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Haven sat down in the doorway and leaned against the wall in the shadoatching hi so ertips It was the same tune in a continuous loop--as soon as it would wind down, he’d start it up again

She recognized it Though different in tone, the notes louder and fluid on the piano, it was the sarew heavy as she listened, but she fought sleep, captivated by theshe knew she was being jolted around Her eyes snapped open, startled when her gaze fell on Carmine They were on the second floor, and she was cradled in his ar he wasn’t upset she’d spied on him, but he merely smiled "We have beds, tesoro You don’t have to sleep on the floor"

20

Haven stood in the doorway of Car nothing s needed to be dealt with

Scanning the mess, Haven contemplated where to start

"Look, I have no idea what you’ll find," Carize in advance for it all, so I don’t have to keep saying it as we go"

He walked over to his dirty clothes and tossed theh the room "Don’t you want to separate the a pair of pants "Separate them how?"

"A pile of whites and a pile of colors ork"

"Yes, rated, and he sighed at her fallen expression "I’ot I was supposed to"

He dug the clothes back out of the hamper and made two piles as Haven picked up his schoolbooks She set theanize a bit

"So, uh" Carmine held up a white shirt with navy blue stripes "Would you consider this a color or a white?"

"Color," she said, looking at the piles "That white shirt with the green design is a color too"

Carmine picked up the shirt and tossed it on the other pile "How can you tell?"

"The tag says not to use any bleach"

"You readso scandalous

She smiled "Yes, I read them when I do your laundry"

"And you remember that?"

"Of course"

"Well, you didn’t tellit would onlythe clothes, she took the hamper of whites downstairs to start a load She pulled out a few things that were obviously not bleachable and set the to ed the empty hamper up to Carmine’s room and found him sprawled out on his stomach on the bed She stared at his back, mesmerized by his sculpted muscles and the way his tattoos stood out prominently on his skin He shifted around to look at her and smiled lazily "I forfeit This shit’s hard"

All he’d done was sort clothes, and he’d done a pretty bad job of it, at that "It’s easy to athered the second load of laundry

He put a few CDs away as she stripped his bed

He took a break She fetched fresh linens

He put on some music She made his bed

He plopped down at his desk as she walked around the roo them where she assumed they went Car her hyperaware of every move she’d do a better job on her own, but his gazeto contain his irritation when she touched certain things