Without Claire: The Hastings Brothers Series

by Mallory Funk

  Thinking about him being the one waking up to Claire in the morning has me seeing red. I look down at Claire, and she’s looking at me with confusion. She must have been drunk enough to have forgotten.

  “W-What happened last night?” she asks me, searching my eyes for… I don’t know what.

  “We played some games, got drunk, and came to bed,” I tell her softly.

  “D-Did we…” She looks anywhere but at me, and her cheeks turn pink.

  “Did we fuck?” I ask her, arching an eyebrow.

  She nods her head looking embarrassed to be asking such a thing.

  “No, baby. We just came to bed, and went to sleep. When I finally do get to have you, and I will, you are going to be sober and remember every detail and every feeling.” I run my hand down her cheek. At this point, she is lying on her back and I am looking down at her. If it’s even possible, I swear that she turns more red. Fuck me, she’s cute. I am looking into her eyes, and I can’t help but get lost in them. I lean down and kiss her with the kind of kiss that I wanted to give her last night.

  Chapter Five

  Claire

  Sam is kissing me! I seriously can’t believe it. When I first woke up, I thought that maybe I imagined the whole him kissing me thing because I never thought he would actually be interested in me. Waking up with him holding me is weird, but nice. I don’t remember the last time I felt so safe. Shouldn’t it be weird considering that I don’t know him, and have no idea what happened last night?

  It’s been a long time since I woke up without being entirely alone. The last time I had woken up with someone else present was when I lived with my family. I have never woken up with a guy before. I don’t have any experience with guys. I dated in high school, sure, but I never really felt enough for any of them to actually sleep with them. Then Sam comes along, and all I want to do is take off the rest of our clothes, and go at it like rabbits.

  Maybe he’s still drunk? That must be it. Why else would he kiss me? He was drinking last night, so that has to be the reason. Once that thought comes to my head, I pull away from him reluctantly. Hey, I am only human, and he’s a fucking fantastic kisser. You would have to be crazy to stop a kiss like that, even though that is exactly what I am doing.

  “We probably shouldn’t be doing this,” I tell him slowly, and out of breath. He looks down at me, and I see desire and lust in his eyes. That can’t be right. Could he actually want me?

  “Why not? I know that you are into me as much as I am into you.” He runs his nose along mine. I am not going to lie, I may whimper. That sound has never come out of my mouth before, not even by my own hand, or when using any toys that I may or may not own.

  “Because you’re still drunk. I don’t want you to regret this later.” When the last word leaves my mouth, he narrows his eyes at me. He stills completely.

  “Why the fuck would you think that?” he asks me, searching my eyes for an answer.

  “Because why else would you kiss me?” I ask him slowly.

  “I wanted to. I’m not “still drunk”. I’m thinking fucking clearly for the first time in a long fucking time. One kiss last night, and I was already fucking hooked. You, me, this, us; it’s going to happen. I will go as slow as you want us to, but I want you.” I don’t think I am breathing. Holy fuck. Sam Hastings wants me. What the fuck? He is way out of my league. Maybe I should embrace it, or I should talk to the girls. That’s what girls do, right? Gossip about their men? I could do that. Unless it would be weird for them to do that because they are so close to Sam. I would then have to find a different friend to gossip about Sam to. My thoughts are running wild about finding friends. Holy fuck, I hope I don’t have to make any more friends. I made some last night. At least I hope that I did. I should probably find that out now.

  “Okay,” I say, nodding my head. Too much is happening to keep up with. Yesterday morning, I woke up without any friends, or anyone special in my life. This morning, I wake up with a man that’s saying he wants to be with me, and I also now have a bunch of people who I think may or may not be my friends. I don’t remember much about last night. I have never drunk that much before. I was always alone, so I never wanted to drink by myself. God, I hope I didn’t do or say anything embarrassing.

  “I…I didn’t do anything embarrassing last night, did I? I mean, I never got drunk before, so I don’t know what kind I am like. Please tell me that I didn’t beat anyone up, go streaking down the street, or puke on anyone or anything… I, oh god, I didn’t flash anyone, did I?” I keep rambling, and I look at Sam to see that he is biting back a smile. Once I stop, he bursts out in laughter.

