by Twyla Turner
“Alright.” Simone responded as she tried to control the butterflies in her stomach at the thought of the night to come.
Chapter 11
Simone braided her hair again for the third time. She had been switching back and forth, unsure if she should wear it down or braid it in her normal side braid that rested against her shoulder and breast. And after the men had insisted that the evening was a casual affair, for her outfit Simone had eventually decided to go with a pair of semi-dark washed skinny jeans, a fitted cream sleeveless sweater with a wide brown belt. She also chose a long-sleeved light brown sweater that draped in lovely folds on either side, and then finished off the ensemble with a pair of brown faux leather knee-high boots and dangling tarnished copper circle earrings.
She took another gulp of the wine that Xander had brought up to her and stared at herself in the mirror or a moment. Screw it! Opting to keep the braid, but putting a different spin on it, Simone French braided her hair around one side of her head and braided the rest to lay to the side, in the Katniss Everdeen fashion.
Though Amber had loaded her luggage with new clothes, shoes and accessories she hadn’t gotten around to makeup. So with nothing else to do to make her reflection look any better, Simone sighed, shrugged and then walked out of the master suite to meet her men. Huh…my men. She heard them chatting downstairs and she made her way down and found them in the kitchen.
As usual the sight of them took her breath away. They’re just so…so…male! Blatant virile, manly, red-blooded, powerful men. Her mother would have called them hunks and Simone smiled to herself at the memory.
They both wore relaxed fit jeans and boots, their usual. Jackson wore a charcoal gray fitted zip-up sweater that molded over his massive shoulders, tree trunk arms and narrowed waist. The color made his silver eyes glow. And Xander paired his jeans with a winter white sweater with a large collar. His too formed over his sculpted physique; broad shoulders, rippling arms and long tapered waist. The light color matched his personality and bright smile.
One was dark and one was light. One serious. One easy-going. Yin and yang. Two extraordinary men separately in their own right. Together…magnificent. And when their eyes lit on her as she walked around the corner, Simone felt like she was the only woman on earth. They did that to her…made her feel like she was the center of the universe. Their universe.
“You look breathtaking.” Xander said warmly as Jackson huskily grunted his agreement.
They both strode over to her to take turns greeting her with soft intimate kisses. Overwhelming her, as was their habit. “You both look amazing.” Simone said breathlessly as she backed up, needing a little space to think clearly.
“Thanks.” Xander said giving her butt a pat.
“Thank you.” Jackson said running his index finger and thumb down her braid, inadvertently -or not, caressing her breast with the back of his finger.
“Ready to roll?” Xander asked.
“As I’ll ever be.” Simone sighed in resignation.
~~~
They rode in Xander’s truck to his parents’ house. Simone sat in between them as they bickered good-naturedly with each other, trying to make her laugh and ease her nerves.
“You know damn well that I got better grades than you!” Jackson taunted Xander.
“Pssh. I was always on honor roll!” Xander shot back.
“What?! That’s because you cheated off of me, jackass!” Jackson said incredulous.
“Don’t listen to him, Si. He’s just jealous ‘cause I’m brilliant.” Xander took his eyes off the road for a second to smirk down at Simone.
“Ha! He was too busy being the class clown to even pay attention to what the teachers were saying. So he copied my homework and looked over my shoulders during tests. He even got caught once because he was too dumb to change any of the words on a book report. His parents grounded him and stopped us from hanging out ‘til the semester was over.” Jackson scowled at Xander over Simone’s head. “That was the first semester he finally aced his classes on his own.” Jackson finished smugly.
“Whatever, Jax. My mom will defend me. Just wait.” Xander said confidently as he pulled up to a beautiful three story cedar home, nestled in against a dense forest.
The driveway was U-shaped and Xander parked the truck behind some of the cars that were already there.
“Well, everyone is here already, so you’ll at least get to meet them all at once and get it over with.” Xander smiled encouragement down at Simone.
“Great.” Simone said with half sarcasm and half false bravado.
