blinking.

  The bed dipped and woke me. Banyan groaned, and I forced my eyes open. Light streamed into the room, bright—not like the early morning but like the afternoon. How long had we been asleep?

  We hadn’t moved. We were still both above the covers. What was happening?

  Maven sat on the end of the bed, leaning on the wall. “Afternoon sleepyheads. Sorry to wake you.”

  Banyan rubbed his face. “What in the ever loving fuck, man? I let you sleep. We don’t have to rush over to sort the Dean’s papers today. Give me a break. And she was terrified last night. You had to wake her?”

  Maven patted my leg, his hand staying on it after the third pat. “I’m sorry. I was sleeping, too. But we got a text from Dean Brown. He’s emptying the campus while they figure out what’s going on. We have to leave. No students on campus by 3 p.m. It’s one. We have to go.”

  A cold emptiness filled my gut. Well, so much for my vacation from myself. I was going to have to figure out what to do.

  Banyan sat up slowly. “Do you need any help getting the house secured?”

  “Nope. I got it. Chance just got up and made coffee. See you guys downstairs. We aren’t getting any more community service hours done this week. Guess it’s Manhattan for New Year’s.”

  The artist in the room groaned. “I have a plane at my disposal. We can be more creative than home.”

  I rose. This was a discussion for them to have amongst themselves. I had to shower and get packed. Hopefully the hotel had rooms, or else I was getting in a taxi and going a little bit further than I wanted. How could the dean just kick us off campus? When I’d taken the college tour, my father had specifically asked if students could remain in the dorms over holidays. Internally, I groaned at the memory. I’d been so embarrassed. He’d actually said that we needed a place because I was going to be expected to manage on my own a lot.

  That had been news for me.

  I turned to Maven. “Do I have time to shower?”

  He nodded, his gaze caressing my body. “Sure. Cute pajama pants. I like how you’re always in flannel.”

  I shrugged. “I don’t own any lingerie.”

  “That so?” He got to his feet. “See you in a bit. Banyan, don’t fall back asleep.”

  “I’m up.”

  I grabbed my stuff. It made the most sense to bring the entire suitcase down to the bathroom with me rather than traipsing around at this point. Banyan hummed to himself—grabbing things, packing up his art supplies—when I left the room. I kept the shower brief. It was better not to wash my hair every day, so I focused on cleaning the rest of me. I dried myself quickly and got dressed in a pair of jeans that I paired with a red sweater that was slightly too big on me. I didn’t love my clothes clinging to my curves.

  I threw on my black boots, and I was ready to go. I just needed to say goodbye to the three guys who had been so nice to me when I’d been desperate. It wasn’t the middle of the night, I had my stuff, and I was going to be fine after I figured out if the hotel had space for me.

  “Hey guys,” I called out as I made my way down the stairs. “Thank you so much for everything.”

  Chance leaned against a wall, drinking his coffee. Banyan sat on the couch, his elbows on his knees, and Maven sat on the table in the living room rather than the chair. They all stared at me.

  Chance answered. “Why do you sound like you’re saying goodbye?”

  “Because I’m saying goodbye.” Wasn’t that clear? “We have to leave. I’m going to call the hotel and see if they have a room. If not, I’ll call all the places nearby until I find one. I’ll take a taxi. I won’t walk.”

  I would miss Chance’s concern for my well-being on the ice. I came across as pretty self-sufficient and most people accepted that I was. Only, it could be lonely always taking care of just myself and having no one checking after me.

 
“And…” I smiled. “I will say hello if I see you guys. I promise not to do the not seeing people thing when it comes to the three of you.”

  Maven jumped off the table. “You’re not going to that hotel. You’re coming with us.”

  Banyan spoke right after him. “Unless we’ve pissed you off or you’d prefer your own company. We want you to come with us.”

  They did. I opened and closed my mouth. It was one thing to have this vacation from myself here in the SPiI house on campus, another for them to bring me home.

  “Look, you guys just met me. You don’t have to be responsible for me. I can manage.”

  Chance looked at Maven. “She feels like she’s intruding.”

