Still Rattled: A Baxter Boys Novella

by Jane Charles

  Dylan has the cupboards open too and without asking, I pretty much know immediately which one is Kelsey’s and the others, though it’s hard to tell which belongs to Shelby and which belongs to Tiffany because both are stuffed with food.

  Kelsey disappears back into her room and Dylan gives me a look. “Do you think she’s starving?”

  “I think she’s living on a shoestring budget, just like we had to. We went together and bought cheap bulk, she doesn’t have that option.” We are whispering because we don’t want to embarrass her. I had wanted to take her to dinner tonight so we could talk and spend time together. Now I want to take her to the grocery store and load up those shelves, though I doubt she’d let me. And, it’s not like I’m rolling in money either, but I have more than she does.

  Kelsey gave money to a family a few days ago. Money by all appearances that she desperately needs.

  “Dust and vacuum the living room and then get her laundry started.” Dylan nods to the basket she shoved into the living room. She’s also shut her door.

  Maybe I should check on her.

  But, if she wanted either of us in there, wouldn’t she have left it open? “Do you think she’s okay?”

  “Hell no. Would you be?” He grabs his jacket and heads for the door.

  “Where are you going?”

  “She doesn’t have enough laundry detergent for all of that, nor the right cleaning stuff if this is going to be done right.”

  “Need my help?”

  “Stay here with her, idiot.” He rolls his eyes at me. “But don’t get too cozy, I won’t be gone that long.”

  “It’s not like that,” I argue.

  “Tell it to someone who hasn’t been watching you two.”

  After he leaves, I dust off the tables and lamps and anything else around before vacuuming. Once I think it’s up to Dylan’s standards I put everything away and plop down on the floor and start sorting out Kelsey’s clothing. There isn’t much here, and the jeans, shirts, sweaters and sweats are easy enough to sort. I have clothing like this. But the nicer, work clothing, I have no clue so I toss them in a different pile for Kelsey to deal with. I don’t want to be the guy who ruins her nice clothing. Then there are the silky panties and soft bras. I shouldn’t even be touching these things, though I wouldn’t mind seeing her in them, and just them. I have no clue how these get washed, but I’m pretty sure it’s with more care than my boxers and briefs.

  It took longer than I thought it would, but everything is finally put away where it’s supposed to be. The only thing left to do is to take the towels I pulled from the shower and add them to the laundry. It’s going to take me forever to get it all done, but it’s not like I have any pressing engagements. Well, other than the paper that’s due on Monday.

  I’m too tired to deal with that now and decide to just hit the library early in the morning, before most people are there and get it done.

  My door bursts open and Mary bounces in.

  “So, hot guy number one is installing a dead bolt, hot guy number two is folding laundry and hot guy number 3, and the hottest in my opinion, is cleaning our oven. Can we keep them?”

  It’s the first time I felt like laughing since I found cops in here yesterday. “You do know they can hear you.”

  She shrugs and plops down on my bed. “If they are yours, where have you been hiding them, and why didn’t you share?”

  Mary always makes everything better. I’m going to miss her when I graduate.

  “Friends from high school that I ran into on Thanksgiving.”

  She leans in. “Any of them taken?” she whispers.

  “I don’t know.”

  With a grin, she stands. “Then I’ll see what I can find out.” Then she frowns. “One of them yours? Just want to make sure.”

  I nearly blurted Alex’s name, but bite back the words. “None of them are mine.” But even as I answer I want to warn her away from Alex. She can have Dylan or Sean. They are good guys, and she could do a lot worse. Hell, she has done a lot worse. I’ve seen some of the jerks she’s dated.

  Why do I want Alex for myself? We are just friends, or trying to become friends. I don’t have time for a relationship, but the idea of him showing up here to hang out with Mary doesn’t sit right at all.

  “Well, I guess I should go see the damage.”

  “I’ll help.” I’m done with my room. Other than laundry, there isn’t much else to do. And, I probably should let the guys know that they don’t have to hang out. Now that Mary is here, I’m not alone.

