Austin reached up and grabbed Scott’s hair. Then he deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue over Scott’s. It was most definitely a first. Scott was against kissing in front of anyone.
“Will you guys get a room?” Mike glared at Scott and Austin. “Stop pawing each other.”
Austin let Scott go. “If you don’t like it, leave.”
Mike shook his head. He didn’t get their relationship at all. Raised in a strict Christian household, he was taught that homosexuality was a sin. He didn’t feel that way, but he could not understand their attraction to other men.
Jeff didn’t care what they did, but knew Austin was about to explode. “Mike, leave them alone.” He checked the room for Jesse, but he was nowhere to be found. It was Jesse’s place. He could lay down the law. “The rest of us are fine with them kissing.”
“Speak for yourself,” Pepe commented. “Not a fan. Sorry, Austin, but it bothers me a bit, too.”
Austin stood up. “Whatever. We’re leaving soon anyway.” He wished the world would get a grip.
Jesse strode in the room, after having finished shaving. “I’m gonna go with Brandon and Mackenzie.”
“Can we hang out here?” Jeff asked as Jesse picked up his house keys on the kitchen counter.
Jesse looked around the room full of his coworkers. “Yeah, for a while. We’ll be back. Don’t eat me outta house and home. Brandon and Mackenzie bought most of that stuff.” He pointed to the bags of chips and soda cans.
Pepe stood. “We’ll order pizza. Then me and Mike’ll walk to the gas station for some beer and soda.” He folded his arms over his chest. “I’ll keep them all in line. Don’t worry.”
“We can stop by and pick up more groceries,” Brandon offered as he walked into the room, fully dressed. “Make a list.”
Mike stood up. “Got it.” He searched around and found an empty envelope and pen. “What’d you need?”
“Beer,” several people in the room shouted.
Laughing, Mike said, “That was a given.”
“Chips.” Jeff held up an empty bag.
Then everyone called out items while Mike wrote them down. In the end, he handed the long list and money from everyone to Brandon.
“Get pizza for us, too.” Brandon gave Pepe two twenties.
Mackenzie shook her head as she came down the short hallway. “Pizza for breakfast?”
“Doubt they’re open yet,” Mike reminded everyone. “There’s a McDonalds next to the gas station. We could get breakfast, but then we’d need more hands.”
Brandon looked at Mackenzie. “Do we have time to go get breakfast?”
“Yeah. We’re meeting Gabriel at 9:30.” She sat in a kitchen chair.
Scott had made his way to the kitchen. “Stay here. We’ll go.”
“Thanks. I’m exhausted.” She exhaled loudly, slightly worn out already.
“You should be,” someone commented.
Letting it go, she leaned her head on her hand as she fished her keys out of her purse. “Here.”
Grinning, Scott took the keys. “Cool. I’m driving.”
“Hell no!” Brandon called out. “I’m on the insurance, not you.”
“Hey, I’m not gonna crash.”
Brandon glared at him.
“That was once.” Scott sighed when Austin’s eyebrows lifted. “OK, twice.” He growled quietly, “I can’t help it if other people can’t drive.”
Rolling his eyes, Brandon reminded him, “I’ve been a passenger in your car. You almost killed us.”
“Fine. You drive.” Scott put the keys in Brandon’s hand.
Brandon walked around the kitchen table and hugged Mackenzie. “Have a preference for breakfast?”
“Nah, whatever is fine.” She rubbed his arms. “Hurry back. I love you.”
“Love you too.” He leaned over and kissed her lips. “We’ll be back.”
Mike stood again. “So, are you taking us to the gas station too?”
After Mackenzie had shrugged, Brandon replied, “Sure. Come on.”
When Brandon, Scott, Pepe and Mike were gone, Mackenzie looked up at Jesse. “If we don’t find a place, the next two days may be a bit weird.”
Jesse grinned. “Well, you’ll just have to sleep with me, and Brandon can take the couch.”
“Damn!” Jeff exclaimed. “Please don’t tell me she fucked you and not me.”
His face heating up, Jesse’s eyes flitted around. “Nah. Brandon has her locked up tight, after what you did.” Then he sighed with relief.
