Oak got up and the two start wrestling. I ran over and hit Teak with another snowball and we all started wrestling. It was fun and exhilarating. We found ourselves spent, on the ground, breathing heavily.
Then there was a moment. Both brothers were on either side of me, kind of hovering. It was like when I tried to lean in for a kiss with Teak. I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t want to say “no” and I didn’t want to push away one brother, so I just closed my eyes, opened my mouth and waited for a kiss.
The kiss was passionate and exhilarating. I knew immediately it wasn’t Teak, so it must’ve been Oak. Again, I was aroused. This was nothing like being with Bradley, it was so much nicer and happier.
We broke apart and Oak smiled at me, then they both helped me up. We went back inside the cabin like nothing happened. But, to me, something huge did happen. Now I was sure I wasn’t imagining the conversation about sharing me. These guys were serious about it. This could be a real thing.
Chapter 10:
Lila
I had to test my theory. I needed to get alone with the other brothers and try to make my move. Elm would be the easiest to get alone, but we would be working together. I hoped he didn’t freak out when I kissed him. He was very exacting, so I figured if I kissed him on a break or during lunch, he might be okay with it.
“We need the invoice on Mr. Wilkenson’s armoire,” said Elm, in the middle of a busy day. “He’s an old customer, so he has actual paper paperwork.”
“Is this a job you already filled?” I asked.
“Yes, Mr. Wilkenson thinks he can write the whole thing off on his taxes for some reason,” said Elm rolling his eyes. “I don’t see how anyone can justify an expensive new armoire for a business expense, but I guess if he places it in his office it would work.”
“Can’t seem to find it,” I said looking through the files.
I was at the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet where the “W” invoices were kept. Elm knelt down next to me. He was close. I hovered next to him. It wasn’t lunch time, but I figured I’d try. Elm flipped through the files efficiently.
“Here it is,” he said finding it. “I don’t blame you for not seeing it. These files down here are such a mess. I just jammed them down here. When you get some time, if you would go through them and flatten them all out. That would be great.”
Elm stood up without turning his head toward me.
“Sure, no problem, boss,” I said.
“It’s good we have you around,” said Elm going back to his desk. “You know, I was little skeptical about hiring you at first. Quite frankly, I was skeptical about a small company like ours hiring anyone. If we were located downtown, I definitely would’ve went with a part timer or maybe an office temp couple of times a week. But with you here, full time, we’ll actually getting ahead on the office work for a change. Feels nice.”
Elm liked to say what he thought. It was sort of like hearing his entire thought process pour out of his brain.
“I think we need to get you your own tablet. Yes. That would be a good investment. If we both had one, half the time we could exchange files from our respective desks. I should put that in the budget for this year. It’s definitely a tax write-off, so it’s not like it’s an expense. And worse case scenario, if you were to quit, our next office helper could use it. Plus if it’s an Apple, the resale value is usually pretty good. Yes, this is what we’re doing,” he thought aloud.
“That’s a good plan,” I agreed. “Maybe we should break for lunch now, since that shipment is going out this afternoon and we have to be ready to invoice it.”
“Did you already prep the paperwork for it?” he asked.
“Yep, it’s all ready,” I assured him.
“Great-great,” he said, trying to think of the next task. “I guess you’re right. Grab some lunch and recharge.”
“What would you like? I can make you some tuna fish,” I offered.
“You don’t have to make it,” he dismissed. “I can do it. I think it’s my turn anyway.”
“No, I like doing it. Won’t take a second,” I assured him.
We both got up from our desks and moved to the middle of the room. I timed it so it would be at the same time. Elm offered to let me go first.
“Go ahead,” he said.
“No, you,” I offered.
“This is ridiculous, women go first. That’s the rule.”
“Elm, you’re such a sexist pig,” I joked. “You go first.”
“No, I insist.”
