Shake, Rattle and Roll: The Baxter Boys #4 (The Baxter Boys ~ Rattled)

by Charles, Jane

  “Hey.”

  “Is Christian with you?”

  That is her greeting? Not hey, how are you? What’s up? “Yeah. Why?”

  “I think the guys are kind of freaked,” she whispers. “Not that they act worried or anything, but Christian has never not come home I guess. All they know is that he wasn’t dead a little before five.”

  Does he live with a bunch of old aunts who need to know everybody’s business?

  “None of them have left the place, not that I know if they had plans or anything, but it’s really strange, like watching a bunch of mother hens if you want to know the truth.” She laughs. “Sean’s commenting that Christian doesn’t not come home. On the opposite spectrum is Zach who has decided you’re the best thing in bed since, well, beginning of time, or Christian would have just done it and come home.”

  My face is on fire and I’m so glad Christian isn’t out here or he’d want to know why I’m embarrassed.

  “The rest are like, meh, but this has kind of thrown them. I guess Christian is pretty predictable, well, until you.”

  “It’s not that big of a deal. He is a grown man.” Very grown and very much a man.

  “Then when Mia brought his instruments back, she got weird too. I’m beginning to wonder if he was a monk before you came around. But, he isn’t dead, right?”

  “He’s far from dead,” I laugh.

  “Really? Do tell.” There is surprised excitement in her voice. Did she not think we’d do anything? Or didn’t think he’d want to do anything with me.

  “That’s just not you,” she says after a minute.

  “Not me?”

  “I know you’ve had one boyfriend, and that was high school. Unless you’re leading a double life I don’t know about.”

  No double life. Just a boring one until about twenty-four hours ago.

  Holy Shit! Twenty-four hours, give or take a few. Actually, take because he wasn’t at my table until like one yesterday, and I’ve already brought him back and we fucked. That is exactly what the mind-altering sex against the wall was, and I want to do it again.

  “So?”

  “So what?”

  “You know….”

  Mary and I have talked about a lot between classes and when we’ve gotten a few drinks after a hard day, but I’ve never talked about my sex life and neither did she. Then again, neither of us really had one until recently. In the three and a half years of college I haven’t had one, and I was never the sharing type in high school.

  “Fine. Don’t tell me, but I’m glad Christian’s alive. The guys will be too, but you better tell him to check his phone, unless he’s too busy.” She laughs.

  “I’ll tell him, as I serve him his morning coffee.”

  “I’ll tell them that you are taking real good care of their friend.” By the tone of Mary’s voice, I know what kind of taking care of she’s hinting at.

  “That’s exactly what I’m doing.” At least I hope to give him a lot more care.

  Christian comes out as I’m hanging up. “You better call your friends.”

  He stops and his eyebrows raise. “Something wrong?”

  “No, but I think they are about to put your face on a milk carton.”

  He frowns and pulls his phone from his pocket.

  14

  My phone has blown up with texts. “Are you sure nothing happened and nobody is dead?”

  Bethany laughs. “I think they’re afraid you are.” She pours a cup of coffee and sets it down in front of me and I start scrolling through to find out what the hell is going on.

  Sean at 8:04 a.m.: You okay? You’ve never not come home before.

  Zach at 8:37 a.m.: Your bed’s not been slept in. Hope hers got all messy.

  At least Zach doesn’t seem worried and of course, he’d automatically think about sex. He’s always thinking about sex.

  I sip on the hot coffee. It’s perfect. Strong and black. I’ve never been one for flavored coffees or for adding anything in my coffee. “This is good. Thanks.”

  “My pleasure.” Bethany leans on the counter and sips from her cup, but she’s not trying to read my phone. Not that I have anything to hide, but it always bugs me when someone tries to see what might be a private conversation.

  In fact, she isn’t even close enough to see anything.

  “Sorry.” I put the phone down because it’s kind of rude.

  “Did you tell them you are alive and well?”

