by Smoke, Lucy
He shrugged. "I guess. Hey, let's go take a look at that study room," he suggested suddenly.
I paused and frowned. "Now? Don't we have somewhere to be?"
"Just a peek," he promised, grabbing my hand and pulling me behind him.
I couldn't say no to his boyish smile. I shook my head as he dragged me towards the study room doors, past the rows of bookshelves was the study room where it all began—the guys and I. My chest tightened as we neared it. Four years ago, I had met Darren, Dex, Cody, and Taylor—well, I had more than met them, I had fallen in love with them.
As we neared the room, a shifting sound drifted to my ears. "Darren? Are you sure we're the only ones in here?" I asked.
The lights were out, but I swear I heard moving. I opened the door and flicked on the light. It didn't occur to me that Darren never answered. My lips parted, my mouth dropping open.
Dex, Cody, and Taylor all dressed in the suits they had worn under their graduation gowns were down on their knees—one knee, to be precise. I looked behind me and my eyes widened even further as Darren, too, fell to one knee. The exact way someone might be if they were about to...
"Jamie Houston," Cody said.
Oh shit.
"You have made us the happiest men alive for the last four years," Taylor said.
I was not going to cry.
"And we want you to make us the happiest men alive for the rest of our lives," Darren said.
I flicked my gaze back and forth between them. Fuck. Yes, I was going to cry.
"You're beautiful and smart and wonderful," Dex said.
Big, honking, ugly-ass tears. It wasn't going to be pretty.
"We love you," they said as one.
But who gave a shit about pretty when four of the hottest athletes—four of the most amazing men in my life—were proposing to me?
"Will you marry us?"
Cody was the one who lifted a velvet covered box and opened it. I stared down at the prettiest little blue rock I'd ever seen. It wasn't a diamond. A diamond was too plain for us. We were unique. We were different. I loved that about us.
Just as I predicted, large, fat tears began to trail down my cheeks, dripping off my chin. I nodded fast, almost giving myself whiplash as I tried to answer before they could think that they’d made a mistake and decided to change their minds.
Dex smiled at me. "You want to verbalize that, Baby?" he asked.
"Fuck yes," I said with a trembling hand as I reached out for the ring. Taylor took it from Cody and slid it on my finger. "I want to marry the fuck out of you. Out of all of you."
Taylor whooped, but before he could lift me into the air—Darren was there, doing it for him and swinging me around as I cried and laughed and cried some more.
I couldn't believe that one fateful night almost four years ago would lead to a lifetime of forever. One night was all it was supposed to be until they realized they couldn't let me go. Until I realized, I couldn't let them go.
Lucky Break: A Break Series After Story
Chapter 1
One. Two. Three.
Jump.
One. Two. Three.
Dodge.
"If you break my nose, I'm going to be pissed," Roxi said as she backed up a step, holding her hands up in a defensive maneuver.
I rolled my eyes. "I'm not going to break your nose," I assured her, ducking again as she threw a right hook.
"Yeah, well, you look like you're in a foul mood. Forgive me if I'm not taking any chances," she said. "I thought you'd chill out after you got engaged."
I huffed and kicked out, but she leapt over my foot and shot me an incredulous look. "Seriously?!" she snapped. "I thought you said you were fine."
"I was until you brought it up again," I said, turning and avoiding her next jab.
"I appreciate you coming all the way to New York City, but couldn't you have come when you weren't pissed at the guys?"
I groaned and put my arms down, causing her to do the same. "It's not that I'm mad at them," I admitted. "I'm just nervous."
"Why are you nervous?" she asked as we began stripping off the boxing gloves. She tossed hers to the side of the mat and then started to untape her knuckles and fingers, watching me as she did so.
"We already got married," I winced as the admission came out.
"What?!" Her shocked and horrified reaction was exactly what I was expecting. All of a sudden a flushed Roxi was in my face, glaring at me. "How could you?" she hissed. "I was supposed to be your maid of honor, you whore! Why all the planning to get married in New York if you were just going to do it back home all along? I thought you guys were moving here?"
