by JA Huss
So Brooke was right. I probably should just leave Maisy alone. Let her live her life safely tucked away in her perfect version of the world. Let her believe in the serene beauty of the gardens and that the forest surrounding the mansion is a hug of protection.
Let her think Michael is her father. Let her be his little flower.
She won’t miss me and it’s clear that Michael has provided for her in a way I haven’t.
“Joey?” Wald says.
I realize I’m still staring at Brooke and quickly blink and redirect my gaze to Wald. “What?”
“You don’t have to decide now.”
I nod. But then I take a deep breath, man up, and shake my head. “I do. Because I started this and her life will be uprooted, even if it’s just in some peripheral way. Michael will be distracted, worrying about me, and Johnny, and what we might do next. And that means Maisy will get less of him. Her life will be less full if I leave this in limbo.”
I lower my eyes to my fingers, which have started to unbutton my shirt. But the next thing I know Wald is closing the distance between us. I look up at him and find him staring intently at me. “What?”
He places his hand on my cheek. His palm warm against my skin. Eyes still locked with mine. His eyes are green. I don’t think I’ve ever noticed that before. Like, I knew they were green, but I never paid much attention to them.
But right now they’re all I see. The only thing I can think about. How there’s little circles of gold swirling around his irises. How the inner edges are dark, like the color of a pine-tree forest, and the outer edges are almost blue, like the water near a tropical beach.
Wald is a beautiful man. Not just his body, which is perfectly sculpted with muscle. But inside too. Everything about him is thoughtful, and serious, and when he does something, he does it hard. He works hard, he plays hard, he loves hard.
He leans in and kisses me.
His lips are soft and his mouth is easy to kiss back. So I do that automatically. Sucking in a deep breath of air like I need it. I need that air to fuel this kiss. Because my body is suddenly hot with want for him.
He pulls back and I swallow hard. Find it difficult to meet his gaze now, even though just a few seconds ago I was lost in his eyes. “What was that for?”
“Shut up,” he says. His hands reaching for the button of my suit pants. He pops it and drags the zipper down. His hand sliding inside to grab me without hesitation.
I glance at Huck, who has been undressing this whole time, so he’s naked. I don’t think they planned this. I certainly wasn’t thinking about sex when we all came into the bedroom. I was thinking about sleep, and whether or not it would show up tonight, and forgetting about everything that’s happened over the past several weeks.
My gaze lands on Brooke next. She’s sitting on the bed, her discarded dress on the floor in front of her. Reaching around behind her back to unclasp her bra. It comes loose and she lets it slide down her arms and drop in her lap. “Don’t do it,” she whispers. Lifting up her hips to ease her panties down her legs.
“Don’t do what?”
“Give up.”
Huck walks over to Brooke and sits down next to her. He puts his arm around her, pulls one of her legs over one of his so she’s half sitting in his lap, and begins to fondle her breast.
I watch them and they watch us.
Wald is leaning in to me. His lips kissing my neck. His palm wrapped around my cock, sliding up and down my shaft. I lean back against the wall. Sinking into it. Asking it to give me strength and hold me up.
“I don’t want to do this anymore,” I whisper. “I don’t want to be me.”
“Shut up,” Wald whispers back. Kissing me on the mouth again. “Just shut the fuck up and take off my shirt.”
I kiss him hard for a moment. Taking out my frustration on his mouth. Our tongues twisting together and then I pull back and gently bite his lower lip. He smiles and pushes his whole body against mine.
His shirt is already unbuttoned so I start to slide it down his arms and he lets me, releasing my cock so he can shrug it off.
My hand flattens on his chest. Feeling his heart beat wildly under my touch. My other hand goes to the front of his pants and I pop the button and pull down the zipper.
He grabs my hand. Squeezes it tight. Kissing me still.
I close my eyes when he slips my hand inside his boxer briefs and urges me to take him in my palm.