  I love the delight in her blue eyes like she thinks whatever is going on is funny as hell. “How did you know I needed to check in?” It’s not like she could have looked at my phone, unless she got out of bed while I was still asleep.

  “Mary called. Said the guys were getting anxious.”

  I roll my eyes. “I guess I better see what else they sent.”

  “You better answer them before they send a search party to my door.” With that she laughs again and goes to the fridge. “Want some breakfast.”

  Breakfast in bed with her is a better idea. “Sure. Or, I we could go grab something.” She did already cook for me and since she’s offering to cook again she doesn’t want me to leave yet, which is perfectly fine with me.

  “I’d have to get dressed and do something with myself if we went and got something.”

  Her not dressed is even better.

  “I can run out.” It isn’t right that she play hostess and all of that.

  “It’s no big deal.” She grabs a carton of eggs and takes it out. “I’ll cook, you check in.”

  “Okay, but I’m treating you to dinner.”

  Her smile gets wider. “I’d like that.”

  Which means, I won’t be leaving here anytime soon.

  “Now, answer your friends,” she chides and goes back to the refrigerator.

  Ryan at 9:17 a.m.: Where the hell are you?

  Alex at 10:01 a.m.: Check in.

  Dylan at 10:22 a.m.: Still alive?

  Even the girls chimed in. A guy can’t have one secret around this group.

  Mia at 10:43 a.m.: Brought your instruments back, but looks like Bethany is using the most important one.

  Alyssa: She seemed nice at least, but what do we really know.

  Zoe: Didn’t see this coming

  Zach: As long as THEY were…

  Mia: True, coming is important

  Zach: It would suck if they didn’t

  Mia: If sucking was happening then I’m sure C was coming

  Dylan: Would you two stop

  Kate: I guess C does like garlic ;)

  Joy: Ignore them Christian. Hope you’re having fun.

  At least the girls don’t think Bethany has killed me.

  Me: You do know how old I am, right?

  Dylan: Not like you not to come home.

  Me: I’m a big boy

  Zach: That’s what she said

  Ryan: When do we meet this girl?

  Me: You met her yesterday.

  Sean: She didn’t matter as much then.

  Alex: Now she does.

  Dylan: Bring her to dinner.

  I kind of want to keep Bethany to myself. I love the guys, they are my family, but they can be overwhelming, especially when I can’t predict what shit is going to come out of Zach’s mouth.

  Plus, none of us have ever brought a girl back to the place. Well, except when Dylan was dating that bitch at the beginning of college. After that, no girl was brought around. Not until Kelsey, but that was because Alex had just seen her for the first time in like four years. It was Thanksgiving and he brought her to dinner because she didn’t have a family to spend it with and she already knew all of us, even though we hadn’t seen her since high school. Alex and Kelsey didn’t start dating until after that.

  Mary showed up because of Kelsey. She needed a place to sleep because of her crappy roommates. She wasn’t there for Dylan, or any of us, and those two dating happened later.

  Bringing Bethany back to the house would be totally different and I’m not
ready for that.

  Me: When?

  Dylan: Tonight.

  Me: Too soon. Maybe when I get back.

  Sean just gives a thumbs up and I put my phone away.

  When I glance up, Mary has eggs, a pepper, onion, can of mushrooms and cheese on the counter. I knew she was getting stuff out and putting it on the counter but I didn’t look up until I was done texting. “What are you making?”

  “Omelets.”

  I’ve never been a fan of onions or peppers, but I liked them last night, so I’ll probably like them this way too. “Sounds great.”

  Bethany grabs a skillet and puts it on the stove then adds a package of ground pork. I’ve been in the kitchen enough when Dylan cooks that I know enough that she’s browning it. What amazes me is that she doesn’t have a cookbook or recipe out anywhere. Just like Dylan never does. Like they just know what goes together in their head. “What do you want me to do?”

  “You can help cut the onions, if you want, but you don’t have to.”

