by A. D. Ellis
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the love birds. The very loud love birds I might add.” Kendrick laughed and winked at Katie’s blush. “No worries. I’m just a bit concerned. You know, Decker, we do have some young, impressionable cousins who have been given permission to sleep over on occasion, and I worry that your extracurricular bedroom activities may not be the best example to be setting for them, especially as the newest member of Torey Hope’s business community.” Kendrick kept a straight face throughout his whole speech, and Katie felt her heart drop to her feet.
“Oh my God, Decker! Was Asher here last night? Kendrick’s right; you can’t be having a girl sleep over. It looks bad on all fronts.” She felt so bad, how could she have allowed him to put himself in such a bad position.
“Hear that, BDSM? I’m right.” Kendrick winked at Sawyer and Decker both as the other twin entered the kitchen in search of coffee.
“Knock it off, Kendrick.” Decker slapped him in the head and poured Katie a cup of coffee, automatically adding her desired amount of cream and sugar.
“Bug, don’t listen to him. He’s throwing my words back in my face. I may have made a little speech similar to that one upon our return to Torey Hope.” Decker rolled his eyes at his brother and cousin’s snorts. “Okay, fine, I made that exact speech when we moved back home.”
“But, Decker, he’s right in a lot of ways. What if Asher had been here? What will people think of their newest, youngest business guru bringing home random girls?” Katie worried her lip as she spoke.
“Stop, Bug. First, if Asher had been here, we wouldn’t have done what we were doing or we would have been quieter. Second, we are grownups; you are not some random girl I’m bringing home; we are both consenting adults; I’d like to see someone just try to cause a problem about us being together.” He kissed the top of her head and flipped off Kendrick as he did. “Thanks a lot, fucker.”
Smirking, Kendrick apologized. “Kate, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you; I was just giving Deck some shit.”
Calming and smiling slightly at Kendrick, Kate tried to let her worry subside.
In hopes of changing the subject, Decker sat next to Katie at the table. Zach entered wearing only boxers and scratching at his bedhead. Glancing around, Decker and Katie both took in, for the first time, the state of undress the other men were in. All three were wearing only boxers; Decker himself had at least donned a pair of shorts.
“Damn guys, I’m pretty comfortable with Kate’s feelings for me, but do you think you could dress yourselves a bit more modestly when my girl’s over?” He frowned at them. All three glanced at each other and then back at the two sitting at the table. Sheepishly, they sat their coffee down and retreated to their rooms for more clothing.
“Decker, it’s not like I’m interested in them, they didn’t have to leave.” Katie was touched by his protective gesture, but felt bad the other guys had left. “I hadn’t even noticed what they were wearing, I’ve only got eyes for you.” She leaned in and kissed him.
“Well, they are grown men, they should have more respect for themselves and you.” He knew she wasn’t looking at any of them, but it gave him a chance to erase the worry from her face after Kendrick’s comments. Taking the moment they had to themselves, he spoke again.
“Hey, I meant to ask you. Do you have plans in a couple weekends? Beckett is getting married, and I wondered if you’d like to go with me as my date?” Decker rubbed her knuckles as he spoke.
“Your date to what?” Sawyer asked as the three reentered the kitchen in sweats or basketball shorts.
“To Beckett’s wedding. It’s in a couple weeks; you guys are all going, right? Do you have dates?” Decker knew that none of them would miss Beckett’s special day; he was their older cousin or brother and had been the epitome of a wise, older, mentor as they were growing up.
“I’m going, but I’m not bringing anyone. I’m not ready to bring a date to something that big and public. Not just yet.” Sawyer had made strides, but he still had a ways to go before he felt confident enough to invite a guy on an in-public date.
“Nah, I’ll probably just hang with Zoey.” Katie noticed that Zach tried to come off as nonchalant about it, but she saw the slight flush on his cheeks at the mention of Zoey.
