by L. P. Maxa
“Jacks?”
I dipped down and licked at the wild pulse in her throat. “Hmmmm?”
She arched into me, grinding her hips against mine and running her nails down my back. “What are we doing?”
“Looks like dry humping to me.” We both froze and turned our heads to the open doorway. Smith was leaning against the frame, wearing a shit-eating grin.
I let out a sigh and lay back on the bed. “Is there something I can help you with, bro? And can’t you knock?”
Smith was still smiling. “I was just on my way to bed, and I assumed you two would be doing something nerdy like watching a movie or playing a video game.”
My eyebrows arched. “Your room isn’t on this floor.”
He nodded. “Very true.” He tossed my cell phone on the bed. “You left this downstairs.”
When I didn’t say anything Bryan used the leg she had still tangled between mine to softly nudge me in the balls. “Say thank you.”
“Thank you, Smith.”
“You’re welcome, Jacks. You two have a good night.” He winked and then headed off down the hall. I was almost positive that was payback for the time I puked and he ended up with blue balls.
Much to my dismay Bryan sat up. “Jacks, I don’t think sex on a first date counts as taking it slow.”
I nodded in agreement, although my hormones were adamantly shaking their head. “We can take this as slow as you want, doll. No rush.” We had all the time in the world, because I never planned on letting her leave. Did my mental statement of love sound borderline serial killer?
“Okay, thanks.” She used the rubber band on her wrist to pile her hair up in that adorable messy way I loved. “Look, I totally understand if you want me to go sleep in the other room.” She pointed at my dick.
I glanced down. Yeah, it was pointing straight out like a divining rod. The memo of no sex hadn’t made it from my brain that far south yet. I reached out and grabbed her hands in mine. “I don’t want to fall asleep without you next to me. And I don’t want to wake up that way either.”
She tickled my palm with her fingernails. “Have you always been this cheesy? Do you write all the love songs on y’all’s albums?”
“No. I’ve never uttered a romantic phrase in my life. You just bring out that side of me.” Damn. I did it again.
Bryan giggled. “All right, Shakespeare, I’m going to go shower off all the bar smell.” She pointed down at my dick again. “And I think you should go take care of that in Luke’s bathroom.”
“Are you telling me to go jack off?” Was that normal?
She shrugged. “I only hit second base on a first date. And if you don’t get rid of that thing I’m afraid it’ll end up pushing me off the bed.”
Landry
When I woke up the house was silent. It must be too early because this house was never silent. There were so many people who lived here, and there was always music and laughter. It was a nice house. There were lots of bedrooms and bathrooms, and Jacks’s studio in the bottom with the weird-looking walls. I liked hearing his guitar when we went down there. I wanted to ask him if I could listen to him play some more, but I was afraid he’d say no. I didn’t know why I was scared; the adults around here always said yes when I gathered enough courage to ask them to spend time with me. It was nice. It was different from my other life.
Over the past few days, where things had been good and I felt safe and happy, I started thinking of life with my mom as my other life. I didn’t want to go back there. Ever. I knew little girls were supposed to love their moms, but I’m pretty sure she never really gave me a reason to. I climbed out of bed, bringing Ello with me. I thought I was too old to be carting around a stuffed animal but I liked the soft elephant. I opened my door and then peered across the hall to Jacks’s room. My dad’s room… I didn’t know if he wanted me to call him Dad. It wasn’t really his choice to be my dad, and he’d just found out I was his kid.
Jacks and B were both in his bed and they were hugging. I’d seen my mom hug lots of men, but never like that. They looked so…comfy. I took a step outside my door, and the floorboard creaked under my foot. I froze, afraid that I would get in trouble for waking them up. Jacks opened his eyes and lifted his head, and then he smiled. I smiled back. Good, I wasn’t in trouble. He scooted away from Bryan and lifted the covers. “Wanna watch some cartoons?”