“I insist.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
We both said, “Fine” basically at the same time and started moving into the center of the room. We bumped into each other and facing each other. We were close. I looked into his eyes and he looked into mine. There was a moment and I leaned in. He started moving forward too and we kissed. He immediately backed off and looked worried.
“Wait a minute,” he began.
I could tell he was going to bad mouth the entire idea, but I was prepared.
“This is on our time, not company time,” I assured him. “We’re having lunch.”
“True,” he agreed.
He kissed me again. Elm’s kisses had a nervous energy about them. He was tightly wound most of the day, so when he let go it was kind of an explosion of energy. He held me in his arms and I held him. He was thinner than his brothers, but no less strong and no less manly. He put me on the edge of his desk. For a moment, I thought we were going to rip off each other’s clothes and have sex right there. But we both know, that would be too much in the middle of the day. The other brothers were sure to catch us.
“Okay,” he said catching his breath. “We really ought to eat lunch while there’s time.”
We composed ourselves and went down into the kitchen to eat lunch. I knew now that he was in on this. Elm wanted me just as much as the other brothers and I him. I had been having fantasies all week about the brothers. I dreamt what it was like to be with one of them and then two of them and finally all five of them. I had never had such crazy, deep, sexual fantasies before, but the boys brought it out in me. I couldn’t help but think about it.
A few days later, I was working with Alder. He had to package some of the smaller items they made. Hand carved ducks, coasters and hot plates were some of the items. I was in the warehouse part of the workshop area. I just had to bide my time.
“So how do you like working with Elm in the office,” he asked. “He driving you crazy yet?”
“Oh, he’s not so bad,” I laughed. “I actually found a good rhythm with him and now we’re working very close.”
Alder was a little competitive with his brother, so I knew if I kept talking about how close I was to him, maybe he’d make a move. It was just a matter of time.
“Yeah, I do the marketing, but I kinda hate it. Although making the website is fun,” he admitted. “You like the packaging on our boxes? I designed that logo.”
“Oh, yeah,” I acknowledged. “A picture of the cabin, very nice. Elm had a stack of stickers in the office, but it looked different.”
“That was the old logo,” he explained. “I added the colors. It’s a little more expensive, but I think its worth it. Elm said I was just wasting money.”
“Yeah, he talks about money nonstop,” I said. “Although I have to say, he seems to know what he talking about sometimes.”
“Well, as much as he talks, he’s bound to get something right once in a while,” joked Alder. “Even a broken clock, ya know? But he’s such a stiff. Must be torture working with him.”
“Oh, no,” I assured him. “Elm can be very funny when he wants to be.”
This seemed to frustrate Alder. He was determined to look cooler than Elm and I was making it difficult for him.
“Well, did you check out this?” Alder offered.
It was a hand carved ballerina. It was beautiful. I had to stop myself from gasping, I was so impressed.
“Who
made that?” I asked.
“I did.” said Alder a little frustrated. “That’s why I’m showing it to you. Made it for a little girl in Queens. Her father orders tons of stuff from us.”
“What do you charge for something like that?” I asked like Elm would.
“Charge?” said Alder incredulous. “What do you think of it? You see the little straps on the shoes? I carved that by hand!”
“I know and it must’ve taken hours,” I said calculating in my head. “Based on what you charged on previous items. Hmm, I wonder if you’re getting enough money.”
“Oh, my God.” said Alder. “Elm’s turn you into another soulless, moneymaking robot. My brother is a menace.”
I laughed. I couldn’t put up the face any longer.
“No, I’m just kidding,” I laughed. “It’s so beautiful. Really.”
“You were playing me? Aww, nice,” said Alder. “I knew you weren’t like him.”
“Your brother’s nice, I like him,” I said touching Alder on the shoulder. “I like all you guys. Including you.”
There was that moment again. We were looking into each other’s eyes. The warehouse was empty except for the two of us. The perfect place. Alder was smiling, then he got serious and then he was kissing me. His kiss was desperate. Like a man who had been dying of thirst finally given a drink. He took me in his arms, lifted me up and pressed me against the wall of the warehouse. I could feel his entire body against mine. It was warm, hard and, like all the Barretts, manly.
