Antoine looked skeptical but didn’t say anything else until we got to my apartment.
“Whoa … ain’t you in college? I been to my cousin’s dorm and it didn’t look nothin’ like this.”
He walked around the room, then paused in front of Emma’s chair and asked, “You sure this ain’t your Nana’s house.”
“Wow, nice,” I said with a laugh. “I’ll have you know my girlfriend loves that chair.”
“I don’t know why,” he retorted moving to the kitchen.
“You hungry, thirsty?” I asked.
“You got any Coke?”
“I thought your mom doesn’t let you drink pop,” I said, pretty sure I was right.
“She does sometimes, and what the heck is pop?”
“It’s what we call soda, or Coke, where I’m from.”
“Weird,” Antoine said again.
“Okay, I’ll give you a little, but you better not be setting me up.”
While I poured drinks Antoine wandered off down the hall. I could hear him muttering to himself and knew he’d hit the gaming room when I heard him exclaim, “Ho-ly shit!”
“Language!” I yelled after him, but I was grinning as I followed after him with our beverages in hand. “What do you think?”
“Now this is what I’m talkin’ about. If I had all the money in the world, this is what I’d do with it,” Antoine said as he sat in one of the gaming chairs and started rocking.
I put our drinks in the cupholders on the poker table I’d recently purchased and set up in the corner.
“You wanna play something?” I asked.
“Do you have to whip your dick out to piss?”
“What?” I asked, honestly shocked. “Where did you hear that?”
“At school … thought I’d try it out.”
“Well, don’t. You shouldn’t say stuff like that.”
Antoine shrugged, but I could tell he was a little hurt I’d called him out.
“Why don’t you pick the game,” I suggested, gentling my tone.
“2K, I guess,” he said, somewhat poutily.
But, five minutes into the game the cloud lifted and he was talking smack with the best of them.
We played for a few hours, until it was time for him to go back home, so I barely had time to run back and get ready for my date with Emma.
Luck was on my side, though, and I made it to her apartment at six on the nose.
Crush opened the door and stepped back to let me in.
“Hey, man, how’s it going. You have a good time last night?” I asked.
“Yeah, it was good to be back. Everything straight with you and Em?”
I knew it, they had been gossiping about us last night.
“Right as rain,” I replied.
Crush grunted and wandered off down the hall. A few seconds later, Emma came walking out and took my breath away.
She was wearing a long dress that danced around her ankles and her hair was different. It seemed straighter, longer than normal somehow, and she was beautifully adorned with jewelry.
“You look stunning,” I told her as I moved to clasp her hand and give her a kiss.
“Thanks. You clean up pretty good yourself,” she said with a grin.
“What, this old thing?” I joked, running a hand down my seven-hundred-dollar jacket. “Shall we?”
“Please,” Emma said, tucking her hand in my arm.
When we made it to the bottom of the stairs, there was a sweet-looking older woman watching us gleefully through her open door.
I heard Emma bite back a chuckle before she tugged on my arm, urging me toward the door.
“Brody, I want you to meet my neighbor, Mrs. Cline. Mrs. Cline, this is my boyfriend, Brody.”
Mrs. Cline beamed at Emma and said, “It’s about time.”
Thirty-Seven
Emma
Road trip!
If I never heard the ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall song again, it would be too soon.
Who knew Trixie loved to play annoying games during long car rides.
“Oh, Maine, mark me down,” she said, calling off another license place.
I don’t know if she realizes she was the only one still playing, or simply doesn’t care.
Wes wrote it down, then went back to his book.
“How can he read in the car without getting sick?” I asked Brody. He and I were in the third row, with Wes and Trixie in the middle and Ridge and Karrie up front.
“He’s a freak,” Brody replied.
“I heard that,” Wes muttered.
“No shit, you’re sitting two feet in front of me,” Brody shot back.
In addition to games, there had been a lot of banter between brothers.