“Fuck. Why’d I do that?” Jeff shook his head. “Mackenzie, you think—”
She cut him off quickly. “No!” Glaring at Jeff, she continued, “You’re not my type, anyway.” The room erupted into laughter. It reminded her of the day he tried to have sex with her. Her sly grin gave away her thoughts. “Maybe if I hit you a few times you’ll cum again.”
Jeff buried his head in his hands. “Why can’t I just shut up?” He asked for that one.
“That was hilarious,” Chico said as he appeared in the room. No one had seen him come in the apartment. “Jeff, let her hit you again.” He leaned on a wall and cracked up. “You guys shoulda seen it.”
Groaning, Jeff begged, “Please can we forget about it?”
“No way.” Chico was still laughing. “You’re lucky I didn’t have my phone. I woulda put it up on Instagram.”
Jeff got to his feet and started walking to the door. “I’m going to the bus.”
“Hey, man,” Chico called to him. “Don’t. I’m sorry. I’ll drop it.”
A knock on the front door made them both turn. Jeff opened the door. “’Sup?”
“This place is nice,” Angelo commented as he stood just outside the door. “Kinda like California, but not.”
Daniel who was next to him, laughed. “Not so good with words, big guy, huh?” A growl made Daniel’s eyes open wide. He rushed into the apartment. “Can I stay here this week?”
“That’ll get a bit cramped.” Jesse sighed.
“Angelo, leave him alone.” Chico glared at him. “Me, Jake, Scott and Austin are staying at the Hard Rock down in Hollywood. If Brandon and Jesse are staying here, then that only leaves 12 of you. That’s just enough bunks, and it’s only for three nights.”
Mackenzie stood up. “If I had my place still, I’d let some of you stay there.” She bit her lip and rushed to the bedroom. It killed her that she’d lost almost everything she owned in the hurricane. Once alone, she sat on the bed, her hands over her face.
Every man in the room watched her leave. Most did not know why she disappeared. They looked at each other silently asking the other what to do.
“I’ll check on her,” Chico offered. He slowly followed the sound of sobbing. Finding her in Jesse’s bedroom, he hesitated in the doorway. “Hey, you OK?”
She looked up, tears falling. “Yeah.”
“Wow, you’re a bad liar.” Chico walked into the room. “Can I sit?”
Staring at the floor, she nodded.
He knew about what happened to her apartment. “Wanna talk?” He watched her, unmoving for a while. Then suddenly she hugged him. He reacted by putting his arms around her. “Hey, it’s OK.” Her face buried in his neck, he held her head in a hand. “Let it out. I’m right here.”
Not caring who consoled her, Mackenzie clung to Chico. “Sor—ry.”
“Hey, don’t be.” Chico turned and held her closer. “What you went through the last coupla weeks sucked. Wish I could make it better.” He ran his fingers over her hair. “Should I call Brandon?”
She shook her head, trying to stop crying. “Don’t worry him.” She laid her cheek on his shoulder. “I try not to think about it.”
“I would too.” He closed his eyes wondering what he would do in her shoes. “But you have Brandon and all of us now. I know we joke around a lot, but we stick together. You need something, and we got you.”
Her body shuddering with emotion, she pulled back. “Thanks, but
… but I worked so hard to get where I was.”
“And you’re still there,” Brandon insisted as he came into the room. “Now you’re just doing it with me.” He approached the bed. “Thanks for steppin’ in Chico.”
Chico let Mackenzie go and nodded at Brandon. “Anytime.” Then he left. So they could be alone.
“I didn’t know it still got to you.” Brandon sat next to her and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m sorry you lost everything. But this is like a new beginning for both of us. Remember?”
She nodded, sniffling. “Yeah. It just got to me.”
“I’m glad you didn’t hide it.” He kissed the top of her head. “Maybe once our house is set up you’ll be able to let it go.”
“Maybe.” She hoped so.
A few minutes later, they walked into the living room. Brandon picked up her hand and kissed her palm. “It’s you and me now.” He waited until she met his loving gaze. “Right?”
She gave him a small smile. “Right.”