  “Got that.” Maven nodded. “Giovanna, please come to New York with us until January 7th? If you hate it or whatever, I will put you in a town car and you can come to the shitty hotel then.”

  I took a steadying breath. Just when I thought I understood things, I didn’t. I had to say something. “Are we going to go see the ball drop on New Year’s in Time Square?”

  “No,” all three of them answered at once.

  Chance walked over and took my hand. “That’s a holy shit on toast hell of a mess. We’ll do something fun. It won’t be that. We’re going to stay at my house.”

  “You’re sure your father won’t mind?” And I wasn’t exactly sure we should go to his house considering his father’s violent history.

  Banyan laughed. “His father isn’t going to know a damned thing about it.”

  Chance ran his thumb slowly down the side of my face. “When my grandmother died, she left her Upper Eastside townhouse to me, and most of her personal money to go with it. Some was allotted to the care of the cats she loved. It’s a long story. Anyway, I don’t ever have to sell it. I want to fix it up. It’s huge and old and… it needs some work, but it’s beautiful. When I get done with school and I’m established in a medical practice, I’m going to fix it up. Well, hire someone to fix it.”

  “I…” That was entirely different. “If you don’t think it’ll be too much trouble, then I’d love to go.”

  He grinned and stepped back. “Then it’s settled. She’s coming.”

  Maven clapped his hands together. “She’s driving with me.”

  Chance nodded. “I’m going to get on the phone in the car with the pledge president and get him going with starting to fundraise to replace what the Alpha guys lost in the fire.”

  Banyan patted Chance on the back. “Good call. And I’m thinking a two dollar cover to come in the house on the 7th for the back to school party. All proceeds go to Alpha.”

  “Get to it, guys.” Maven took my arm. “See you in Manhattan in a couple of hours.”

  He ushered me to his car, and I got in. I really knew little about cars, but this one looked expensive and it smelled new. My mind wandered away from the real. In this book, I was the heroine with some extraordinary talent being brought to New York City to perform, but I’d really just miss my small town routes. The only problem with my leaving was that I’d gone and fallen in love with…

  No, I had to stop the daydream. I didn’t do romance daydreams. They were too problematic, and my heart sometimes couldn’t separate the fantasy I had with real life. I’d suddenly be crushing on someone who didn’t know I was alive.

  What was happening here was exciting enough. “I feel a little bit like I’ve just gone down a rabbit hole.”

  “Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast,” Maven quoted from the book I’d been referencing. He pulled away from the house, driving slowly over the street. “The car is four wheel drive and the roads are salted, but I’m going to take it easy until we get on the highway.”

  I needed to come up with something to say. It was easier with Maven, Banyan, and Chance than it had been with others, but sometimes I couldn’t seem to function like others did. “I’m a terrible driver. I wouldn’t worry about me judging you. We’d be in a ditch if it were me. Um, I never asked you your major. You’re pre-law, obviously.”

  “Pre-law is a certificate. Finance major.” He smiled at me. “Breathe, Giovanna. Hard to talk all the time. I’ll make conversation, and then you can tell me to stop if you get enough. Been to New York City before?”

  I nodded. “Sure. Three times. But very quick in and out. We caught Annie on Broadway, and I took the Staten Island Ferry to see a view of the whole city.”

  Maven raised his eyebrows. “You like Broadway?”

  “I liked Annie.” I didn’t have a huge amount of experience with other shows.

  He grinned. “Broadway we can do.”

  Chapter 9

  I must have dozed off in the car because I woke up when we were crossing the George Washington Bridge. Maven had sports radio playing low. They were talking about two players who were out because they were injured. I rubbed my eyes.

  “Sorry, I haven’t been good company in the car.”

  “You don’t have to apologize for sleeping. In fact, unless you do something really horrific, you don’t have to apologize to me ever.” He took my hand. “We are going to get some good Italian food in twenty-minutes. Just you and me. Okay?”

  I adjusted the blow of the air in the car so that it hit me just a little less. “The other two won’t mind?”

