Built for Pleasure

by Sarah J. Brooks

  I let my head rest on his shoulder as the determination in his steps brought us farther and farther away from the horror of the warehouse. The sound of the police sirens began to get drowned out as we moved closer to the city and farther from the crime scene.

  The sun was rising as Marcus finally sat me down on a bench overlooking the shipping yard. I could see the whole city of Chicago behind me and the most beautiful sunset I had ever seen right in front of me.

  “I wish I had my camera,” I whispered as I looked out over the water.

  Marcus leaned down and kissed me. The gentle loving kiss of a man who had finally finished the hardest job of his life.

  “Some moments don’t need a camera to be remembered,” Marcus said. “Are you coming?” he yelled behind us.

  I lifted my head to see Zed running up to us. It was over. The horror was over, and as Marcus set me down and the three of us watched the sunrise, all I could think about was how happy I was to have Zed and Marcus in my life and how I couldn’t wait to get home to Stanley and even Rob.

  The love of these four men was certainly more than I had ever hoped for. I was excited to see what our future together would look like.

  Epilogue

  “I’m making pancakes,” I yelled up the stairs to get the guys to come and eat breakfast.

  “I don’t know how they can sleep so late?” Zed laughed as he put some plates out.

  “Well, I know why Marcus is sleeping late.” I giggled. “It’s my fault; I kept him up late last night.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I don’t need to hear about it.”

  “I’m sorry.” I grabbed Zed around the waist and playfully reached for his cock. “You know I’d really love to have you alone next time. No Marcus, none of the other guys. Just the two of us.”

  “I think we could manage that.” Zed kissed me and then went back to setting the table.

  Zed had exclusively been the second guy in the bedroom since we had returned home. He seemed to really like threesomes, and I was actually coming to enjoy them myself. But Zed was such a sweet man, and since he was living with me now, I wanted to get to know him on a more personal level. I wanted to see how he and I could get along when it was just the two of us.

  “Come on, put a shirt on man,” Stanley exclaimed as he walked into the kitchen. “You and Marcus really need more clothing.”

  “Jealous much?” Zed flexed his six pack abs a little to tease Stanley.

  Although Stanley had a house in town, he was in the process of moving in with me. As much as he talked about wanting a wife and a family, we always found ourselves back together, and we just decided living together again felt right for the time being.

  When he was ready to move on, I was going to be happy for him. If he never wanted to move on, I would be perfectly happy with that as well. Stanley was one of my best friends, and I loved him very much.

  “When are you two leaving?” Rob asked as he joined the group of us in the dining room for breakfast.

  “Tonight. So you two will have to take care of our girl,” Marcus said as he appeared in the entryway to the room.

  I loved how Marcus always referred to me as ‘our girl’ because that was how I felt. I wasn’t just Marcus’s girl, or Zed’s, or Stanley’s, or Rob’s. I was all of theirs, and that was exactly how I liked it. I had no plans to choose just one of them. In fact, I loved them all and loved the life we were making for ourselves.

  “Marcus, I thought you were leaving tomorrow?” I asked.

  “It got moved up,” Zed chimed in.

  “Don’t worry, baby.” Marcus grabbed me and kissed me passionately. “We won’t be gone long, and it’s just a staff meeting and going over the notes from the last project.”

  “No danger,” Zed added.

  “I’m actually going to be out of town for work this week,” Rob said as he shoveled pancakes into his mouth. “So I guess Stanley is holding down the fort.”

  “Uh oh,” Stanley said dramatically. “I’m responsible for Isabella, alone?”

  He faked a look of terror, and the guys all laughed at him. It was a running joke among the guys that I was too much for just one of them to handle, and I should be left with two of them at any one time. I didn’t argue with that theory at all. I did like having at least two of the guys around.

  “Oh, don’t worry guys. You remember that new guy that just opened up the coffee shop on main street,” I said playfully. “I could always agree to go on a date with him. You know … if I’m too much for you guys to handle?”