“Hell, no, I’m not bringing a date. Weddings are the perfect harvesting ground for desperate pussy.” Kendrick spoke and waggled his eyebrows. “Emotional females, sweet cake, champagne flowing…” He threw his head back and closed his eyes as if to savor the image in his mind. “Yep, the pussy will be ripe for the picking, and I plan on picking the juiciest one and bringing her back here. Or at least to the restroom at the reception hall.” He guffawed at the look of shock and utter disgust from the other three men; the contemplative look that Katie gave him, though, shot straight to his soul. It was like the girl could see beyond his mask; he didn’t like feeling exposed. Standing from the table. “Speaking of pussy, I’ll be gone tonight, so you guys can be as loud as you’d like. Have fun.” And with that, Kendrick was gone.
“I’m going to hang out with Zoey and Asher, I’ll probably just sleep over there.” Zach rinsed his coffee cup and headed to his room.
“I have some things to do at The Center+ and then I’ve got a date. I’ve asked him if I can crash at his place. As long as the date goes well, I’ll stay there. I’ll text if I’m coming back to sleep here.” Sawyer leaned down and kissed Katie’s head. “It’s good to have you here, Katie-girl, you brighten this place up.”
Smiling at each other, Decker and Katie imagined the possibilities of having the whole house to themselves for the day.
Chapter 19
In the middle of their movie marathon, which happened to include several make-out breaks, Decker’s phone chirped. “Damn, I hope that’s not Sawyer already. Do you think his date backed out on him?”
Katie smiled at his obvious protective streak for Sawyer.
Her smile fell away as she watched him read the text.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” He roared and angrily tossed his phone aside.
“What is it?” Grabbing his phone from the floor, Katie read yet another text from the unknown number.
While you’re playing house with your little girlfriend, your business venture is falling apart. I thought you were more responsible than that.
Two thoughts struck Kate at once. One, the person who was sending the texts seemed to know Decker personally. Two, the person seemed unhappy about her and Decker’s relationship. What she didn’t understand was why. Who had Decker pissed off enough to go to the trouble of messing with things at The Center+? And who was mad he was dating her?
“Let’s head down there and see what’s wrong this time.” Decker grabbed her hand and pulled her into a kiss. “Once we get this taken care of, we’ll grab dinner and come back here to finish where we left off this morning.” His tongue swept into her mouth as his hands caressed down her bottom and pulled her firmly against his hard body.
She bit back a moan and pulled away from him. “Come on. I know it’s killing you as much as it is me to find out what’s happened now. Before we go, call the police so they can send an officer to take a report if needed.” She smiled at him and laughed when he smacked her backside; Decker had loosened up a lot in their time together, but she saw darkness swirling in his expression. She knew he wasn’t taking kindly to someone messing with his business.
**********
A couple hours later Decker held Kate’s hand as they walked up the steps to his house. They had spent too much time having to speak to the police officer and combing through the mess that had been left at The Center+. Nothing drastic had taken place, but Decker was pissed that someone was so blatantly messing things up at work.
This time it had been piddly stuff that didn’t cause too much trouble, but was just causing a major pain in the ass to clean up. Cut power cords on the tools, sawdust dumped all over the new wing, drywall busted up, and whole containers
of nails and such spilled from one end of the wing to the other. No one was hurt and they wouldn’t lose more than a couple hours of work getting the mess cleaned up, but it was the principle of the thing that was really getting to Decker.
“I just don’t get it, Bug. I’m not the type to have enemies; I’m a fair person in business and my personal life. Someone seems hell bent on messing up The Center+ and causing problems between you and me.” Popping the top off a beer bottle, Decker sat heavily on the couch and stretched his arms wide indicating where he wanted her to sit.
“I don’t know, Deck. I don’t have any sordid past that would be coming back to haunt me; I can’t imagine who would be upset that we were dating. I know it’s frustrating, but for now I think we have to let the police just monitor and see if they can catch the person in a slip up.” She got quiet for a second before continuing, “I’m starting to get concerned that this person isn’t going to stop until they are forced to stop. I just don’t want anyone getting hurt. So far, it’s been annoying, but nothing dangerous; what if this person starts escalating his efforts to mess things up?” She furrowed her brow at the thought and looked at Decker expectantly.
