by SM Olivier
I had been slightly perplexed, initially, when he suggested we actually sit and relax on several of the couches before we chose one I’d want. We ended up deciding on an off-white, oversized sectional, and he convinced me to pick out two matching overstuffed armchairs and an ottoman/coffee table that was easily eight-by-eight in size.
When I tried to protest, he reminded me that we had a large family. It warmed my heart how easily they considered me family.
“Oh, we noticed,” Golden said casually to the sales lady as he pulled the blankets off our heads and sat up slightly. “Although, if you want to convince customers otherwise, I’d suggest removing the swings, hanging rings, and slides from your showroom floor in the children’s section. It can be confusing for some.”
It had peeved Golden when only one person approached us when we started browsing. The employees seemed to be too busy conversing or treating us like we weren’t worth their time to see if we needed any assistance.
Only one guy, Gary, had stopped and conversed with us for a while. He was young, maybe a few years older than us and was really friendly. Although his badge had said sales, the senior sales associates seemed to continually give him “busy” work when he stopped to talk to us.
I know we looked young, and I may not have made an effort in getting dressed, but it was a bit annoying after a while. They shouldn’t have assumed we didn’t have the means to purchase anything. Golden and I didn’t want to leave. This place seriously had everything we needed, but we decided we weren’t going to make it easy on them. Thus, the reason why we were currently cuddled up on a bed. We even convinced Gary into finding us a blue tooth speaker so that we could listen to our music.
“We’re going to have to ask you to leave,” the woman said snootily. “You’ve sat on over a dozen couches, watched television, played checkers at one of our dining room sets, laid down and read on several rugs, and now you’ve messed up six of our beds. We close in thirty minutes, and no one has time for this.”
“JoAnne,” Golden peered at her name tag. “May I call you, JoAnne?” He continued, not waiting for her response, “You’ve had no time for us since we walked into the door. In fact, the only person who had time for us, Gary, has been paged or pulled away when he tried to help us. Do you think if I talk to your corporate office, they’ll have time for me? For us?”
JoAnne gave us a chilling smile. “I’ll be more than happy to give you their number. All they have to do is look at our recordings and see that you guys have been treating this as a hangout for the last three hours.”
“I call it furniture shopping,” Golden said with a careless shrug. “My girl isn’t going to spend thousands of dollars on furniture for it not to be comfortable, functional, and aesthetically pleasing.”
JoAnne barely concealed her snort of disbelief. “If you would like to purchase something, I will be more than happy to ring you up right now.”
“Nah,” Golden rolled out of bed. “Come on, Pey, let’s find Gary. I hear they make commission around here. I want to make sure it goes to the right person.”
JoAnne hid a condescending smile, and I knew she believed we honestly were wasting her time. In her defense, we hadn’t remade the beds we cuddled in, but Gary told us he would take care of it after we fixed the first two. However, we did clean up everything else we utilized today.
“Can you page Gary for us?” I inquired, politely abstaining from matching her condescending attitude.
Even with the poor customer service, I was enjoying my time with Golden. He really was easy to talk to.
“Of course.” she gave us a patronizing smile. “His desk is over there.” She pointed to a desk in the corner of the children’s showroom.
It was clear that all the “big dogs” had the plush offices up near the front on the first floor. We were on the top floor right now, and Gary’s office was half the size of the offices we had passed on the other levels.
“Thanks,” Golden stated, acting oblivious to her cynicism before he took my hand and led me towards the little office we were directed to.
As a page was made over the intercom system, Golden pulled me into the office and took the only chair available. He pulled me onto his lap, and without preamble, he placed his lips on mine. To say I was surprised by his sudden movement was an understatement. When he put his hand behind my head and tilted my head back, I didn’t hesitate to open my mouth to probing his tongue.
Golden seemed to always be so laid back, until he kissed. When he kissed, it was like he wanted to…possess me. He radiated provocativeness and seductiveness.
