Under Contract (The GEG Series)

by Jacquelyn Ayres

“Oh my God—shut up!” I laugh.

  “Pretty sure Charlotte would disagree with you, Julie,” Mitch continues.

  “Mitch, you’ve never pounded me in the ass.” I turn back to look at him as we walk in.

  “Yeah, Charlotte, and I’m pretty sure Julie and the other girls haven’t, either.” He says in an exasperated tone. “It’s just a joke.”

  “Oh my God! We need to leave now, guys!” CiCi turns around and makes a beeline for the door.

  “Why?” I ask, eyeing Mitch.

  “Because the guy over there waving us down?” She jerks her head in his direction. “I had his balls in my hand earlier.”

  I grab her by the arm and pull her back. “Why do you think we’re all here, Ceese?”

  “What?”

  “He wanted us to meet him somewhere. He’s into you.” I waggle my eyebrows at her.

  “How can he be into me? I grabbed him by the balls and twisted them!”

  “And now he’s obsessed.” I laugh.

  “He’s not my type.” She shakes her head.

  “He’s cute.”

  “He’s hot as hell.”

  “What’s the problem, then?” I lower my voice and lean in toward her ear.

  “He’s not my type,” she repeats.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “He has his shit together. He’s not going to want a fuckup like me.” She tries to pull away.

  “You have your shit together!” I yank her back.

  “Stop it! I’m not the kind of girl he’s looking for.” She fights against my hold.

  “Maybe he’s not good enough for you, Ceese!” I snap and stare daggers at her. “Stop being such a pussy and get in there!”

  “What’s going on here?” Julie walks over to us. CiCi’s eyes go wide, pleading with me not to say anything to Julie, who intimidates her the most because she’s just as bad as she is, if not worse.

  “Nothing, we were just heading over.” I smirk at CiCi, who rolls her eyes and lets out a sigh in irritation.

  The three of us head over to meet up with everyone. Kyle stands as CiCi approaches and pulls a chair out for her. He seems nervous, and she’s a little fidgety. I pull out my phone and take a picture. They both look at me.

  You know when you’re in the middle of a moment you wish you could somehow capture and keep forever? I did just that. I captured the moment I realized my sister met “The One.” Of course, she doesn’t realize this yet.

  She finally sits as the waitress brings our drinks.

  “Mitch said you like Malibu Bay Breezes.” Kyle points to her drink.

  “Uh, yeah ... thanks.” She picks it up. Kyle grabs his beer to take a swig. “How are your balls?” CiCi asks, as if this is a normal question. Kyle spits his beer out as he chokes on it. I facepalm, then elbow Mitch, whose shoulders are shaking in an attempt to hold in laughter.

  “Um ... chilly, now that they’re not being warmed in your lovely palm.” He gives her a half smile.

  “If you’re just looking to fuck me—you can forget it!” she says, challenging him.

  “Is that all you’ve got?” Kyle quips.

  She thinks for a moment. “For now,” she finally says, then grabs his beer. She takes a swig and leans back in her chair. Kyle signals the waitress to ask for another round of beers. When she brings them, Kyle grabs one and leans back in his chair as well, his eyes glued to CiCi. And so begins their stare down. I’ve never seen anything like it.

  Swig.

  Stare.

  Swig.

  Stare.

  There goes that imaginary tumbleweed rolling through again.

  The local band that was setting up when we arrived finally starts playing.

  “Let’s go, girls! I can’t watch these two eye fuck anymore!” Julie gets up and looks at us. We all get up. “Did you climax yet, Ceese?” Julie asks, extending a hand to her.

  “C’mon, Julie, you know it takes a lot of work to get me to climax,” she says, not taking her eyes off Kyle. He licks his lips and takes another swig of beer. CiCi grabs Julie’s hand and stands.

  Kyle stands, then grabs her free hand as she walks away and turns her back toward him. He pulls her to him ‘til they’re nose to nose.

  “I’m a very hard worker, Ceese,” he says over the music. “There are no limits, no boundaries that I won’t push to get the sweet end result I’m looking for.” Kyle sweeps her lips quickly. CiCi stands there—paralyzed, I think. I’ve never seen my sister speechless. “Go dance with your friends, beautiful,” he says before leaning near her ear and nipping at her lobe. I stand in a trance, like I’m watching my fucking soaps, ‘til Mitch smacks my ass to get me going. I grab my sister and drag her to the floor.