  “No, baby, you didn’t do anything embarrassing. Maybe you were full of sass and dissed Noah a few times, but you never beat anyone up, or flashed anyone, or went streaking. I wouldn’t have let you do that shit. No one sees this beautiful body but me, baby.” Sam runs his hand down my side giving me shivers. By the smirk on his face, I can tell that he knows what he is doing to me.

  “What do you mean I dissed Noah? I barely gave him a second look… the last I remember. What did I say? Was I a bitch? Should I go apologize to him? Oh god, I bet I can’t face him again, can I?” I really hope I didn’t offend my new friend. At least I hope that he’s my new friend. Shit, what if he isn’t the type to take sass like a joke?

  “You told him that you didn’t want to get crabs when he said he could have made a move on you and that you were into him,” Sam tells me through laughter. I think he is enjoying my embarrassment.

  “Sam! That’s not funny!! Oh god, I can’t believe that I insinuated that he has crabs!! He must think that I am a bitch. Everyone must think that I am a bitch. I won’t be able to show my face again.” I slap him on the chest, and sit up. I glance around the room for my clothes. Once I spot them, I look at Sam who is looking at me quite amused.

  I grab the blanket around myself leaving Sam exposed. Holy fuck, how did I not realise that he was only in his boxers. I turn away quickly, but I won’t be able to forget about the big erection I see him sporting. HOLY FUCKING SHIT!! I know that I am no dick expert, but I am certain that he isn’t sporting a small dick. How the fuck would that thing fit inside me? Where did that thought come from. All of a sudden, I am thinking about fucking Sam. I didn’t think that I could get more embarrassed than I already was, but now here I am thinking about fucking a guy I met yesterday. Its official, I am a slut.

  I hear Sam chuckle at my attempt to put on pants while holding onto the blanket. If he would just turn around for me, it would be so much easier, but I know he won’t do that. I know he wants me. I have no idea why, but I know that he wants me.

  “So, are you going to give me some coffee, or just sit there laughing at me all day?” I ask him, putting a hand on my hip. The last thing that I could remember from yesterday was me sitting across the room from him barely able to look him in the eye. Now, I am in his room putting my clothes on- well, my pants anyways- I am going to steal his shirt. I don’t even bother taking it off. When he sees that I plan on wearing it, he winks at me and smirks.

  While he’s putting sweat pants and a shirt on, I watch his every move. He has no shame, but he also has a gorgeous body. I could sit there watching him dress and undress all day. The six pack abs, the “V” line that goes down into his boxers. I am seriously thinking of pushing him back on the bed, and taking a closer look. I think I just sighed staring at him.

  I look up into his eyes. He is grinning at me. I am completely embarrassed. I know that I have turned a shade red. Wow, I hate blushing, but it’s all that I seem to be doing this morning. I quickly rush to the door to try and hide my embarrassment. I can hear Sam following me chuckling.

  When we get down stairs, he puts a hand on my back leading me out the door. “Hey, where are we going? I thought you were going to give me coffee,” I say in protest trying to dig my feet into the ground, but he is a lot stronger than me.

  He chuckles at me. “We are, but the coffee machines are at P
aige’s” That is not confusing at all. At the mention of her name, I stop talking and almost fall over, but Sam catches me.

  “I can’t go over there!” I exclaim. He looks at me and sighs. “Why not?” he asks.

  “Because you said that I kept dissing Noah last night. I bet that saying he had crabs wasn’t the only thing that I said to him. How can I show my face there again?” I whine.

  He just laughs at me. Asshole. “Baby, no one cares. That’s not even the worst thing that anyone of us has said to another. Trust me. They would probably hunt you down if you didn’t come for morning coffee. It’s our thing around here.”

  He nudges me forward again. I reluctantly follow. “Fine. Why are the coffee makers at Paige’s house?” I ask.

  “Because we drink coffee there every morning. All of us brothers loved to have coffee on the front porch every morning, and then we met Paige and the girls who also appreciate their morning coffee out on the porch, so we started drinking coffee over at her house. Her brothers then came into the picture, and they moved next door, so we started sitting out on the back deck. We are usually there first thing in the morning. Sometimes we sit in comfortable silence, and other mornings we talk. I think that it keeps us close.”