"We just wanted to get the actual ceremony out of the way," I assured her. "We're still doing the family and friend gathering here. We're still moving."
"So..." Roxi's glare lessened as she backed up, keeping her narrowed eyes on me as though she were waiting for me to spring something else on her. "What does that mean exactly? Why are you nervous if you're already married? You did the deed. It's over, isn't it?"
"Not exactly." I untaped my fingers and laid my own gloves down next to hers. "I'm still meeting all of their families, and I don't know...I mean, you know how...unusual our relationship is."
Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "You're actually telling them all?"
I shrugged. "I'm not. I mean...it's complicated. Taylor—Donovan—has been introducing me to his parents as his girlfriend for the last few years. Cody and Dare did the same with their families. Then there's Dex..."
Roxi growled. "His perv of a brother isn't coming, is he?" she demanded.
I shook my head. "Of course not. I'm pretty sure if Stephen showed up Dex would lose it and kill him."
"I don't blame him. After what you told me happened on the cruise you took, I'd kill him too. He shouldn't be allowed within a mile of you after that."
"I appreciate the show of friendly support," I said with a chuckle.
She sniffed and tipped her nose up. "Just doing my duty."
"Yeah, well..." I nudged her shoulder with mine as we took a seat on one of the many rows of plastic chairs set around Julio's Boxing Gym, "you do it well."
She waved that away and turned to look at me. "So, you're nervous about meeting all of their families and coming clean," she concluded.
I nodded.
"Damn girl, that just sucks to suck, doesn't it?"
I gaped at her. "You bitch! You're supposed to console me or give me advice or something!"
She laughed, a full bodied, hand on her stomach, head thrown back laugh. Tears of amusement filled her eyes as she peeked them open and looked at me only to have her laughing hysteria overtake her once more. "Babe," she finally said as she calmed, "what do you want me to say? I'm not the one in a relationship with multiple guys."
I pouted. "No, but you want to be."
She stiffened and then rolled her eyes. "That's beside the point."
"Oh really? How's being Oliver and Bastian's roommate? Their completely platonic roommate?"
She glared at me. "Now you're just being mean."
"Payback is a bitch, ain't it?"
She swatted my arm. "Oh shut it," she said. "Come on, let's get a shower and if you're nice, I'll take you to this new coffee shop I found down the street. We can talk more about your impending doom and maybe even figure out a way to stop World War III from happening."
I grimaced as I got up, stretching the sore muscles we'd worked out today. "You don't really think it'll be that bad, do you?" I wondered aloud as I followed her.
She shrugged. "Who knows? Come on, hurry it up!"
I sighed and followed after her, hurrying into the women's locker room where we rushed through a shower and dressing. My hair hung in wet strings down my back, soaking into the dark fabric of the extra t-shirt I'd packed for this side trip. I wrung it out as we strode along the sidewalk, avoiding tourists and cars that drove far too close to the sides of the road. The noise level of the city was obn
oxious, but there was also a sort of comforting note about it. The lights were always on. Someone was always awake. You were never alone.
"There it is!" Roxi's hand closed around mine, and she dragged me along behind her with such force I had to wonder if she'd been going to the gym more than she'd claimed since she moved here.
Expresso Lane? I looked up at the wooden sign dangling in front of the small coffee shop that Roxi had stopped us in front of and read the intricate wording of the coffee shop's name. "There!" she called out, pointing to a table on the sidewalk at the very end of the patio. "Grab it!" She rushed forward, releasing me from her grip and slid into a seat, peering around as if she had narrowly managed to snag it when, in fact, there was no one else rushing to get a seat. Several patrons were actually eyeing her with a mixture of confusion and irritation. I sighed and moved forward as my cheeks heated.
"You're ridiculous," I said with a sigh as I plopped into the free seat across from her.
