“Yep.”
Another surprising new detail about the Harding brothers – they all live together. I wouldn’t have expected that. I guess it makes sense for expenses, and to allow them to have such a nice place that each of them may not have been able to afford on their own.
The first floor of the house is actually the second floor, as all of the beach houses are constructed on wooden pilings to prevent flooding. As we ascend the few final steps to the deck, I prepare myself to encounter a frat house scene inside. Four guys living together – it must be a continuous party when they’re not working.
Instead, as we enter, I’m greeted with a very tasteful, clean, and attractive living area. Sure, it looks like men did the decorating; the furniture and limited decor are bold and masculine, but also very appealing. And there’s not a beer can or piece of trash in sight.
The living room and a large dining area face out to the ocean. I turn to take in the view from this vantage point, and it’s beautiful – there’s just beach and endless ocean through the wall of glass.
“What would you like to drink?” Matt asks. “Water? Tea? Hard cider?”
“I’ll have a tea, please,” Lacy says as she wanders around the living room, exploring, brushing her hand along the backs of the furniture.
“Maddy?” Matt asks.
“Water, thanks.”
“Have a seat.” Adam settles on one side of the couch and looks at me as he pats the cushion next to him. I’m saved from having to decide whether or not to sit near him when Lacy takes the spot.
I sit in the chair that’s farthest from Adam, though I’d rather be pacing to burn off my nervous energy. I bounce my leg up and down instead and look around the room, afraid to meet Adam’s eye.
When Matt hands me a glass of water his eyes dip lower before meeting mine. The air-conditioning is making my nipples hard. Either that or the sight of the men’s mostly bare bodies.
I curse my lack of a beach coverup and hunch my shoulders, trying to make my breasts less obvious.
Josh sits down on the other side of Lacy while Matt and Jake sit on the loveseat opposite my chair. For a moment there’s awkward silence as Lacy and I sip our drinks.
“Did you go for a swim?” Josh asks.
“No, just a long walk,” Lacy says.
While avoiding looking at Adam, my eyes keep resting on the bare chests of the other three brothers. It’s insane really, how good their bodies look. I already knew they were fit by the way clothes look on them, but I had no idea. They did not look this good – this much like Men with a capital M – when I left for culinary school.
I take a long gulp of my water hoping that the sooner I finish it, the sooner we can leave.
“Your home is so beautiful,” Lacy says, looking behind her toward the open second floor. “Can you give us a tour?”
Adam stands. “Sure, we can do that.” He leads all six of us into their kitchen, which is separated from the dining room by a long counter. Their home is spacious enough that the area isn’t crowded when we’re all in it together.
Matt stays behind to tidy something in the near-immaculate kitchen while Adam takes us next down a hall past a laundry room to his bedroom. I don’t want to see beds where these men sleep… or where they do other things. I don’t need these images in my mind.
I linger in the doorway, keeping my focus toward the front of the house as the rest of them step into Adam’s room. Josh makes a joke about an unmade bed, Lacy laughs, and I make the mistake of looking in and seeing his white sheets twisted across his king-size bed. My nipples tingle as they press harder into the thin fabric of my bikini top. Has a piece of furniture ever elicited a sexual response before?
Adam smirks as he steps out of his room. His eyes linger on my chest a moment and then he’s behind me, rubbing his hands up and down my bare arms. “Are you cold, Maddy Patty?”
Lacy giggles as she passes, and I feel like running, but another part of me wants to sink into Adam’s arms, then pull him back into his bedroom and have my way with him.
Using every bit of my willpower, I step away from him and follow Lacy and the twins back out into the living room and up the stairs, trying my best to forget that Adam is behind me, no doubt watching my ass and legs with each step. Thank god I have shorts on because if I were in bikini bottoms, there would probably be a visible wet spot between my legs right now.
The upper level houses four bedrooms – one each for Matt, Josh, and Jake, and a guest room. There’s a big open area on the landing with books, games, and a TV, and there’s also a smaller room serving as an office.
