Lynelle

It was 5 in the morning, a time at which she would usually be dead to the world. But instead, Lynelle was reading. She'd been up for about two hours, having woken up at 3 am without being able to fall back asleep. After creeping downstairs, she grabbed a bunch of books from the library and settled into the living room.

She sat silently on one of the beanbag chairs with the stack of books next to her, slowly making her way through. Adventures, pirates, romance, space ships, betrayal, forgiveness. Sex.

She was so sucked into the steamy romance book she was reading that she didn't even register the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs until he was right in front of her.

"You're up early."

Her head snapped up, startled at the sudden voice that had broken her out of her trance. Jackson was standing there, looking relaxed in gray sweatpants and a t-shirt.

"So it seems," she replied.

She slowly tucked the erotic book she was reading under her leg, feeling herself blush a little at the feeling of being caught with it. Jackson's eyes darted down to the shirtless guy on the cover of the book, then back up to her flustered face.

He had a small, amused smile on his face as he sat himself on the edge of the beanbag right next to her, so they were right next to each other. Lynelle casually stretched out so her legs rested on his beanbag, thinking of a change of subject and desperately avoiding eye contact.

"So. I got these new bagel breakfast sandwich things that I think we should--"

"You're reading porn."

She sat up straighter, widening her eyes and snapping her gaze to his face. "Who, me? Why would I be -- what's -- what even is that? No, not me," she stuttered, shifting her body to better hide the book under her thighs. Good save, Lynelle. She was a fantastic liar.

"No? That's not porn that you're reading?" Jackson said, tilting his head innocently. This was a giant blow to her ego, being caught with porn. She simply could not recover.

Before she could reply, he placed his big hands on her knees, wrapping around them. "Are you lying to me?"

He forced her knees apart until her legs were completely spread and leaned in, until they were so close Lynelle could see the little details in his brown eyes.

"I think you're lying to me, sweetheart."

"Um. No?"

Her lips parted as Jackson's face got teasingly close to hers, causing her blush to worsen.

He shifted his hands off of her thighs and moved away, breaking the trance. She looked down to see that her open legs had exposed the dirty book, and he had grabbed it from her while she was distracted.

As she sat there frozen and recovering, he flipped over the book and looked at the cover.

"Let's see then. The Billionaire's Fake Fiancé? Interesting..." Jackson flipped open to the page she had just been reading, marked with a bookmark.

"Alright, let's see what this is all about. She strained against the handcuffs" -- he shot her a smug look -- "as his stubbled face rubbed up her exposed thighs, kissing and licking, slowly coming closer to the place she needed him the most, her hot, throbbing --" His dramatic reading was cut off as she unfroze and kicked the book out of his hands, trying to snatch it from the ground but he grabbed the other end.

Her face was on fire. "Okay fine, we all look at porn every now and then. Can we move on?" He laughed and gave the book up.

"The next time you feel the need to get some porn for yourself, just come to me, yeah? I'll give you something much better than porn," Jackson said, stretching out on his beanbag.

Lynelle looked at him, stunned at the look on his face that made her almost think... but no, it couldn't be. Jackson was one hell of a flirt, but that's all he was. "Yeah, I'll be sure to do that."

She was gonna burn that book.

By the time Jackson and her had figured out how to get the bagel breakfast sandwiches cooked, all the others were up.

Ethan had started to comment on the book she had unknowingly left on the counter, but before he could say much of anything, she took the book and chucked it across the room, making quite an impressive shot into the recycling can.

Mental note to get that out later and donate it.

Unfortunately, Max, Jackson, and Ethan had to go to work. She couldn't remember what they did, but she didn't want to ask for a third time because that seemed rude.

Rowan and Char stayed home. They were both quiet and reclusive, which was kind of a nice break from the occasional chaos of having five roommates.

But by the late afternoon, after a day filled with nothing but art block and frustration, Lynelle wished for some distraction. A game.

She stood in front of Char's door, nervous to bother him. She didn't know him that well, but he seemed like a better bet than Rowan, who definitely hated her.

She knocked quietly and he opened up, smiling at her. He was definitely the biggest out of the guys, towering over her. She grinned, shoving her hands in her pockets.

"You up for a game?"

He beckoned her into his room, shutting the door behind her as she walked in. "I kinda want to play 20 questions," she said, sitting on his bed and grabbing a pillow.

Char sat next to her, leaning back onto his elbows. "With stakes?" he murmured, raising his eyebrows at her in a way that was far too hot for his own good. He probably didn't even know it.

"Hell yeah."