by Cee, DW
Emily whipped out her phone and called Laney, I assume. “Hey. You busy? I tried calling you earlier, but you didn’t answer. You did?” Emily’s voice went up an octave with those last two words. “Come over with your bathing suit and have dinner with us. There are some people who’d like to see you.”
Emily gave Josh an affirmative wink and then proceeded to clean up James. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to go change James so he can go swimming as well. Why don’t you all go and put on your swimsuits? I’m sure the three of you can borrow from the three men here.”
“I love watching you Reids,” Max whispered after giving me a delicious kiss. “This is what a family should be like.”
“If you keep kissing me like that, swimming’s shot. We’re going to have to go back to my room...like now!” I whispered back.
“Then stop caressing my inner thigh. I can’t get up from this table without showing a lot more than I’d like to show.”
That, to me, was a challenge, and I always rise to a challenge! As the four boys were getting up to get bathing suits, my hands went further up his inner thigh and fondled the parts that needed to be fondled, but only briefly, so he’d be frustrated. Then, my hands came right back to my lap.
“More?” I asked innocently.
“Anymore and I’ll embarrass myself. Let’s wait till we christen your new toy tonight. I hope the four seniors in the house sleep soundly ‘cuz you’re going to make some noise tonight.”
My body shivered in anticipation. “You spending the night?”
“Yeah, but I won’t be sleeping. Since we won’t see each other all weekend, gonna have to get my fill tonight to tie us over till next week.”
I shivered again. “New toy? What kind of new toy?”
“All I’m going to say is 3-speed.”
“Can’t wait,” I kissed him a little more enthusiastically than necessary in front of an audience.
“You two not swimming?” Jake was back with James in his Superman swim trunks, while Donovan carried Ellie in her Wonder Woman two-piece. They were DARLING! James’ swim trunks were red, almost speedo-like and his rash guard was blue with the red and yellow Superman logo. It even came with a cape that attached to the rash guard. He looked so darling, I just wanted to eat him up.
Ellie had on a blue bottom with white stars and her rash guard was a red top, with a golden eagle emblem drawn onto it. Attached to the rash guard was a little loop where she carried her lasso of truth. She also wore her floaties-cum-bulletproof bracelet, and she even had the red-starred golden tiara-cum-headband. All she needed were a pair of red and white go go boots and her invisible plane, and she was ready to star in a Marvel comic. Already, this sassy girl knew she looked adorable. As we ooh’ed and aah’ed over her swimsuit, she insisted on walking and practically pirouetted towards the pool. Of course, as she got to the gate, she demanded, “Up!” from her godfather and the two jumped in the pool together.
Ellie wasn’t expecting the jump. She almost looked like she was going to cry, initially, then she giggled and loved it. She now demanded, “Morrrr!” Donovan obliged and got out of the pool and jumped in again. By their fourth jump, all the men, except Jake and Max were in the pool.
“Max, you want to borrow swim trunks?” Emily offered so kindly.
“Naw, Em. I think I’ll stay here with Jane.”
“Good choice,” she said with a loving smile.
“Ne Ne!” We heard James greet Laney, and she immediately went to him and adored him. Those two had a bond that not even I could break.
“Hello, sweet boy. Are you my superhero, today?”
“Yawshshshsh!” He nodded his head furiously, then pointed to the pool.
“Can I take him in? Is he ready?”
“Be our guest, Laney. By all means, enjoy your nephew.” Jake sent those two off then approached his wife. “Finally! Alone time, Love.”
“Uh... you’re not alone. We are watching.” I warned. “Please don’t make me want to throw up my dinner. And let me just reiterate that Laney is NOT James’ aunt. I am his only aunt.”
“Then start acting like an aunt and stop threatening my kids’ lives with your baby-handling ways.”
“Oh my gosh, did you just tell me that I baby-handled your kids? Do you know how much I love those kids? I...”
“Enough.” Jake cut me off. “You want to clean up here while I take Emily upstairs? I think she’s done enough work for a day.” Though this might have sounded like a question, it was a command.
“Do I have a choice?” I dared, but Max interceded.
“Emily, you go in and rest. We can all clean up after ourselves. We’ll even bathe the twins and bring them to you ready for bed when they’re done in the pool.”
Jake looked happy. “Great, Davis! I knew there was a reason why I liked you. Keep Jane in line and I think you’ll do all right in this family.”
Before I could say anything, Jake pulled Emily towards the house when all of a sudden, we heard a screeching sound from one of the guys.
“Jake! Emily‼ What the hell is this in the pool?” Nick hollered.
We all ran over to the pool as quickly as possible, and died laughing when we saw what was in the pool. The guys on the shallow end with Ellie had no clue.
“Um...guys,” Emily said while motioning for Nick to hand over Ellie. “It seems as though our princess has had a little accident. I’m sure the chlorine will kill the germs, but you’re all swimming in a mass of diarrhea.” Emily busted up as soon as she finished her sentence. I’d never seen five guys fly out of a pool so quickly.