  “Holy shit, Ceese, that was hot as hell. That was like a Mitch move.” I look back at them and see Ava and Trent walk in. The men shake hands and Ava runs up to us.

  “So, you’re the guy who’s going to impregnate my girl?” I ask Trent as we sit.

  “Wait. What?” Kyle turns his attention away from CiCi.

  “Yeah, this dude’s gonna get Charlotte pregnant.” I’m trying to tease, but it’s hard. I’m still pretty pissed.

  “Mitch, Ava told me you were cool with this,” Trent says, sounding unsure.

  “I’m cool with it, man. I’m not as cool with Charlotte being the incubator. That’s the selfish prick in me, though. I’ll get over it.” I reach across the table and slap his shoulder.

  “Again ... what?” Kyle whacks my shoulder.

  “Charlotte is going to be the surrogate for Trent and Ava,” I say, then drink some beer.

  If it weren’t for the band, you could have heard the faint sound of crickets. Kyle is speechless, his eyes wide, and Trent looks uncomfortable as hell. “Trent, what do you do for work?” I wave at the waitress for another round.

  “I’m a computer scientist. I—”

  Kyle cuts him off. “Dude, for what company?”

  “Gen-Tek in Boston,” Trent says. He seems a bit taken aback.

  “You like it there?” I ask.

  “It pays the bills.”

  “So you hate it there?” Kyle asks and smacks me on the arm. I see the wheels a-turnin’.

  “I have been passed up five times for promotions that should’ve been handed to me on a silver platter,” he finally says, giving in. “Motherfuckers!”

  Okay. I think he’s pissed off.

  “Trent, polish up your resume and bring it in to us! We’re always looking for computer research scientists,” Kyle offers.

  “What company are you guys with?”

  “Colton Technologies,” we say at the same time.

  “You think you can get me in there?”

  “We may be able to pull a string or two.” Kyle shrugs. “As long as you can show us that you can bring it. Colton Technologies only hires the best and the most dedicated.”

  “I’m their man then, Kyle!” He nods and glances at the dance floor. “Ha! Looks like CiCi’s nabbed a real winner there.” He jerks his head in her direction. Kyle and I both turn to look.

  “What the fuck?” Kyle asks angrily and jumps up from his seat, knocking his chair back.

  You know that moment when you ask yourself why the fuck it has to be your friend who causes a bar fight? Yeah, I’m having that moment right now. I jump up and run after Kyle. Too late!

  “Get the fuck off of her!” He pulls this huge lumberjack-looking dude away from CiCi.

  “Fuck off and mind your own damn business!” CiCi yells, trying to act like she was okay with this dude manhandling her.

  “You heard the lady,” Lumberjack says, and grabs Kyle’s shirt. He pulls his fist back—only Kyle goes all ninja on his ass. Within two minutes, the guy is down and out. Kyle is still in his tae kwon—who the fuck is this dude I’ve been working with for ten years?—do stance, just waiting for somebody else to attack. Apparently, nobody is dumb enough to join their buddy on the floor. Kyle straightens himself out and walks ove
r to CiCi.

  “When you’re ready to be treated like a real woman and not a fucking lady of the night, call me!” He pulls a business card out of his wallet and flings it at her. “I’m outta here, Mitch.” He heads to the bar, where he throws down a few hundreds. “For your trouble,” he says to the bartender.

  “Man, what are you doing?” I grab his money.

  “That’s what they do in the movies when a fight breaks out,” he says. He looks flustered, cursing under his breath with his chest heaving as he glances back at CiCi.

  “This isn’t the movies, for one. Two, you didn’t destroy any property. C’mon, man, you need to walk this off. Actually, we should all leave before the cops get here.” I slap his back and wave for the others to come with us.

  “One thing is for sure, Mitch,” he starts when we get outside.

  “What’s that?” I grab his keys.

  “We’re no longer boring.” He watches CiCi walk out.

  “I guess not.” I nod. “Let me drive you to Charlotte’s so you can cool off.”

  “Fine.” He sighs and climbs into his Lexus GX 460.

