by Trinity Lemm
Steam rose as Axe opened up the large pizza box.
“How many do you want?” he kindly asked me.
“Just two is fine.”
“Toss me a couple slices too,” Ash requested.
“Get it yourself, asshole,” Axe said, throwing two pieces onto a plate and handing it to me.
Ash groaned, fixing himself a plate of pizza and dropping it on the kitchen table. He turned to Drew, sticking his hands on his hips. “And where the hell have you been, dick? I haven’t heard from you in weeks!”
Drew subtly licked his lips, glancing at Amberly, who tipped her chin towards her chest, giving him a warning glare.
“None of your business,” Drew jokingly responded with a smug smile.
“Wow, okay.”
“Maybe I’ve been trying to avoid your dumbass,” Drew laughed.
“For what!”
Drew’s blue eyes zoned in on Ash, the sides of his mouth slowly turning up. “You wanna go right now?”
Ash pointed to his plate. “After I down this… you and me. Living room. Fight night.”
Amberly found a seat next to me. “They’ve got this weird bromance going on,” she whispered.
“Are they always like this?”
“Pretty much,” she replied. “They’re always aimlessly arguing and wrestling. Except now, they don’t let Axe wrestle with them anymore,” she giggled.
“Why not?”
“He beat the shit outta them too many times,” she laughed out loud.
“They asked for it,” Axe chimed in.
Amberly narrowed her eyes at Axe. “Giving your brother a tiny black eye is one thing, but nearly breaking his arm is another.”
Axe sank down in his seat, embarrassed to be put on the spot.
Nearly broke Ash’s arm? From what I knew, it took a lot to break an arm, so Axe must’ve been pretty pissed at the time in order to go to that extreme. Either that, or he just became overly aggressive easily, but I had known Axe for months now, and I had never seen him reach that point. I couldn’t even imagine him reaching that point.
Drew and Amberly were very welcoming and as the night went on, I started to feel more at home. Amberly poured herself a glass of wine. “Would you like some, Tate?”
“Sure, thank you,” I grinned, taking a glass.
The boys were messing around in the living room, already drunk off all the shots and beers they had drank. Amberly watched, shaking her head as the boys wrestled each other to the ground. “Follow me,” she quietly said.
I followed her to the back door, leading out to a screened in porch. The November, Michigan air was starting to get cooler and although I was wearing a long sleeve, I was still a bit chilly. Amberly noticed, running back inside. She emerged again with two blankets, handing me one kindly.
“Thank you,” I gladly took it, taking a seat in one of the rocking chairs. I placed my wine on the side table, too afraid that I would spill it on the blanket.
Amberly sat in the seat on the other side of the small, round table. Her kind eyes peered into me. “Where are you from?” she asked.
“Suburbs of Chicago. And Axe said you guys are from here?”
Amberly nodded. “Born and raised.”
“Ah, I see. I do really love Michigan, though.”
“Yeah, it’s a good state. Other than the arctic winters,” she joked. I giggled in agreement, cuddling up against the rocking chair. “So, when did you and Axe meet?”
“Um,” I thought, “about mid-September.”
“Oh, so you’ve been dating for a little while,” she said, surprised.
My eyebrows shot up, my mouth opening and closing with words that weren’t coming out. “Well… we’re not like dating, dating.”
She dipped her head towards her shoulder. “Really? It seemed as if you two were together.” She swished her wine around in its glass. “I’m actually really surprised that Axel brought you here, honestly.”
“Oh, why?”
Her comment made me nervous that I was about to hear something that I didn’t want to. I gripped the blanket, preparing to hear the possible worst.
“Because he’s never brought a girl here before.”
I took a deep breath, relieved. I could tell she was just as confused as I was. I had been wondering how many other girls Axel had brought here in order to successfully sleep with whoever his target was at the time, but knowing that he never brought anyone else here both comforted and concerned me. Was I the only one because he genuinely had feelings for me? Or was it because I was simply the toughest target he ever had?