Well, I’d gone through how beautiful these two were on the outside, but on the inside, their bodies functioned like a one-year-old. They ate whatever, slept whenever, and pooped wherever. What a life!
May 27, 2013 Truth or Dare
I took off a few days from work this holiday weekend and joined Becky and Evie in planning our bachelorette party before Ashley and Jared’s Sunday wedding. Max was unusually busy with school and the hospital so he didn’t make it to any part of this celebration. My parents arrived on Saturday to join in the fun, and Jake and Emily, who were considering joining since Austin wasn’t too far from Emily’s parents’ grave, ended up making it as well. Since Emily was seven months prego and the twins were an absolute handful these days, theirs was a last minute decision. They also brought Laney as their babysitter. We all grew up together, and Ash’s parents were still buddy-buddy with my parents, so Ash had no issues with Jake’s family + Laney being a last minute add-on.
All of the Taylor sisters came in to Austin between Friday and early Sunday morning, and Becky was my date since Al was out of the country on a business trip. Donovan came without a date, so the three of us kind of hung out the whole weekend. It was a fun time of catching up with all our childhood friends.
“What’s up with you and Max these days?” Evie started a long round of conversation between the four of us. We were sitting at the bar of a posh restaurant because Ashley decided she only wanted the four of us at her “bachelorette party” and she wanted a mild one. She was exhausted with wedding prep and her three other bridesmaids who lived in town were driving her nuts.
“Let’s table Max for a few minutes. What in God’s name is going on between you and my brother?”
Evie and Ashley choked on their drinks, and Becky just stared at me expectantly and demandingly.
“There’s nothing going on between me and your brother. Why do you ask that question?” Unfortunately, I wasn’t very convincing.
“Donovan said something to Al, and Al mentioned something to me, and…spill the beans Jane, what’s up with you and Donovan?”
“Donovan and I are friends, we are coworkers, and…”
“Shit Jane,” Ash was getting impatient. “Just say it. Did you cheat on Max and do the nasty with our favorite older brother? Was Donovan good in bed? He’s so tall and long everywhere, is he as anatomically perfect
as we all believe he is?”
“Eew! That’s gross, Ash. I don’t need to hear that about my brother.”
“Well we do. I want to know everything about Mr. Donovan Taylor.” Ashley downed her first drink before the rest of us even got started.
“I can’t believe you girls would think that I would cheat on my boyfriend. Of course I did not cheat on Max, and of course I did not do the nasty with Donovan. He and I just have this unnecessary tension between us from time to time.”
“What the hell? Details!” Becky demanded.
“You know I’ve always crushed on your brother .A man doesn’t get much hotter than Donovan Taylor. Geez, he could audition for the role of Christian Grey with his brooding looks and charming charisma.”
Ash and Evie both shouted, “Amen!”
“Well, around the same time Max came back to me, or better stated I came back from New York, your brother started showing interest. We went to a Laker game at the onset of my ‘dating’ period with Max and that was it. We went out once, enjoyed ourselves and...what else is there to say…we’ve always gotten along really well.”
“You haven’t done anything with my brother, have you?” Becky asked, sounding disgusted.
“No!” I told all the ladies. “We’ve had a few meals together, and most of those are innocuous lunches during work time. Your brother has confessed that he is attracted to me, and I confess to no such thing. We are…we are nothing to one another.”
Becky wanted to know, “What does Max think? Does Max even know?”
“I made Max plenty angry and insecure thanks to your brother, Becky! Once Donovan and I worked the entire night, separately, but your brother gave me a ride home, and of course Max was there in the morning waiting for me and totally jumped to the wrong conclusion. That was not a happy morning.”
“Now that you know that the hot Donovan Taylor is attracted to you, you going to act on it?” Ash asked suggestively.
“How can I act on it? I am dating Max. I’m also in love with Max. I don’t want to ruin anything. Things are so good between us right now.”
“But…” Ash kept at it.
“Donovan asked me not too long ago if I thought that we would be as good in bed as we are out of bed.”
“No!” All three girls spoke aloud.
“And in all honesty, there are times when I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to be with him. I know that’s not the thing to say, or the right thing to think when I’m with such a wonderful man, but I can’t help what’s looming between me and Donovan.”
Ashley suggested, “I think you two should just do the nasty, get it over with and see if that’ll go anywhere. Then you need to come back and give us every detail of what a fine specimen Becky’s brother is.”
“Ash,” Becky chided. “That’s disgusting. I don’t care to know about my brother’s sexual escapades.” Then she turned to me, “But I think if you are that curious, and since my brother is in agreement, you should give it a go with Donovan. I feel bad for Max because I know he’s a great guy, but there’s a part of me that knows you would be great for my brother! I’m so sorry to Max but I’m rooting for my brother, and hoping you’ll become my sister—though there is the slight complication with your cousin.”
“What???” Ashley, Evie, and I gasped.