  “Banyan stops for chili at a New Jersey diner anytime he makes the trip. Chance won’t mind. He’s got some stuff to handle.”

  “I’d love dinner.” I was starving, having eaten nothing since I got up. “I think that sounds like fun.”

  “I think so, too.” He smirked. “And I don’t usually find most things fun. Not really. I can be amused for periods of time. Sometimes things are funny. But the majority of my time, I am sort of bored.” He winced. “I can’t believe I told you that.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “I’m… I’m not a very exciting person.”

  “You’re honest. You’re funny. You’re kind. Those are not qualities I run into a lot. I’m glad we can be friends.”

  I felt the same way. But would we reach a point where I was as dull to Maven as everything else? “Clearly, you don’t get bored with Chance and Banyan.”

  “They’re my brothers.” He drummed on the steering wheel. “And not just because we wear the same three letters on our chest.”

  We’d left the car in a parking lot near Chance’s home and taken a taxi over to eat. Apparently, Maven’s favorite place to eat Italian was on the other side of town. The restaurant Maven chose wasn’t fancy. It was small inside, felt more like a European bistro. Waiters wore dark suits and spoke in what sounded like real Italian accents. I’d been through Italy once, but we’d been in a hurry. Dad spoke at a conference there, and then we’d rushed back to Greece where Mom was guest lecturing for a series of presentations.

  I scanned the menu, the letters jumping around a little bit. I bit my bottom lip, a habit from childhood I’d tried to stop but sometimes still did when I was nervous. I’d compensated for my dyslexia very early and managed to learn to read when I was six. I think I did it out of sheer terror that my parents would use the word stupid again. The first time they’d done it had been when I was four. I don’t think she’s stupid, Jo. I think she’s just… slower.

  My brain needed to get with the program and pick something to eat. It could have been the prices that threw me off but I couldn’t make a choice. How much was pasta? This was going to be a salad night. I’d been a child when I came here last; I hadn’t thought about cost. New York City had a reputation for being super expensive.

  I was going to have to be careful. The part time job idea was certainly going to have to become a reality. I didn’t mind. I knew how to work hard. I’d just stay up later, studying. Bright side was that meant more coffee.

  I’d be one of those heroines from an old television movie that I watched late at night. Really pushing through. I’d had a pretty cushy life, when it came down to it. Maybe my parents weren’t everything I wished they c
ould be, but I wanted for nothing. I didn’t get to live like my three new friends, but that was okay. I was sure that came with its own set of problems.

  The waiter came by, and I glanced up. Was that fast, or had I been staring at the menu without speaking for a long time? Heat traveled up the back of my neck. Maven watched me, his head slightly tilted before he looked at the server.

  “I’m going to have a glass of the 2014 Honig, and she’s going to have…” His voice trailed off.

  “Just water.” I smiled at the waiter. “Thanks.”

  He left to go get our drinks, and Maven closed his menu. “I’m going to assume you don’t want to drink unless you tell me otherwise.”

  I couldn’t imagine wanting one. “Thanks.”

  The small smile Maven sometimes gave me crossed his face. “What are you going to eat?”

  “I think a salad is good tonight.”

  He leaned forward. “Salad is so not what you should order here.”

  There was something about Maven that made me always want to do what he said. Maybe it was the way that he looked at me, the intensity of his eye contact, or the fact that, so far, he’d not told anyone to do anything that wasn’t really in their best interest. “You use your power for good.”

  He shook his head. “I’m not following.”

  “That power you have to get people to do what you want, you use it for good.”

  His smile was huge. “Aha, I have a superpower. Cool, I’ll take it.”

  “Salad is what I can afford here if I’m going to make it to the 7th.”

  His grin fell. “Giovanna.” He always made my name sound musical. “I’m paying. We’ll all be paying from now until we leave. Don’t make the same argument you keep making with Banyan. It’s done.”

  It would have been easy to just give in. I hadn’t been kidding when I called it a superpower. “I appreciate that, but friends don’t pay for friends.”

  “They do when they bring them here. This puts you under no obligation for anything. I just want to eat here with you. That’s all. End of story.”