by Rye Hart
I grabbed my shit and went outside as the snores of my mother filled the caverns of the house.
Lindy pulled up in her car, and I jumped in. She handed me my cup of coffee, but I was already awake. She drove us to the realtor’s office and we walked inside. Our realtor was sitting there waiting for us.
“They’re just walking in,” the realtor said. “Ladies. Have a seat.”
“Hello! Who are you talking to?” I asked.
“I have your bank on the phone. We’ve been passing paperwork back and forth all morning.”
“Wait, are you serious?” I asked.
“As a heart attack.”
I jumped as the voice on the speakerphone filled the room.
“So, a business loan for one hundred and ten thousand dollars is what we’re gunning for, correct?”
“That is correct,” the realtor said.
“Is the loan going underneath both of their names?”
“It is,” Lindy said.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “Because I can foot all of this. My credit score is awesome.”
“You both have fabulous credit scores, actually. Either way you want to do this is fine with the bank,” the realtor said.
“I just need to know for the paperwork,” the disembodied voice said.
“You got a name, Mr. Telephone Man?” I asked.
“Hank.”
“Hank. Put the loan in both of our names. Emma Mason and Lindy Adams,” I said.
“Okay. Your realtor already filled in most of the paperwork for you. I only need a few pertinent details. You ready?”
“Hit us,” Lindy said.
We fed the man our social security numbers and information about our future store. I talked him through how the lofted area of the building was going to be a residential space, and he made a note of it. He quickly went over what the monthly payments would work out to be. We wouldn’t see the money, just the loan amount on our mobile accounts. The check would be cut from the bank and sent directly to the owner of the warehouse once the paperwork for the transaction was filed.
We put everything in order and were ecstatic to figure out that a fifteen-year loan, even with our interest rate, would still put us under a thousand dollars a month for the repayment of the mortgage.
“If you want, we can go ahead and get paperwork on insurance for the business as well,” Hank said.
“Won’t I need different insurance for the apartment part of the building?” I asked.
“Not if you’re going to be doing any work out of it. Like paperwork or finances or ordering supplies.”
“My personal office is going to be up there,” I said.
“Then that’s perfect. So long as part of the space up there is being used for the business, you can have an umbrella business insurance policy. That will cover it,” Hank said.
“Then let’s get it started. Might as well get it all out of the way,” Lindy said.
“And keep in mind that none of this will be filed yet. You won’t be charged or owe anything until the final paperwork on the sale gets signed,” the realtor said.
“Sounds perfect to me,” I said.
Our dream was finally within reach.
As we sat there in the realtor’s office and talked with Hank to get all the paperwork settled, I could feel excitement pooling in my chest. This was happening. It was actually fucking happening. I was within arm’s reach of quitting that fucking bar and moving out of my mother’s fucking house. I thought about just packing up my shit and leaving. I could buy all new furniture with the money Nick and Tyler gave to me that morning. I was trying to keep my excitement at bay until we left the realtor. But when we got into Lindy’s car, I let out a shrieking squeal.
“Holy shit! It’s happening!”
I leaned over and threw my arms around Lindy, who was giggling and hugging me close.
But things took a turn the moment I got home.
My mother was standing on the porch with her arms crossed over her chest. I looked over at Lindy and she nodded at me, letting me know she was staying in case I needed backup or a quick getaway. I got out of the car as Lindy sat in the driveway, but I didn’t even get to the porch before my mother was yelling at me.
“Did you sleep with them?” she asked.
“What?” I asked.
“Those fucking twins from the bar. Did you sleep with them?”
“As a matter of fact, I did,” I said.
“And you fucking call me a slut,” my mother said.
“Because you are.”
“At least I don’t sleep with two men at once,” she said.
The part of me that was worried that I was a bigger whore than my mother reared its ugly head. But I was done with her insults. “No, you just fuck your way through the entirety of most of the clubs in town. How many have there been, Gracie?”
“Don’t you dare turn this on me,” my mother screamed. “We’re talking about you. Princess Emma who thinks she’s so much better than her trashy mama. Turns out you’re no better than me after all. How does that feel, huh? How does it feel to know you’ve done things even I haven’t done? You’re not special, Emma. You’re a whore and everyone is gonna know it.”
I could hear the doors opening around us as people stepped out onto the porches. They were staring at my mother as her eyes grew wide with anger. I heard Lindy get out of the car and come up to the porch, her arm slinking around my waist.
“Come on. You can stay at my place,” she said.
“You don’t get to judge me anymore!” my mother yelled. “You don’t get to fuck two men at once and then call me the slut!”
I felt tears rising in my eyes as Lindy helped me get into her car. My hands were shaking as I shoved them into my pockets. My knuckles grazed the check, and I sighed as I closed my eyes. My mother was screaming from the porch. Calling me things like ‘good for nothing’ and ‘no better than her’ and telling me I no longer had a right to look down on her the way I had been doing. And maybe she was right. Maybe I was no better than her. Maybe I was just a slut for the brothers or whatever the hell it was she was calling me.