Now I smiled bigger. I’d been doing that lately, smiling so big my face hurt. I nodded and ran across the hall and jumped into his bed. When I landed, Bryan woke up, laughing. “Good morning, sweet girl.” She looked over my head at Jacks. Her smile looked like mine. Jacks turned on the TV and asked me what I wanted to watch. Then for the first time in my life, I lay between two happy adults and watched Saturday morning cartoons. Yeah, I never wanted to leave.
Chapter Fourteen
Bryan
Landry, Jacks, and I lay in bed for over an hour watching TV, laughing, and talking before we were reminded that this was a house full of people. Luke came walking by the open door, still wearing the same clothes I’d seen him in yesterday. This seemed to be a pattern for Luke. I didn’t doubt that it was easy for him to find a bed for the night. He was sexy in this very boy-next-door kind of way. His hair was a little longer than the first time I’d met him, and he always looked like he was in need of a shave. But the guys were all attractive as hell.
He stopped and leaned against the wall. “Good morning, little Cole Family.”
I wondered if Landry had Jacks’s last name or if her mom had used her maiden name. There were a lot of things I didn’t know about Landry, mainly because none of it mattered. She was Jacks’s daughter; I loved her instantly.
Jacks reached over and tickled Landry’s ribs, making her squirm and giggle. “Buttercup, why don’t you run across the hall and get dressed? We’ll go get some breakfast.”
She jumped up and did what Jacks asked. Luke moved to the side so she could get past him, ruffling her hair as she did. Then he crossed his arms over his chest and resumed his post on the wall. “You three looked adorable all piled in that bed.”
“Well, we are all very adorable people.” Jacks threw back the covers and got up. His tight ass looked good in those shorts. An image of my hands digging into his flesh flashed across my mind. Last night was the start of something, and even though I wanted to go slow, I was more than ready to get to the good stuff. So far so good; I definitely wasn’t feeling bored. “You stay out all night again, Lukey?”
Luke glanced down at what he was wearing. “Looks that way, Jackson.”
What was this tension between them? What did Jacks care if Luke whored his way down 30A from Destin to Panama?
Jacks grabbed a tee from his closet, pulling it over his head and then slipping on some flip-flops. “You want to tell me what is going on with you? What’s causing you to stay out all night, then come home looking like death warmed over?”
Luke’s jaw tightened. “Just picking up where you left off, brother.”
Jacks nodded, his hands on his hips. “If you don’t want to talk about what’s bothering you, that’s fine. Just make sure that none of your new activities happen in front of my kid.”
Jacks had gone from the life of the party to a protective father in under a week. In my opinion people had been underestimating him for most of his life. Jacks had always been capable of being this man: this responsible, loving, kind man. He just didn’t have a reason, or anyone to believe in him. Now he had both.
Luke let out a sigh, defeated. “I would never do that.”
“You’re right. The old Luke? The one from before Lex joined the tour? Would never even think about letting a child see him destroying himself. But you see, the old Luke didn’t want to destroy himself.” Jacks faced his bandmate, arms crossed. “I’m sure Landry has seen enough shit in her life. I won’t let her see any more. You feel me?”
Luke pushed away from the wall, turning to leave. “I feel you.”
Landry came boun
ding back into the room. I loved seeing her run around like a normal kid. For the first few days she was here, she kind of walked around very cautiously most of the time. Like she needed to be invited into every room before she entered. Jacks playfully dove onto the bed next to me. “What do my beautiful girls want for breakfast this morning?”
This man melted me. He gave love and affection so easily, so naturally. He’s exactly what Landry needed right now. “Hmmm…I think I want…doughnuts!”
Jacks looked over to her. “What do you say, Buttercup? Want to go for a drive and get B some doughnuts?”
***
When those two left to get everyone breakfast I headed downstairs and found Dylan sitting on the back porch with a cup of tea in her hands. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt and a pair of leggings. I looked down at the shirt I still had on, the one I’d slept in. It was Jacks’s. When I’d gotten out of the shower last night it had been sitting on the bathroom sink. There was a note in the mirror fog that said WEAR ME. It didn’t necessarily look like a man’s shirt; it fit me pretty well. Jacks wore his shirts incredibly tight; maybe she wouldn’t notice. “Hey.”