His cock is hard, and long, and thick. And when I squeeze it, he moans into my mouth.
Most of the time this relationship we have is confusing. I never know what to think about it. I never know if we’re friends, or lovers, or both, or nothing. It’s always been up in the air like that. A thing we have, but don’t understand.
But right now I don’t care. I just like the way he makes me feel.
I open my eyes again to look at Huck and Brooke. They’re kissing too. Brooke’s eyes are closed but Huck’s are open and he’s staring back at me with heavy lids filled with lust.
For who though? Brooke? Me? Wald? All of us? All of this?
I don’t know the answer to that and even if I was in the mood to ask, I don’t get the chance. Because Huck pulls Brooke all the way into his lap, stands up, and then walks over to Wald and me. He sets her down in front of us and says, “Kneel down, Brooke.”
Wald pulls out of our kiss to watch as Brooke lowers herself to her knees. She hold his gaze and then looks at me for a moment. Like she’s waiting for something. Permission, maybe. So I grant it. Even though it’s not mine to give. I give it anyway. Just a simple nod.
Brooke smiles back as she reaches for my cock and begins to stroke it. Huck takes a step forward, one hand slipping behind my back. His touch is soft. Which is not usually a word I use to describe Huck, so the feeling it evokes is all-of-a-sudden new.
Then Brooke's mouth is sinking over the tip of my cock, and Wald is kissing me, and everything on my mind—every worry, every stress, every fear—it all just melts away.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX - BROOKE
I am surrounded by beautiful, strong, caring men.
I pause for a moment so I can let that fact sink in. Enjoy it. Because this situation is precarious. Joey is on the verge of giving up. Huck and Wald are both worried about him. And this might be all I get. This moment right here might be all there is to us.
I want to believe that we’re a team. But it’s not rational or reasonable. We’ve known each other less than a week. Our mission to get Maisy back is failing. The world outside this house is big, and we are all small, and sometimes it just is what it is.
We are who we are.
So I’m not going to waste this opportunity to have them one last time. I’m going to live this moment to the fullest.
I close my eyes and concentrate on making Joey feel good. That’s all I want. Just to help him forget that we’re losing and let him know that he’s loved.
Not by me, though I think, given the chance, I’d love Joey pretty hard.
But by them. Huck and Wald. His true partners. The ones who already love him and have loved him for so long, they don’t know what life is like outside their bond.
My lips seal around Joey’s cock and I take him into my throat. Pressing my tongue along his shaft. Enjoy his moans, and subtle shifts in position, and the way he suddenly relaxes and lets go.
Fingers thread through my hair and when I open my eyes and tilt my chin up, I find Joey looking down at me. Eyes heavy with pleasure and lust.
He pulls my hair. Not a lot. Just a little, actually. And only to make me stop. For a moment my heart beats too fast. Thumping hard inside my chest because I’m afraid that this is a rejection. That he’s going to say, “Thank you, but that’s all, Brooke. We’re done.”
He did say that in the car. He did already tell me what comes next. At least as far as I’m concerned.
But his gentle grip on my hair guides me towards Wald. There’s no dismissal and my heart does not break. My relie
f is so immediate and overpowering that my eyes well up with tears.
I blink them away as he lets go of my hair and takes Wald’s cock in his hands and when I have them under control and look up, he and Wald are staring at each other.
The love there is so real. So on display, I hurt. I want it. So much.
But this night is about Joey. And them. Their team. So when I lower my mouth over the top of Wald’s cock, still firm in Joey’s grip, I reach for Huck and begin to stroke him. He presses in on us. Trying to be closer to Wald and Joey.
The three of them kiss and I unapologetically watch as I reposition myself so I can use my other hand to pleasure Joey. I want them all to feel good.
This is what drives me right now.
Their pleasure and satisfaction.
Joey looks down at my hand wrapped around the shaft of his cock and he stares at it. When I look down I realize he’s staring at my ring.