“Come on, beautiful.” Jackson slid out of the truck and held his hand out to help Simone down.
Xander walked around the front of the truck to meet them and they both clasped her hands as they guided her up the icy path to the front door. The red door swung open before they had even reached it and a beautiful older blonde woman stood at the entrance with a big smile.
“Hi, mom.” Xander greeted the woman giving her a big bear hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Hey mom, wasn’t I smarter than Jax, and got better grades than him?” Xander said after placing her back on her feet.
“You certainly tried, Alexander. But at least you were pretty.” His mom said with a straight face, patting his arm affectionately.
Jackson burst out in huge guffaws of laughter and Simone squeezed her lips together in an attempt to hold her giggles in at the look of horror on Xander’s face.
“No loyalty.” Xander grumbled under his breath as Gail went in to give Jackson a hug.
“Hello, Jackson. I swear you get bigger every time I see you.” Gail said fondly.
“You always say that.” Jackson said deeply.
“It’s no less true. I swear you shot up out of nowhere and you both nearly ate me out of house and home when you were teenagers.” Gail patted his chest and then turned her focus on Simone.
“So you must be, Simone. I’ve already heard so much about you from Delanie.” Gail said brushing away Simone’s offered hand, and instead pulled her in for a warm hug.
“I bet you have.” Xander rolled his eyes.
“Well, it would be nice if my son would call me and let me know what is going on in his life and I didn’t have to find out from his sister.” Gail scolded as she let go of Simone. She clasped Simone’s hands and held them out at her sides to get a better look at her. “Well my my, aren’t you lovely. No wonder the boys snatched you up.” Gail praised, as Simone blushed and ducked her head bashfully. “Oh my goodness! And shy too?! They probably didn’t even know what hit ‘em.” Gail winked at her.
“T…thank you.” Simone finally stuttered out.
“Oh, I’m sorry dear. Where are my manners? I’m Gail. Nice to meet you.” Xander’s mom greeted Simone more formally, holding out a hand for her to shake.
“Simone Staton. Nice to meet you too, Gail.” Simone replied softly.
“Gail, what’s taking you so long in here?” A deep voice rumbled as a man that was Xander’s twin thirty years in the future came up to the group.
“Oh Frank, calm down. I can be out your sight for a few minutes without you going into a tizzy. I was just greeting the children and meeting the boys’ new girlfriend.” Gail scolded as he came up to her and placed a kiss on the top of her head.
Xander’s dad looked at the trio and when his eyes fell on Simone, they widened and stayed there a moment. “Wow! Well aren’t you a looker.” Frank exclaimed. “Nice job, boys.” Frank held out his hand to fist bump Xander and Jackson, who chuckled at the older man.
Meanwhile, Simone thought she’d die of mortification. Her face had never felt so heated before. She figured she was probably as red as a beet by this point.
“I’m Xander’s dad, Frank.” The tall older man held out his hand.
“Hello, I’m Simone.” She said, barely able to keep eye contact as she took his hand to shake.
“Come on. Get your coats off. Everyone’s in the kitchen, hovering over the stove waiting
for dinner to be done.” Frank said.
As Jackson helped Simone out of her coat, she breathed a sigh of relief that the first meeting with Xander’s parents was over. And since she’d already met his sisters, all she had left to meet was Christopher and Ethan. Though she wasn’t exactly looking forward to seeing Bethany again after the last disaster.
With two hands at her back, Jackson and Xander led her into the house, towards the kitchen. As they walked in, four blond heads looked up from their conversation. Delanie was sitting on the counter and she jumped down when she saw them. She immediately walked over to Simone and gave her an affectionate embrace.
“Hi, Simone! I’m so glad that you came. Would you like a glass of wine? You’re probably so nervous. But don’t be, we don’t bite. Well maybe Beth does, but don’t pay her any attention.” Delanie whispered the last part as she rambled on, pulling Simone further into the kitchen and away from the shelter of Jackson and Xander.
The two younger blond men stared at Simone with eyes bugged out of their heads. One even had his mouth agape. Delanie pulled Simone over to the table where both men were sitting.