  “No,” they all said in unison.

  I busted out laughing at the idea. I certainly had a full love life with Marcus, Zed, Stanley, and Rob, and I couldn’t have asked for anything more. There was no way I wanted to try and navigate adding another guy to the mix. Not because I didn’t believe there were great guys out there, but I really liked how well my men got along and how our little family interacted. If I added another man to the mix, the dynamics would surely change, and I wasn’t sure I could handle that.

  “Don’t worry, I’m teasing. I love our life,” I said and got up and went around to give each of the guys a kiss on the cheek. “Now I’m going to take some photos. You two be safe,” I said to Marcus and Zed. “Rob, I hope your trip goes well. And Stanley, I can’t wait for you to get back from work tonight.”

  I grabbed my camera and stood at the front entryway looking at all the guys as they started chatting among themselves and finishing their breakfasts. My life wasn’t traditional by any means, yet as I looked at the guys, I felt like they were my family. Everything about this life was more than I could have hoped for.

  Even Willow and Marv had come around to accepting my relationships with the guys. Marv actually enjoyed having so many guys around to talk about sports and other stuff with, and Willow could see that I was really happy. I wasn’t faking it. I wasn’t just saying I was happy. There was a genuine happiness in everything I did nowadays.

  “Bye, Isabella,” Marcus said and blew me a kiss. “I’ll keep Zed out of trouble, don’t worry.”

  “See you tonight,” Stanley added.

  “Don’t worry, we will be back in two days.” Zed laughed. “And I’ll keep Marcus out of trouble.”

  It was our running joke now that Marcus and Zed always said they would be back in two days. Even though they were always gone for much longer.

  “I’ll be back, Sunday,” Rob said. “Don’t worry, I’ll stay safe too.” He laughed.

  “I love you guys,” I replied before heading out of the house and toward the woods to get some more pictures. I had a whole new photography show that I needed to get photos for. There was no time to waste.

  THE END

  Loving my Best Friend’s Brother

  Prologue

  Mina

  Brice never showed up, and I should have washed my hands of him forever. The fact that I didn’t had more to do with my personality and the punishment I was willing to take. At least that’s what I told myself. It was easier than waiting for him to change. He would never change; I knew men seldom do. That only goes to show that I’m an optimist and in Brice’s case, I was justified. I didn’t see it at the time. When he came back, he rocked my world, and the thought of living without him made me physically ill.

  It wasn’t always like that. It began when Marcy, my best friend and his sister, was trying on the dress she’d bought for the senior prom.

  “Well, what do you think? Too much cleavage?” Marcy’s ego was laid bare, and I didn’t have the heart to point out that she didn’t have much cleavage to work with.

  “I think it suits you perfectly,” I answered. I thought it was a good compromise. “The color is perfect for you. He won’t be able to look away.”

  That seemed to placate Marcy. I hoped her date loved the color lime green. Even if he didn’t, with friends being friends, it was my job to make her feel beautiful. I hope that zit on her chin heals before Saturday.

  “I haven’t seen your dress yet
,” Marcy commented, interrupting a fixation on her reflection in the white, full-length mirror.

  “Hmm…? No, and you won’t, either.”

  She turned around, her expression knitted into a look of concern. “Why not?”

  “Don’t have one. Don’t have a date, so there didn’t seem much reason to buy a dress.”

  Her mouth formed a zero which was exactly how much I felt I was worth at that moment. I had dates all the time, but apparently, they all assumed I had already been invited to go by someone else; or so I hoped.

  “That has to be a mistake, Mina. You’re one of the most popular girls in the class.”

  “Well, thank you, but I’ll be sitting this one out.”

  Marcy found herself in the mirror again and after one long adoring look, she stepped away and disappeared into the fitting room to change back into her street clothes. When the curtain parted, the dress was over her arm, and she walked purposefully to the checkout and paid for it. I went to stand behind her, and as soon as her wallet slid inside her purse, she drew me by the arm out onto the sidewalk. Her stride was determined, and there was a narrow slit where her mouth usually was. “Well, I’m just going to fix this,” she threatened.