And that fear is back. That voice inside me saying things like, He regrets that promise. He regrets all the plans we made. He regrets everything.
Wald’s hand wraps around my upper arm and he says, “Stand up, Brooke,” as he tries to gently urge me to my feet.
I stand because I feel obligated to, but I say, “Why? Did I do something wrong? What—“
“Shhh,” Wald says to me. Then he looks at Joey with longing. And then at Huck. And to Huck he says, “Help me lift her up.”
Both of them reach for my ass with one hand and spread my legs with the other and ease me forward. I reach for Joey’s cock without hesitation and then, an instant later, he’s inside me.
My arms wrap around his neck, and his arms wrap around my waist, and Huck and Wald both press in, holding me in place.
All of us here for one reason only.
Joey.
I kiss him.
I kiss Joey Boston like I’ve never kissed anyone in my life. It’s messy, and rushed, and perfect, and slow, and easy, and messy and rushed again. His hands clamp over top of Wald’s and Huck’s. Gripping my ass as he begins to fuck me. And Huck and Wald press forward. Walling me in like the forest around the Kane mansion.
I let go of Joey and reach for their cocks. Stroking them, and gripping them.
And suddenly we are a just a group of lust. Just sex. Pure sex. Everyone moaning, and kissing, and fucking, and stroking.
Words are whispered. Words I want to burn into my memory and never forget. Words like, “Yes,” and, “So good,” and, “More.”
It’s wild. It’s animalistic. It’s desperation, and—at least between them—it’s love.
I wake up last. The bed is empty save for me. There are dented pillows where heads were and there are voices out in the kitchen.
I try to think back on last night. I want to remember every moment because I feel like that was a goodbye of sorts. Or some kind of gift to Joey. Something to ease his heartache and help him get through what has very clearly turned into a complete disaster.
But last night is a blur. Not bad things. Not at all. It’s a blur of many wonderful sensory experiences. Maybe too many. It was something that can only be felt.
Not articulated, or held in one’s hand, or even repeated.
It was special.
I vaguely remember everyone coming. Wald and Huck spilling their hot semen as I jerked them off. Spurts of it hitting all of us at once. Covering us in their release. I remember a shower afterward. All of us taking turns standing under the rain of hot water, the air filled with swirling steam, and soaping each other up as carefully as we made love just a few minutes earlier.
I remember them toweling me off. Each other too. And then leading me to the bed, pulling back the covers, and all of us collapsing into each other. A warm, safe tangle of arms, and legs, and torsos.
I pull on a pair of shorts and a tank top leftover from my other life and walk out to the kitchen to see what’s up. Everyone’s drinking coffee and leaning elbows on the stone countertop.
“Good morning,” Huck says.
Joey sighs. Wald smiles.
I mumble, “Good morning,” back.
“So…” Huck says. “What’s on the agenda today? Are we gonna save the world? Or cause its demise?”
“I can’t,” Wald says. “I need to think. I need a plan, and some calculations, and…”
He trails off.
I get it. This is a big fucking deal.
Joey says, “I called Johnny and left a message. Figured better let him know what’s up.”
“Did he call you back?” I ask. Thinking… he’s taking this better than I expected. I don’t know Joey that well, obviously. So I don’t really know if he’s a shut-down kind of guy when things go wrong, or take charge kind of one.
This action doesn’t help me much. Is calling Johnny taking charge? Or shutting down?
“No,” Joey admits. “He never calls me back. But… I tried.”
“He doesn’t call you back?” I ask.
“Fuck no,” Huck says. “Johnny ignores everyone.”
“But when he snaps his fingers we all come running, don’t we?” Wald says.
“I’m trying to give him the benefit of the doubt,” Joey says. “Seeing as how he’s the one who’s been dealing with the reality of this situation for as long as I can remember.”
“Hmm,” I say. “Can’t you just go over to his house?”