She looked up when I opened the back door, smiling. “Hey.”
I sat down in the padded chair next to her. “What are you doing up so early? It’s Saturday.”
Dylan took a sip out of her cup. “Just used to getting up early, I guess. What about you? Where is Landry?”
“Jacks took her to go pick up doughnuts.” I leaned back in the chair, enjoying the early morning sun before it turned blazing. “He asked me to stay, for the summer. To help with Landry.” I hadn’t told her last night, I didn’t want to ruin all the fun we’d been having.
“And? What did you say?” I could hear the disapproval in her voice already.
“I said yes.” I brought my knees up, hugging my legs to my chest. “I want to be here; with him, with her, with you.”
Dylan sat her cup down. “I love having you here, Bryan. But you need to be careful when it comes to Jacks and Landry. Children need consistency, and you have a tendency to be the opposite. You need to make him be her father; you can’t start to raise her for him.”
I jerked back. Disapproval was one thing, but I wouldn’t let her belittle Jacks. “What are you talking about? He is amazing with her and she adores him. He spends time with her every day. He has never once acted like she is a burden. And could you please stop acting like I have one foot out the damn door? Because I don’t.” I couldn’t understand her concern. Jacks was doing the best he could and from where I was standing, which was pretty damn close, he was doing a great job.
“Yeah, he spends time with her, plays with her. But what about all the other things she is going to need? Counseling? School? Boundaries? Jacks is a child, and he needs to learn to be a parent.” Dylan turned to me, taking my hands in hers. I barely resisted the urge to pull away. “And what about you? Is it fair to ask you to stay here, to help him? You just finished college. You need to be finding a job, getting your life together, taking on your own responsibilities.”
I stood. “This is my life, Dylan. Right here, right now, I’m living it. I’m not running from anything, can’t you see that? I’m just…” I threw my arms out to the side. “Living.” I put my hand on the back door. “I’m staying here, with Jacks and Landry. And I’m not asking your permission or your opinion.” I went inside and stood in the kitchen. I wasn’t really sure what to do now. Jacks and Landry were still gone, I was done talking to Dylan for the moment, and everyone else was still asleep.
I didn’t need to be in South Carolina to figure out my future; I could do that from here. And Jacks was a good father. He’d known about Landry for less than a week; it was okay that he hadn’t figured everything out yet. I took my tea and headed back upstairs. I sat at the small desk in my room and started going through the catalogues that Lexi had left for me. There was a note with a checklist attached. Jacks’s house had five bedrooms and six and a half bathrooms. Seemed a little large for just him and Landry. But I guess one day he’d have a wife and more kids. Would that be me? We’d decided to take our friendship to the next level last night. But there were a hell of a lot of steps between making out and moving in together, right? I flipped open a huge magazine full of light fixtures and lost myself in decisions for a house I might never even see.
Chapter Fifteen
Jacks
Landry and I had been gone forty-five minutes, and the second I got home all I wanted to do was find Bryan and kiss the hell out of her. Because I could. Because we’d crossed that line, hell, we’d shot that line all to shit. I wanted her before, but now? It was a whole new level of want. “B? You up here?” I peeked my head into my room. Then walked farther down the hall. “Doll? What are you doing?” She was sitting at the desk, a pile of catalogues surrounding her and a pen stuck between her teeth.
She looked up when I walked in, a bright smile on her pretty face. She still hadn’t put her contacts in yet and seeing her sitting there with that topknot and sexy glasses about made me pass out. She must have noticed my level of want, because her smile turned wicked. She started playing with the pen in her teeth and brought one of her bare legs up to rest on the chair, causing her shorts to ride up her thigh. I growled like a dog with a bone and made it across the room in two long strides. She stood and threw her arms around my neck when I got to her. I put my hands on her tight little ass and pulled her against me, kissing her sweet mouth. She moaned, the vibrations making me lift her up and wrap her legs around my waist. I stepped forward, putting her back against a wall, grinding against her core. My hands were braced above her head, her grip on my hips with her thighs and the wall were the only things holding her up. “Tonight is date number two, right? Another date, another base, baby doll?” She grabbed me by the hair and brought my mouth back to hers, nodding furiously. I smiled against her skin, trailing my kisses down her neck.