But this check told me they regarded me as more than that. The check they gave me—that I had held onto so I could personally drop it into my personal account—proved to me that I was more than just a fuck buddy to them.
At least, I hoped it did.
“Let’s get you back to my place,” Lindy said.
My mother was still screaming from the porch as we backed out of the driveway.
“Actually, can we go to the bank first?” I said. “I’ve still got that check.”
“To the bank, it is,” she said. “Then, to my place for drinks.”
“That sounds fucking fantastic,” I said. “Lead the way.”
CHAPTER 15
“Do you ever not work?” Tyler asked.
I whipped my head up and saw the twins approaching the bar.
“Lindy and I are the only two bartenders until our boss hires someone else. So, no, I’m never not working,” I said.
“Work hard, play harder,” Adam said.
I smiled as he sat down beside the twins.
“I was hoping you’d be here tonight,” Nick said.
“Funny. I was thinking the same thing about you guys,” I said, grinning. “Thirsty?”
“We heard your LITs are pretty good,” Adam said.
“They’re signature here,” I said. “What? You thinking about straying from your beers?”
“If our girl says it’s her signature, then we gotta have it,” Nick said with a wink.
“Should I make four or five?” I asked.
“Jacob’s at the clubhouse tonight, but we’ll tell him you asked about him,” Tanner said.
“Good. I’ll go pour four awesome drinks, then I have some things I need to talk about with you guys,” I said.
I quickly mixed four drinks and carried them back to the guys. They were usually front and center at the bar, but this
time they were off to the side, in the darkened corner of the bar that backed up to the entire place. It was an odd place for them to sit, and I could tell Adam’s eyes were trained on the door.
And he looked a bit twitchy.
“Four LITs,” I said.
They all took a sip and nodded their heads in approval.
“This is good,” Tyler said.
“Outstanding’s more like it,” Tanner said.
“I’d drink it,” Adam said.
“I’ll be ordering another one after this one, just to let you know,” Nick said.
“You’re all very kind. Thank you,” I said.
“Now. What is this problem you have, baby girl?” Adam asked.
I grinned at his nickname as my neck began to flush.
“I don’t have any of your numbers,” I said. “And I figure that is just not going to do.”
“Oh, she says that’s just not going to do,” Tanner grinned.
“You want to be able to let us know when you’re thinking about us?” Nick asked.
“You want to be able to call us for a late-night booty call?” nudged Adam.
“Is that what you want?” Tyler joined in. “To be able to call us whenever you want some of our special attention?”
I looked at the devilish grins on each of their faces and my panties were instantly wet. Holy fuck, the effect these men had on me was instantaneous and maddening. I tried not to let my mother’s words from earlier filter back into my head, but once I started to remember, there was no going back.
Sensing a shift in my mood, Adam reached out and put his large hand over my much smaller one, running the pad of his thumb over my knuckles. “We didn’t mean to upset you. We were just teasing.”
I shook my head and offered a smile that didn’t quite reach my eyes. “No, you didn’t upset me,” I tried to assure him.
Nick’s eyes were boring into mine as I stood there. “Well, something did,” he said.
“Yeah, for sure,” Tyler added.
“Tell us about it,” Tanner probed.
Before I could even open my mouth, the cause of my anger and frustration strutted right through the damn door. My stomach dropped and all four of their blue gazes followed mine.
“Something happen with your mother?” Nick asked, his voice tight.
I shook my head.
“No use trying to lie about it, baby girl,” Adam chimed in. “It’s written all over your beautiful face.”
“What did she do now?” Tanner asked, his eyes zeroing in on my mother, who was already commanding attention.
“Please, just don’t cause a fucking scene. It’s the last thing I need tonight. She’s gonna be a handful as it is,” I said.
“We can play it cool. But if she comes over here and starts shit, she’s gonna know whose side we’re on,” Tyler said.
“I got it. And thank you. That is very kind,” I said.
“I have to ask though,” Tanner said. “What is her fucking deal with you?”
“Simple. She wants to sleep with you guys,” I said.
The four brothers burst out into laughter as I bit back a giggle.
“Not in a million fucking years,” Tyler said.
“Nope,” Adam said.
“She sounds like a piece of work, and no thanks,” Nick said.
“Gross,” Tanner added. “I don’t know how you stand her.”
But their laughter caught my mother’s attention, and soon she was over here pressing herself against Adam.
“Hey there, big boy,” my mother said. “Fancy a drink?”
Adam looked around at his brothers as my mother shot me a look.
“If you’re buying,” Adam said.
“Now what kind of man doesn’t buy a woman a drink?” my mother asked.
“The kind that doesn’t like a mother degrading her daughter,” Adam said.
I swallowed hard as his face fell and hardened into stone. My mother’s eyes flickered toward me, and I could see the anger growing in them again. Just like they had on the porch when she unleashed on me yesterday.
This wasn’t going to end well.
“What did you tell them?” she asked with a hiss.
“Just that you were interested in them,” I said.