“But thank God he did,” Amberly laughed. “I’ve been the only girl for years.”
I giggled at her remark, trying to imagine what it would be like if I had three brothers instead of three sisters.
“He’s really never brought another girl here before?”
“Nope,” she shook her head. “That’s why I was so sure you two were a couple.”
“I mean,” I nervously started, “he says he wants to be, but I’m just…”
“Worried?”
“Yeah,” I admitted.
“Don’t blame ya. It’s no secret that he doesn’t have the best rep.”
“Do you think he—"
Axel slowly opened the back door. “Sorry if I’m interrupting your girl talk,” he smirked flawlessly, “but it’s time for drunk Monopoly!”
I furrowed my eyebrows, confused. Amberly rolled her eyes. “Oh great, not this shit again,” she said. I snickered at her sudden annoyance, but I was slightly disappointed that we didn’t get to finish our conversation. Amberly turned back towards me. “Ever since I’ve been dating Drew, which is almost four years now, at every family gathering, all the guys get hammered and force me to play Monopoly with them.”
“It’s the best part of the night!” Axe chimed in, standing with his arms out.
“It sounds like fun,” I expressed.
“Yeah, you’d think that,” Amberly adjusted her hair. “Until they all start yelling at each other and not playing by the actual rules, whatsoever! Which pisses me off!”
Axe stood against the door frame, arms crossed. “We’re all playing. All of us.” He walked over to me, holding his hand out and helping me stand.
I kept the blanket wrapped around me, too chilly to put it down. Axe grabbed my wine glass for me, putting his free hand gently on my lower back to guide me inside. Amberly sighed, then reluctantly followed.
Axe and Ash set up the game as we gathered around the kitchen table. Drew and Ash kept eyeing each other with smirks on their faces, as if they were preparing to wrestle again.
Amberly took notice, shaking her head. “Sometimes I think Drew would much rather be marrying Ash than me.” The room went silent as all heads turned towards her. Her cheeks flushed as she covered her mouth with her hands.
“Amb,” Ash started, “what the fuck is that on your finger?”
Amberly dropped her hands, her worried eyes darting over to Drew. “Nice one, babe,” he said.
“It just slipped,” she sighed.
“Spill,” Axe insisted.
“Okay, so,” she began, biting her lip, “we were gonna wait to tell you guys until tomorrow… but we’re engaged!” She held up her left hand, showing off the beautiful diamond on her ring finger.
“It’s about damn time!” Axe yelled.
“Woah,” Ash grabbed Amberly’s hand to get a closer look. “That thing’s pretty fuckin’ big. How did none of us notice it all night?”
Amberly burst with excitement. I could tell she had been trying to hold it in all night. Drew was just as excited, maintaining a smile on his face as well.
Ash turned to Drew. “You didn’t tell me you were proposing!”
“Out of everyone on Earth, why would I tell you?” Drew joked.
“He’d tell me before he’d tell you,” Axe said with a grin as he took out all the Monopoly pieces.
“Yeah, right,” Ash said.
&n
bsp; “Speaking of you, Ash…” Drew started, “how’s it going with your girlfriend?”
“What?” Ash asked.
“Did she dump your sorry ass already?” Drew joked.
“No,” Ash said with his eyes narrowed.
I leaned towards Amberly. “Gianna is one of my best friends,” I smiled.
Her face lit up. “Oh, I see! Is that how her and Ash met then?”
“Yeah,” I said, “it’s funny how it all worked out.”
“Awe, I love that!” she smiled.
Axe turned back towards his brother. “Yeah, so you’re welcome, douchebag.”
Ash narrowed his eyes at his brother. “Why would I thank you?”
“Because if I hadn’t invited Tate over, you never would’ve met Gianna.”
“Well, you’re welcome too, asshole,” Ash said.
“For what?” Axe asked. Ash raised his brows and after a second, a bell went off in Axe’s head. “Oh, fuck off!”
“Finally, took you two long enough to stop swinging your dicks around and just commit to somebody,” Drew said with a laugh.