We’d been driving for six hours and were finally almost to our destination – the Temple brothers’ new lake house in Colorado. It was like I was living someone else’s life right now. I was waiting for someone to pinch me and make me wake up.
“Has anyone heard from the others? Do we know when they’re coming in?” Brody asked.
And that was something else I was nervous about. Brody had three sisters, three brothers-in-law, a niece, and two nephews.
“Yeah, they’re driving now. I’m guessing we’ll arrive within an hour of each other,” Ridge said, his eyes shifting to look at Brody in the rearview mirror.
“Remind me who all I’m meeting again,” I said, my voice shaking a bit with nerves.
Brody’s hand on my leg gave a light squeeze of support, as he said, “We’ve got Millie and Dru, the twins. And Tasha. Millie is married to Jackson and they have Kayla, who’s Jackson’s daughter from his first marriage. She’s eleven and a ball of fire. Tasha is married to Jericho…”
Karrie let out a dramatic sigh and breathed, “Ah, Jericho.”
I laughed and asked, “What’s that about?”
“My fiancée has a crush on my brother-in-law. It’s fine, he’s a total fucking catch, and head over heels for our sister, so I equate it to, say, Trixie’s crush on Kristen Stewart. Completely superficial.”
“No, it’s not the same. Cause if Kristen Stewart wanted me I’d drop Wes like a bad habit,” Trixie argued, then turned to Wes and said, “Sorry, sweetie.”
“Totally understandable,” Wes replied, not looking up from his book.
“Anyway, Tasha and Jericho have a son, Isaac,” Brody said, but Karrie simply shrugged. “He’s like one or something. Finally, Dru is married to Mick, and they have baby Mickie. Plus, Dottie, Mick’s mom, who lives with them and is a total firecracker.”
“Dottie’s the best,” Karrie said and everyone nodded in agreement.
“That’s a lot of people,” I murmured, my palms beginning to sweat. “But I’m sure it’ll be great.”
“It will be,” Brody assured me. “Everyone is cool and super chill, and the kids are … kids. They like to play and have fun.”
I kind of nodded with my whole body, if that was possible. The kids didn’t scare me, I was good with kids. It was the adults. As someone who hadn’t grown up with positive adult role models, I was always on edge when I met parents and families. They were a foreign concept to me and I never quite knew how to act.
“This is it,” Ridge said as he turned off onto a long gravel road that looked like it disappeared into the trees. “The house is about a mile off the road.”
We all sat up and looked out the windows, eager to check out the property.
When the house came into view, there was a lot of gasping, and “holy shits” echoed in the car.
Ridge parked and we all hopped out and ran to the house, leaving our bags in the car for later and in our excitement. Karrie unlocked the door and stepped aside, letting those of us who were seeing it for the first time go in ahead.
The house was insane.
It was open concept, so you could see everything from the foyer. The floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room, with a perfect view of the lake, the huge stone fireplace, and
kitchen that looked as big as a football field.
We ran around the house, examining each floor, and checking out all nine bedrooms. The place was massive, with bunkbeds, a pool table, and so many windows it was insane. The views were gorgeous and I knew they would definitely fulfill their dream of making many memories and traditions in this home.
“There are four four-wheelers out back in the garage, shed, or barn … whatever you call it. I figured we could take turns using them to explore the acreage,” Ridge said when we all reconvened in the kitchen.
The table in there was the largest I’d ever seen, with place settings for twelve, and the bar had an additional eight stools.
“How will you keep this place clean?” I asked, the thought seriously giving me hives.
“We have a maid service that comes in weekly when no one is in residence and daily when we are,” Ridge replied.
“Oh,” I muttered, feeling like an idiot.
Of course they had maid service.
“I have died and gone to heaven!”
I looked over to see a beautiful brunette moving quickly past all of the people in the kitchen to run her hands lovingly over the appliances and countertops.