“Not in the two you already fucked, no,” she said. “But this one I could get behind.”
She pulled herself away from Adam and gravitated toward Nick, her hips swaying and her tits shoved up to her chin. But Nick rose from his seat and stood toe-to-toe with her, looking down on her as if she was nothing more than gum on the bottom of his boot.
“I think I speak for all my brothers when I say we have no interest in women who compete with their daughters,” Nick said.
“Here, here,” Tyler and Tanner said.
My mother pulled herself upright and shoved her tits out farther. “But I could make your night, sweet cheeks. I’ve got more than my daughter could ever offer you.”
“And I said ‘no,’” Nick said.
I saw the pang of rejection sting my mother as she took a step back. She looked over at me as she pressed herself up against the bar, knocking Nick out of the way.
“You think you can turn this bar against me just because you sleep with a couple of men?” my mother asked. “I already told you, you have zero right to judge me anymore, you little slut.”
She grabbed Nick’s drink I had just made him and brought it back. My eyes widened as Lindy lunged for me, trying to knock me out of the way, but it was too late. My mother sprayed my face with the cold alcohol, stinging my eyes as I bent over at the bar. I knocked my head against the corner of it and stumbled backward into Lindy’s arms as I heard Nick and Adam struggling with my mother.
“You’re a good-for-nothing spoiled brat, Emma! You hear me? You think you’re better than me, but you’ll suck any cock put in front of you, just like me!”
Tears rose behind my lids, trying to clear the stinging alcohol from my eyes.
“Emma, we gotta get your eyes washed out,” Lindy said.
“Let’s get her in the back,” Tyler said.
I felt myself being picked up in someone’s arms as footsteps fell closely behind me. Lindy helped me to get my eyes washed out as I cried on the stool, then she sent me to her apartment for the night. Normally, I wouldn’t leave her alone to fend for herself at the bar, but it was a slow night, and I was suddenly exhausted.
I was crying behind the wheel of my car as I made my way to Lindy’s place.
I got out of the car and stomped my way up to Lindy’s apartment. The guys were right on my heels, but I didn’t fucking care. I couldn’t believe the fit my mother just pitched. I was embarrassed and angry and fucking fed up with her antics. Worst of all, part of me still wondered if she was right.
It was Tanner’s voice that broke through my tears as the apartment door shut behind Adam.
“Are you okay, Emma?” he asked.
“No! No, I’m not fucking okay! I’ve got a mother hell-bent on making sure I know I’m just like her. One who fucking shits on my dreams and offers me no support, and whose childish antics are gonna get me fired from my fucking place of work. I’m sick and tired of her! Why the hell is she so set on ruining me?”
I collapsed onto Lindy’s couch as Adam caught me in his arms.
“She can only ruin you if you let her, baby girl.”
“That’s right,” Tyler said.
“You can’t listen to her,” Nick said. “She’s clearly jealous of you because you have a plan for your life beyond whoring around town.”
“You’re nothing like her,” Tanner added. “Not one fucking thing about her is anything like you.”
“I’m so sick and tired of having to deal with her and all her bullshit,” I said breathlessly.
“It’s okay, baby girl,” Adam said. “Come here.”
He pulled me into his lap as his hands massaged my back. I laid my wet face into the crook of his neck, breathing in his scent. I could feel so
meone taking off my shoes before my socks were worked off my feet. Then a foot massage ensued.
Then suddenly, I felt Tanner’s lips upon my ear.
He kissed up and down my neck as I ground down into Adam’s lap. The hands massaging my feet worked their way up my legs. Hands were gripping my ass while Tanner nibbled on my shoulder, and I felt my body relinquishing itself to them as my lips came up to Adam’s.
“Kiss me,” I said breathlessly.
“With pleasure,” Adam said.
But before our lips could connect, a phone rang out.
“Fuck,” Nick said. “Hold on.”
My forehead sank to Adam’s chin as he pressed a kiss to my forehead.
“Wait, what was that, Jacob?” Nick asked.
The panic in his voice caused me to turn around and look at him.
“Shit. Okay. Nope. We’re coming. Stay put and tell Crow we’re on our way,” Nick said.
“What's wrong?” I asked.
“I’m sorry, beautiful. But we have to run,” Nick said.
Adam helped me to my feet as I watched the brothers stride toward the door.
“Is everything okay?”
It must’ve been the worry in my voice because all of them turned around and looked me square in my eyes.
“Don’t worry yourself about it, okay?” Nick asked. “We’ll see you soon.”
“Yep. You’ve got our numbers now. Shoot us a text message so we’ve got yours,” Adam said.
“Please be safe, you guys. Okay?” I asked.
It was like something snapped inside of Tyler, because he strode back across the room, wrapped his arms around me, and planted his tongue right into the sweet confines of my mouth. I tangled my hands up in his hair as the other brothers approached me, and one by one they passed me around. My tongue danced with theirs, taking in their unique tastes and drawing their scent through my nostrils. My hands tangled up in their luscious raven locks as I pressed my body into them, panting once they were done with me.
