by Nikki Chase
I’ve been lying here in her bed for a good fifteen minutes, stroking her hair and occasionally kissing her face, waiting for her to wake up. I don't have the heart to shake her body to arouse her, even though we're almost late .
Emma lets out a cute little lazy moan as she yawns and stretches her limbs. "What time is it? What are we doing today? Where's everyone ?"
"That's a lot of questions for a sleepyhead." Honestly, I don't usually use cutesy words like "sleepyhead" or spend my time watching a girl sleep, but there's something about Emma that brings out the cheesy side of me .
Emma smiles again. She looks around the room. It looks like she remembers the events of last night as she blushes, probably also realizing she's naked. She has no reason to be embarrassed, though. She has the sexiest little body I've ever seen—although I may be biased .
"Austin and Fraser are out, having a meeting with some potential investors. Sandy's in the office down the hall, and Hudson's in his workshop. He hasn't slept all night ."
"What?" Emma props herself up on her elbows and blinks awake a few times. "I should go there and tell him to go to bed ."
"You're not going to succeed. When he's on a roll, he doesn't want any interruption. And right now, you're the last person he wants to see in his workshop ."
"Me? Why? Did I do anything to offend him?" Little lines appear on Emma's forehead. Jesus, she looks cute even when she's sleepy and confused .
"He's excited to show you his new designs. He doesn't want you to see them before they're done ."
"Oh." Emma sits up. "You're all working, even though it's Sunday ?"
"Yeah. Christmas is less than two weeks away. It's the busiest time of the year for a toy business." I put my hand on her thigh over the blanket. "Get ready. I'll brew you some coffee ."
* * *
W hen I told Emma what my plans were for the weekend, she immediately told me she wanted to come along with me. Still, I didn't expect this level of enthusiasm .
When we pack the toys into big cardboard boxes today, she's humming some Christmas jingles. Same thing when she's loading the boxes into the car .
Our cargo is too large today for me to take the bike. I'm not using any freight forwarders or mailing services today. This is one shipment I want to deliver myself .
When we reach the orphanage, as I'm talking to the lady who manages the place, Emma wanders inside and greets the kids. It starts with one little girl at first, then the crowd of kids around her grows until there's only a handful of kids playing with the colorful plastic blocks on the carpeted floor .
I don't know if she's told them we have toys with us or not, but that's impressive regardless .
I help the manager move the cardboard boxes of our best-selling toys into a storage room, then I ask Emma, "Wow, first day here and you already have a fan club ."
She laughs. "You're the one with the fan club. I just told them I was your friend and they started crowding around me ."
"Ian, where's your bike?" asks a little boy who's about eight years old. His name is Michael, and I can already tell he's going to be trouble when he gets older .
"I don't have my bike with me today. I didn't want to mess up this pretty lady's hair ."
"Oh." Michael's face falls, but then he smiles. "That's okay. Emma's fun ."
"What did you bribe them with?" I ask Emma. "We're not supposed to tell them about the . . . what's inside the boxes ."
"Excuse me. I don't condone bribery, Sir," Emma says with mock anger. Dropping her voice to a whisper, she says, "I know those are for Christmas ."
Before we can continue our conversation, the kids pull us in different directions and make us join their tea parties and football games. I keep glancing toward Emma, worried she'd find this boring, but it looks like she's genuinely having a good time .
"You like her," Michael says, grinning smugly, letting all his teeth show even though one's prominently missing .
"Yeah? What makes you say that?" I say, throwing a ball his way .
"You smile every time you look at her ."
I catch the ball Michael throws at me, but my mind is elsewhere. I like her . . .? I don't usually catch feelings, but I have to admit there's something different about this one . . . Could Michael be right ?
Fraser
"H ey, sexy," I greet Emma as I open the door. She's taking her shoes off, her skinny jeans hugging her curves beautifully. I wish I could stay and have a little fun with her, but I'm kind of in a rush .
Looking down the hallway, I grab Emma anyway, pulling her back against my chest. I wrap my arms around her waist and kiss the back of her neck .
"Hey, Fraser." Emma giggles, although her breathing grows heavier. Man, I love how responsive she is, and I'd love to stay and do more .
"Just got home?" I ask .
"Yeah. I went to deliver some toys to the orphanage with Ian. He says he has a ton of orders to take care of today, so he dropped me off first ."
"Hmm . . . You smell so good." I inhale her sweet, feminine scent and reluctantly let her go .
Rocky barks at my feet as if reminding me I have stuff to do .
"Yeah, yeah, I know, Rocky. Calm down. Jesus." I go straight to the office, Rocky following behind me. As I expected, Sandy's here. "Hey, nerd, you're needed ."
Sandy groans. "Really? I was hoping to stay home and get this button on our website fixed today ."
"We're not going to have any website at all if we lose our investors ."
Swiveling around on his chair to face me, Sandy asks, "We could lose our investors?" He glances at his smartwatch. "Wait . . . On a Sunday ?"