  That may be the sweetest thing that I’ve ever heard. This group of people make sure to have coffee together every morning. It’s like they need to see each other every morning before anyone can start their day. I hope that I can become part of this routine one day, even though it would be a pain in the ass to drive across town every morning. Stop thinking these things, Claire, you don’t even know if they are your friends or not.

  Once we get to Paige’s house, Sam doesn’t bother knocking. This is weird. Sam is holding my hand since we came down the stairs, and hasn’t let go. I hope he doesn’t find it clammy. That wouldn’t be the impression I want to leave him with.

  Paige and Trevor are already outside on the deck. There isn’t even a mess. I don’t know if we made a big one or not, but I am thankful that someone cleaned it up. I am in no condition to clean it today. I just need coffee.

  I tell Sam that I take my coffee with cream only, and he asks me which kind. I must give him a weird face because he laughs at me.

  “Paige likes to keep four different creamers in her fridge. I don’t think I have ever seen her use the same creamer in one day,” Sam tells me.

  Wow, this girl must really like her coffee. I grab a regular one. I always thought I loved coffee, but not enough to have so many creamers on hand. I always buy one flavour at a time.

  We make our coffees and sit outside. Paige is on Trevor’s lap. They aren’t talking, but it looks like they are sitting in a comfortable silence. When they hear the back door open, they look over and grin at me. I instantly blush thinking about everything that Sam had told me about last night.

  “Hey, Claire. How’d you sleep last night?” Paige asks with a wide smile.

  I shrug “Fine, you know, caught some z’s, nothing else.” I hear Sam chuckle behind me.

  “Is that so? I hope that you had a good time last night. We look forward to you visiting more,” Trevor says to me.

  “I don’t really remember much after supper, so I can’t really say if I had a good time or not,” I tell them truthfully.

  Paige begins to tell me everything that I said to everyone last night. I didn’t really do anything embarrassing. I just sassed people out all night. I try to apologize, but Trevor and Paige tell me that it’s fine. They tell me that they have all said worse things to each other.

  One by one, everyone comes into the backyard. I notice that they all sit in certain seats. If I didn’t know any better, I would think that they have assigned seating, but I think that it’s just what they do naturally without thinking.

  When Liam comes outside, Sam pulls me to his lap automatically. You would think that we do this all the time. I would love to think that I could do this all the time with these people. They all are so close. They love to pick on one another, but I know that they would also have each other’s backs if it came down to it.

  I don’t know what a man like Sam would see in a girl like me. I am nothing special, and he looks like he was carved out of stone. I already know that I have made up my mind, and will let myself enjoy this. “Even if it’s just for today,” I tell myself. If I never see these people again then I can remember the time I sat in a gorgeous man’s arms and talked with his family.

  Everyone is talking and laughing about last night. It isn’t until Noah comes outside that I automatically look down at Sam and my coffee cup like they are the most interesting things in the world. I don’t have to look up to know that he is staring at me. I can just picture him wearing a smirk on his face. I also don’t need a mirror to know that I am blushing.

  I hear some chuckles, so I know that I am not as invisible as I want to be right now.

  “You’re not even going to look at me, are you?” Noah asks.

  I look up, and see that he is in fact smirking at me. I blow out a breath. Everyone is staring at me like they already know how terribly shy and embarrassed I am.

  “I am sorry for saying such rude things to you last night. I don’t know what came over me. Well, I do- it was the alcohol. I have never been drunk before. I don’t know why I ended up picking on you. For the record, I don’t think you have crabs.”

  There is silence for a few seconds, and then everyone laughs.

  “No need to apologize. It’s all in good fun. I think it just means that we are going to be good friends. And let’s just state for the record that I do not have crabs.” It is so hard to fight off a smile.

  I really like these people. I almost don’t want to leave, but I also don’t want to overstay my welcome.

  After coffee, and some breakfast that Trevor and Sam whipped up, I tell everyone that I should get going home. I make up some lie about writing deadlines. Since I never leave my house, I already have so much finished that I could take months off of work just to relax.