Becky took a sip of her drink, a bite of her food, and an inordinate amount of time explaining herself.
“Shit, Becky. You can’t just drop a bomb like that and eat and drink like nothing’s pressing! Which cousin are we talking about? Which cousin is within age range for our favorite big brother?” Ashley started mentally going through her Reid contacts.
“When I was out in LA for the week of Mother’s Day, I saw my brother and Laney together—A LOT!”
“Laney?” Ashley choked on her drink. “Is she even out of high school?”
“Where have you been? She graduates this week from college.” Becky seemed to know more about my cousin than necessary.
When had this Donovan-Laney connection happened and where the hell was I when this memo was disseminated? “Explain.” I demanded.
“Well, there was...oh never mind. Al asked about Laney, and Donovan flat out told him that he thinks of her as another Rachel. You remember how overbearing he was with me and my sister, Rachel? Al and I thought there was something going on with the two of them but if Donovan says there isn’t, I believe him. So back to you and Donovan...” Becky turned the attention back to me.
“Ladies!” Evie brought us all back to reality. “Let’s not forget that Jane is dating Max! She is going to move in with Max! She is in love with Max! Jane,” she now started scolding me, “I think what you are thinking and feeling is terrible. I’m sorry but you are being a total bitch for even contemplating another man, when you are with the perfect guy whom you consider marrying.” Great, now she made me feel guilty. The preaching continued. “Just because you find Donovan attractive...shoot, who doesn’t find Donovan attractive...does not mean you need to act upon every attraction that’s out there. I know you’ve crushed on Donovan since you were little. All of us have had a crush on him at some point in our lives, but we were little. And that’s just it; he was our obsession as little girls. Just because he’s shown some interest in you, it does not mean you are still attracted to him. Curious maybe, but not attracted.”
“I certainly would be tempted if Becky’s big brother wanted to do the nasty with me.”
Evie rolled her eyes. “You would really give up Jared for one night with Donovan?”
“Today, no. A couple years ago…maybe?”
“No you wouldn’t and you know it, Ash. You know you were in love with Jared from day one and there was no way you would cheat on him, no matter how gorgeous the man.”
“I suppose you’re right, Evie, but Jane just started dating Max again, and it’s not like they’re getting married tomorrow. I don’t see anything wrong with Jane and Max taking a hiatus and Jane exploring other options.”
“I agree,” Becky nodded her head yes. “I think you should check out life with my brother and see what happens. You’ve known him your entire life. There are no secrets with him, at least not that we are aware of.”
Our saint Evie put in her two cents again. “Well I think it’s wrong. And I think this entire conversation is wrong. I just wonder Jane, what you would be thinking and feeling if you knew that Max was having this same conversation with his buddies about his ex-girlfriend, Hannah. If you knew that he still found her attractive, I think it would kill you inside. You know you’re in love with Max. I know you’re curious about Donovan, but that’s just curiosity, Jane. It’s not love. Don’t throw away love for a roll in the hay. Because in the end, you’re going to regret it!”
“Evie makes all the sense in the world, but I still say go for it.” By this point Ash was a little drunk and I think she was getting sloppy with her words. “In fact, I dare you to have a one night stand with Donovan. He’s going to be here this weekend. Sleep with him.”
“I don’t know Ash. I think she should get together with my brother, but I don’t want her to cheat on Max. I want her to break up with him, then have a relationship with my brother. So no sleeping with my brother this weekend, unless you’re going to break up with Max via phone. Or you can do it Taylor Swift/Joe Jonas style and do it via text.”
At this point Evie was furious. “Jane Reid, if you cheat on your boyfriend, I will never speak to you again. That is just not something any decent woman would do. I have a good mind to call Max right now and tell him about this entire conversation.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” Ash and Becky said at the same time.
“Why not? You dared Jane to have a one-night stand with Donovan. Why don’t you dare me and see if I’ll go running to Max.” Now she was taunting us with her threat, though I knew she wouldn’t go through with it in the end. Even if I did something so wrong as cheating on Max, Evie would stay true to m
e.
“Okay, Ladies!” I called out. “Let me clear up this fight. I am not cheating on Max. I love him, I’m going to move in with him, I’m going forward with him. Becky, as much as I’d like to be your sister, I don’t know that you truly want me as a sister, especially when you already have three very bossy ones.”
“She’s got a good point there,” Ash slurred her words and Becky giggled.
“And I admit, there is some attraction between me and Donovan Taylor, but I think Evie is right. It’s just an attraction and more of a curiosity than anything else. But that ship has sailed. Evie, no need to say anything to Max, I will not cheat on him. I really do love him,” I confessed.
“Hello pretty ladies.” Donovan, in his 3-piece pin-striped suit and black Ferragamo dress shoes looking smokin’ hot, just walked up to the bar. He was our ride tonight. Every woman eyed him as he stood at the bar. Did I mention he looks like Henry Cavill? Shoot, Mr. Cavill had nothing on this man.