  I throw Charlotte my keys. “Take her to your house.”

  “Okay,” she says, then mouths, “Sorry.” I wink at her.

  “Mitch, what the fuck kind of game was she playing?” he yells.

  “I told you to buckle in with her, man. She’s going to give you a run for your money.” I start the car.

  “I just don’t get it.”

  “Okay. This is between you and me—you got it?” I glance over at him.

  “Yeah, of course!”

  “CiCi tends to go out with guys that don’t really deserve her. I guess some supposedly nice guy in college really did a number on her, so she trusts the good guys less than the bad. Do you understand?” It’s hard speaking “chick” to my buddy.

  “I guess. I don’t know. Should I be a badass, then?”

  “I think you covered that back there, sensei. What the fuck was that shit? You went all ninja warrior on that guy.” I still can’t believe what I saw. “I’m gonna call you ‘Bruce’ from now on!”

  “I’ve trained in karate all of my life. I’m a 10th-dan black belt.”

  “Whatever that means.” I chuckle.

  “It’s the highest level. Listen, what am I going to do about her?”

  “You still want to pursue her?” I ask in disbelief.

  “You ever know me to quit on something? I want her, man. I know she wants me, too.” He lays his head back against the headrest. I pull up to Charlotte’s, and she drives around me and into the driveway.

  “Drive CiCi home.” I turn his SUV off and hand him the keys. We both get out and head to my car. CiCi closes her door and turns, only to realize Kyle and I are both there.

  “I’m going inside,” she says quietly to Charlotte.

  “No, you’re not.” I gently grip her wrist. “Kyle is taking you home,” I say when she turns back to me.

  “No, he’s not. If I were you, Mitch, I wouldn’t push it with me right now. You’re still on my shit list!” she snaps and pulls her arm away.

  “I don’t care what fucking list I’m on, Ceese! Kyle is bringing you home. You are not spending the night here—that’s final!” I put my hand on her back and steer her toward Kyle.

  “Charley, are you gonna let him talk to me like this? What happened to ‘chicks before dicks’ or ‘sisters before misters’?”

  “Mitch, I’ll take her home,” Charlotte says.

  “No you will not.” I grab her hand. “Ride with him or walk, CiCi.”

  “I’ll have my dad drive me.”

  “Forget it,” Kyle says. “What is wrong with you?” he asks CiCi, his voice laced with annoyance.

  “Kyle!” Charlotte gasps. She looks pissed—something I’m well-acquainted with. Her nose does this little scrunched-up flarey sort of thing. It’s fucking hot. I look back at CiCi. She just stands there, not saying a word. She seems so un-CiCi-like. When she starts shaking her head slowly, I think she may be trying to stop her eyes from tearing up.

  “Please take me home, Charley.” She tries to steady her voice.

  “Let’s go in, Charlotte. Let them sort this out.”

  “No, Mitch. I’m taking her home.”

  “This is ridiculous!” Kyle says. “CiCi, I will take you home and not say a word to you, okay? Just tell me where you live. We’ve all had a crazy night, and we should just put an end to it before everyone starts arguing. Let’s go.” He holds his hand out to her.

  “Ugh—fine!” She throws her hands up in the air and walks past him, ignoring his gesture. Kyle shakes his head and follows her.

  “Good night, guys! It was fun! Let’s do it again!”

  “Shut up, Mitch!” they say in unison, but CiCi extends the courtesy of flipping me off as well.

  “C’mon, baby, let’s go in.” I squeeze Charlotte’s hand.

  “I don’t like the way you just handled that! I’m never going to hear the end of it!” She pulls her hand away. Deciding it’s best not to say anything, I open the door and allow her to go ahead of me.

  “What are you two doing home so early?” Dad asks. Dad. I’m still overwhelmed by this. It’s a good overwhelmed, though. Amazing how a few months ago, I didn’t know any of these people, and now it’s like I’ve been around them my whole life. Funny how that happens.

  “Not really our scene tonight,” I say.

  “Well then, we’re gonna head home if you guys don’t mind.” He stands up and walks over to us. “Mom’s not feeling so hot today,” he adds in a lower voice.

  “Anything else happen?” Charlotte keeps her tone low as well.

