by Belle Aurora
My head was swimming and feeling tipsy. I started to laugh. “I don’t know what that means.” I laughed harder. “I’m sorry. I think I’m a little drunk.”
Pearl chuckled. “Do you like men or women, honey?”
“Oh!” That’s what she meant. Oh, God, I was an idiot. “I’m straight.”
Pearl sighed. “Dammit. Can’t blame a girl for asking.” Her wink was not very subtle. “Not when you’re looking like a dish and I’m hungry.”
The understanding came slow but when it did, I gasped. “Pearl! You’re a…” I looked around then whispered the word, “…lesbian?”
She tipped her head back and laughed openly. “You are precious.” She looked at the girls. “Can we keep her?”
Cherry wrapped her arm around me, pulling me into her. “I just wanna take her home and make sure she’s safe from this awful, awful world we live in.”
“You can’t do that,” Ettie cut in, throwing an arm in my direction. “Look at her. She’s like a freaking newborn. She needs to live a little.” She waved a finger at Cherry and told her off. “Let her live.”
Cherry hugged me tight. “No.”
“I can’t breathe,” I wheezed out, and Cherry released me with a soft laugh.
We talked for some time about life experiences and with an internal frown, I found I was seriously lacking in this area. I hadn’t travelled to another country. I hadn’t smoked, or dyed my hair. My sexual experiences were a joke compared to these women.
Unexpectedly, I turned to Pearl and shouted over the music, “Pearl, will you kiss me?”
Cherry and Beth both laughed. They looked at me like they thought I was a hoot. Ettie’s eyes widened humorously but she said nothing, instead doing another shot.
Pearl looked stunned. “What?” She searched my face, smiling cautiously. “Why?”
My mouth opened and verbal diarrhea spewed forth. “I’m just now realizing how boring my life is and although I’ve kissed a few boys, I’ve never even thought what it would be like to kiss a woman, and I think that’s pretty sad.” I took pause. “I don’t have a lot of life experience but I’m trying to make up for it. So, if it’s okay with you, I’d like to kiss you now.”
A short silence followed and I was overjoyed to see no judgment on any of The Vixens’ faces. No judgment, but maybe a touch of pity.
Surprisingly, Cherry piped in with, “If you don’t kiss her, I will.”
Pearl glared at Cherry. “Uh, no thanks. I got this, bitch.” Then she exhaled, “Are you sure you want to do this? I’m not into taking advantage, Emmy. I don’t want to give you an experience you might regret, so you have to be sure.”
No hesitation. “I’m sure.”
Pearl looked around the booth and when Beth shrugged and smiled, she turned to me and grinned. “Pucker up, honey.”
With a huge smile, I leaned forward and waited. Pearl framed my face with her hands and touched her lips to mine. The kiss was tame and gentle, and just as Pearl pulled back, she lightly pecked my lips again.
Contemplating what had just happened, I pulled back, and stated a heartfelt, “I actually enjoyed that.”
Pearl let out the breath I didn’t know she was holding. “Well, thank fuck for that.” She tossed back a shot and I laughed at how momentarily stressed she looked.
That was when Beth choked on a laugh and pointed across the way. As soon as I looked, I wished I hadn’t.
Lee, Noah, Connor, and Hell stood watching us, and from their matching expressions of shock, I was more than certain they had seen what had happened. For a split second, I wasn’t sure how to act. For a single moment, I was worried. And just as quickly as it came, it went.
I wasn’t ashamed of the kiss. It was lovely.
When they approached, I was smiling hard, and the second they were in hearing distance, I announced, “I kissed Pearl and it was lovely.”
The Vixens wild laughter followed.
Noah blinked at me before looking at The Vixens. “What have you done to her?”
Sliding out of the booth, I stood tall and presented myself. “I’m wearing a dress too.”
Hell’s appreciative gaze glanced my whole self and he bit his knuckle. “Damn, Emmy. You look hot.”