“That thought has been on my mind a lot today, too, Bug. I can’t take a risk of going against the law and trying to catch this guy myself, but I also don’t want to risk this asshole messing with things so much that someone gets hurt.” He sighed as he took a long pull on the beer bottle. “I just don’t know, Kate.”
Chapter 20
“Hey, man, I’ve got a favor to ask, but you’ve got to swear you won’t tell anyone and you won’t laugh at me.” Decker spoke to his brother hesitantly, heart beating wildly in his chest. Asking for help wasn’t something with which he was all that comfortable.
Smirking as if he was already enjoying himself immensely, Sawyer motioned his brother into the room. “In our entire life, I think I can remember maybe five times you’ve come to me asking for help. What in the world could be forcing the great Decker Morgan to lower himself to asking for help; what knowledge do I, a mere mortal, have that would be of assistance to you, Oh Great One?” Sawyer crossed his arms across his chest and just smiled.
“Damn it, wipe that shit-eatin’ grin off your face; you’re acting more and more like Kendrick every day, and it’s not flattering. You’re never going to get in any guy’s pants if you act like an ass.” His cheeks blushed as he acknowledged his brother was right; he wasn’t the one usually coming to ask for help. But, this was important, and this was real. Reluctantly, he let Sawyer gloat for a bit longer before punching him in the arm. “Are you ready to be serious now? I need your help with something, but I don’t want anyone else knowing about it.”
Sobering slightly, Sawyer punched him back. “Yeah, man, I’ll do anything to help you. You know that.” Flopping down in one of the over-sized bean bags that decorated the floor of their game room, Sawyer looked up at his brother expectantly. “So, you got me, what do you need help with?”
Taking a deep breath, Decker blew it all out in one quick whoosh. “I need you to teach me how to dance.” Looking at his brother, he waited.
And waited.
“Damn it, Sawyer, say something. Stop just staring at me.” Decker shifted uncomfortably; he didn’t like putting himself out there and then having Sawyer just stare at him was making him more than a little nervous.
“Oh, my God! You totally love her!” Sawyer threw his head back and laughed. “You love her and you need me to teach you how to dance with your girl. This is so classic, so priceless. Please, please let me tell the guys.” He rolled off the bean bag, still laughing, to escape Decker’s advancing attack.
“Shut up, man. No, you can’t tell them. This isn’t about them. This is about Kate; she’s asked me to dance before, and I’ve told her I don’t dance and will never dance, but I want to surprise her and dance with her at Beckett’s wedding. You’re a good dancer, I want you to teach me.” Decker had never been one to shy away from fear of doing something, and he wasn’t going to stop now. He was surprised at the strength of his emotions about learning to dance for Kate.
“Man, I’m just giving you a rough time, you know I’ll help you. Just give me some time to revel in this moment; it’s not often you need me AND I get to give you some grief, I just need to savor it for a while.” Sawyer smiled and Decker’s heart warmed; he knew he could count on his brother.
“Okay, so let’s get this started. You won’t be able to learn all of my awesome dance skills before the wedding, but we can get a couple moves under your belt. I’m thinking you want something simple and classic for those slower songs and probably something quick and easy for those faster numbers, right?” Sawyer was tapping a finger on his chin, contemplating songs and dance steps. “You’re in luck! I just remembered that Katie and I spent one whole summer learning dances for a local competition we were going to enter. Her dad left around that time and we never entered the contest, but I know she knows these moves.” Sawyer was almost lost in thought as he mentally planned Decker’s dance-related transformation. “So, let’s get the slow stuff mastered first; that’s the important stuff for weddings. Nothing better than holding that special someone close and swaying to the music while romance floats on the breeze.” He closed his eyes and savored the image of holding someone close.
Decker raised an eyebrow at his brother. “No need to convince me, Sawyer, I already want to do this.” He chuckled at how immersed his brother had already gotten in this project.