"Just come with me. The guys we presented to on Friday spread word to their friends that kids didn't like our toys, so now they're saying they may want to pull funding. We need numbers and shit to show them ."
"Are you kidding me?" Sandy turns to face his computer again, then his fingers busily type on the keyboard and click on the mouse. "Let me upload my charts onto the cloud. What are they doing, working on a Sunday anyway ?"
"They're not. They're playing golf at the club and sharing some gossip. One of the guys called me to tell me what they're discussing. He's managed to get them to agree to give us another chance, but we need to show them some tangible results, like, now ."
"Great," Sandy says sarcastically. He stands up, pushing his chair back and letting it roll backward. He stuffs some gadgets into his backpack. "Okay, let's go ."
Emma
I sip on some of Sandy's apple juice as I watch some daytime show on Hallmark as Rocky chills on my lap. Other than the dog, I'm pretty much home alone right now. Austin, Fraser, Sandy, and Ian are outside working, even though it's the weekend .
Hudson's locked himself in his workshop while loud music blares from his stereo. He really won't let me inside at all. I'm starting to regret telling him to work on new designs. I know it's going to be good for the business, and I'm trying not to be selfish, but I miss them .
Then again, it's been a while since I had some time to myself. I put my feet up on the coffee table. But just as I start to get into the story, the doorbell rings .
That's weird. Obviously every one of the Archer brothers has his own set of keys to get into the house. But maybe they're playing a trick on me. They can be sly, and I won't put them past a little hijinks .
Or, it could be a package or something. It's Sunday, but perhaps Hudson ordered some raw materials for same-day delivery .
I jump off the couch, making Rocky yelp in protest .
"I'll be back," I tell him .
I go to the door and pull
it open. As soon as I see who's waiting for me behind it, I regret not peeking through the peephole beforehand .
It's too late, though. Ted's already seen me, and he doesn't look happy. I'll bet he'll be even less happy if I were to slam the door in his face. His face is red with fury .
This doesn't look good .
"What do you think you're doing?" Ted asks, not even bothering with a greeting .
What am I doing . . .? I'm opening the door for you, I want to reply. But I bite my tongue .
Keeping my mouth shut when words aren't welcome is a skill I've mastered in my two years living with Ted. I constantly worry about making him angry because he might pass on his rage onto Mom .
"I don't understand what you're talking about," I tell him. "How did you know where to find me ?"
"Your mom has your address," Ted says, as if that explains why he has it, as well. "You can't stay here .”
"What do you mean?" I ask, suppressing the urge to tell him to go to hell .
"I mean you can't live here, with those . . . men.” Ted spits out the last word like it’s dirty. "Your mom's told me everything. Now I see why it was so quick and easy for you to find a job." He glances down at my body, making me feel naked and gross. "Life must be easy with a pretty face and questionable morals ."
"Wait a minute." I glare at him. "What do you mean 'questionable morals'? Who are you to judge me like that ?"
I may have had sex with all five Archer brothers, but that happened long after they'd hired me. Sure, some people may have a problem with that. But whatever happened, happened between consensual adults. I didn't hurt anybody .
Nobody—not a single person and especially not Ted—has the right to judge me for that .
But, I'm not going to tell him that. I don't have to explain anything to him .
"What, you don't think everybody knows what you're doing? It only takes one glance at the lot of you to figure you out," he says, his beady eyes full of contempt, disgust, and—I wish I were just seeing things, but unfortunately I don't think I am—lust .
Gross.
Ted doesn't care about morals. If he did, he wouldn't have cut my mom off from her entire support system and even beat her until she's bruised .
If anything, he probably feels like he has some claim over me. Now that he sees me with some other guys, he wants me back under his control .
I shudder to think what he wants to do to me, once he's got me back in his house .
"What are you talking about?" I put on an innocent face, like I'm aghast and shocked by his wild accusations. (In reality, I'm not surprised at all that he's actually uttered those offensive words out loud .)
"Don't act like you're innocent. I know what you're really like. I know that now. If I knew then, I would've . . ." Ted lets his voice trail off, which tells me he was about to say something truly abhorrent .
"You would've what, Ted? What would you have done?" I ask in a light, casual, curious tone. I can't help crossing my arms over my chest, though. I need to shield myself from his gaze .
"Do you know what people have been saying about you?" Ted asks .
"What?" I ask sweetly .
"I had to ask your neighbor for directions. People have been talking about you," he says, his stare roaming all over my body .
"Yeah? What have they been talking about?" I ask. "I hope they're talking about the toys we're making, and about our e-commerce platform ."
Ted laughs, flaunting his yellow teeth in my face. "Five men and a woman, living under one roof? You think there's even the slightest chance people are talking about some toys? What toys are we talking about? Butt plugs? Dildos ?"
I scrunch up my face in disgust. I can't stand this guy for another second. I'd scream and curse at him, except I don't want him to do anything to my mom in retaliation. I tell him, as politely as I can, "If you don't mind, I still have work to do ."