Adam and Lacy head back downstairs but I linger in the office, my attention drawn to a small tabletop Christmas tree on a far corner of the desk. “A Christmas tree?” It’s not the season for it, but the tree is set back with items surrounding it on the desk. It looks like a permanent fixture in the office.
When I move closer I recognize the ornaments on it – red and yellow construction paper stars with cut-outs in the centers to frame photos.
“We made these,” I say, thinking out loud as memories take shape in my mind.
Josh and Jake are behind me but they don’t say anything.
I turn the stars one-by-one, seeing Matt’s and Adam’s stars with their cute grade school photos in each. I find Jake’s, and then a larger one that frames a picture of their mom and dad sitting on their couch together. “Oh. This is nice. I remember your mom helping us make these ornaments.”
The twins and I made all of them because Matt and Adam weren’t interested in doing crafts. I can clearly picture sitting at their kitchen table with scissors, tape, and glue; Mrs. Harding making dinner nearby while the three of us made the ornaments. I’d forgotten how much Mrs. Harding loved Christmas.
“I’ll bet you miss her.”
“Yeah,” and “Of course,” they reply in unison.
“Do you mind… your dad marrying my mom?”
Josh answers immediately. “No, of course not.”
“Your mom is great, and Dad seems happier than he’s been in years,” Jake adds.
“That’s good,” I murmur.
I move to step toward the door but Josh stops me. “There’s another ornament on the tree.”
“Oh, right, I didn’t see yours yet.” I reach around the back of the small tree but instead of finding his, I find mine. A faded red star framing my second-grade picture. Me with my hair in pigtails and a huge grin on my face.
My face flushes pink. They kept my ornament all these years? This doesn’t fit in at all with the image of them I’ve been carrying since we’ve no longer been friends. If I had any photos of them, I might have ripped them up.
“We’re really glad you’re back in our lives, Maddy.” Josh’s voice is warm but earnest. “We missed you.”
He holds out his arms and suddenly I’m enveloped in a hug. It’s comforting and lovely, but I’m also aware that we have a lot of bare skin touching. His chest is hot and hard, and I can feel his heart pounding against me.
A gentle pull on my shoulder brings me out of one embrace and into another as Jake wraps his arms around me, the sensations and scent being the same and doubling the pleasure of it all. As Jake holds me, he caresses my back, his hands sliding up and down over the strings of my bikini.
But then there is another touch, lower on my back – is Josh touching me, too, as I’m in his twin’s arms? Before I can sort out what’s happening, Jake pulls back slightly and cups my chin in his hand, lifting my face to his and bringing his lips to mine.
“What are you doing?” I jump back, startled, dazzled, dazed. I search both of their faces, trying to make sense of what’s going on. “I thought you wanted to be friends!”
Keeping me close, Josh takes my hands in his, squeezing them gently to calm me. “We do want to be friends, and being friends is a good starting point. We want to be more.”
Jake takes one of my hands from his brother so that I’m holding hands with both of them
. “Now that we’re older – and wiser – we know that best friends make the best partners,” Jake says. “And the best lovers.”
My eyes must be ridiculously wide. What is going on? They’re proposing that we – the three of us – become lovers?
I suspect that Adam would toy with me just to get a reaction, but the twins are clearly sincere. I know they aren’t saying this just to set me up. Yes, they hurt me a long time ago, but they didn't do it on purpose. They were never malicious.
“We want you in our lives, Maddy,” Josh says.
“You want us to be… lovers?”
“Maybe it’s a weird way to put it, but yes, we want you, Maddy,” Jake says.
“The both of you?” So many questions run through my mind. How would that even work? What are they talking about? What. The. Hell?
Jake releases my hand after giving it a final squeeze. “We’ve taken you by surprise. You don’t need to say anything now.”
“Think about it,” Josh adds.
