Chapter 4: Hospitality
AN: Apparently I was wrong, there can be ménage à trois, and quatre, and whatever, like two or three of the guys and the girl, just no interaction between the guys. So expect that, eventually 😉
And I'm going to try to blaze through this and get it finished by the Watty's deadline (September 30th, I believe?), so be prepared for crazy fast updates--and you know what motivates me to update? Lots of reads, and lots of comments😉 yeah.
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Momoko considered what she was doing as she walked toward their apartment with the members of Peppermint Silk in the hot July night. Either she was embarking on the beginning of a really great professional and personal relationship with four great guys, or she was being incredibly stupid.
Hopefully not the latter.
They were laughing as they walked, joking around and pushing each other. Sullivan was by far the tallest, possibly topping six four or five, with Jude and Dane about tied for second, though both had to be over six feet. Tommy was a bit shorter than the two of them, though he was still a good for or five inches taller than her. She knew that she herself was maybe five six on a good day in heels, which she wore only rarely, so she was definitely the shortest of the bunch. She was used to this, however; it had been true for her ever since she'd moved to New York.
"Don't you think so, Momoko?" Jude asked, turning to include her in the conversation.
"Sorry, what? I was off in my own head," she apologized, taking a couple of steps to be closer to their conversation.
"We were just saying that New York has got to be the worst smelling city in the world," Tommy repeated. "Between the subways and the sewers and the garbage?"
"You guys have obviously never been to Tokyo," she replied. "The men still think it's okay to pee on the street, and the pollution laws are nonexistent, so you could choke on the car exhaust, honest to Christ--" she nodded for emphasis.
"Someday we'll be famous and we'll tour there, and you can show us all the sights, okay?" Sully said, putting an arm around her shoulder and rubbing.
"Sounds like fun," Jude enthused.
"I agree, though you guys would get mobbed," Momoko laughed.
"You think we'll be that famous?" Sully asked, with a smile.
"Are you kidding? You don't have to be famous," Momoko replied, gesturing to the four of them. "Look at you. Four tall, good looking foreign guys? You'd have girls crawling all over you if we went there now. Throw in the fact that you're musicians and you'd get laid--"
"When do we leave?" Tommy quipped. "Sounds like a fucking plan, man."
Momoko just shook her head and they continued walking.
"This is us," Jude said a minute later, gesturing. He pulled out a key and opened a heavy security door, letting everyone through. They then climbed two flights of outside stairs, after which Sullivan opened a heavy sliding door that led straight into a huge loft space. The side that faced Bleecker Street was floor to ceiling windows, and the back was a bank of doors set into a wall, like a dormitory.
The common space had no separation whatsoever, with a kitchen area blending into a living area, and the only division being provided by huge bookshelves. The entire left half had been set aside as a rehearsal space and filled with musical equipment. It actually had the ambience of a very eclectic hotel.
"What a cool place, and how in the holy hell do you afford this?" Momoko asked, taking a few steps in and looking around.
"It belongs to Sully's uncle," Dane explained. "He's charging us a fraction of what it's worth, so we can afford to live in the city and pursue our dreams."
"And why is Sully's uncle doing that?" Momoko's voice held curiosity.
"He hates the rest of Sully's family. He's the black sheep or whatever you call it," Dane supplied. "When he was young, he wanted to be in theatre, but he was forced to go into banking, and he's always regretted it, so when he found out about us, he wanted to help; he has dreams of us making it big and giving Sully's father the big middle finger or something."
"How nice for you guys," Momoko said with a smile.
"See, there's even a room for you if you decide you want to move in with us. "Tommy gestured to the door that was second from the right. "Marshall's old room. It's just that there's no bed or anything in there right now, he took all his shit with him, so all we have to offer you is the sofa."
"Well, like you said, the sofa looks amazing," Momoko said, plopping down on it. "It's huge."
"It folds out into a bed and all," Jude said helpfully.
"I don't think we're even going to need to do that," Momoko replied. "This is big enough for me just as it is."
"So you guys do pay rent to live here?" Momoko asked.
They nodded. "Just not what he could get for it if he wanted to," Sully explained. "So we're poor, but we have security, you see? My Uncle Allistair is a really great guy."
"I can see that," Momoko answered with an approving nod.
Sullivan, Tommy and Jude all took seats around Momoko, but Dane remained standing, looking at the three of them.
"Uh, guys?" he said. "I think she's tired? It's after midnight, shouldn't we let her get some sleep?"
"Oh, right! Sorry!" There was a general hubbub as they all rose, apologizing for keeping her up.
"No, it's okay," she insisted, but she did cover a huge yawn as she spoke.
"Um, could I possibly borrow a shirt from someone to sleep in?" she asked, her voice becoming uncharacteristically shy. "I'd be more comfortable if I didn't have to sleep in my jeans and shirt--"
"Yeah, I have something," Sully said with alacrity, already heading for his room.