Roxi shrugged, brushing her ponytail behind her as she propped her elbows up on the table and leaned forward. Before she could say anything more, a waiter came out and took down our coffee orders—something I hadn't experienced back home—and then disappeared inside.
"Now," Roxi said, reclaiming my attention, "what's your game plan with the guys and their families?"
"I don't really have one," I said. "I'm meeting them tomorrow night."
She frowned. "That's cutting it close to the ceremony, isn't it?"
I shrugged. "We don't really have time for any other preparations," I replied. "After this, I'm meeting up with them to go apartment hunting again. I think we've found the place we're going to be moving into—at least, that’s what the guys have assured me—but I wanted all of us to go take a look at it before anyone signs a lease. Then I have to pick up my dress tomorrow morning. My parents are flying in after that..." I trailed off. Just thinking about all of the things I would have to do in the next 24-48 hours really had my head spinning.
"Jesus," Roxi stared at me as the waiter came back and delivered our coffees. I sipped mine thoughtfully as Roxi lifted her eyebrows and poured half of the sugar container on the table into her cup along with a considerable amount of milk.
"Are you drinking coffee or milk?" I asked with a quirk of my brow.
She shrugged, swirling her spoon in the mixture. "You really one to judge?" she asked, glancing meaningfully at my vanilla frappuccino. "Can you even consider that coffee?"
I sipped it thoughtfully. "Point taken," I conceded.
"I know you said you wanted advice on what to do about the guys' families," she said, resting her spoon on her napkin and lifting the cup to her lips. She took a long sip and sighed in pleasure as she settled the cup back down. "But I don't know what to tell you, Babe. The guys love you, right?"
I frowned. "Of course they do. I don't doubt that for a moment."
She nodded. "Then it doesn't matter what happens. They'll stick with you. Besides, like you said, it's too late. You've already sealed the deal. You got married—which I'm still irked at you about, by the way. Don't think I won't hold that over your head for a while."
I laughed and rolled my eyes. "We didn't do the ceremony," I said. "We just went to the courthouse and signed the papers."
She harrumphed. "Doesn't matter." She put the cup her lips again. "I'm your best friend and I was supposed to be there." She sipped her milky-sugar-coffee flavored liquid.
"Uh huh, next time, I'll make sure to remember that."
"Is there going to be a next time?" she asked.
"What?" I blinked as she set the cup down and leaned over the table, eyeing me.
"You heard me," she said. "Is there going to be a next time? Are you going to get married to each of them?"
"Uh..." I looked around awkwardly before resettling my face on hers. "That's kind of illegal," I pointed out.
She shrugged, her eyes closing with a blasé expression before she reopened them and leveled me with a meaningful look. "You could always do some sort of unofficial marriage ceremony," she said.
Huh. I'd never thought of that. I mean, I guess I should have considered it, but none of the guys had mentioned it either. They'd all actually agreed that I'd be marrying one of them officially, while the other guys would be the groomsmen. In the private ceremony between just the five of us, we'd known that we were dedicating ourselves to each other. Me to all of them. All of them to me. And them to each other, in a way, as friends and fellow husbands. I'd kissed all of them for that ceremony. In my heart, I was married to all of them.
"Not this time," I finally said. "Officially, I'll just be marrying Dex. My parents have met him. They like him. They've met all of them, but as far as they've known so far, I'll just be married to him. Tomorrow night, I'll come clean. We all will."
Roxi gave me a pitying look that made me feel worse for keeping it all a secret from our families. How would I have explained having multiple boyfriends to my parents, though? Oh, hey, Mom and Dad, meet my boyfriend, Dex. Oh and his friends, Dare, Cody, and Taylor. I've been fucking all of them rather regularly for the last few years and we're all in a relationship together.
Pretty sure my mom would have tried to box me up and ship me to a church camp or a convent or even a psych ward without a second thought.
"It'll be okay," Roxi said, reaching forward and touching my hand with hers. I turned my palm over and let her grasp it. "I'll be here if you need me. You know I'm only a phone call away."
