Carolina Wren

Chapter 5

Wren's POV

Following an hour and a half of playing with Keegan's toys, lunch is a subdued affair for once. I'm even able to convince Keegan to sit quietly on the couch reading books with me while I give Juni her bottle once we're doing cleaning up. Around here, big meltdowns equal big naps so I'm able to get the babies down for a nap a little early.

Juni goes down first, and it only takes laying down next to Keegan in my bed for a few minutes, finger combing his ear while I sing quietly for him to drift off. I managed to turn on the baby monitor, another thrift store find that is questionable at best and old fashioned, and sneak back downstairs quietly before 2 PM.

Dylan is already sitting on the couch, his fingers holding open a slot on the blinds while he stares down the driveway, waiting for Kota and his friends to show up. Pretending I don't want to do the exact same thing, I sit there and stew in my nerves, the static from the bab/y monitor buzzing softly on the coffee table.

At 2:03 PM, Dylan jumps down and grins at me. "They're here!" I pick up the baby monitor and follow him outside. I don't like him playing with kids too much older than him as it is, much less teenaged strangers.

They're standing in the driveway, a couple basketballs under their arms, waving at us as Dylan races down the walkway. It's unfair just how pretty they are. It wouldn't surprise me if someone told me this school of theirs was actually a front for a model training agency. I recognize Kota, Victor, and Silas, but there's three I haven't met before and I'm honestly surprised I'm not drooling.

The most muscular of them, looking like he could hold his own against Silas, holds out a hand to me. "Hey neighbor, I'm Nathan. I live in the house on the end with the pool." His voice is sinfully deep and his short hair is more red than brown. There's a power in the way he holds himself, like he's spent hours honing his awareness of his body. His blue eyes are kind, though.

The next one holds out a hand. I'm ashamed to say his long blond hair and humor filled eyes remind me of my love of Thor from the Marvel movies. There's something about the way he shifts that makes me feel like he's the troublemaker of the group and the most likely to sneak into the bathrooms and replace the shampoo with mayonnaise. "I'm Luke," he tells me. His voice is like warm honey, soothing with a hint of sweetness and fun. "I'm not your neighbor, but my uncle owns the diner at the edge of the neighborhood."

Instead of shaking my hand, the third one takes the end of my ponytail in his hand. He's the same height as Kota and Victor, but it's still overwhelming having him so close. Close enough I can see the almost imperceptible grow out where two blond streaks are placed against his naturally rich brown hair. I also have a clear view of the studs in his lobes and the three black rings in the cartilage on his right ear. Wild, crystal like blue eyes meet mine and he says, "Please fucking tell me you have the dye you use that I can replicate this color from."

I blush and shake my head. "This is just my hair."

"Don't mind Gabe," Kota says, putting a hand on Dylan's shoulder so he can introduce him to Victor and Silas, who Dylan is staring at with a mixture of awe and terror. "He has a thing about hair."

"And clothes," adds Victor with a smirk.

"And interior design." That's Luke.

"And don't forget babies," Gabriel adds himself. "Kota mentioned you have two more younger siblings."

I glance at Kota in shock. So he hadn't assumed Juni was mine. "Yeah," I answer blankly, holding up the baby monitor. "They're upstairs napping right now."

Nathan shook his head at Gabriel. "You're as bad as Doc sometimes. You can ogle the babies later; we came to play basketball." He turned his attention to Dylan who was brimming with excitement. "What do you know about the rules?"