  I’ve got this and I’m not sitting on my ass drinking coffee while she cooks. Grabbing the onion, I cut off the ends and then remove the outer skin. “Diced, right? Not rings?”

  “Diced.”

  I give the onion and the knife a rinse and then go around to the other side of the island, grab the cutting board and start chopping. The sausage starts to sizzle in the skillet as she moves the meat around. We aren’t saying anything, but that’s okay.

  Bethany adds coffee to her cup and then does the same to mine.

  “Thanks.”

  “My pleasure.”

  As she’s putting the pot back, I glance up from the onion and blink. It’s not strong, but just enough to sting my eyes a bit.

  She tilts her hip and leans against the counter as she takes the spatula to the pork. Damn she has a find ass and legs. I really didn’t get a good look at her gorgeous body because of her long loose clothing last night, but she’s got some really nice, toned legs. Not skinny either. “Do you run?”

  Bethany shakes her head. “No. I’ve never liked running, but there is a gym in the building and I’m usually down there first thing in the morning, except for when I have guys over all night” she winks at me.

  “Maybe I’ll help you get your workout in yet today.”

  The left side of her mouth tips up. “Oh yeah.”

  The way her blue eyes darkened tells me she’s thinking about the same kind of workout I had in mind and this time I’ll try to last longer than a millisecond. I should be embarrassed by how quickly I finished last night, or this morning rather, but she got there before I did so it’s not like I left her frustrated. Hell, it was like both of us were primed to explode and our kiss was like a match to the fuse and we were gone.

  “Yeah,” I finally answer. “But, not in your very public gym.

  “Looking forward to it,” she says just before she dips her head and concentrates on the pork, but not before I notice the blush staining her cheeks.

  When I do finally get her back in bed, I will take my time, admire and give special attention to all things previously missed on that incredible body of hers.

  When I agreed to go see Christian play last night, I had no idea what it would lead to. Quick, fast and fun. Plus, he’s still here and isn’t in a hurry to leave. Not that I want him to. Heck, I hate the idea that’s he’s leaving tomorrow. But, maybe it’s a good thing that he is. Whatever this is has exploded into something. What, I’m not sure yet, and maybe stepping back and breathing will be a good thing. However, I don’t plan on doing that until he decides he needs to go, which won’t be until after dinner at least.

  I’m pretty sure we’re going to have sex again. The way he talked about working out, with a naughty twinkle in his brown eyes convinced me that it had nothing to do with actual, painful exercise. And, since I do have a case of condoms in my kitchen, we can work out as much as he wants.

  While the pork continues to brown, I grab the bowl and break half a dozen eggs into it. After whipping them up, I put in the onions, peppers, then the drained can of mushrooms. Mix again. After the pork is done, I drain the grease and then pour the egg mixture over the sausage. Once the eggs start cooking, I sprinkle a ton of cheese over the top.

  He comes around the island to wash his hands then hitches a hip against the counter, right next to me and then kisses my neck. Goosebumps pop up at his nearness and I’m pretty sure my nipples just got hard.

  “Thanks for breakfast.”

  His scent tickles my nose. “Your breath is rather minty fresh for the morning.” Did he use my toothbrush? That’s kind of gross and I really hope he didn’t.

  “Helped myself to your mouthwash so I could do this.” Then he kisses me. A bone melting, toe curling kiss. Thank God I brushed my teeth right after I peed.

  15

  If she didn’t have to stand at the stove cooking our breakfast, I’d pick Bethany up, set her on the island and repeat what we did earlier. Except, this time it would be slow so I could enjoy every part of her. As tight as her nipples are beneath her t-shirt, I’m pretty sure she’d like to do the same.

  What is it about Bethany? After we talked, had sex and slept, I should want to leave and get some space. I’ve never wanted to spend so much time with a girl before. Not even when they were new like Bethany is. But despite what we’ve shared, I’m still tethered to her like an invisible string keeping me connected and I’m in no hurry to cut it. I’m not sure I’d leave anytime soon if I didn’t have to go on tour.

