by Jenn Hype
“Of course I did. He’d told all the eighth grade boys that I wore day of the week panties because I still didn’t know how to tell which day it was.” CJ laughed. I would never get used to that sound. “Laugh it up buddy. It sounds silly now, but back then I was mocked for weeks. Mrs. Miller knew this, yet she still punished me. I firmly believed in an eye for an eye, which is why I didn’t fight them when they took me down to the station for theft.” Seeing Mrs. Miller scream and jump backwards so hard in her seat that it tipped over and left her legs sticking straight up in the air was totally worth the hours of volunteering at the pet store where I was forced to clean the poop out of all the cages.
“I tried to bring Chelle over to the dark side, but she could not be peer pressured into anything.”
“See, you do have things in common. You’re both stubborn as hell.”
I poked him in the ribs but couldn’t help smiling.
“I can’t remember her ever getting in trouble for anything. Even the time I snuck out and went to a party when I was eighteen and she had to come pick me up. The police broke up our underage booze fest right after she got there. Half the kids took off running. Some of them were too busy puking their brains out because we were idiots and didn’t know how to handle our liquor. Michelle stood there in the middle of the room, trying to keep me upright and she didn’t even blink an eye. She had no fear of getting in trouble for being there because her reputation was enough that the cops thanked her for helping without even asking her a damn question. They just assumed she’d come to rescue her rebellious sister. Which she had.”
CJ grunted. “Michelle sounds a lot like me when I was younger. Only I would have torn into my sisters if I had to go get them at a party where they were wasted.”
“Maybe you’re with the wrong sister.”
I’d said it in jest. The words came out before I even processed them. Yet they still sliced through me like a hot blade.
CJ must have felt me tense, because he forced me to look up at him again. The room was dark, only lit by the dim light of the hallway, but I could see the affection in his eyes.
“The person I’m meant to be with, the person I want to be with, is here with me right now.”
I didn’t even realize a tear had escaped until he wiped it away with the pad of his thumb.
“I choose you, Blake.”
Always.
He didn’t say the word, but it was there. I could feel it in the tender way he held me, could see it every time he aimed one of those rare smiles my way.
Oh, I was in so deep.
-
“You know this is weird, right?” Clara asked me from across the panty bin.
I snickered to myself. Panty bin. It just sounded funny.
“Just pretend that CJ isn’t your brother,” I told her dismissively while rummaging through the massive pile of panties that were on sale. All the sizes and styles were mixed together and it was a pain in the ass to find ones I liked, but if you worked hard enough, the reward usually paid off. We were like underwear savages. “Score!” I shouted, followed by a fist pump when I found a silky pink pair in my size.
A few women nearby gave me a dirty look for my outburst. I just grinned until they got annoyed at my chipperness and walked away.
“I can’t just pretend he’s not my brother, Blake,” Clara whined. “It’s not that easy.”
A hot pink lacy teddy caught my eye and I scurried over to it. When I yanked one off the rack and held it up to Clara, she groaned at the sky.
“C’mon, this one is totally hot and you know it.”
“I don’t want to think about you wearing that so you can seduce my brother! It’s perverse and creeps me the hell out! I’m going to have nightmares!”
I laughed at Clara’s exasperation.
Michelle was busy with classes and I hadn’t wanted to go shopping alone, so I’d reached out to Clara. Truth be told, I didn’t know her or Josi all that well yet, but the time I had spent around them had been fun. They were both easy to talk to and just as immature as me, and ganging up on CJ with them was becoming one of my favorite pastimes. Although at the moment it was Clara I was picking on. The fact that I was buying lingerie to wear for her brother was freaking her out. I found that to be hilarious.
“Oooh, crotchless panties!” I squealed, holding them up in front of my jeans. “Really, though, what’s the point? If you’re going the crotchless route, why not just go commando? Unless there was a flap, like in onesies. Do they make underwear with vagina flaps? If not then they totally should.”
“Oh my God,” Clara said through gritted teeth. “Please quit using the words ‘vagina’ and ‘flap’ in the same sentence.”
“And seriously, why are nursing bras the only ones that come with a flap, too? Maybe I want a bra that will give a man easy access to my nips. Is that really such a bad thing? Is it really too much to ask to get both boob and vagina flaps?”
“I hate you,” Clara muttered. My phone vibrated in my pocket, so I put my underwear flap spiel on hold and pulled it out. It was a text from Michelle.
Chelle: Just caught my prof coming out of a supply closet with one of the girls in my class. Her lipstick was smeared and his toupee was on backwards.
I snorted and started to type a response, but another message from her came through before I could respond.
Chelle: Seriously. How desperate do you have to be to pass a class to hook up with a professor who wears a toupee?
Me: Is he hot otherwise?
Chelle: No. He wears white button up shirts with pit stains and suspenders and has a handlebar mustache.
Me: You’re lying.
A picture came through. It was taken from several rows back in a massive lecture hall, but even being a little blurry I could see that Michelle was telling the truth one-hundred percent.
Clara sidled up beside me, trying to glance over my shoulder to see what I was laughing at. I held it out so she could see it better.