I push the door to close it, but Ted grabs the metal handle and yank it open .
Rocky, who's been standing by my feet with tense muscles, starts growling. He's trying to sound threatening, but the shrill, high-pitched sound he makes won't scare anyone, no matter how hard he tries .
“Aww . . . That’s a cute dog,” Ted says mockingly. He reaches one hand down to touch Rocky, but the dog welcomes him with a mouthful of canine teeth, and he quickly pulls his hand back .
"What do you think you're doing?" I blurt out. I've really been trying to be patient, but Ted's starting to use his bigger physique to intimidate me, and from what Sandy's been telling me about abuse, he's only going to escalate things if I let him get away with it .
"What do I think I'm doing?" Ted sneers. "What do you think you're doing ?"
"I just want to get back to work ."
"Right. Work." Ted chuckles as if there's no way I do actual work here .
"This is the twenty-first century, Ted. People of different genders do live together for a variety of reasons. I can't believe I have to explain that to you. If you don't know that, then you probably need to get out more ."
I feel my control slipping away as I vomit out the words that have been building up inside me .
I know I shouldn't, but I can't help adding, "And I don't mean only to music festivals with your girlfriend ."
Ted's eyes widen. He glares at me. Without saying a word, he pushes the door open wider. "If you breathe a word about that to your mom, it's going to be your fault if she gets even sicker ."
"What do you mean by that?" I want to ask if that's a threat, but Ted's aggressive stance already answers it for me .
"I can't believe I have to explain that to you," Ted mocks me. "But if you must know, I came here as a favor to you. I wanted to tell you your mom is sick ."
I pull out my phone from the pocket of my jacket. I can’t take Ted at his word .
Besides, what does he mean by “sick”? I just saw Mom and she was fine, except for that bruise on her eye, and that obviously wasn’t caused by any illness .
"Don't bother. She hasn't been charging her phone. If you want to know how she's doing, you're going to have to come home ."
Hudson
F inally.
I’ve dreamed about this design for months now, but I’ve been putting it on the back burner. I’ve been too busy with my music and our existing toy orders to work on something new .
I was starting to feel dull and uninspired, but I thought I just needed a vacation .
As it turns out, all I need is Emma. She’s helped me—no, all of us—fulfill our holiday orders, giving me enough space to work on this .
I stare at my newest creation, a wooden rocker that would fit a toddler. The base is curved to allow some movement, and the front is shaped like a horse’s head .
The wood grains are too beautiful to cover up, so I’ll refrain from painting it. Instead, I’ll use a wood stain to color it. I’m thinking of making this toy available in three different tones: natural, red, and green .
But, that’s a decision I’ll make later. For now, I’m happy with it, and I think it’s time to just walk away from it. As usual, I’ll probably get more ideas on what to do with it afterward .
I stretch out my limbs and yawn. I need to get some sleep .
I walk across my workshop, stepping on wood shavings as I reach for the stereo and turn it off .
It takes a while for my ears to get used to the silence. For a second, there’s a ringing in my ears—I should probably start playing music at a lower volume, or I’m going to be deaf before my hair turns gray .
Then, I hear barking. Just outside the door, Rocky’s growling and howling like a mad dog .
Is his food bowl empty? Where is everybody? Why is nobody
paying him any attention ?
When I pull the door open, I’m greeted by a restless Rocky, barking and jumping around .
“What’s wrong, boy? Calm down.” I reach down to pat his head, but I can’t even touch him because he’s moving so much .
I make my way toward the kitchen where we keep Rocky’s food and water bowls. He follows me but doesn’t stop barking. It makes me wonder how long it’s been since he’s eaten .
But soon, I see his bowls are almost full .
“What’s wrong with you, boy?” I stare at him .
He gives me one last bark of frustration before he bites the leg of my pants, pulling me to the side .
“Okay, okay.” I follow the direction in which Rocky wants me to go. “Jeez. What’s with you? Is there a cute girl dog out there you want to meet, huh? You want to meet a cute little bitch at the park ?”
I chuckle at my own proper usage of the word “bitch.” It’s immature, I know, but whatever. I’ve just spent so much time working on my own, and I’ve had to amuse myself with all kinds of silly things .
Rocky leads me to the living room where I find a piece of folded paper on the coffee table. I open it. The handwriting inside looks too neat to be any one of my brothers’. Emma must’ve been the one to have written this .
Sorry, I have to go. I’ll be back by Monday .
“Aww . . . You miss Emma, boy?” I ruffle the fur between his ears, now that he’s just sitting down and staring at me with eyes full of expectation. “Don’t worry. She’ll come back soon .”
I take a seat on the couch, doubting my own words .
Rocky doesn’t usually act this way, not even when he’s home alone. I wonder if maybe he’s just particularly fond of Emma .
I’ve heard some people say that male dogs are often more fond of female humans and vice versa. We don’t usually have girls over so maybe that’s why I’ve never seen this kind of behavior in Rocky .
“Come here, you.” I pick Rocky up and put him on my lap .