“That’s hot. Now I’m horny.”
I pulled my mouth off Bryan’s throat and rested my forehead against her chest. I was breathing like I’d just run a marathon and I could feel her heart racing. “Is there something we can help you with, Lex?” I could hear the unusual edge to my voice. I was wound tight. That little shower session last night helped calm me down for all of fifteen minutes. About as long as it took for B to come get in bed and snuggle her perky ass against me.
I sat Bryan on her feet as Lexi walked in and took a seat on the bed. “As a matter of fact, yes you can.” She pointed to the desk. “I need to get your color choices to the painters.”
“For what? The house? Was I supposed to be picking out paint colors today?” I reached down and adjusted my dick. I was hard as fuck and I didn’t really care if Lexi knew it.
And judging by the smirk she had on her face, she did. “Uh, yeah, you were.” She shrugged. “But I knew you wouldn’t. So I asked Bryan to do it for you.”
“Oh. Okay.” I looked over at B. That’s what she was doing in here? Picking out colors for the house I was building. Was that weird? Was that too soon for her? She wanted to take things one step at a time. I’m pretty positive that designing a house for us to live in is a step numbered in the thousands.
Bryan walked over to the desk and picked up a handful of colored squares of paper. Color swatches? Is that what those were called? “Here are two different choices.” She spread them out on the desk. “You can either go with these grays or these beiges. Then everything will be neutral and you can be bolder with lighting and furniture.”
“Uh…the beigggge—” I saw both Lexi and Bryan start to wince. “Ggggray. I choose the gray.”
Bryan smiled. “Good choice.”
“Thanks. Cabinets and countertops are next, Baby Dil.” Lexi grabbed the swatches off the desk and started toward the door. “You guys can get back to sucking face. Although, unless you are ready to announce to the family that you are now ‘more than friends,’ I’d shut the door.” She winked over her shoulder as she walked out
.
“Did she just call me Baby Dil?”
I sat on the bed and pulled Bryan between my legs. “Lex loves a bad nickname.” I slid my hands up her sides, stopping my thumbs against the underside of her breasts. “Now, where were we?”
She smiled and moved toward me a fraction of an inch. “Were we about here?”
“No, doll, I think we were a little closer than this.” I reached up, fisting my hands in her beautiful hair and tugging her closer to me. Within seconds I was caught up in her again. Lost in the feel of her mouth on mine, her hair in my hands. She climbed on my lap, straddling me and making me want to toss her on the bed and bury my face between her legs. That was second-date material, right?
“Really? What did I just tell you two?”
I pulled back a second time, shooting Lexi an annoyed-as-hell look. “Why are you still watching, creeper?” Bryan climbed off my lap, but I held her hip to keep her from going too far.
“I’m not still watching, I forgot to tell Bryan we have a Skype call with the GC on Monday morning.” Lexi rubbed her hands on her belly, a serious look on her face. “And also, I won’t say anything to Dylan, about what I saw. Twice. But I won’t lie to her either.”
I stood, wrapping my arms around Bryan’s chest and pressing my hard-on against her ass. I didn’t really know what to say. Luckily, it didn’t look like Lex expected me to say anything at all. She turned and walked out without another word.
Bryan leaned her head back. “Is that a pistol in your pocket? Or are you just really fucking horny?”
I snorted. “You are perfect for me, you know that?” I spun her around. “You want to tell your sister?”
“Not really. Is that okay with you?” She rested her forehead against my chest. “I’m just not ready to deal with anyone else’s opinions.”