As if I’ll be thinking about anything else.
11
So very wrong
I wake up before the alarm the next day. It’s a wonder I sleep at all.
I don’t recall any dreams, but the first thing I’m aware of is a restlessness, both physical and mental.
Not yet fully awake, I let my hand drift down under my sleep shorts to stroke over my panties. My fingers slip beneath the fabric and I find my clit, swollen and needy.
As I circle it slowly, I imagine Josh and Jake alongside me, and I bring my other hand down to stroke my thigh and stomach, multiplying the mounting sensations. What would it feel like to have both of them touching me at the same time?
They always seem to move and speak in coordination; would they have that kind of synchronization in the bedroom? Would they work together to bring me to a peak of pleasure I’ve never before experienced?
My finger dips down into my wetness and then moves faster and faster over my clit, finding the perfect rhythm. I picture the twins’ gorgeous faces and bodies in the bed with me, and my breath starts to come out ragged.
Then suddenly Adam is there too, lust in his eyes. I picture him kissing me and fondling my breasts while the twins work together to get me off. Adam moves away and Matt’s face is there, because why not? This is a fantasy, and lanky rockstar Matt should be there with his brothers.
I can’t quite imagine what Matt’s kiss would be like – hard or soft? – and that hesitation is enough to break the spell and bring me further awake.
What am I doing? These men are my stepbrothers. They are my mother’s new stepsons. Why am I fantasizing about them all pleasuring me at the same time?
I try to bring Chris Hemsworth into the room to chase all of the Harding brothers out, but they won’t go away. Fuck it. It’s just a fantasy. It can’t hurt anything.
With the twins’ imaginary fingers inside me, and with the thought of Matt and Adam pinching my hard nipples, I arch my back and convulse in pleasure. I come hard, and it feels amazing, until it’s over and then it feels so very wrong.
I release a long sigh before rolling onto my stomach and burying my face in the pillow. Fantasy is fine, but anything real can never happen. I’ll talk with Josh and Jake and tell them we can’t be more than friends, and I’ll stay far away from Adam so he can’t kiss me again. It’s the right thing to do.
I’m carrying a tray of freshly baked turnovers to the front when Clay comes into the shop.
After exchanging greetings with Lonnie and me, he notices the items I’m adding to the case. “Looks like I’m just in time. Are those apple?”
“Cherry. Apple are still in the oven for ten more minutes.”
“Shoot. I’m meeting with an owner in ten minutes. Maybe a cinnamon roll, then? And half a dozen danishes for others at the office.”
While Lonnie packages his selections, Clay follows me toward the kitchen. “How’ve you been, Maddy?” he asks. He’s wearing a light blue button-down today, and the color is very flattering on him.
I pause at the door. “Good. You? Did you have a good weekend?”
“Just fine. Hey, I was wondering if you’d like to go out again? Maybe Thursday?”
I was somewhat prepared for this question. Immediately after our date, I thought that if Clay asked me out again, I’d politely decline. It didn’t seem like there was any spark between us, and sometimes it’s better to end things before they even get started.
Now, however, after the crazy encounter with the twins, and after Adam’s kiss, and my very clear feelings on how wrong any of that would be, I need a distraction more than ever.
I don’t want to use Clay, though. But it’s very possible that I wasn’t in the right frame of mind when we went out, and maybe I didn’t give him a fair chance. Maybe he was nervous that night, or maybe we just need more time to click with each other.
“Sure, that sounds good.”
“There’s a new gastropub in Whitman that I’ve been wanting to try. How about if I pick you up?”
Whitman is fifteen miles away on the mainland, so it really doesn’t make sense to drive separately. My not-so-new car has been a little unpredictable, too, and I’m not comfortable driving it off the island until I get it checked out. It is a second date, and he was a gentleman on the first, so I agree to ride with him.