The rest of the family started piling in. There were lots of shouts, hugs, and excitement, and I moved so I was a little off to the side while they all got their greetings in. I should have known Brody wouldn’t let me try and hide for long, because when his eyes found me he waved me over.
I tried for a smile that said I was pleasant and not at all terrified, which meant it probably looked like I was constipated.
“Dru, this is Emma, my girlfriend,” Brody said, his voice sounding so proud that some of my jitters subsided.
Dru was also gorgeous, just like her twin, but her dark locks were shoulder length. Which was great, because that would help me tell them apart.
“Wow aren’t you lovely,” Dru said with a friendly smile. “I’m so excited to meet you.”
“Thank you, I’m excited to meet you as well,” I replied as she gave me a quick hug.
“This is my husband, Mick, and little Mickie,” she said as her buff husband moved toward us with a baby in his arms.
“Hey, Mick,” Brody said, clapping him on the shoulder. “Good to see you, man. How’s this little guy?” Brody asked as he leaned down and gave his finger to the baby to grasp in his fist.
He was really cute, with big cheeks and tufts of dark hair.
Someone cleared their throat, and I looked up to see an older woman coming toward us with her walker.
“Move out of the way so I can see Brody’s girl,” she said, her voice low and gravely. “Aren’t you a pretty slip of a thing. Don’t let this one charm you with his looks and fancy talk, there’s substance in there, you just have to dig for it.”
“Gee, thanks, Dottie,” Brody said with a chuckle as he moved to give her a kiss on the cheek.
“The Temple boys are pure gold, but sometimes their outer layer is so tough it’s hard to see. It takes a special woman to get to the heart of them, so since you’re standing here, I’d say you’re a woman with the good sense to fight for what’s important. That makes you good people in Dottie’s book.”
“Dottie,” Ridge called, breaking away and walking toward one of the cupboards. “This is your special pantry.”
He opened the door to show shelves lined with bags of hot Funyons. There had to be at least thirty bags in there.
“And that’s why you’re my favorite,” Dottie said. “That should get me through the weekend.”
“Hey, I thought I was your favorite,” Wes called out.
“At Thanksgiving you told me I was your favorite,” Brody complained.
“A woman is entitled to her feelings, fickle as they may be,” Dottie replied.
Mick chuckled and said, “Come on, Ma, let’s go get you set up in the living room.”
“Hi, you must be Emma. We’ve heard a lot about you.”
I looked around Brody to see a beautiful, edgy woman with bright-red hair in a sleek bob and a nose ring crossing to me, arms open wide. Through process of elimination I knew she had to be Tasha.
“Jackson and Kayla saw the lake and went to investigate, but they’ll be right in,” Tasha said.
I accepted her hug and that’s when I saw the man behind her.
Holy hot fries.
He was tall, dark, and handsome. With hair that should be too long but was somehow styled perfectly and looked amazing with his trim beard. His eyes were mischievous, and his clothes tailored to fit his long, lean body.
“You must be Jericho,” I said, the words tumbling out of my mouth without permission.
I felt Tasha chuckle against me before she stepped back and grinned.
“It’s lovely to meet you both,” I said quickly.
“Hello, Emma. And this little rascal is Isaac,” Jericho said, reaching down to pick up his doppelganger, who’d been toddling on the floor next to him.
“Hi, Isaac,” I said to the cute little guy, then caught sight of Karrie and Trixie out of the corner of my eye.
Both of their eyes were bugged out on Jericho and Karrie mouthed, Told you.
Thirty-Eight
Brody
“You did good,” I told Ridge as we were walking back toward the house. “This place is perfect for us. For all of us.”
“Thanks, bro. Yeah, I thought it was just looking online, but when Karrie and I saw it in person, I was like … yes, this is a place we can come to for the rest of our lives.”
“I don’t think we’ll get Millie out of the kitchen all weekend,” Wes said with a laugh. “She’s already cooking in there.”