Both boys shot him a look, anger resting on their faces. The room exploded as the three started bickering.
Amberly sighed as she turned towards me. “See, we haven’t even started the game yet and they’re already yelling at each other.” I laughed as she stood up from her seat. “HEY!” she yelled. The room turned to silence. “All three of you… shut up!”
The three boys complied to Amberly’s command, shutting their mouths immediately. After a moment, her mouth slowly turned upwards and she raised her left hand again, her engagement still being the number one thing on her mind.
“That ring is really beautiful, by the way,” I said.
“Thank you!” she replied.
“And congratulations!” I happily added.
She leaned across the table, squeezing my hand. “Thank you, Tatum. And I would love for you to come to the wedding.” Her response made me happy. I had been worrying all day that Amberly wouldn’t like me and knowing that she did and approved of me lifted a weight off of my shoulders. “Which means,” she pointed at Axel, “you cannot fuck things up with her.”
“I’m trying my best,” he peeked over at me.
“The wedding will be early next summer. And also, I want the both of you to walk me down the aisle,” she gestured towards Axe and Ash. “One of you on each side of me.”
“Awe, how cute,” Ash blabbered.
“We’d love to,” Axe said.
Monopoly consisted of a lot of yelling and laughter. All three drunken boys got extremely into the game, leaving Amberly and I to sit back and chuckle at their predicaments. When the game was finally over, it was nearly one in the morning. I yawned, ready for bed.
“So, Ash you take the first guest bedroom and then Axe and Tate, you guys can take the other one,” Amberly announced as she collected all the game pieces, throwing them back into the box.
Only two beds? That meant Axe and I would have to share a bed. We hadn’t shared a bed together yet, and with the new knowledge that Axe’s body count was well over twenty, I didn’t know if he would try to pull a move or not. And above all, I was afraid that if he did try, I would give in.
Axe sensed my nerves. “I can sleep on the couch,” he faintly spoke to me.
“No, it’s okay,” I shook my head. As nervous as it actually made me feel, I didn’t want to make a big deal out of the situation, especially in front of his family.
I got ready for bed in the bathroom, taking my time during my nighttime routine. I made sure to wash my face well and put plenty of my moisturizer on, scared that I would wake up next to Axel with a breakout. I used to have a fair amount of acne when I was a younger teen and although my skin was clear now, I was always afraid I would breakout at the worst times. My acne was never anything terribly bad, just the normal amount that every teen got, but Connor always used to point it out to me. So, I was self-conscious.
Axe was already in the bed when I climbed in. Usually, I just wore a long shirt and a thong to bed, but tonight, I had shorts on underneath my t-shirt. I was definitely not about to be that exposed when I slept next to Axel.
As soon as I laid down, Axe’s arms were already around me, pulling me to him. His warmth fused throughout me, feeling like a big blanket. He wasn’t wearing a shirt and for the first time other than on Halloween, I got to see his chest tattoos up close. It was slightly hard to make out exactly what each one was, but within the moonlight shining through the window, I could vaguely piece some of them together. There was the obvious dragonfly tattoo on his abdomen, accompanied by two small swallows that sat near his collarbone, and the name “Anne” over his heart with a date under it. I assumed it was for his mother.
After I finished my quick tattoo inspection, I rested my head on his chest, above his heart, near the tattoo that I had just recently discovered. His heartbeat was so calming to listen to. I could feel his soft lips touch my head as I closed my eyes. I was nervously waiting for him to try to start kissing me or for the moment that his hands would start to wander, but neither of those moments came. I wanted to lean up and kiss him, but I didn’t want to start something that we couldn’t finish.
“Tate?”
“Mhmm?” I hummed against his chest.
“I’m really happy that you’re here.”
“Me too,” I melted into Axe, falling asleep almost instantly.
Chapter Eleven
The Batter
Axel was still asleep when I awoke. Our legs were tangled up in each other, bringing a tiny smile to my lips. I carefully slipped away from his grip, trying my best not to wake him. Once I was out of his grasp, I sat on the edge of the bed for a moment, admiring him. His beautifully tattooed chest rose and fell with a peaceful rhythm, messy hair sitting perfectly. I wondered what he was dreaming about.