“This is Christopher. But we call him Chris. He’s the middle child. So he’s the mediator. Translation: he has to put up with all of our crap. Chris this is Simone.” Chris stood up and shook Simone’s hand firmly.
“Nice to meet you, Simone.” Chris said politely.
“Nice to meet you, Chris.” Simone responded quietly.
“I’m the most important one to meet, Simone.” The other blond who had been gaping widely, piped in as he shoved his brother out of the way. “I’m Ethan. And now that we’ve met, you can come to your senses and forget these two and start dating a real man.” Ethan said, bending dramatically over her hand and kissing it rakishly.
“Simmer down, baby bro.” Xander taunted as he pushed Ethan back down into his chair and pulled Simone to him.
Even though Simone couldn’t have been any more embarrassed and uncomfortable, she knew she still had to greet Bethany. She looked at the still sour-faced woman leaning on the sill of one of the windows.
“Hello, Bethany. It’s nice to see you again.” Simone lied.
“Simone.” Bethany nodded her acknowledgement, not willing to do much more.
“So what’s for dinner, Ma?” Xander asked, diffusing the tense interaction.
“Oh, nothing big. Just some baked Cornish hens, roasted red potatoes in rosemary and olive oil, some mixed veggies and homemade rolls.” Gail listed off as if the fancy spread was nothing more than chicken fingers and fries.
“Nice. I’m starving.” Xander said, rubbing his flat tummy.
“It smells wonderful.” Simone said softly to Gail.
“Thank you, dear. I hope you like it.” Gail smiled at her. “Please, sit. Boys, will you help me set the table?” Gail asked Xander and Jackson.
“Of course, Gail.” Jackson said, first pulling out a chair for Simone at the huge kitchen table.
Ethan plopped down next to Simone and grinned at her devilishly. “So what brings you to Fairbanks?” He asked curiously.
“Her mother’s tribe is here. The Tanana Tribe. She came to meet them for the first time.” Delanie answered for her. “Have you went to see them yet?”
“No, I haven’t. I’m a little nervous and I’ve been a little distracted.” Simone blushed, ducked her head and glanced briefly at the two men pulling out dinnerware and speaking softly with Gail.
“I bet you have.” Delanie giggled.
“Have you dated two men at the same time before?” Ethan asked like it was a normal conversation, like the weather.
“No.” Simone continued to look down, her lap all of a sudden becoming the most interesting thing in the room.
“She was a virgin before she met Xan and Jax!” Delanie burst out and Simone wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole.
“LANIE!” Gail shouted out the young woman’s name in shock. “You have got to learn to keep your thoughts to yourself. That is no one’s business but Simone’s and the boys’. And that is definitely not an appropriate discussion to have at the dinner table. That goes for you too, Ethan. Now apologize to Simone for your rudeness.” Gail scolded at a chagrined Delanie.
“Sorry, Simone.” Delanie apologized.
“It’s okay.” Simone said, barely above a whisper.
“So…what do you do, Simone?” Frank asked, deflecting the awkward situation.
“I just graduated from nursing school. And I have a job at a doctor’s office in Seattle when I get back.” Simone said before realizing her mistake.
“So you’re not staying?” Gail asked, stopping in the middle of placing a platter on the table.
“Um…I…” Simone stammered.
“She’s only been here a week, mom. We kinda took her by surprise. And that would be a big move, so she has to take some time to decide.” Xander came to her defense across the room as he grabbed some silverware.
“Hmm…well, I guess that’s true. Well, I hope you decide to stay. I’ve never seen these two so happy before.” Gail smiled lovingly at Xander and Jackson as they walked up to the table with the rest of the food.
Delanie brought Simone a glass of white wine and sat in the chair across from her. Xander and Jackson finally came over to take their places on either side of her. Jackson gave Ethan a gentle brotherly cuff on the ear, forcing him to get up from the chair on Simone’s left. Everyone chuckled as the younger man nearly fell out of the chair.