“I won’t complain,” I said, holding on to my stomach. “Millie’s food is the best.”
“Truth,” Ridge agreed. “We definitely lucked out in the surprise older sisters department.”
We jogged up the steps to the wraparound porch and went in through the back door.
Everyone else had stayed back to choose rooms and unpack, while we’d decided to take the four-wheelers out and check out our property.
It was crazy to think I was part owner in something like this at my age, but I guess that was the one positive thing that came out of having my mom and dad as parents … our grandparents on my dad’s side. They’d given us the opportunity to live the way we did and to share it with our newfound family.
We walked inside and were immediately assaulted by the smell of cinnamon and sugar.
“Oh my God! What are you making?” Wes asked as he sniffed at the air. “It smells amazing in here.”
“Those are the cinnamon rolls I have baking in the oven,” Millie said, looking up as she continued chopping. “This is for dinner tonight. I decided on Italian, I hope that’s okay.”
“Millie, I promise, anything you make us, we’ll happily eat it,” Ridge said, and we all nodded in agreement.
Karrie came out of the walk-in pantry carrying supplies and said, “It’s like a supermarket in there. They really stocked us up on everything. Millie’s teaching me how to make baked ziti.”
Ridge walked over to give Millie a quick kiss before looking at our sister and saying, “Bless you.”
Millie laughed and said, “Okay, out with you. We’ll let you know if we need help.”
“Do you know where Emma is?” I asked.
“And Trixie?” Wes added.
“The last I saw them they were both in the living room with Jackson, Dottie, and the kids,” Karrie replied.
We left them talking happily together about baked ziti and went into the living room to see what everyone else was up to. When Jackson looked up and saw us, he got to his feet and came to meet us.
“Hey, guys, sorry we missed you earlier. Kayla’s already in love with the lake,” he said, and seconds later I felt Kayla hit my waist as she wrapped her arms around me.
“Uncle Brody, is that boat ours?” she asked hopefully.
“It sure is,” I said, grinning down w
ith her. “You like boats?”
She nodded excitedly.
“A girl after my own heart,” I said, then looked up and grinned at Emma, who was sitting on the extra-large sectional sofa with Trixie. Dottie was in the recliner and Isaac was playing with blocks on the rug.
“Where’s everyone else?” Wes asked.
“Doing things grown-ups with children do when they’re on vacation and have built-in babysitters,” Dottie replied saucily.
I chuckled and said, “Understood.”
“When can we go on the boat?” Kayla asked.
“How about tomorrow?” I suggested.
“Deal,” she said, then moved to crash into Wes and give him a hug.
“She’s gonna hold you to that,” Jackson warned.
“I’m good for it,” I promised.
“Did you guys choose our rooms?” Wes asked.
Trixie and Emma said they had.
“Great, we’ll go get the bags and you can show us,” Ridge said.
Once we’d gotten the bags out of Ridge’s SUV we took them into the house and followed Emma and Trixie to our rooms.
“We chose by the order of your ages, so Karrie picked first, then me, and then Emma,” Trixie informed us.
“That works,” I replied, turning off to follow Emma down a short hall and into one of the bedrooms.
It had a queen bed and the same motif as the rest of the house. Basically rustic cabin feel, with antler lamps and lots of wood everywhere. It was fine with me, I didn’t care where we slept, as long as it wasn’t in a bunkbed where I’d have Emma on the bed below, rather than below me in bed.
“There’s a Jacuzzi out back, want to break it in later?” I asked as I put our bags on the bed.
“Yeah, that sounds great,” she said as she unzipped her duffel and started pulling out clothes and putting them in the dresser. “Do you have a preference on sides?”
“Nah, take whatever you need and I’ll fit my clothes in what’s left.”
Two minutes later I was done unpacking and Emma was putting her toiletries in the en suite bathroom.
“Cinnamon rolls are ready,” Millie called from the kitchen.
Frat House Confessions: Brody Page 13