“Oh my gosh, your sister is awesome. She really needs to come around more.”
The remark made me proud and sad. Michelle really was awesome, and I missed her.
An idea sparked. CJ was at Rose’s doing a bunch of work to the house, and I’d convinced him to ask all the guys to go over there and help. Clara was supposed to be there right now, but when I’d asked for a shopping partner she’d quickly bailed.
Me: What are you doing tonight? I need your help if you can spare an evening.
Chelle: I’ll work it out. Just name the time and place.
“Oh no. What is that look for?” Clara asked, already backing away from me with her hands up like she was surrendering.
“How do you feel about an impromptu party?”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CJ
Will Turner: “This is either madness, or brilliance.”
Jack Sparrow: “It’s remarkable how often those two traits coincide.”
- Pirates of the Caribbean
“So I assume the reason you’re smiling like a lovesick puppy is because you finally got laid?”
Liam shot me a taunting grin. I shoved the beer bottle I’d just retrieved from the fridge into his hand as roughly as I could without spilling it.
“You’re such an ass.”
We were at my mom’s house. I’d called all the guys - Liam, Malcolm, Sebastian and Reed - and asked them to come over and help me with some renovations I was doing to surprise my parents for their fiftieth anniversary that was coming up in a few weeks. They were away for the weekend, following up with a specialist out of town. Ever since dad’s stroke, they’d made sure to see his doctors regularly to watch for any signs of another looming around the corner.
Liam, Reed and I had just finished ripping up the old, faded linoleum in the kitchen and were taking a break before starting to install the cherry-stained hardwood flooring I’d bought to replace it. Josi had to work that morning, so she wouldn’t be over to help until the next day. Clara had just left, thr
owing out a vague excuse that involved Blake, though she refused to give me more information. I sat there, staring at my phone like a pussy, waiting for Blake to respond to the text I’d just sent.
Me: Why is my sister meeting you? Is everything okay?
Clara had assured me there was no emergency, but I needed to hear it from Blake. Why was I so fucking worried for no obvious reason? That, I did not care to answer.
Finally, a little bubble appeared, those three little dots bouncing around until her message eventually came through.
Blake: Yes, everything is fine. Quit being so nosey. And send me a picture of you with your shirt off, all sweaty with some dirt smudged across your skin.
I laughed out loud. Then ignored the way Liam and Reed’s head snapped over to gawk at me and the foreign noise they’d just heard come from my mouth.
Me: Why? Going to use it to get yourself off later? You know I’d be happy to do that for you.
Blake: Ha! No. I planned to use it as your profile picture on all the dating sites I signed you up for last week.
Me: Don’t make me come find you and spank that pretty little ass of yours.
Blake: Promises, promises…
“Dude. Quit staring at your phone like it has a magic genie inside that will finally grant your wish of making your tiny dick bigger.”
Without looking away from my phone, I flipped Reed off. Hearing him give me shit like the other guys was weird at first, but ever since the first beer, he hadn’t had trouble joining in on the mockery. Any other day it would have annoyed me, but not much could get me down. And no, it wasn’t just because I’d gotten laid. It was Blake. Accuse me of waxing poetic, and see if I gave a shit. Ever since Blake came into my life, it felt like ten tons of weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I’d happily take shit from the guys every day if each of those days had Blake in them.
“Well, we got the bathtub ripped out of the master bath,” Sebastian announced as he came down the stairs with Malcolm close behind. “Going to be a bitch to get all this done in one weekend, you know that right?”
“No shit. Why do you think I called you guys to do all the hard work for me?”
Sebastian just grunted as he helped himself to a bottle of water, handing Malcolm a sports drink after closing the fridge door.
“There a reason Seabass and me are up there sweating our asses off while you candy asses sit down here and gossip like a bunch of teenage girls?”
Bass smacked Malcolm upside the head. He hated that nickname, so naturally, it was the one that got used the most.
“We were just taking a break, asshole,” Liam mumbled petulantly. I swear, sometimes I thought Liam and Malcolm were brothers that had been separated at birth. Five minutes around them and you’d think they’d known each other all their lives instead of just over a year.
“So how’s it going with Blake?” Sebastian asked, ignoring the fools behind him that had jumped into a shoving match.
He and Reed followed me into the living room, leaving Tweedledumb and Tweedledumbfuck to hash out their juvenile bullshit on their own.
“Good,” I answered vaguely, taking a swig of my beer.
My phone pinged, and I pulled it from my pocket. Reed snickered.
“Shut up,” I muttered without looking up. I knew I was grinning. I couldn’t fucking help it.
Blake: Hurry up and get your manly stuff done then send everyone home to shower. Have them back at Momma Rose’s by 7 p.m.
Me: Really gets you hot thinking about me and my power tools, huh?
Blake: Nah. I’ve got a power tool of my own that gets the job done just fine.
I growled and considered bailing on the half-finished project to go home and find Blake’s power tool and torture her with it. Images that made my dick stir in my pants wouldn’t quit assaulting me. And it was really fucking bad timing. I did not need to stand up sporting a boner in front of the guys. They’d never let me live it down.