  I should have sent them home a long time ago, but I hated the idea of being here by myself after what happened. I’m not even sure I’m comfortable sleeping here with just me and Mary, but I’ve got to sometime. If not tonight, then when? And, it isn’t like I haven’t slept in more dangerous places before. Except then, Brandon was with me. Mary isn’t going to scare anyone away.

  I follow her back out into the living room and am brought up short. My clothes, sheets and towels are sorted into piles and Alex is folding some of my clothes. “You didn’t have to do that.”

  “It’s no big deal. I wanted to.” Then he points to my undies and my face heats. “I’m just not sure how to handle those.”

  “Very delicately.” Mary winks at him.

  “As in cold on delicate,” Dylan confirms from the kitchen. He isn’t looking at Alex though. His eyes are focused on Mary. Did they hear what she said?

  They had to have.

  I quickly introduce her to the guys then follow her into her room. She stops in the middle of the room and shrugs. “Doesn’t really look that bad.” She starts grabbing stuff off the floor and tossing it on her bed. Then she grabs the clothes on the floor and tosses them in a basket.

  Mary can be a bit unorganized at times, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it without clothing strewn about.

  “Hey, Alex, if you’re into laundry, you can do mine,” she calls but I know she’s teasing. “My panties need some gentle care too.”

  “Kelsey’s panties are about all I can handle,” he calls back.

  Heat scorches my face.

  “And none of them are yours,” Mary whispers, then laughs.

  Sean locks and unlocks the door a few times before putting his tools away. “All set.”

  “I’m glad you added the chain,” I say. “I can’t believe they didn’t have a peep hole. How the hell can they know what or who is on the other side?”

  “I’ll come back later in the week and add one of those too.” Sean grabs a glass from a cupboard and fills it with water before he looks at Dylan. “So, you’re the hottest of them all.” He chuckles.

  “That can’t surprise you,” Dylan says.

  “With that scruffy beard. Hell, yeah it surprises me.”

  “I think it gives me a rather ruggedly handsome look.”

  “With those yellow cleaning gloves up to your elbows, I don’t see how the chicks can resist.” Sean finishes his glass of water and sets it in the sink. “Well, I’m outta here. You need to flirt with the cute blonde and Alex needs to fondle Kelsey’s panties. I know when I’m a fifth wheel.”

  “I’m not fondling Kelsey’s panties.”

  “You want to,” Sean counters with a smirk. He’s right. Not that I’ll admit it. Except in my mind, the fondling is me removing them from her perfect ass so I can fondle more interesting things.

  Mary’s door opens and Kelsey steps out. “Thanks for adding a lock, Sean. I owe you.”

  “My pleasure, Kels. We wouldn’t be able to relax with just that flimsy lock on the door.”

  “Can we at least pay you?” Mary asks.

  “Not for Kelsey,” he winks. “I got this.”

  “Damn, where have you been hiding these guys?” she says as Sean leaves.

  “Nowhere. I told you I hadn’t seen them in almost five years until Thursday.”

  “Some things are really worth keeping track of, Kelsey,” she looks at Dylan. “I promise not to let you los
e them again.”

  The girl is an outrageous flirt, complete opposite of Kelsey, who just rolls her eyes at Mary’s statement.

  “Why don’t I order a pizza?” Kelsey announces. “You’ve done all this work, and I do owe Dylan a few meals.”

  “You owe me nothing,” he insists.

  Besides, Kelsey can’t afford to buy us a pizza, even if it is the five dollar cheese one. At least I assume she’s nearly broke from the state of her food and cleaning supplies.

  “Let me do something.”

  “I planned on taking you to dinner.” It wasn’t my intention to announce it to everyone, but that had been my plan from this morning. I just didn’t count on other people being around.

  “You guys go on,” Dylan says. “I’ve got to finish the kitchen and then Kelsey’s room.”

  “You don’t need to clean my room.”

  “Is there dust in there?”

  “Some.” She shrugs.

  “You think it’s clean enough since you’re not working in there anymore.”