“Did you forget about breakfast?” Austin asked with his mouth full. They had bought two breakfast sandwiches for each person with hash browns and coffee. “You guys didn’t eat yet.” He had relaxed after getting some coffee in him.
Pepe stood up. “Come sit, Mackenzie.” He gestured towards his vacated seat on the couch.
Brandon tugged her towards the couch and pushed on her shoulders to make her sit. “I’ll get you something.” He soon came back with coffee in one hand, a sausage and egg muffin in the other. “Relax and eat.”
Mackenzie nodded and took a sip of her coffee. “Thanks.” She took a deep breath and let the rest of her angst go. Starting anew with Brandon was going to be amazing. “You eat too.”
“Here.” Scott handed Brandon a bag with two sandwiches in it. “Before Jake gets here and kills it all.”
Brandon sat on the couch arm, next to Mackenzie and dug into the first sandwich. When he had downed both, he glanced down at her finishing hers. “We should get outta here before the rest of the crew finds their way up here.”
Holding onto his thigh, Mackenzie got to her feet. “I’m ready.”
After pulling her into his arms, Brandon whispered, “Let’s go get us a place to live.”
Chapter 14
“This is a kick-ass kitchen,” Scott said as he checked out the granite countertops. “Chico would love this place.”
Austin walked into the room. “You should see the pool.”
“Pool?” Scott asked. “Nice. Naked pool parties.”
With a grin, Austin glanced out the kitchen window to the large screened-in lanai. The pool took up more than half the back yard. It was almost as big as theirs back home. “Wonder what their new house is gonna look like.”
“Knowing them, it’ll be painted black and have a stripper pole in the living room.” Scott sighed, hoping he got to see it before their next tour.
Brandon and Mackenzie were in the master bedroom with Jesse. “So, if we take this place, who’s getting this room?” She was excited it was so close to her new office building. Located just north of West Atlantic Boulevard, it wasn’t far from the mall, either.
Jesse peeked at the garden tub in the bathroom. “I thought you guys wanted this place to yourself until your house was ready.”
“Do we?” Mackenzie leaned on the windowsill.
Looking out the window, Brandon shrugged. “I hadn’t thought of it. Guess we’d like being alone.”
“Then I’ll wait till your house is done.” Jesse was good with that.
The bedroom door creaked slightly as it opened. “So?” Gabriel, the realtor, walked in the room. “Is this the house or what?”
Brandon pushed away from the wall he leaned on. “I think so.” He turned to Mackenzie. “What’d you think, Tink?”
“Yeah. Out of all of them, this one feels more like home.” She crossed the room to him and hugged him. “When can we move in?”
Gabriel opened his leather folder. “Looks like the owners will be back on Saturday. We could sign the lease then.”
“Wow. That sucks.” Brandon rested his head on Mackenzie’s. “I’m outta here on Friday.” He exhaled loudly. “Do you have any we can move into today?”
After searching through his listings, Gabriel shook his head. “They all require background checks, credit checks and the owners signing off. Some want even more. Sorry. I didn’t realize you were that limited.” He looked up at the couple. “We can start the checks now and do most of the paperwork via mail.”
“I guess.” Brandon was beyond disappointed. “Kenzie, do you want me to get a hotel room for the week?”
She glanced over at Jesse. “It would make things fair.”
“OK. I’ll see if there’s any rooms left at the Hard Rock.” Brandon pulled his phone out. “I’ll be back.”
He pouted slightly as he walked down the hallway. Staying at a hotel had not been his plan. He wanted have an entire house to entertain some of his friends. And start on him and Mackenzie’s path to forever. He had envisioned proposing just after they moved in. That plan was obviously a no go. Time to think of a new one.
“What’s wrong?” Scott knew right away that Brandon was upset. “She don’t like this place?” He moved to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “There’s other houses you might both like.
Brandon sighed. “No. She likes it. We can’t get it until after we’re gone, though. The owners are away.” He shook his phone. “I gotta get us a hotel room.”
“You can share ours,” Scott suggested, hopeful.
Looking over Scott’s shoulder to Austin, Brandon replied, “Do you have one bed or two?”