  “What? No, Marcy, oh god, don’t do anything to embarrass me, just let it go. Marcy, I mean it. I don’t care if I don’t go, not one bit.” Visions of Marcy in a telemarketing headset conducting a charity date-a-thon for me passed before my eyes.

  “Mina! It’s the senior prom we’re talking about here. Just think about it. You won’t be queen; you won’t be in the pictures when someone pulls them out ten years from now and worst of all, you’ll be sitting home and eating chocolate chip ice cream, getting fat!”

  I couldn’t stop my eyes from flickering to her little pouch but refrained from saying anything sassy. It was a moment for diplomacy.

  “Marcy, seriously, let it go. I promise I won’t pig out. I’ll go to a movie or get a late-night mani-pedi. It’s really not a big deal.”

  She stopped dead in her tracks. “I know! Brice will take you!”

  “Brice? You mean your brother, Brice? Oh, Marcy, I’m not a pity date. I beg you, please forget about me. You be the belle of the ball and come home to tell me all about it. Okay?” I’d only seen Brice around Marcy’s house a few times. I remembered him as being tall, very skinny, moronically unsociable and just plain rude. I’d rather spend prom night in a public bathroom at K-mart than to be his date.

  “No, it’s all settled. Brice will take you. Let’s go back right now and pick out a dress,” she declared, locking her dress in her trunk and rebounding onto the sidewalk headed back to the shop we’d just left. When I didn’t follow, she stopped and turned toward me, that wicked witch of the west look on her face. “Are you coming?” she demanded.

  “No, just take me home, would you? Or, I can call an Uber. Either way, I’m fine not going to prom. In fact…” I drew a deep breath, “I’m glad I’m not going. It’s way too much trouble. You have to get a dress, your hair and make-up done, shoes, a mani-pedi, someone has to take your photo and then there’s the whole question of whether you only dance with your date or do you dance with someone else if asked. No, no, it’s entirely too much trouble.” I stood next to her passenger door waiting for her to give in. The look on her face smashed that plan to bits.

  “Come on, Mina. We’re going shopping,” she announced, and I sighed and trailed after her. Why did it always feel like someone else was living my life?

  ***

  I had to admit the powder blue enhanced my natural coloring. I just wished I wasn’t stuck with a “loaner” date. I’d decided to make the most of it, and Marcy was over the moon with excitement.

  “Did you have to beg him?” I tried to get her to admit.

  “Of course not,” she lied. I knew she lied but decided to overlook it.

  “What did you have to promise him? You know, in return for the favor?”

  “Why do you keep asking me this?” she demanded.

  “That just confirms that you did have to strike a bargain. Well, tell Brice I’ll try not to be a pain.”

  Marcy’s face changed. “Mina, he thinks you’re beautiful, truly he does. It’s just that, well, he’s not a social person. He just didn’t want to go to the prom at all, especially since he graduated four years ago. He’s busy at college.”

  I nodded. “I get that.”

  “Just relax. It will be great, I promise!”

  ***

  That night I stood waiting, dress, hair and makeup beginning to wilt, two hours after Brice was supposed to pick me up. I still had his corsage in my hands. My mother finally put her arm around me. She was holding an open half-gallon of chocolate chip ice cream with two spoons stuck in it, and a DVD copy of, “He’s Not That Into You.”

  ***

  “I’m just so embarrassed,” Marcy exploded as she appeared at my door the next morning.

  “Don’t worry about it. Mom and I had a great night with ice cream and a movie.” She blanched. “No, really, Marcy, it’s okay.”

  “I kept watching and watching for you to show up. The later it got, the more worried I became. Finally, I called Brice’s phone, and he answered it like absolutely nothing was wrong. ‘Tonight is the prom!’ I shouted at him. He was like, ‘Oh.’ I just couldn’t believe it. I don’t think he did it on purpose, but honestly, Mina, I just don’t know what to say.”