  “No, but I think it’s time for a checkup.” He frowns slightly.

  “What’s going on out there?” Mom walks out into the living room. “What’s with all the hushed voices?”

  “We were talking about you, Mom, what else?” Charlotte smiles and hugs her. “You and Dad can head home now. We didn’t feel like staying out tonight.”

  “You didn’t leave early on account of me, did you? ‘Cause I’m fine, goddamn it.”

  “No, Mom. Stop it. Although, I am going to give you a ‘what for’ if Brooky is walking around here tomorrow saying ‘goddamn it’ to everything.” She kisses her mother’s cheek.

  “Well, then, I’ll expect that phone call tomorrow.” She giggles, her eyes full of mirth.

  “Mom!” Charlotte complains.

  “It could be worse! I own ‘goddamn it,’ but CiCi will own anything said after that!”

  As much as I’m enjoying this exchange between Charlotte and her parents, I can’t help but wonder if this is going to be another half-hour production. Christ, why can’t they just say goodbye and head out? I’d bet my eyes they’ll see her tomorrow. The O’Briens are lingerers. I’ve never seen anything like it. They stood on the field today—lingering—in a large O’Brien circle, discussing lunch and God knows what. It wasn’t like we were deciding where to go; we knew we were all coming back here. It was so odd. Do all families do this? Do they all just stand around after events like they are figuring out what to do next, even though they know already?

  “Mitch?” Charlotte nudges me out of my train of thought.

  “Huh? Oh. Sorry. Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad. See you tomorrow?” I ask and go in for a hug.

  Dad hesitates. “Eh, I don’t know. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.”

  “Jaccckkk.” Mom shakes her head, sounding annoyed.

  “Let’s go, Shannon.” He gives her a curt nod.

  “Call me tomorrow!” Charlotte says and widens her eyes at her dad.

  “Will do.” He kisses her cheek.

  I watch Charlotte as she locks the door behind them and sets the alarm. She seems somewhat melancholic. It has been a long, exhausting day for us both. The surrogacy debate. The Josh incident. Her mom’s MS. And for the grand finale, the bar fiasco. I haven’t even discussed Kelly with her. Not tonight. I don’t think either one of
us could handle another thing.

  “Would you like a glass of wine, baby?” I rub her arms and kiss her hair.

  “No. I just want to head up and get into some comfy PJs.” She turns to me and plants a soft peck on my lips.

  “The invisible kind, right?” I smirk and raise an eyebrow.

  “Seriously? You’re not exhausted from today?”

  “I’m never too exhausted for sexy time with my lady.” I wrap my arms around her waist, lean down to her neck, and ...

  I sniff.

  “Sexy time?” She giggles and tries to pull away from my vicious sniffing.

  “Yes. Sexy ... very sexy ... time.” I nudge her nose with mine before capturing her lips.

  She pulls back. “Mitch?”

  “What?”

  “I need to tell you something.”

  “What?” My hands slide up her legs, bringing her dress with them.

  “I love you,” she murmurs against my lips.

  “I know, baby.” I kiss her again.

  “I know, but I hadn’t actually said it yet. I wanted to. I wanted to shout it out today on the field.” She pulls back again. I lean in. “No. Please, let me just say this.” She looks serious, so I nod. “What you said to Brogan today. How you handled the whole Josh situation. What you said to Josh ... ”

  “Hey ... what, baby? Tell me.” I chuck her chin.

  “I’ve just never felt so proud, so in love. My heart felt like it was exploding. It’s a wonderful feeling, Mitch. It’s also scary. I’m scared.” She looks away. Her teeth feast on her lower lip in an attempt to control her nerves.

  I stare at her. I stare long and hard. I don’t know what to say. She just said it all. I feel how she feels. That’s why I ran. I know this is what I should tell her, but honestly, I can’t handle another emotional topic tonight. Talking about Kelly will possibly take hours—long, emotionally exhausting hours that neither of us has the energy for tonight.

  “Charlotte.” I rest my forehead to hers. “I love you, too. You know I do. We still have a lot to discuss, but let’s do it tomorrow. I don’t think we can walk through another topic tonight. We’re both scared. We have so much to gain and so much to lose at the same time. Right now, I can say that not having you in my life is about the scariest it gets for me.”