“Um, one. But it’s huge.”
Hoping Mackenzie didn’t hear the idea, Brandon told him the truth. “Last time was a bit weird. Thanks. But don’t think I can deal with waking up to you guys fucking in my face again.”
“It’s OK.” Scott hid his disappointment well. “Want me to see if they have another suite?”
Brandon gave him a half smile. “I’ll call. Just hope they’re not booked up.” He walked out the sliding glass doors to the lanai.
Austin watched the two of them, trying not to be jealous. He didn’t see anything he should worry about, but couldn’t help it. Then Scott walked back to him. “Everything OK?”
“Not really, but they’ll work it out.”
Austin felt a bit guilty. He had to relax and let Scott have the benefit of the doubt. After all, Scott and Brandon had always been close, best friends from almost first meeting. It was very different from what he and Scott shared. When they were only casual lovers back in the day, Scott and Brandon did a lot together. They even picked up women as a team. It was only for the past few years that Austin became a central part of Scott’s life and vice-versa.
Scott smiled and put a hand on Austin’s hip. “Mackenzie brought up something a few weeks ago.” He looked up. Austin’s expression softened. “Something I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Does it involve her?”
Biting his lip, Scott scrunched his face up. “Not exactly. It’s something for you.”
“Really?” Austin grinned. “Something like you two double teaming me?”
The memory of him and Mackenzie working on Austin came to Scott. “That was fun, but no. This is about your tattoo.” He cringed, expecting an angry reply. When Austin said nothing, he continued, “She has this friend who could finish it while you’re passed out. What do you think?”
“Um…” Austin clenched his fists, fighting the anxiety. He thought hard about it. Pressuring Scott about admitting his feelings came to mind. “I guess I been asking you to face one of your biggest fears…” He paused. “So… If I go through with it, will you do some soul searching and tell me how you feel about me?”
Scott had not expected a condition. Fear gripped him. Can I admit I love him? If I do, will he wanna go public with our relationship? “Uh, can we talk about it first?”
Understanding Scott wa
s terrified, Austin hugged him. “How about if I get the tattoo finished, you tell me what happened with your family?”
“OK, deal.” Scott could handle that much.
Mackenzie came down the stairs after checking out the other bedrooms. She smiled when her eyes fell on Scott and Austin. They looked so happy. She hoped her and Brandon were still like that in a few years.
“Can you call your tattoo artist friend?” Austin called to her. “Scott told me your idea.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “Seriously? You want to get your tattoo done?”
“Yeah.” Austin leaned down and kissed Scott’s lips. “Scott’s gonna help me through it.”
“Cool.” Mackenzie pulled her phone out of her purse. “I’ll call him and see if he has any time today.”
Austin sighed. “I hope so. ’Cause I don’t know if I’ll change my mind tomorrow.” His entire body shuddered as a memory surfaced. “That fucking hurt.”
“Hey, babe.” The artist, Wesley, answered his phone with sex on his mind. “Been a while.”
Mackenzie rolled her eyes, knowing what was going through Wesley’s mind. “I know, but I’m calling about a tattoo.”
“Oh.” He was disappointed. Although almost every time he tattooed her, afterwards they went at it like rabbits. It turned them both on. “What do you wanna get done this time?”
She glanced at Austin. “It’s not for me. My friend needs something special done.”
“Is she hot?” He grinned, hoping for a yes.
Holding in a giggle, she told him, “Well. Most girls think he is.”
“A dude?” Wesley groaned. “Tell me he don’t want his dick done.”
“No, nothing like that.” Then she explained, “I need you to tat him passed out. He’ll tell you what he wants. Then we’ll get him so drunk he passes out and doesn’t feel a thing.”
He nodded. “Ah, a special. I get it. We gotta do that at my place. Can’t risk anyone finding out.”
“If we pay you extra can you come to his hotel room?”
Wesley’s eyebrows went up. “Hotel room? Where does he want it? His ass?”
“No.” She laughed loudly. “His shoulder. He’s six foot six, and there’s no way we can carry him to the car.”
Sinful Needs (Wicked End Book 2) Page 15