I made my way downstairs after quickly getting dressed and getting my hair under control. Amberly was already in the kitchen, starting to put everything together for the day.
“Good morning,” I said. “Do you want some help?”
Amberly smiled brightly. “Oh my God, that would be wonderful. I’ve always done basically everything by myself each year. Sometimes the boys try to help, but they always fuck everything up, so I don’t usually let them do a lot,” she laughed.
I smiled, helping her throw the turkey into the oven.
“So, how was your night?” she asked.
“It was good. How was—”
“But how was your night?” she asked again, raising a brow with a cheeky smile.
“Oh,” I said, finally understanding what she meant. Heat rushed to my cheeks. “We didn’t…” I shook my head, trailing off.
Amberly nudged me. “I’m just teasing you. I really don’t care if you did or didn’t. But if you ever actually do,” she said, scrunching her face in disgust, “don’t tell me. I don’t wanna know about my baby brother getting laid.”
I laughed, relieved that she wasn’t being serious. “Got it. And nah, I told him I wouldn’t unless we were actually dating.”
“Good. He needs that type of rejection in his life,” she chuckled. “He’s so used to girls throwing themselves at him.”
I felt a small twinge in my stomach at the thought of other girls with Axe.
We continued to talk and laugh for what seemed like hours until anyone else came downstairs.
“Morning,” Drew said, wrapping an arm around Amberly’s waist as he kissed her.
“It’s almost afternoon,” Amberly corrected him as she pulled away, smiling. She sighed. “Ash and Axe still aren’t up?”
Drew shrugged.
“I’ll go see if Axe is up,” I said.
Axe was still laying on his side of the bed when I quietly entered the room. I shut the door behind me and tiptoed over, placing a knee on the bed.
“Axe,” I whispered, getting closer. “It’s almost noon,” I giggled.
He groan
ed at my words before grabbing my hand and yanking me to him until I was laying on top of him. My hair fell around his face, framing it. Axe’s green eyes popped open and his lips reached up, carefully placing themselves on mine. He slipped his tongue inside my mouth, his hands sliding up and down my back, but not going any lower. I yearned for his touch, but I knew it was a bad idea. Each time we touched, there was a spark, and as addictive as that spark was, sometimes, some sparks were deadly. Axe sucked my bottom lip as he pulled away, looking up at me with gentle eyes. I ran my hand through his hair, still on top of him.
“Time to get up,” I said, moving to a sitting position on him. He rubbed his eyes and dropped his head to the side, grinning.
I swung my legs around him, getting off the bed. I stood with my hands on my hips, waiting for him to follow my lead. He watched me for a moment, a specific longing in his eyes.
“How ‘bout you come back to bed?” he reached for me. I couldn’t help but smile.
“How ‘bout you stop being a lazy ass and get up?”
He bit his lip, smiling. Dimples appeared. My favorite smile. He groaned again, finally sitting up. “Still so stubborn,” he shook his head.
“Good,” I grinned, still high off of his touch. “Then I will see you downstairs once you’re ready.” I walked towards the door.
“Wait, Tate.”
“Yeah?”
“You look great in those jeans,” he winked with a mischievous grin.
I shook my head, not able to contain my smile as I walked out.
After a long day of cooking, eating, drinking, and laughing, I relaxed on the couch with Axel. Drew had put a movie on, and we all sat around, watching. I could tell Axe was thinking about something, but he wasn’t coming out and saying it.
I nudged him with my elbow. “What’s up?”
He stood, cocking his head. I followed, feeling the anxiety beginning to swell up inside of me. He grabbed a blanket on the way, handing it to me as soon as we got outside on the screened in porch.
I wrapped the blanket around myself, trying to hide my shivering. But I couldn’t tell if I was shivering because it was cold or because I was scared as hell of what he was about to say.