Beating Hearts [Knight's Rest #1]

08

Thelonious avoided Mac's glare as he scooped some scrambled eggs on to two separate plates. Mac absolutely hated it when the guys couldn't be patient enough to wait for him to finish fully garnishing them just the way he liked; to absolute perfection. "Sorry," he mumbled under his breath as he grabbed some toast.

"What's the need for two plates?" Mac mumbled, annoyed as he salted the eggs just a little more. "The more you use, the more we have to wash."

His complaints fell on deaf ears.

Thelonious shrugged in response before he leaned back against the counter and nibbled on some toast. His eyes flickered towards the kitchen doors as Romeo walked in, his eyes drifting past his friend and at the part of the lobby that had become visible with the slight opening of the door.

Romeo frowned as he came to a stop in front of Thelonious. "I thought you were in your room." Confusion was evident on his face and Thelonious wasn't in the mood to clear it up for him. It was too early in the morning to put up with the boys' teasing.

He paused as he chewed the bite of toast in his mouth before he answered, not in any rush at all. "No, I'm right here." He replied casually.

The youngest among the three men scratched the back of his neck. "But I heard the shower running when I walked past it."

He cleared his throat and avoided all eye contact, both from Romeo and Mac. "It must be broken I'll take a look at it later." He shrugged, hoping to whisk over the matter. It would be difficult to explain exactly why his shower was running when he was in the kitchen. It would be even harder to explain why a fiery red head was showering in his private bathroom, especially since Thelonious had never brought a girl back to the hotel. And he doubted that explaining the situation would help the situation.

Denial was the way to go.

"But it sounded like it was running. Definitely not just a drip." The young brunette persisted, absolutely puzzled as to why his friend and employer was acting so strange, especially this early in the morning.

Maybe he was finally going crazy.

"Don't worry," he mumbled as he finished his first slice of toast. "I'll take a look at it after breakfast."

"Okay," Romeo dragged out the word, utterly perplexed. His boss was weird, of that he was sure but this morning was just something else. "Do you need some help fixing it later?" He offered before reaching out to grab a piece of toast for himself.

"No." He grabbed another piece of toast and when he looked up, Romeo was staring intensely at him as he chewed. Realising that he had been slightly harsh, he was quick to amend his words. "I need you to help clean the rooms instead. Your friend quit on me last night." He added the last sentence in hopes of changing the direction of the conversation.

Romeo chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "That might have been my fault. Sorry for that." He visibly winced.

"Don't let it happen again." He warned the boy, glad that he was back in control.

If his friends found out that Darcy had spent the night in his room then they would surely do everything they could to embarrass him in front of her. He wasn't exactly sure what was going on between them but he was sure that he liked it and wished to be able to explore whatever there was between them without anyone meddling. Sure, she would most likely meet them during breakfast but he would handle that problem when it arose, if it arose.

For all he knew, she could use his shower, change into some of his clothes and then make a run for it.

Thelonious finished off his second piece of toast before he had even sat down for breakfast. He was a nervous eater.