“The building?” Joey says. “I guess. But believe me, if Johnny doesn’t what to talk to me, I won’t be able to get up to see him.”
And that’s the end of that.
No one brings up Maisy.
We spend the day watching TV, and fucking around on socials. Adding posts and pressing little hearts and like buttons. Which is stupid now. We made all those fake memories and never even got to show them off.
No one ever got to see us the way we planned.
No one even cared.
Sunday is the same. And I start to worry. Because the manic excitement of last week is fading fast.
I’m going to lose them. I can feel it.
Huck and Wald both slept downstairs last night. Joey holds me in bed as we sleep. But it’s an embrace of fear. Or comfort. Or something in between. My fear, his need for comfort. I dunno.
But if something isn’t done, if a plan isn’t made, if victory cannot be imagined—then we’re lost. We’re over before we even get started.
So on Monday I decide I’m not ready for this to be over.
I found something here with these men and I’m not going to let it slip away without a fight. I’m a survivor. I don’t give up, I go on.
I put on that same outfit I wore last week and I drive my ass over to Bright Berry Beach Cosmetics. And who do you think is behind that reception desk today?
Yes! That same nice lady who greeted me one week ago.
“Hi,” I say.
“Hello,” she smiles. Then she squints her eyes a little. “You look familiar. Have you been here before?”
“Last week,” I say. “I came in looking for a job.”
“Oh, did you get hired, dear?”
“Sooooorta,” I say. “But today I’m here to see Mila Sanchez.”
She’s still smiling. But her lips are a little puckered now. “Do you have an appointment?”
“No. But… can you please tell her that Brooke Alder is here to see her? And I’m Joey Boston’s fiancée.”
She glances at my ring and smiles brightly—no more puckered lips. Almost three carats, baby, that’s right. I didn’t want it. I didn’t ask for it. But this fucker does the trick. “Have a seat and I’ll give her a buzz.”
“Thank you,” I say sweetly, and then take a seat at one of the tables by the window.
I watch her. And she watches me. She nods at the phone conversation, then hangs up and says, “Miss Alder?”
“Yes,” I say, springing to my feet.
“Take this pass and go up to the top floor. Someone will meet you at the elevator when you arrive.”
“Thank y
ou,” I say.
The pass gets me access to the right button in the elevator. And right when the doors open, as promised, someone is waiting for me.
And that someone is Mila Sanchez herself.
She grabs my arm, pulls me back into the elevator, then presses the button for the lobby.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
But as soon as the doors close she hits the red button on the panel, and the elevator jerks to a stop. “Who are you and why are you here?”
I hold up my ring as proof. “I swear to God, I’m Joey’s fiancé.”
“I get that,” Mila snaps. “Why. Are you here?” She points to the floor when she says ‘here’.
“I need to speak to Johnny Boston.”
She laughs. And it’s not a quiet, demure, ladylike laugh, either. It’s a guffaw. “Oh, really?”
“Yes. It’s quite important.”
“First of all,” Mila says, “you didn’t answer my question. Why are you here? Asking for me, asking for… him.”
“Oh,” I say. “I get it. Well, I hear that your partner, Emma Dumas, is dating Jesse. Right? So I figure, you know Emma, and she knows Jesse, and he is Johnny’s brother.”
“Joey is also Johnny’s brother. Why,” she snaps, “do you think I have access to Johnny?”
I crinkle my nose. “Didn’t I just explain that?”
“Who else knows you came here asking for Johnny Boston?”
“Jesus Christ. I get it. He’s a badass. But why do people freak the fuck out like this any time someone mentions his name? I’ve met the man. Here, in fact. He’s quite the jerk, if you ask me. I just need to talk to him and he’s not answering Joey’s calls.”
“I cannot have my company associated with these damn Boston boys! Do you hear me? I’ve already told Emma that she needs to keep them—”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I say. “Look. You’re involved whether you like it or not. OK? I know all about the kidnapping.”