“I’mma be honest. I didn’t even know you had a figure, kid.” Lee openly ogled me, and I couldn’t help but hear the awe in his voice. A second passed, and he looked disturbed. “Not something I really wanted to know, truthfully.”
Drunker than I thought, I told them, “I don’t like my curves. They’re—” I bunched my nose in distaste. “—indecent.”
The Vixens exploded into another bout of laughter.
Noah looked down at me wearing an expression I’d never seen him wear. “You look beautiful.” His tone was sincere. “But then, you always do.”
I smiled up at him lovingly. In this moment, I felt beautiful.
Again, something I’d never felt before.
Surprisingly, Connor simply stood back and watched me with a small smile etched on his face. I detected something veiled in his expression.
Pride, maybe?
As usual, I pretended not to care what Connor thought, when in reality that tiny, hidden smile made my entire night.
Chapter Eleven
Every Rose Has Its Thorn.
Emmy
Seriously, I loved these men, every one of them, but they were killing me.
Walking over to the fridge, I opened it, took out a carton of orange juice and poured three glasses. I took one over to Lee and placed two pills on the counter. He groaned and I placed a hand on his shoulder. “Take them.”
When Noah walked past, I handed him a glass and asked, “Have you spoken to Micah?”
He shook his head. My brows arched, I put a hand on my hip and stated firmly, “You need to call him.”
Noah sipped the juice. “I will. Later.”
I took the third glass of orange juice over to Hell and placed it in front of him. As I did this, I responded to Noah, “You’ll do it now. I’m sick of him calling me to get to you.”
Lee glowered down at the pills. “I don’t want to.”
Silently praying to the rock gods, I sighed inwardly and went over to him. “You have to, sweetie. That throat infection isn’t going to go away on its own. Besides, you only have two days left of the course.”
It was then that Hell farted. Loudly.
Lord help me.
It took a moment for the smell to reach me. I gagged. “Oh my God, Hell. I don’t even have the words.”
Hell groaned from the sofa. “My stomach hurts.”
Immediately, I went over to him, but I did it plugging my nose. My voice came out nasal. “Are you feeling okay?” I put a hand to his forehead and he moaned. “Oh no.” I clicked my tongue. “You’re clammy.” Still blocking my poor, delicate nose, I told him, “I’ll pick something up for you, okay?”
He mumbled into the couch cushion.
Connor burst out of his room, looking sleep rough, and I went to pour him a glass of juice. “Morning.”
He grunted, taking the glass and chugged the whole thing in a second flat. The loudest belch ever heard followed then dogs howling in the distance.
Boys were gross.
“Emmy, baby.” Connor sidled up beside me. “I have a problem.”
This had my attention. I was all ears. “What’s up?”
Connor took a piece of my hair and played with it. “There’s a girl in my room.”
“Okay?” I wasn’t following.
He gently pushed the stray hair behind my ear and made a face. “I don’t want said girl in my room.” He huffed out a breath then slowly ran his fingertips down my arm. “Not anymore.”
Ah. I see.
My sigh was purely internal. “Go shower. I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks, baby,” he muttered gratefully then disappeared into the bathroom.
Inhaling deeply,
I went over to Connor’s room and knocked. No response. I knocked again. “Hello?” I called as I opened the door and the naked woman in the middle of the bed was fast asleep.
Ugh. This was the worst part of my job.
I went over to the curtain and opened it. The second I did, hot naked lady stirred. She groaned and I spoke. “Good morning.” Her head snapped up. “I hope you enjoyed your stay with us. Unfortunately, the guys need to get to practice, so…” I hated this part. “…if you could pop your clothes on and come on out, that would be great.” I smiled then finished with “See you out there.”
The second I walked out of Connor’s room, Hell farted again, and then he groaned. “Ugh, I’m dying.”
My stomach turned but I went over to him, sitting by his head and stroking his warm head. “You’re not dying.”
“I’m dying,” he reiterated gruffly.
Hell’s bells, the smell was rotten. I pinched my nose and grimaced. “Hell, what did you eat?”