By the end of a couple hours, Decker could hold his own with any slow song. Sawyer had explained that it was basically just hugging the other person and swaying to the music. Decker wanted to practice a few songs with more classic hand positioning; he felt a little silly with his hand in Sawyer’s and his other hand grasping his brother’s waist, but he was determined to be able to dance for Kate.
Over the next few days, Decker and Sawyer spent several stolen hours a day practicing. Decker liked the dances where the song called out what you were to do or there were set movements. Freestyle was the one that made him nervous; he never knew what to do with his body.
“Okay, so fast songs can be tough if you’re not real comfortable. What I want you to do is use Kate and build your dance around her. She likes to dance, you just need to hold her and let the music move you. Dancing is a lot like foreplay. Come here, I’ll show you.” Sawyer motioned for his brother to join him in the middle of the floor. Decker vehemently shook his head.
Sawyer rolled his eyes and shook his head at his brother’s refusal. “Do you want to leave your girl standing on the dance floor to be swept up by Kendrick or someone else just because you won’t shimmy your ass with your brother?” Sawyer scrolled through his phone and pulled up “Shut Up and Dance” by Walk the Moon; grabbing Decker’s hand, he maneuvered them to the middle. “Now, dear brother, shut up and dance. I’ll be Katie, just go with the flow. It’s going to feel sexual and that’s good. Let your bodies move and touch and feel.”
Taking a deep breath and laughing nervously at his brother, Decker shook his head and let the music take over. It was a fun song with an easy beat. Sawyer played up his part as Kate and really got into the song; by the end, Decker was sad the song was over and even more excited to show Kate what he’d learned.
They finished with another fun song, “Dance With Me Tonight” by Olly Murs. The beat and style was different, but just as fun. Imagining himself holding Kate, watching her smile when she realized he was dancing for her, and having fun with his family and her, Decker decided that Beckett’s wedding was the most anticipated event he had on his social calendar for the near future.
“Well, you may not win any technical competitions, but you’ve got rhythm and heart, you’re going to have a blast dancing with Katie all night at the wedding. I’ll be there for moral support; I’ll try not to show you up on the floor, but there’s no controlling these moves. Don’t worry about the songs, what I taught you will work for any song, but I’ll give
the DJ a list of some songs to play.” Sawyer slapped him on the back. “Decker?” He spoke quietly and waited for his brother to look him in the eyes.
“Yeah?” Decker’s eyes were sparkling from the energy of the last dance.
“Thanks, man.” Sawyer’s sincerity was evident.
“For what?” Decker cocked his head to the side, wondering what his brother could possibly thank him for; he was the one who owed Sawyer his unending gratitude for helping him learn to dance.
“Just for, you know, for coming to me. It feels good to be needed by you. And, after I told you I’m gay, I worried that things would change between us. These dance lessons have meant more to me than you may ever know. So, yeah, thanks for coming to me.” Sawyer nodded his head and reached a hand out to touch his brother’s shoulder.
Sobering at the thought that his brother worried their relationship would change, Decker stood directly in front of Sawyer and held his face in his hands. “Sawyer, listen to me and listen carefully. I don’t like that you’ve already faced and you’re going to face hatred and bigotry because of who you are; if I thought you could change your feelings and avoid that kind of hurt, I would beg you to. But, I know your feelings aren’t a switch you can flip on and off; you didn’t just decide to be gay, I get that. So, I will stand by your side to fight, to protect, to support through every single situation, every battle, every loss, every victory. You are a part of me, we are as close as two people can be. You hurt, I hurt; you win, I win. Don’t think, for even a minute, that I would ever not come to you because of what you told me.” Decker’s heart crushed as his brother’s tears fell down his face. “You got me? I’m with you 100% on this. I love you, and that will never change. Any reservations I may have are just because I don’t want to see you hurt. I. Love. You.” Pulling Sawyer into a strong embrace, he let the love and connection they’d always had surround them.