I sniffed, forcing the tears of anxiety that had been building at the back of my eyes for the last few minutes ever further back. "Thanks," I managed to choke out.
"Hey, with you moving to New York City, we'll be even closer than a phone call," she said with a sensitive smile.
I clutched her hand and nodded. "You're the best," I whispered.
She laughed, squeezing me right back. "I know I am, Babe."
I snorted. "Bitch."
"Whore," she replied playfully.
Chapter 2
"I'm standing in front of the building."
"What are you wearing?" Dare asked in his sexy voice.
I rolled my eyes. "My birthday suit."
"Uhhhh. No, you're not!" I grinned when I heard his voice from behind me rather than through the speaker of the phone. I pressed end call, but before I could turn around, two thick arms circled me. "If you were in your birthday suit in public, I'd have to tell Dex," he growled playfully as he bit my neck.
I laughed and slapped his arm. "Come on, we're already late. Where are the others?"
He finally let me turn around and face him. Tipping my face up with a finger under my chin, Dare leaned down and gave me a light kiss. "They're already upstairs," he answered.
I shook my head at him, unable to resist the smile that came to my lips as he released me to take my hand and pull me into the white brick-faced building with a light-gray awning over the entrance and a sign that read The Balden Suites.
We bypassed a doorman, who must have recognized Dare because he said nothing as we strode by him, and instead merely inclined his head respectfully. Darren pulled me along behind him towards the first set of steel doors in a row of elevators. There were four elevators in total. Two on one side and two on the other. I glanced around as he pressed the up button.
"How long have you guys been here?" I asked suspiciously. He seemed to know his way around far too easily.
Dare scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I just got here about twenty minutes ago," he said.
"And the others?" I prompted.
He shrugged.
"Why do I have the feeling that you've all been holding out on me? What am I about to walk into?"
Dare cast me a dopey grin.
"Don't look at me like that," I commanded, tugging my hand against his vise-like grip.
"It's not bad, I promise," he said, refusing to release me.
"Uh huh." I folded my free arm around my stomach as the elevator doors opened and we got inside. He p
ressed another button and I turned my face away as we began our ascent.
"Jamie." He reached around for my other hand and pivoted, pulling me completely against him, chest to chest. I propped my chin on his sternum and glared up at him. "Do you trust me?" he asked.
"What kind of question is that?" Of course, I trusted them.
"If you trust us, then know that you'll love it."
I narrowed my eyes at him as the elevator dinged, letting us know that we'd arrived. "What exactly will I love, Darren?"
The elevator doors slid open and he stepped out, dragging me with both hands on my wrists. Before I could say anything else, my eyes lit on the room and my mouth dropped open. I turned as Dare released me, and then turned again, trying to take it all in.
"This is..." I couldn't believe it. "It's..."
The floors were white marble, the walls a beautiful soft lavender. There were tables by the front with freshly picked tulips in glass vases.
"Dare..."
"Do you like it?" I pivoted as Dex's voice came from an archway to my right.
"Do I like it?" I repeated. "It's amazing. It's gorgeous." I stepped through another archway into what looked to be a living room area. Two giant sectional couches with lovely purple throw pillows. A glass coffee table. An 82-inch television screen. I quirked a brow and smirked at that. Of course, they would. I stopped spinning like Annie in Daddy Warbucks' mansion and turned back to them as Dex and Dare hovered nearby, eyeballing me. "It's impossible," I finally said. "How the hell can we afford this? I thought we were just getting a cheap apartment."
"There's no such thing as cheap in New York City," Cody said, coming in from another entrance with Taylor and an unknown woman not far behind.
I frowned at the woman, but noting her black pantsuit and severe haircut, I figured she must be the realtor. "Hello there," she said with a bright smile, coming forward with a hand outstretched. "I'm Maude Thompson, from Hallvorn Real Estate."
I nodded, taking her hand and shaking it lightly before stepping away. "It's nice to meet you," I replied, "but I think there's been a mix up."