“Pasta,” he spoke into the cushion. “I got the carbonara.”
The last time this happened, Hell had eaten mac and cheese. The time before that, it was garlic shrimp. Another time, it was an ice cream sundae. And then it hit me.
“Hell—” I stroked his forehead and he moaned pitifully. “—I think you’re lactose intolerant.”
“What?” He sounded adorably confused.
“Every time you eat something with cream or cheese or milk in it, your stomach cramps and you get gassy.” He spun around to look up at me. “It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
He was a pouting Thomas. “What does that mean?”
“I’ll have to buy some lactose free milk and cream. I don’t actually know if that’s the case but we’ll test it out, okay?”
“Okay.” Then Hell looked me in the eye, clenched his stomach and pushed out a massive fart.
Throwing his head to the side, I shot up and glared at him. “I don’t believe you.”
His shoulders shook in silent laughter. “What? I’m lactose intolerant!”
“Uh, hi.”
The woman had emerged from Connor’s room, dressed, and was looking around at us, holding her purse close to her stomach. I smiled kindly and went over to the breakfast bar. “Hi.” She looked around and appeared to be uber cautious. “Don’t be scared. They’re just a goofy band of brothers.”
Connor walked out of the bathroom in a towel and the woman smiled at him. He didn’t even look at her. Instead, he came over to me and said the same thing he said to me every morning. “Hey, Emmy.” He picked up an apple and bit into it. “Wanna fuck?”
The woman glared. I wasn’t sure why it was directed at me though. “Oh, uh…” I pushed my glasses up onto my nose and smiled, then politely returned, “No, thank you.”
He chewed slowly, looking me up and down. “You sure?”
Every morning, it was the same. “I’m sure.”
“Okay,” he said, walking to his room. As he passed the woman, he winked. “Thanks for a rocking night, babe, but it’s time to go.”
The woman nodded then did something very stupid. She came over to the breakfast bar, where I stood, and stated, “If they’re a band of brothers, what does that make you?” She looked me up and down. Her smile was vicious. “The ugly stepsister?”
The entire room stilled. Hell even sat up.
My stomach dropped.
Connor materialized in the doorway of his room, stark naked.
I can honestly say that in the time I worked with these men, I’d seen more penises in six weeks than I had in my entire life.
When he spoke, it was so quiet I wasn’t sure I heard him. “What did you just say?”
The woman spun around and forced a laugh. “It was a joke.”
I didn’t know what was coming but I knew it wasn’t good. Connor stalked out of his room to the woman, bent down and picked up her heels, gripped her upper arm hard enough to bruise and walked her to the door. When the door opened, he shoved her out, threw her heels to the floor and muttered, “Bye, bitch.”
The door slammed so hard I jumped.
Connor trudged into his room and reappeared a moment later wearing black boxers. He came over to me and pointed hard at me. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
What had I done? Why was he mad at me?
Connor shrugged into his tee. “Don’t ever let anyone speak to you like that.” He was livid. “Not even me.” Said the guy wearing a No Fat Chicks T-shirt.
“Okay,” I told him uncertainly.
Lee cut in, “Nice Betty, man.”
Connor attacked. “Fuck you, Lee. You’re just jealous ‘cause you aren’t getting any.”
Lee’s voice strained. His infection was getting better, but it still wasn’t gone. “Whatever. I’m just saying—”
Connor interrupted. “You always gotta say something.”
Noah interjected with, “Guys, come on. Let’s not do this. It’s too early.”
Connor turned on Noah. “Fuck you, too, Noe. I didn’t start this.”
Noah was annoyed. “I didn’t say you did!”
Hell farted.
Lee mumbled something under his breath and Connor shouted at him. Noah came over to break it up. My hands started to shake.
I hated when they did this.
“Guys.” Without a word, I slid onto the breakfast bar and sat on it, removing my slipper. “Stop it.” When the arguing got louder, I bent down and slapped my slipper onto the counter repeatedly and bellowed, “Stop it!” When everyone turned to look at me, I sighed a breath of relief. “Okay. Family meeting.”