“See you then, Maddy.” Clay’s mouth curls up in an appealing grin and I return his smile and give a little wave as I return to the kitchen. No spark, not yet, but maybe there can be.
12
Feeling foolish
That afternoon there are sparks of a different kind. Or, rather, no sparks.
“Uh oh. On no!”
After the timer signals half an hour has passed, I check on the apple pies I’d put in the oven. I want to make sure the crust isn’t getting too brown, but instead the crust is barely cooked, and the oven isn’t nearly as hot as it should be.
I check the knob; I turn it off and on again. I jiggle the knob; I give the side of the oven a hard thump. Nothing.
This is a huge problem. There is another oven and it’s still working – thank goodness – but to fulfill the shop’s orders and keep the bakery case full, I need both ovens.
I consult with Lonnie but she is as clueless as I am about what the problem might be. I’m debating about whether to bother Mom on her honeymoon when my phone rings.
The woman apparently has ESP.
“Hi, sweetie, do you have time to talk?”
“Hi, Mom. Yes, I do. How’s your trip going?”
“It’s going great. Everything’s wonderful. How about you? How are things at the shop?”
“Funny you should ask,” I say as I glare at the malfunctioning oven. I describe the issue and Mom suggests a few things for me to try. Surprisingly, banging on it like it’s a misbehaving vending machine is not on her list of troubleshooting items.
Nothing she suggests works.
“There’s a service company you can call, but they might take a while to come out.” She’s silent for a moment, and I can tell she’s thinking. “I know! Matt. Call Matt. He fixed another equipment issue for me once before, and Mike’s always talking about what a whiz he is at fixing things other than cars, which of course all of the boys are good at.”
“Call Matt?”
“Yes. Or, I can call him if you’re busy.”
“No, I’ve got it, Mom.” I hate to trouble her with this during her trip.
“Try Matt. If he can’t fix it, the service company number is in the file, but I’ll bet he can take care of it.”
“Okay, thanks.”
“Thank you, honey, for running the shop for me. I’m having a lot more fun knowing that things are covered there.”
I smile, despite my frustration about the oven. And my reluctance to call Matt.
When we disconnect, I consider going directly to the service company, but I know mom will find out, and then she’ll wonder why I didn’t want to call Matt. I can’t exactly
tell her that I want to avoid all of the Harding brothers because they are complicating my life, and basically driving me crazy.
Matt hasn’t really given me any problems, though. God, I hope he comes alone.
Matt arrives only twenty minutes after I call the garage. Thankfully, he is the one to answer their main line when I call, and he does come alone.
He’s in tight, worn jeans and a faded black t-shirt. My stomach does a little flip-flop when he walks in and I instantly recall the morning’s dream/fantasy.
Adam annoys me, and currently, the twins confuse me, but Matt is the one brother who makes me nervous. Something about how he’s so tall and so quiet leaves me feeling like a schoolgirl inside.
I describe the issue and the things I tried to get the oven working, and Matt gets right to work. He inspects the equipment, and I try my best not to inspect him as he’s doing it, but I can’t help how good jeans look on the man.
He turns suddenly and catches me looking. “It worked earlier today?”
“Yes, it was working fine, until all of a sudden it stopped.”
He turns back to the inside of the oven and I force myself to work on dough I’m prepping for tomorrow. I have to triple-check the recipe because I have a hard time focusing.
After a few more minutes, Matt rises and excuses himself, stepping out of the kitchen’s back door. A couple of minutes after that, he pokes his head back inside. “I’ll be back in about an hour.”
“Okay, I’ll be here.”
I make the best of the other oven while he’s gone, then I help Lonnie up front, as I try not to stress over the lost time. My first priority is customer orders; if we have fewer items in the lobby case than usual, that should be okay.
Matt returns when we’re about to close up. I say goodbye to Lonnie, lock the front door and follow him into the back.
“Sorry to keep you here late,” he says.
“Are you kidding? I appreciate you coming here so quickly today.”
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