  Again she shrugs and Dylan just shakes his head.

  I stand. “So, Kelsey, want to grab a bite?”

  I look from Mary, who’s giving me a quirky grin, to Dylan who is studying us with a raised eyebrow. Talk about awkward. “I’m not going out to eat while Dylan is cleaning my apartment. It’s not right.”

  Hope deflates and I want to punch one of my best friends.

  “Besides, I’ve got all this laundry. I’ve got to get it done tonight so I’m free to spend tomorrow in the library.”

  “Library?” Dylan and I echo.

  “Yeah, my laptop was stolen and I’ve got a paper due on Monday.”

  “I thought we’d go shopping for new ones,” Mary says.

  “You go ahead. A new computer is not in my budget.”

  She snorts. “Two days after Thanksgiving? Computers are in everybody’s budget this time of year.”

  Computers! I do know computers. “I’ll take you tomorrow. I know the cheapest and best place to get a good one.” It would be even better if I had Kelsey to myself, but that ain’t happening. It’d be rude to take Kelsey and not Mary.

  “You’ve already done so much,” Kelsey begins to argue. “We can take care of it.”

  Does she want to get rid of me? I don’t want to be gotten rid of.

  “Dinner!” Dylan say’s as he’s putting the glass in the dishwasher, and then stands. “Everyone get your stuff. We are having dinner now, then we’ll come back and finish cleaning.”

  I glance from him to Kelsey and back at Dylan. This is kind of random. Did he suddenly get hungry?

  “I’m supposed to write a food article on that new Greek place that opened next to the campus. I need to eat there tonight so it can be in the paper on Monday.”

  “Oh!” Mary perks up. “You’re a foodie?”

  “I’m a writer.” He corrects and grabs his coat.

  “You guys go on. I’m going to do laundry.”

  I pull Kelsey close. “If this is about money…” I say quietly.

  “I pay my own way,” she says. “I’ve taken enough from you guys.” Then she leans in. “I’m getting spoiled, and it isn’t right.”

  “What if I want to spoil you?” I whisper.

  Her brown eyes meet mine. There’s questions and if we were alone, I’d tell her that I want to spend more time with her, get to know her and see where it leads. But two people are watching, and I’m getting uncomfortable.

  “We’re all going,” Dylan announces. “And, the paper is paying.”

  Mary is the first to grab her coat and head for the door. “Hey, I never turn down a free meal.”

  “Neither should Kelsey.” I grab her hand and squeeze it.

  “Who the hell are you?” The screech of Shelby’s bitchy voice jerks me awake.

  “And what are you doing sleeping on our couch?” demands Tiffany, in a superior and snooty tone. I better get out there before they spray Alex with pepper spray or something. I didn’t expect either of them to get back this early.

  “He’s a friend of mine,” I announce as I open the door from my bedroom.

  “You know the rules Kelsey,” Shelby warns.

  “No littering the common area with our stuff.” Tiffany gestures to Alex and then the laundry we didn’t get quite finished last night.

  “I’ll be happy to take my things to my room.” I start scooping up my clothes and nod to Alex to come with.

  “What the hell is your problem?” Mary says, coming from her room. “We were up half the night doing laundry and putting our rooms back together. Give us a fucking break.”

  “One of my glasses is missing,” Shelby says from the kitchen. Her cupboard is open. “Who the hell used one of my glasses?”

  “The guy who installed the deadbolt and chain on our door free of charge. Maybe you should send a thank you note instead of bitching.” Mary grabs her laundry and goes back into her room, slamming the door behind her.

  Tiffany looks around the room. “This place doesn’t look as bad as I thought it would.” Then she looks at me. “Exaggerate much?”

  I inhale. If I didn’t have to share a living space with these two I would so give them a piece of my mind. “Most of yesterday and last night was spent cleaning this place. All except your rooms.” I grab the rest of my stuff. “You’re welcome.”

  With that I slam my door. This was so not how I wanted to wake up.

  Alex is sitting on the end of my bed. “Nice roommates.”