The other three stood around, wishing they'd been the one to provide her with a shirt to sleep in, for some reason.
Sullivan returned with a flannel button down shirt and handed it to Momoko, who accepted it with thanks. "Um, is there a place I can change? And maybe a toothbrush I can use?" she asked hopefully.
"Take her to the blue bathroom, I just cleaned it today," Jude suggested.
"We have two bathrooms, the blue one and the yellow one," Sully explained as he pointed. "We take turns cleaning them."
Dane showed her where the bathroom was, and opened a drawer filled with extra toothbrushes. "Take your pick," he said, gesturing.
"Thanks," she told him, giving him a smile.
He smiled back at her as he left.
She undressed, and debated whether to leave her bra on or not, but knew she'd never be able to relax and sleep with it on, so she took it off as well, putting it on top of her folded jeans and shirt. She quickly brushed her teeth, washed her face, and braided her hair for sleep.
She looked at herself in the mirror before she left. The shirt came to mid-thigh, and was loose enough that the lack of bra wasn't too obvious. She left her socks on, grabbed her pile of clothes and left the bathroom.
They'd turned most of the lights off, but left the lamp next to the sofa on for her, and all of them were still there, waiting for her. "Oh, I figured you'd all gone to bed," she said as she set her pile of clothes on the coffee table.
"Well, we hadn't said goodnight, had we?" Jude asked rhetorically, looking appreciatively at her in the shirt and socks.
"Oh, and you need stuff for your bed," Dane said, jumping up. He went to a huge standing closet in the far corner of the loft and returned with a pillow, a fluffy comforter, a pillow case, and sheets.
The guys quickly made up the sofa while Momoko protested that she could do it herself. "Really, I'm used to taking care of myself, you guys," she said, hovering while Sully tucked in the sheet and Tommy efficiently shoved her pillow into the pillowcase.
"Nonsense," Jude told her. "At least for tonight, you're our guest, so let us do this. If it becomes a regular thing, then you can take care of it yourself, okay?"
"Okay," she said, watching Dane zip up the comforter in a cover and flick it out over the sofa.
"There, all ready," Sullivan said, gesturing toward the sofa with a ta-daa movement of his hands.
"Thank you, you guys," Momoko said, sitting down on top of the comforter and tucking her knees under the shirt. "Not just for making the bed up, but for helping me tonight and everything, it's really nice of you, considering we just met and everything."
"It's our pleasure, honest," Tommy assured her.
"Yes, dealing with psycho drunk ex-boyfriends is how we like to spend the odd Friday night," Jude quipped, winking at her.
"Jude," Dane admonished.
"Good night," Momoko said.
"Goodnight," they repeated, smiling at her.
Momoko lay back after she turned the lamp off, trying to adjust to being in this strange place.
What had she gotten herself into? She was now the lead singer of a band. And she was definitely getting come hither vibes from all four members of the band, she thought.
But that couldn't be, could it? That must surely be rule number one in the band book code of ethics: Thou shalt not screw around with another band member.
Right? Wouldn't that screw up the dynamics of the band?
But, but, wasn't it Fleetwood Mac where, between the men and women of the band, they'd gone through just about every possible combination of man x woman possible?
She was pretty sure it was.
"Right, Momoko, and look what happened to them," she murmured to herself.
But that was only after they'd soared to unbelievable heights of popularity and fame, earning untold gobs of money, Grammys and accolades.
Hmm.
Besides, she, Momoko, had just gotten out of a gnarly and horrible relationship, and she, Momoko, had absolutely no interest in being in another relationship for a good long while.
Right?
But this didn't have to be a relationship, did it? What if it were just a fun thing, just a rebound thing, a fun thing to help her get over horrible, clingy, controlling, lying, cheating, Hunter? That would be okay, wouldn't it?
But if she chose one, wouldn't it make the others feel terrible? Besides, which one would she choose?
Hmm.
Not like they weren't all good looking enough. Good gravy, talk about spoiled for choice. Momoko had never seen four such handsome men in one place before today, and she'd been a theatre major, where good looking guys were a dime a dozen. Of course, they were usually gay, which did make a difference.
Sullivan? Tall, broad-shouldered, All-American, from the smile to the blue eyes, he could sell anything, from toothpaste to car insurance.
Tommy? Muscular, smoldering, the kind who looked like he'd bite you if he got too impatient with you, but in a good way...
Jude? The gray-eyed Englishman with the sarcastic sense of humor, so pretty, so thin, but strong.
Dane? The dreamy poet with the beautiful brown eyes and nice arms, shy until you got to know him, but then watch out...
The truth was, Momoko could see herself with any of them. All of them were kind, smart, musical, and polite. And they were clean, which, though it might sound weird, was important to her, and sometimes hard to find in the current, grunge culture of New York City.
But again, so not a good idea.
Just put it out of your mind and go to sleep, Momoko.
Go to sleep.
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