Everything around me seemed to fade away as his hands traced my back, molding me closer to his body. “Are you coming home with me tonight?” he asked huskily.
I nodded. “That was the plan,” I replied a bit breathlessly.
He hummed in satisfaction. “Will you spend the night with me?” he nuzzled my neck, trailing hot kisses along the smooth column of my throat. “No pressure for sex though,” he added. “I just want to touch you and hold you.”
I squirmed on his lap. I wanted to tell him I wanted more, but I was glad for his restraint. Part of me still wanted to savor the time I had with Zane. I didn’t want to jump from one bed to the other…yet. It felt like I was navigating a minefield at times.
“You don’t have to.” Golden stopped kissing me. He tried to act unaffected by my inability to answer him immediately, but I could see the vulnerability in his eyes. “Forget, I asked.”
I grabbed his face and kissed his lips before looking him in the eyes. “I want to spend the night with you. I was just trying to figure out how to rein in the horny teenage boy that lives in me. I’m thinking about naming him Brutus. Brutus sounds like a manly man's name. You know, the kind of man that chops downs trees with an ax, with large calloused hands, and horniness off the charts. He loves to screw− when he’s not chopping down trees, that is.”
He let out a surprise burst of laughter. “So not a turn on,” he groused between laughter. “Brutus?” he shook his head. “Who names their split personalities?”
“What?” I blinked in confusion before I realized what he meant. “Was it the teenage boy part or the big calloused hands? And they’re not split personalities, they’re alter egos!” I huffed out jokingly. “Fine. We can name Brutus… Luna. Luna, my lusty alter ego that wants to take you between my thighs and−”
I was cut off as Gary came breezing into the room. “Hey Golden, Peyton,” he said with a genuine smile. “How can I help you guys?”
I leaned forward to grab my phone out of my back pocket. I couldn’t help but notice Golden’s hardness pressed against my rear. He grunted as I slid against him. I would have given him a knowing smile, but I saw Gary’s inquisitive gaze on us.
“I have a list of things I would like to order and have delivered to my house.” I smiled at Gary. “Preferably in about three weeks’ time and all at once.”
“Sure thing.” Gary nodded before he sat behind his desk. “What were you interested in?”
I shifted in Golden’s lap once more, purposefully rolling my hips against him. He hissed out between clenched teeth, before he placed his hands on my hips, realizing I was intentionally tormenting him right now. I grinned once again to myself.
Take that Golden! I'm not crazy! I just have a lot of… alter egos. They're the people that helped me out of my comfort zones.
I scrolled through my phone and found the picture of the tag from the couch that we had picked out.
I then rattled off the model number. As he looked it up on his computer, I noticed how cramped his office really was. It was tastefully decorated, and I couldn’t help but see his desk was covered with pictures of a little girl with a riot of blond curls and big blue eyes. He had several photos of her in various stages of growth, but the most recent ones I noticed placed her to be around Maisie’s age. Maybe slightly younger.
He didn’t look old enough to have a five or six-year-old child. Gary was a reasonab
ly good-looking guy, with sandy blond hair and dark blue eyes. His features were vaguely familiar, but I chalked it up to him maybe having a doppelganger.
“She’s a cutie,” I commented with a smile. “Is she yours?”
He nodded and smiled. I saw the pride in his eyes along with…embarrassment?
“She’s the love of my life, Jayda,” he confirmed. “She just turned five this past weekend.”
“Well, she’s beautiful,” I smiled. “I took pictures of all the tags from the other things I wanted. Would it be easier if I just give you my phone?”
He nodded with a smile, but I could see the dubiousness in his eyes too. “It would make it simpler.”
I took no offense at his expression. At least he wasn’t condescending. “If you scroll right, we took pictures of all the things we decided on.”
“Great, thanks.” He smiled. “This makes my life a whole lot easier.”
I continued to look around the desk and noticed all the pictures starred the little girl. Some were of the two of them together, but no images of her mother. Understanding dawned. He must not be with Jayda’s mother any longer.