“Blake says we need to finish and clean up before seven,” I yelled loud enough for the guys in the kitchen to hear.
Liam popped his head around the corner. “What’s at seven?”
I shrugged. “No clue. She just said be here by seven.”
“That sounds like something that probably involves food,” Malcolm speculated, his tongue wagging.
“When Blake is involved, you never know what is going to happen.”
All the guys grunted in agreement and we got back to work.
Time passed quickly as we worked in tandem. By the time six rolled around, most of the hard parts were finished. All that remained was the painting and cleaning up. I sent all the guys home as instructed, telling them to get their asses back here in an hour.
Every muscle in my body felt like it had taken a beating. Based on the way everyone else groaned as they climbed into their cars, I assumed they felt the same. Funny, really, since all of us worked out rigorously on a daily basis. Then again, we had just done about a week’s worth of renovations in less than a day, so maybe I should cut myself some slack.
The trip back to my apartment was short, but felt miserably long. I had sawdust in places sawdust should never be, and it was chafing the hell out of my skin. Or maybe I was just grumpy. I didn’t want to go all the way back to mom’s tonight. I’d much rather spend several hours in bed exploring every inch of Blake’s body with my tongue than go back out. If it were anyone other than Blake making the request, I would have said hell no. And the only reason I wouldn’t have said no to Blake is just because it wouldn’t have mattered. If she wanted to plan something for everyone, nothing I said or did was going to stop her.
Plus, I didn’t like the idea of being away from her for any longer than I already had been. Seeing her every day at work and having her around constantly at home sounded like torture in the beginning. Now it felt like I didn’t know what the hell to do with myself when she wasn’t around. She was turning me into a goddamned puppy.
To further drive home the puppy comparison, the second I stepped into my apartment, my tongue fell out of my mouth and I started panting. Blake stood in the center of my living room stark naked. If I’d had a tail, it would have started wagging.
If coming home to this everyday was what it would be like to be a lap dog? Then fucking sign me up.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
BLAKE
“Crazy people don't know they're crazy. I know I'm crazy, therefore I'm not crazy, isn't that crazy?”
- Pirates of the Caribbean
“Ladies, ladies, ladies. Grilling is a man’s job,” Liam said as CJ and I walked into the backyard where the grill was already heating up. We were a little late courtesy of seriously amazing shower sex. I didn’t feel the least bit guilty about it either.
Liam yanked the spatula out of Clara’s hand. She put her hands on her hips and scowled at him, but his back was already to her. Instead of putting up a fight like Clara normally would have, she stomped off in a huff.
I looked at Josi. “What was that about?”
Josi shrugged and handed Liam the plate of hamburger patties and hot dogs she was holding. Michelle and I busied ourselves putting all the sides we’d brought in bowls and lining them up buffet style on the kitchen counter.
“Ow!” Malcolm yelped when I smacked his hand.
“Keep your filthy paws away from the food until it’s time to eat, or next time I’ll do something worse than smack you.”
A potato chip went flying over my head straight into Malcolm’s mouth. He flashed me a broad smile while chewing. I spun around and smacked CJ, the accomplice who’d tossed the stolen food to Malcolm, on the chest.
“Cavemen! All of you!”
I tried to storm off, but CJ caught me around the waist and yanked me back. I squealed, laughing when he pulled my back to his front and buried his face in my hair. He knew how ticklish that made me, so every chance he got, he’d breathe on my neck just to watch me squirm.
“Ugh, you guys are disgusting,” Josi com
plained with a teasing smile. I stuck my tongue out at her.
Everyone pitched in and helped carry all the supplies to the big, white picnic table out back. The yard was seriously gorgeous. I could picture a wedding taking place under the arbor that arched above the bench I’d sat on with CJ during my first visit to Rose’s house.
“How does your mom keep this up during the winter months? Doesn’t it get pretty cold in New York?” I asked aloud, not directing the question at anyone in particular.
It was Josi who spoke up. “Mom digs up all the plants and flowers that wouldn’t survive the winter and donates them to local nursing homes in the fall. Some of the stuff back here just goes dormant and blooms again in the spring.”
If Rose were there right then, I’d have tackle hugged her. CJ’s mom was the best.
“I want to be Rose when I grow up.”
“Here, here!” Michelle cheered. We all toasted to Rose.
“How is Ethan doing?” I asked Sebastian once we all had our paper plates full of food. Ethan was Sebastian’s nephew. He had cancer and last I’d heard, had taken a turn for the worse.
Michelle stiffened beside me. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. She looked lost in thought, just staring down at her food, completely immobile.
“They had to move him into the hospital permanently. Well, or at least until they find a donor. Chemo is slowing it down, but not doing enough to kill the cancer completely and he’s too sick to be at home.”
The mood turned somber and I mentally kicked myself for bringing up the topic in front of everyone. I should have asked him in private.
Malcolm turned the subject to work and the men started talking about their current clients. I shot him a thankful smile, which he returned.
My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out. When I groaned, Michelle leaned over to look at my screen.
Dan: I need to see you.
He’d said need. Not want. All his past text messages were of the miss-you variety. This one just felt…off.