“Aw, come on Jax! I was just trying to get to know her. You see her all the time.” Ethan whined.
“Yeah, right. You were trying to get to know her alright. Find your own girlfriend.” Jackson joked good-naturedly.
“Where? I know every girl here!” Ethan exclaimed.
“And dated all of them too.” Delanie piped in.
“Shut up, Lanie.” Ethan pouted.
“My friend Amber would love you.” Simone spoke softly, surprising everyone.
“Really? Where is she? What does she look like?” Ethan said excitedly as he took a chair on the other side of the table.
“As if it matters what she looks like? You’d date a Yeti if you knew it was a female!” Delanie cracked. “Hey!” She screeched as a roll bounced off her head and rolled to the floor.
“Ethan! No throwing food! What does this look like a freakin’ zoo?!” Gail yelled.
Simone squeezed her lips together in an attempt to keep from laughing, but looking up at the indignant look on Lanie’s face as melted butter ran down her forehead, a snort escaped anyway. And the whole table burst out laughing at the young woman’s expense.
“Ha ha, so funny.” Lanie scowled as she wiped her forehead with a napkin.
“Anyway, tell me about this Amber girl?” Ethan ignored his sister and focused on Simone.
“Um…” Simone started shyly, as the whole table focused on her. “She’s my best friend and she’s beautiful. She’s tall, with dark red hair and should be a model. But instead she’s planning on being a fashion designer. And she’s coming to meet up with me tomorrow.” Simone told him, but continued at the look of excitement on his face. “But I’m not so sure the wilds of Alaska would be her thing.”
“That’s okay. I’m down for a fling.” Ethan said undeterred. “I vote that we all go out tomorrow night. What time does her flight get in tomorrow?” He asked leaning forward across the table in anticipation.
“In the morning.” Simone answered.
“Then it’s final. We’re all going out. I don’t think we’ve all been out since my twenty-first birthday and plus it’ll be a Saturday night.” Ethan informed his siblings.
“Yeah, we haven’t been out since then because we all still cringe at the memory. No one wants a repeat of you drunk and streaking naked down the street.” Chris finally chimed in.
“Hey man, it’s been three years! I’ve matured.” Ethan said with self-righteousness.
The table fell silent as they all
looked at him and then each other. A split second later the table burst in uncontrollable tear-inducing laughter. Even Ethan chuckled reluctantly.
~~~
As they stood in the doorway putting on their coats and scarves to leave, Jackson thought that the night had went fairly well. Aside from a few mortifying moments for Simone and catching Bethany secretly shooting daggers at Simone whenever he touched her. Seeing the evil looks staggered him, never realizing how deep Beth’s feelings apparently ran for him. But he’d never felt anything for her apart from brotherly love.
“Boys? Could I speak with you for a moment?” Gail stopped Xander and Jackson as everyone started walking out to their cars. Delanie and Ethan chatting animatedly with Simone caught in between.
“Yeah, mom. What’s up?” Xander asked curiously.
“Now don’t get mad at me. I just want to give you both some motherly advice.” Gail warned before continuing. “I know you both are intent on having this uncommon relationship. I realized early on, that you two had a different bond than most and that this arrangement worked best for both of you. But that girl is sweet and surprisingly innocent. Just make sure you’re both on the same page, so that you don’t hurt her. I can tell Jackson is in it for the long haul. But you’re still somewhat resistant to committing, because you’re a free-spirit.” She looked at Xander. “I’m sure she’s very confused and uncertain of this unlikely union and she’s obviously fallen for both of you, by the way she looks at you. If you both are at odds with the way you’re feeling, you’ll tear her apart. So figure it out before she uproots her life for you.” She laid her hands on each of their arms affectionately. “I’ve said my piece. Now, have a good-” A loud scream rent the air, cutting Gail off in mid-sentence.
“Simone!” Delanie gasped.
They all instantly turned to see Simone on the ground in a tight ball and standing over her hovered a full grown Black bear standing on its hind legs. It bellowed loudly and took a tentative swipe at her back with a large paw.