  Everyone seems like they don’t want me to leave. I do like how it makes me feel. I smile to myself for being so lucky to meet such wonderful people. When I am almost out the door, Sam tells me that he will walk me to my car. I get butterflies in my stomach from being near him. He seems like he really wants to get to know me.

  When I am about to grab the handle of my car door, he grabs my hand and pulls me to his chest. He leans in, and gives me a soft and sweet kiss.

  “I will text you later, baby,” he says softly giving me a peck. He then pulls away from me. I am still so shocked that he kissed me that I barely snap myself out of it before he is in the house.

  “How do you have my number?” I ask in disbelief. That has to be a line because I don’t remember giving him my number. He must say that to a lot of girls when he doesn’t even have their number. Before my thoughts can go completely negative, he turns and winks at me. “I called my phone while you were sleeping. I also put my number in yours. You should probably put a password on it now that you have so many friends.”

  I shake my head. I can’t believe he took my number while I was sleeping. Who does that? I mean it’s weird, right? I look in my phone when I get home and, sure enough, his number is in there under “Your man Sam.” That brings a smile to my face.

  Chapter Six

  Sam

  Once I get back inside, everyone is grinning at me. All that I can do is shake my head. I know that I am already gone for this girl, and I’m not even going to try to deny it.

  “Good thing that we didn’t have a bet placed on you, Sam, or we would have had to bank on it!” Courtney tells me while smiling.

  “I know an amazing girl when I see it. I’m not going to let her slip through my fingers. I just have to get passed her shy exterior.” They all nod. It’s obvious that Claire isn’t used to being around people. After all the apologizing she did for being herself when she had let her wall down, everyone just loved her more.

  “It looks like we have
an added partner in crime,” Tara grins at the other girls while rubbing her hands together.

  “Hey, if you guys need more help then by all means. I will sit back comfortably knowing that we still outnumber you guys,” I say giving them a smug smile.

  I make sure that everything is cleaned up from breakfast with the help from Paige, Tara, and Liam, and then decide to head home.

  I don’t spend my Sunday doing much. I actually spend most of my day thinking about Claire and her curves. Later that night, I decide to send her a text.

  Me: Hey, Beautiful. How did your day of writing go?

  Claire: Hey “my man Sam”. It went great. Finished a book and sent it to my editor.

  Me: That’s awesome. When can I see you again?

  Claire: You want to see me again?

  Me: Of course. I meant it when I said you were my girl. I didn’t mean just for the day, Claire.

  Claire: Oh… I have never been someone’s girl before, kind of new at this.

  Me: You have no idea how happy that makes me.

  Claire: Whatever. Let me know when you are free then. Since I spend my time writing, I will be able to free up my time easier.

  Me: Alright, baby. I usually work weekdays at the gym, so I am usually free in the evenings. We will work out a time when I check my client appointments this week.

  Claire: Okee Dokee.

  Me: Goodnight, Beautiful.

  Claire: Goodnight, Sam.

  Once I am off the phone, I strip down to my boxers and climb into bed. I have a T.V. in my room, so I just put on any old show. All I can think about is Claire anyway, so it doesn’t matter what I watch.

  I can’t believe that she thought that I wouldn’t want to see her again. I don’t think she knows how beautiful she really is. I don’t think she noticed any of the guys looking at her last night and this morning. I will have to set them straight, and call dibs first thing in the morning.

  I wake up fairly early. Not early enough to be the first one up, however. At least one of my family members is always already up drinking coffee when I wake up. I don’t know how early Trevor or Paige wake up, but they are usually the first people up. I think that’s the only thing that gave Trevor a chance. Paige was afraid to trust a man again especially with her heart, but she was also scared around us at first. Somehow Trevor got himself close to her, and they have been attached from the hip since day one. You rarely see one without the other. It has been worse since Paige was attacked by her ex-boyfriend. From what we were told, she fought back pretty hard. We were all proud of her for not giving up without a fight. I know we were all pissed that she willingly left with the asshole, but at least he is locked up now, so we won’t have to be on constant watch. Don’t get me wrong, we all love her, but I think she was tired of constantly having a man around to make sure nothing happened to her.