The phone on his desk rang, and he looked up apologetically. “Mind if I answer it?” He smiled. “Promise, I can multitask.”
“Go for it,” Golden bade him before he leaned forward to whisper in my ear. “Keep teasing me you, little minx. You know what they say about paybacks.”
I tsked at him, then turned around in his lap to give him a mischievous grin. “Promises, promises.”
His golden eyes were hooded as he stared at my lips. “Just you wait,” he promised, and I couldn’t help but feel the warmth spread in my belly.
“Can you just keep her for like an extra hour?” Gary asked into the phone. “Yeah. Yeah. Okay. See you soon.”
He frowned as he set down his phone. Then he pasted on a fake smile. “Okay, let’s get you folks outta here.”
Golden and I exchanged looks. Clearly, he wasn’t happy with the phone call he just received. His eyes widened as he scrolled through my phone. “Um, how did you guys plan to pay for all this?”
I didn’t take his skepticism to heart. It wasn’t everyday people our age purchased this amount of furniture.
I pulled out my black card and put it on the desk, and before he could ask, I pulled out my ID.
“Well, okay.” he looked at us with surprise.
“She’s an heiress to the throne in Denmark,” Golden said with a straight face.
I laughed and playfully tapped on his arm. “Stop it. I’m not. Just a spoiled granddaughter,” I said self-deprecatingly.
Gary laughed. “No harm in that, I wished I had someone to spoil me,” he teased.
I grinned and shrugged ruefully.
“Daddy!” I heard a squeal of delight before the pretty little girl that adorned Gary’s desk came barreling into the room.
“One niece delivered. Sorry Gare,” I heard a somewhat familiar jovial voice declare. “I would have kept her longer, but I have to head to the frat house and didn’t want Jayda near those guys, and Brenda wasn’t answering the phone.”
A familiar blond popped his head around the corner, and his mouth dropped open slightly. “Peyton? How are you?”
“Brennan.” I feigned a smile. “Not bad. How are you?”
He frowned as he looked at me. “I’m sorry about your sister.”
“You two know each other?” Gary asked as he placed his daughter in his lap.
Brennan shifted uncomfortably. “Her…sister was the one taken a few towns over,” he said.
“The one the police showed up at the house for?” Gary frowned as he examined me.
“They showed up at your house?” I asked in shock.
“Yeah.” Brennan frowned. “The video leaked of the party that night. They saw me in the video making out with her. I spent all day yesterday at the police station trying to convince them I had no clue how young she was and that I didn’t even have her number.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said genuinely. “You could have told them to contact me. I know the police officer in charge of the investigation. He’s a good guy. Her mother is on a rampage right now.”
Brennan grimaced. “Luckily, we had other witnesses to corroborate my statement. It was inconvenient, but I really didn’t mind it at the end of the day. If my little princess was taken, I would be flipping houses in search for her.”
He smiled softly at Jayda, and I could see he had a genuine fondness for the little girl. It was sweet.
“You and I both, brother,” Gary said solemnly, and I noticed how he squeezed his little girl tight.
“Daddy,” Jayda squealed in protest.
“Sorry,” Gary said sheepishly as he kissed the back of his daughter’s head. “Daddy’ just loves you.”
I guessed the disappearance of any young girl could bring clarity to some parents. They probably imagined their little girls or boys disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye. It surely garnered feelings of bringing them closer and wanting to keep them that way.
“I love you, too!” She giggled as if he were talking crazy.
“I’m sorry to hear about your sister, Peyton,” Gary said with sympathy.
I shrugged. How did I explain to strangers how she and I had just met, and that she hated me? However, I couldn’t deny the tiny part of me that wished I could peacefully coexist with my…blood, eventually.
“Thanks,” I murmured awkwardly.
“I heard Zach caught a lot of heat from that party,” Golden said as if he sensed my discomfort and wanted to divert the conversation.