  “Come on in and have a smoothie. It’s cool. Truly.” I was trying to lower her stress level because she was starting to freak me out.

  “Well, he apologized,” she went on to explain. “He offered to take you to dinner on Friday night.”

  “No, thank you.”

  “Oh… oh, Mina, don’t be like that.”

  “Marcy, I don’t need to go hunting for dates, you know? I’ve got plenty of opportunities and anyway, I’m getting ready for college and don’t want to get involved in any relationships. I’m about to date six years of heavy studying.

  “Oh, lord, don’t say that. You’ll… you’ll dry up. You have to keep dating, even if you don’t get serious.”

  “Well, not with your brother, my dear. Brice had his chance to do the right thing. He could have called me after he realized he’d missed the date. He didn’t. That’s it for me.”

  Marcy looked down, slumping with disappointment. “I know. It was a rotten thing to do. Listen, I’ve got to go and watch the Thompson kids. Their parents want a day off. Then next week we’ve got finals, so I need to study. Just wanted to check in on you.”

  “I appreciate it. Everything is fine. Don’t worry,” I said as I walked her to the door.

  ***

  “Hi.”

  I’d opened the door to find Brice standing there, leaning one hand on the door frame. I lifted my arm and pretended to look at a mythical watch. “Hmmm… you’re just seventy-four hours late. But that’s no problem. I’ll be right back. I just have to take a shower, do my hair, my makeup, go pick up my favorite blouse from the cleaners and feed the fish. You won’t mind waiting, will you?”

  His hand lifted, palm facing me. “Okay, okay, I admit it. I was a jerk. I apologize.”

  “Really? Did Marcy make you say that?”

  He had the grace to blush, although it was hard to detect beneath the three-day beard. “Yeah, but I would have said it on my own.”

  “Why do I have a problem believing that?”

  “Look, can I come in for a minute?”

  “Are you carrying weapons?”

  “Funny. No really, I owe you an apology and wouldn’t turn down a cup of coffee if you offered it.”

  I cocked my head and said, “Now we are talking about just a cup of coffee. This isn’t one of those, ‘would you like to come in’ after a date things, is it?”

  He moved his hand to an oath position. “I swear.”

  I opened the door more broadly and motioned for him to enter. “Okay, come in, but I warn you, it will be at your own risk.”

 
; “Yep… that part didn’t escape me.”

  He came in, and I pointed to the snack bar in the kitchen. “My folks are in the family room and will hear me if I scream,” I told him, half joking, and half not. I turned on the coffee maker and pulled two mugs from the cupboard. “What do you take?”

  “Black,” he said firmly, and there was something in the take-charge tone of his voice that I liked. I handed him a mug and waited for the Keurig to dispense mine.

  “So, what brings you here?” I asked him outright.

  “I owe you.”

  “No, you don’t. Everything is fine.”

  “Yes, I do, but maybe not in the way you think. I honestly did lose track of the day, and I apologize for that. I know you went to some expense and I’ll be happy to reimburse you…”

  I shook my head and waved him away. “No, I’ll have a ton of opportunities to wear a powder blue prom dress,” I said sarcastically.

  He got it, smiling and lowering his head in mock shame. “So, what I thought I’d try is to talk you into having dinner with me.”

  I paused, absorbing the fact that he was asking me out on a date. He was enough older than me that I understood he was offering a real dinner date, not a soda at the drive-through. I felt the slightest tinge of fascination. I took the plunge.

  “What did you have in mind?” He’d better make it good. Missing a prom was hard to make up for.

  “Well, I have this friend who just opened a restaurant in South Haven, right on the lake. He’s having a grand opening affair, and I’m invited. I thought you might be my plus one?”

  It was something less than I’d hoped for—designating me as a plus one felt like being offered a plate of leftovers. Nevertheless, I loved South Haven and was anxious to try out my adult wings. “Okay,” I said spontaneously.