Enjoying the silence, I stood on the counter, took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Item number one is an easy one.” I pointed to the bathroom. “Don’t keep wet towels in your room. They mold and fester and the suite ends up smelling like wet dog.”
I held up two fingers. “Item number two.” I couldn’t believe I had to bring this up with a group of thirty-year-olds. “Guys,” I groaned. “Do not flush condoms down the toilet. There’s a trashcan right there. Wrap it in tissue and dump it.”
Lee pointed to Connor. “It was him.”
Before another argument could ensue, I stared Lee down and uttered, “Item number three.” I looked around at my guys, my face solemn. “No more fighting. Please. It breaks my heart.”
The guys were quiet a moment, and I chose that time to put my hands on my hips and order them around.
To Lee. “Take your pills or so help me.”
To Noah. “Call Micah.”
To Hell. “No more dairy.”
And, finally, to Connor. “Enough, okay?”
Connor sighed, clearly irritated. “Okay.”
I sat then slid off the counter and smiled happily. “Great. Well, I’m off. Have a good practice.”
“Where are you going?” Noah asked curiously.
“Hanging with the Vixens. I’ll be back by the time rehearsal is over. If you need anything, text me.” I pulled on my coat, grabbed my bag, and walked over to the door. “Later.”
They all responded at once. “Later.”
And I sighed to myself. It was just another day with the boys.
Two days later, we were back on the bus, on our way to Omaha, when Connor stepped into the kitchenette, munching loudly on potato chips. “Tiny thing.” I looked up at him and he jerked his chin to my T-shirt. “What’s that?”
My eyes drifted down the gold insignia on my burgundy colored tee and blinked up at him. “Gryffindor.”
He tossed me a look that said ‘throw me a bone.’
My eyes narrowed. “You haven’t read or seen Harry Potter?”
Taking a handful of chips, he threw them into his mouth and crunched noisily. “I’ve seen Hairy Twatter.”
Before I could stop myself, I uttered a grossed out, “Ew.”
“But let me tell you.” He stepped closer as if he were re
vealing some collaborative information. “I don’t think Jugwarts was a real school.” He looked thoughtful. “I mean, I have my doubts, you know? Because—” He scoffed. “When Professor Snake walked into class in his chaps with his cock out and nobody flinched….” He shrugged. “Just saying.”
I wanted to laugh but I wouldn’t. He’d like that too much. “You’re ruining my favorite movie.”
Connor quit chewing and his brows arched. “Hairy Twatter?”
Oh my God.
He needed to stop.
Covering my now-red cheeks with my cold hands, I muttered a reluctantly amused, “Get out of here, Connor. I have work to do.”
But he grinned. “When are we gonna fuck, Emmy?”
My heart stuttered but I didn’t let it show. “I’ll check my schedule.” I was impressed with how blasé I could sound when I wanted to.
“You do that.”
Connor threw the empty chip packet in the trash and walked away. As he moved past me, his hand came down and smacked my ass, hard.
I let out a yelp, gripped my throbbing butt cheek and yelled, “Connor, that hurt!”
“Yeah, baby.” He walked backward, smirking. “That’s exactly what you’re going to say when it finally happens.”
Lord above. He was going to be the death of me.
Chapter Twelve
Stay Free.
Emmy
A knock at my door sounded and I frowned at it from over the top of my book.
Who could that be?
I didn’t order room service.
Looking down at myself, I was suddenly all too aware of the fact that I wore nothing but my underwear and a sleep shirt.
More knocking, louder this time.
“Uh, just a minute,” I called out, sliding off my bed and heading into the bathroom to retrieve the complimentary robe the hotel had provided.
The moment I looked through the peephole, I pulled back and stilled.
What on earth?
I opened the door slowly and only part way but Connor pushed it open with a sigh and waltzed into my room like he owned the place. Moving over to my bed, he face-planted, spread eagle, and groaned.