  “I only have to deal with them until the end of June and then I’m out of here and never have to see them again.”

  Alex spent the night because he knew Mary and I would be more comfortable with him being here. We did try to discourage him, but not very hard.

  I check my phone. It’s only seven in the morning and we didn’t go to sleep until something like three. “Why are they here so early?”

  “They’re your friends,” Alex says around a yawn.

  “Not friends.” I crawl up the bed and get back under the covers and pat the space beside me. “Let’s get more sleep.”

  Alex grins at me. “Kelsey, are you inviting me into your bed?” He doesn’t wait for an answer and gets under the covers with me.

  “To sleep.” I roll over on my side and put my back to him. “I’m not having sex with you. I’m never having sex with you or anyone.”

  What the hell. Anyone? Never?

  I admit, Kelsey is hot as hell, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to have sex with her, but we only reconnected two days ago. And, as much as I like the ladies, I don’t just do it with every girl I meet, even if they want to.

  At least not anymore. My first couple of years at college was a little different. Hell, a lot different. I embraced the freedom that had been lacking in high school, and there were many weekends that I’d slept with just about anyone who was interested. No attachment and fun fucks until classes on Monday morning. It changed when I saw what had become of my mom. The sleaze, the gross, the cheap. I didn’t want to be anything like her, and fucking anything in a skirt was no different than what my mom was doing. I just wasn’t getting paid for it, and I sure as hell wasn’t videotaping it.

  I get that I was normal back then. Hell, tons of guys were fucking when they could, and just as many girls as guys were wanting the lay without the commitment, but not me. Not anymore. Hell, I didn’t even have sex for almost a year after seeing that video. That was with a girl I’d been dating for about two months, and she’s the one who was wondering when we’d ever fuck.

  With one video, I’d turned into a prude.

  Well, maybe not that, but a lot more selective of who I’m intimate with.

  Do I want Kelsey? Hell, yes. I am a healthy guy in my early twenties, the hormones to match, and all my parts work. And they are definitely working right now and I’m about as hard as I can get. But, that doesn’t mean I’d do anything. I thought that in time, as we got closer, I’d be having a good
time with Kelsey, but she just said she was never having sex with me or anyone.

  “You’re not asleep are you?” she asks.

  “Nope.”

  She rolls over. “Is it because I said I wouldn’t have sex with you?”

  “No. It’s that you’re never having sex with anyone.”

  “Glad you didn’t take it personally,” she grins at me.

  “Kels, we aren’t ready for sex.”

  “You mean you don’t want in my pants?”

  I roll and face her and put a hand on her hip. “Hell yes, I want in your pants. Two different things. The wanting and doing.”

  “Good!” She rolls back over and turns her back to me.

  “Why not ever?”

  She blows out a sigh and rolls back over. “Because I probably won’t ever get married.”

  “You are saving yourself for marriage?” I ask slowly. She’s had a kid. Is she a born again virgin or something?

  “I won’t risk another pregnancy.”

  No girl wants a surprise pregnancy, or so I assume, and Kelsey’s already had one, so I do get that. “There are ways and methods to keep from getting pregnant.” I so did not think we’d be having the birth control talk so soon. But, it’s not like we are discussing what we would do, but her in general, with any guy.

  “Nothing is 100% except abstinence.”

  “It’s also not nearly as fun.”

  That comment earns me a frown. I love how her nose wrinkles when she’s irritated. Little ripples that mush her smattering of freckles together.

  “I couldn’t give up another baby. It would kill me.” She rolls on her back and stares at the ceiling. “After having Brandy, I know myself well enough that I couldn’t abort. I get why some people do, but I couldn’t do that for me.”

  “So, you’d be a mom.”

  She looks at me. “I’ve got a semester of school, then a new job. I can’t get pregnant with all of that, and I sure as hell can’t afford a baby.”

  “Most babies have daddies,” I remind her and then mentally kick myself when her dark eyes tear up. That was the stupidest thing I could have ever said to her. “Kels, I’m sorry.”