“Big time.” Brandon sighed. I noticed the dark bags under his eyes and imagined being questioned by the police couldn’t have been easy. “There is so much video evidence being submitted. A whole boatload of sins were revealed. I guess there was another fourteen-year-old that says she was raped at the same party.” He visibly shuddered. “Thanks for that by the way, Peyton. I seriously thought Claire was a college student.”
I shook my head and sighed. What a mess. I wondered if they noticed that Selena had been in some of those recordings.
“No thanks needed,” I said immediately. “It may seem hypocritical, but I really didn’t think she belonged there. I know how dangerous those parties can be for girls her age. Plus, I had a feeling you wouldn’t willingly hook up with a girl that had just turned fourteen. She’s still in middle school, for Pete’s sake!”
I closed my eyes for a moment. I refused to think of her as being in the past tense. For Grandpa's sake, I really hoped she was alive and well out there somewhere. Mentally and emotionally, I really didn’t think he could handle another loss in his family by the unknown.
Brennan muttered an expletive. “Well, it’s a good thing you did, because I’m pretty sure my ass would have been locked up if things had gone further that night. I just got out of a four-year relationship, and I was in the mind frame to get laid.”
“Ohhh, Uncle Bren…” Jayda’s head popped up from the paper she was drawing on. “You said a bad word.”
We all chuckled at her cuteness.
“Sorry, Princess.” Brennan smirked. “I owe the swear jar another dollar.”
I laughed once more.
“Well, I’m kinda glad Jayda doesn’t get to see her uncle behind bars,” Gary said dryly before his printer hummed to life. “Well, I have your quote built.” His eyes widened as he looked at the final numbers.
“Don’t tell her,” Golden immediately slid my card forward. “Just order it all.”
I playfully glared at Golden as Gary raised a brow at me. “Might as well swipe the card.” I sighed.
“Really?” Gary inquired in surprise.
“Really,” Golden insisted. “Thanks for your help, man, and being the only one to actually help us out tonight.”
“No, thank out,” Gary said with a smile as he shook my hand and then Golden’s. “This is gonna help take care of a lot of the bills piling
up.”
I smiled, glad we made someone's day better.
15
●
Administrative Leave
The house was eerily quiet when we returned. I looked down at my phone and noticed it was only a little after ten. I was surprised that no one was up. I knew the kids would be in bed, but I hadn’t expected Mr. Isaacs and Paxton to be sleeping as well.
“I can give you one of my T-shirts to sleep in. Do you want to take a shower or something?” Golden asked as we headed towards the stairs.
I nodded. “I need to at least wash my body,” I said suddenly shy.
Just last night, I was sleeping in Zane’s bed. I didn’t want to hop from one bed to the next, but a part of me wanted to explore my physical relationship with Golden.
Golden seemed to sense my hesitation and paused on the steps. “I meant what I said earlier,” he husked. “I just want to hold you in my bed without having the other guys around. There’s no rush to do anything else.”
I smiled and leaned over to kiss his lips. “Thanks, Gold,” I murmured.
He smiled before he kissed me once more. It was a simple kiss, but I could feel his affection in it.
He took my hand and led me up the steps and then to the left. There were five bedrooms on the second floor, and two other sets of stairs on opposite ends of the house that led to two attic spaces. Those had been converted into more bedrooms, complete with bathrooms.
I had only ever been in Maisie’s room and Clay’s. Pax and Golden once told me they had the two attic spaces. Mr. Isaacs had recently taken over the master bedroom, leaving two other rooms unoccupied on this floor.
One could never say this house lacked space. Mam and Da had built it with the intention of having a large family. Mr. Isaacs had been the only child Mam could have, so they decided to start fostering children.
Most of their fosters didn’t stay for long, but seven of them had ended up staying longer and eventually got adopted. Paxton once explained to me that Mam and Da had loved every child that walked through their doors, but a few of them seemed to… fit and click naturally. Mandy, Golden, Paxton, Polly, Maisie, Duncan, and finally, Clay had all been their lost children, as Mam called them.