I became very aroused. I thought of Alder tearing off my top and kissing my breasts. We were so caught up in the moment, I would’ve let him take me right there. But there was a honking sound. The truck had come to pick up the items we were shipping and we weren’t done packing yet. We stopped kissing, wrenched our bodies apart and went back to work.
That was four out of five brothers. The only one left was Ash. I had made a few attempts already, but Ash seemed to avoid getting caught alone with me. And each night when I went to sleep, I had crazier and crazier sexual fantasies with the brothers. Sometimes I was alone with one or two, but more often the fantasy involved all of them kissing me, touching my naked body and making love to me in every way imaginable.
Two nights later, I finally convinced the boys to let me cook dinner. It was an unmitigated disaster. I tried to make meatloaf, but I put too much onion in it. The entire loaf fell apart in the oven. When I took it out, it was undercooked so I turned up the heat and put it back in. This made dinner late and everyone was sitting around hungry. Then I left it in too long and burned what pieces I actually tried to make. I almost cried.
The boys, for their part, all pretended to eat and like the meatloaf. I knew it was bad and kept saying that. They kept insisting it wasn’t bad it just “looked bad”. I felt like a total failure. When dinner was over, I insisted on cleaning up. It was the least I could do. I think everyone left the table pretty hungry or I imagined they did. Ash insisted on helping me clean the dishes. This would be the moment where I could finally get him alone.
“I am so sorry again,” I apologized. “I don’t know what happened. I thought I followed the recipe I found online.”
“You can stop apologizing,” said Ash. “We had worse. Elm tried to deep fry a turkey once. Nearly burned the warehouse down in the attempt.”
“What? Really?”
“Oh, yeah,” laughed Ash. “You have to be careful with all that hot oil. Plus he dropped the turkey in and you have to lower it slowly. Talk about a disaster. Flames shot out of the top and ignited some of the saw dust in the air. Fortunately, Alder got the lid on before things got out of control.”
“Well, it’s good to know I didn’t almost burn down your business making a meatloaf,” I said. “Guess that’s something. Still, I feel like I should be a better cook. Promises were made.”
“Ah, you probably put too many breadcrumbs in it,” suggested Ash. “That’ll dry out the meat and cause it to break apart. Next time, throw in another egg to the mix.”
“Egg?” I asked.
“You didn’t use an egg?” said Ash. “That had to be in the recipe.”
“I don’t think it was,” I said, checking my phone. “Oh! It totally was. No wonder it fell apart. I’m an idiot.”
“Ah, you just need some more help cooking,” Ash assured. “When we finish these dishes, let me show you something.”
“Oh, my God,” I said chastising myself. “I can’t believe I did that. I can’t even follow a recipe.”
“You shouldn’t be so down on yourself,” said Ash. “Negative thoughts breed more negativity. Positive thoughts do the opposite. Look at how far you’ve come over the last couple of weeks here.”
“I know, last month I was with Bradley and Annie, working in a dead-end job,” I said. “I kind of was always down. I mean, I thought I was in love with Bradley, but I can’t say I was really happy. I don’t think I knew what happiness was.”
“See? And look at you now. You have a new job, you’re meeting new people, learning new skills,” said Ash. “That’s the key to life. Never stop learning.”
“That’s the key to life? I always heard that, but–“
“There’s two sides to it,” said Ash explaining. “On the one hand, you’re learning the new thing. That’s whatever one focuses on. But the other part of it is, you don’t know. And because you don’t know, you make mistakes and that’s okay. Making mistakes is part of the learning process. It’s not a negative, it’s a positive. It means you’re about to learn something.”
“Wow, I’ve been learning a lot of over the years,” I joked.
We laughed. Ash had a deep, masculine laugh. Very hearty.