  “I want to see you again. When I get back, and see what this is and where it’s going.” Thank God she isn’t going on the tour with me because our first stop is Las Vegas. I never understood how couples, who haven’t known each other more than a few hours to a few days, get married in that city. I assumed it was alcohol induced and a decision quickly regretted. However, if Bethany were with me, I’d be tempted to find an Elvis minister and do the deed and I’m completely sober and caffeinated.

  And, that thought scares the hell out of me.

  A shy smile tugs at her lips and she tilts her head “Me too, though whatever it is that is happening between us is happening really fast.”

  Too fast for me, but it’s almost like I’m not even in control. Enough control that I would have stopped anything she didn’t want to do. I’m not a monster, but it’s as if something has taken control of us. The only reason I assume it’s the same for Bethany is because she hasn’t been with anybody since high school. She hasn’t had the urge to have sex in three and a half years but was with me within twenty-four hours of meeting.

  It’s still mind boggling and my wanting her hasn’t waned since we fucked. I was afraid that once it happened I’d be over whatever this is, or the invisible string pulling me toward her would have been cut, but if anything, it’s stronger.

  “I wish I could explain this.” I gesture between us. “But I can’t. Never experienced it before.”

  “Me either.”

  She sets the spatula down and turns to me. “I was thinking that you being gone might be a good thing.”

  Wait, is she not as into me as I am her?

  “This is fast, really fast, and maybe it will be good to breathe.” Her face starts to turn pink. “If you didn’t have to leave town, I’m not sure I’d let you leave my apartment.”

  I grin and pull her close. “Who says I’d want to leave.”

  “Exactly!” She pushes against my chest and steps back.

  Don’t let her be rejecting me.

  “It’s like a spell.” She frowns and bites her lip. “Yeah, like I’m under this spell where you are concerned. Scary wonderful, but the kind that could implode when it’s run its course.”

  I pull her back. “So, we enjoy the spell today and breathe tomorrow.”

  “And revisit when you return to see how the pieces fit.”

  “The pieces will fit just fine.” I grin at her. “We know they already do.”

  She laughs and pushes at me
again. “You know what I mean.”

  She’s trying to be serious and I get that and I should be too. “You’re right. Spell today. Breathe tomorrow, but I’m not going to lose all contact with you over the next few weeks.”

  “Calls and texts?”

  “It will be easier to talk to you when you’re not in the same room.”

  “Why?”

  “Why?” Doesn’t she have any idea that it’s taking everything I have not to take her back to bed? “When I’m with you, all I want to do is touch you and do naughty things. We’ll never get to know each other better that way.” And there is still so much more I need to learn about her. A break is a good idea and I totally get where she’s coming from.

  Giddiness is still bubbling because he wants to see me when he gets back. I had hoped, like really hoped, that he’d want to, but just because we are having a great time now didn’t mean that once he walked out the door he’d even look back, let alone return.

  “I never asked, but did you have plans today. I kind of invited myself to stay.”

  If I did, I would have canceled them. “Nope. Just a lazy Sunday.”

  He grins. “Great. Can I be lazy with you?”

  “Of course!”

  “So, what do you do on a lazy Sunday?”

  “Usually binge watch something I missed and work on a quilt.” I nod to my sewing machine and pile of material.

  “Then we’ll binge watch and make quilts.”

  Laughter bubbles up at the vision of Christian quilting as I flip the omelet over. “That’s okay. That’s what I do when I’m alone. Today is different.” Besides, he’d be bored to tears and might leave.

  “No, no, I’m intruding on your day. We’ll binge and make quilts.”

  Instead of arguing with him, I just shake my head and take out two plates, a knife and forks.

  “So, how does one make a quilt?”

  He can’t be that interested. “Find a pattern you like, pick the material and start cutting and sewing.”

  Christian frowns at me. “I know it’s more complicated than that. Or, so I assume, not that I have much experience, okay, no experience making quilts, but I’ve seen them.”