“Ya see? You’ve already turned a negative into a positive,” he said. “That’s the way you have to live life, girl.”
Ash was the oldest and he didn’t just get those gray hairs for nothing. There was real wisdom behind those hairs. There was something about him and all the brothers that I still didn’t understand. They had such great attitudes and were awesome people, why were they all still alone. Didn’t seem to make sense. With any luck, they wouldn’t have to be alone anymore. I would be their counterbalance. Their missing half, so we all could be whole.
After all the dishes were done, we placed them in the rack to dry. I put the towels away and Ash washed the suds down the sink. He gestured for me to follow and went over to the pantry. At the bottom of the pantry, he found a box with a red and white checkerboard pattern on it. It was full of little index cards, things cut out from magazines and newspapers and other little pieces of paper. He held the box reverently. I knew it was important to him.
“This is my mother’s recipe files,” he explained. “She never learned how to use a computer, but kept everything on little pieces of paper in here. Whenever she saw a recipe she’d like, she cut it out, put it on a car and then stick it in here. It got pretty full over the years as you can see. But this will help guide you. Me and the brothers sometimes use it.”
“Will this tell me the difference between a pinch and a dash?” I joked.
“If anyone could, I’m sure my mother could,” Ash assured. “She used to do all the cooking here back in the day. This was her realm, her world.”
I was touched by the way Ash shared this with me. The little pieces of paper had his mother’s handwriting. I guess it was one of the few things left behind that reminded him of her. I knew what it was like to lose a mother, but I guess mine was still alive at least. His was gone forever.
I placed my hand over his and we shared a moment. We looked deep into each other’s eyes. Ash was all about family and this moment was about that. There was no façade when it came to him. He was honest as the day was long. He stood up and took me into his muscular arms. We kissed in the pantry. It was a long, deep sensual kiss. I could feel the bristles of his beard against my face and neck.
Wrapping my arms around his wide chest, he continued to kiss me. Our tongues intertwined and I felt
myself getting aroused. He was touching me; his big, rough hands roving all over my body. I didn’t want it to stop. I wanted him to take me right there in the pantry, but I knew it wasn’t the right time.
We parted lips and looked at each other. Then I hugged him. I felt safe and warm. Now I knew all five brothers wanted me and that all five wanted to share me. I felt like I was one step closer to making my fantasy a reality. Like Ash said, I had to keep positive thoughts in my head about it. This could work. This would work.
The Barrett boys needed someone and I needed them. It wasn’t Bradley or Annie that drove me to that mountain on that snow swept night, it really was fate. Fate had brought us together and I knew in my heart of hearts that this was the right thing. This was going to be a good thing for all of us. The only issue was now, how to cross the threshold. Would the boys make the first move or would I? When was the right moment to be with the five men you’re in love with? How do you tell them?
Chapter 11:
Lila
The next morning, I was working in the office with Elm. I was resorting the paper paperwork as he requested. I couldn’t believe people used to do it this way before computers. The invoices smelled of ink and it was constant drudgery. The only thing that would be worse would be using a typewriter to fill them in. Must’ve wasted a ton of paper chucking one every time they made a mistake.
Elm was pleasant, but aloof. It was easy for him to separate work from pleasure. He did seem a bit calmer, all the boys did. I was anxious. I was still formulating how I could make my move. How could I get the guys to come to me? How could I broach the subject of us all being together? I lost myself in my own world a minute and didn’t hear the phone ring.
“Lila? Lila, hello?” prompted Elm. “You okay there? Can you get that?”
“Oh, sorry, Elm,” I said, shaking myself out of the daze. “I got it. Hello? Barretts Homemade Furniture, this is Lila. How may I help you?”
“Lila, it’s Bart the mechanic. My boys got your car down here and it doesn’t look good. When you get a chance, why don’t you come by and I can go over what it’ll cost to repair.”
Loved by the LumberJacks_A MFMMMM Reverse Harem Romance Page 8