Chapter 9
After Drake had taken me to my class and given me the rundown of all the changes that had occurred in my absence, my mind was abuzz. We had just sat down to eat lunch in the cafeteria, but I was still lost in my thoughts of all the school work I needed to complete and everything else. It was just all so daunting.
“Can I? Can I? Can I?” Dawn gushed right after she nearly tackled me.
Her hands were eagerly poised over my belly, and I had to laugh at her excitement. I’d barely noticed her approach.I nodded. “Go for it.”
I didn’t understand the fascination people had with pregnant bellies. If it were anyone but my close circle of friends, I probably would have thought it was slightly creepy. However, this was Dawn, who had become one of my best friends.
She squealed before she rubbed my belly. “Is it too early to feel them move? How have you been? Have you been deathly sick like Si? Are you going to tell me what you’re having? I heard we’re throwing a gender reveal party!”
Her enthusiasm helped me shake off the last of my stressful thoughts. “It’s too early, and I’m much better now. My first trimester and part of my second were slightly nightmarish. No, I won’t tell you what we’re having, and yes, we’re having a party next weekend.”
“Then how will I know what I need to buy?” she whined playfully.
I smiled. “It’s not a baby shower, just a get-together for our family and friends.”
“You might have to tell that to Jaxson,” Marcel said as he joined our little circle with Terrance and Ford. “He’s already trying to shake us down for gifts even though we all know y’all don’t need our money or gifts.”
“Stop being so cheap; these are our nieces or nephews you’re talking about!” Terrance scoffed as he pulled me away from Dawn to embrace me. “It’s not like we have that many bills or expenses.”
My feet left the ground as he hugged me almost too tightly. I couldn’t help but laugh. I couldn’t believe there was a time when his presence represented the loss of my freedom. He had originally been hired to be a bodyguard of sorts for us, but he’d become one of the people who meant so much to me. He was like family now.
“That’s beside the point,” Marcel jokingly muttered.
“Glad to have you back, Little Bit,” Terrance murmured in my ear.
“Glad to be back!” I squeezed him tight, knowing I couldn’t hurt him.
“Put our girl down, Ter.” The low growl came from my left. “She’s carrying precious cargo.”
I turned my head and smiled. Remy was approaching with Jace and Troy in tow, an irritated grimace on his face. Slightly behind them, Noah came in, still wearing his scrubs from his shift at the clinic.My heart leaped. I didn’t think I would ever tire of seeing them.
“I’m not hurting her,” Terrance scoffed as he gently placed me down.
We all headed to the food queue in silent agreement. Remy didn’t waste any time placing an arm over my shoulders, and I snuggled into him.He nuzzled his head into the top of mine before placing a sweet kiss on it.
“How are you and the babies? Did Drake make sure you got a snack?” he promptly asked.
I smiled and fondly shook my head at him in exasperation. If he was overprotective before, he was a million times more so now.
“The babies and I are doing well,” I answered.“And yes, Drake made me a few snacks this morning.”
After getting my workload from Mr. Bates, Drake took me to the kitchen and made some hummus with pita bread, carrot sticks, and a fruit and vegetable smoothie. I loved watching him in his element even though he refused to allow me to assist him.
“Did Mr. Bates load you down with work?” Jace brushed his lips against my cheek.
I groaned and sighed. “You could say that.I’m going to have to figure out how I can catch up. Luckily, I was able to drop my science and math classes since I already have the required credits. I don’t know why I thought physics and calculus were good ideas. It’s not like I’ll pursue a career requiring those classes.”
I picked up a tray and joined the line for food, feeling famished even though I’d eaten a little over an hour ago. I didn’t know if my appetite had improved because I was happy once more or because the babies were finally letting me keep things down.
“Don’t stress yourself over it all,” Troy insisted, hugging me.“We’ll help you reach your goals before our babies get here.”
A small commotion near the entrance drew my attention that way. My brows furrowed when I saw the gaggle of females trailing closely behind Lincoln and Bentley.
Noah began to chuckle. At my confused look, he smirked. “Without fail, every time a new group of people—women and girls especially—come in, Lincoln gets a new entourage. He even has his own fan club.”
I frowned, not liking the idea of that at all. I was confident in our relationship… to a degree. I even trusted Lincoln. However, I didn’t trust these women.
“Beep, beep, beep,” Marcel started muttering out of the side of his mouth.
I looked over at him in confusion.
“It’s the bus running over Lincoln.” Dawn laughed. “Don’t let Noah get it twisted.” She feigned a sniff. “Nearly all the gifted men have a following of sorts, especially after past mission videos became a part of our training program.”
“Like you women don’t,” Race bitterly scoffed.
Suddenly, tension ratcheted up around us. My head ping-ponged back and forth between our group. I was missing something, and I hated feeling like I was in the dark when it came to our friends and family.
“Race,” Dawn said in fond exasperation. “How often do I have to tell you I didn’t invite that wannabe into my bedroom?”
“You’d been flirting with him all day!” Race argued.“How was he supposed to know you were taken?”
Before I left, a more formal relationship between them had been in the works, but I hadn’t realized that Race and Dawn had officially progressed from their casual hookups. I liked Race, and Dawn was a different woman with him. I had seen the string of fuckboys she entertained before, and Race was a vast improvement.
“Retreat, retreat,” Terrance coughed out, his eyes widening.
Race shot Terrance a hostile glare.
“Taken?” Dawn saucily placed her hands on her hips.“I’m my own woman.You knew I was a flirt before we started this arrangement.”
“ Arrangement? ” Race’s nostrils flared in ire. “You asked me to stay exclusive with you and told me I was the only man you were hooking up with. Let’s call it what it is. A relationship!”
Uh oh! For reasons Dawn had never confided in me, she was commitment phobic. My first impression had been that she was taking advantage of her youth and playing the field, then I realized she must have been burned in the past. Or maybe her parent’s bitter divorce and the other adult role models in her life had turned her against relationships in general.
“Children, children,” Noah admonished with a smirk and shake of his head. “This argument has been a constant as of late,” he murmured in my ear. “They haven’t slept with anyone else and get jealous when others flirt with them.”
I had been piecing it together, but I was still thankful that Noah was filling me in. I knew there was going to be an adjustment period when I returned, but I hadn’t realized the magnitude of it all until right now.
“Please don’t start this again,” Dawn muttered.
“I’m not starting anything,” Race seethed.
“Good,” Dawn rejoined.
“Good,” Race shot back.
“I’ll take the rice and stir fry,” I informed the man working the entrées section.
He was watching the heated exchange with wide eyes. I was half tempted to give him some popcorn to go with the show.
“Chester,” Drake gently prompted the man. He turned red before scooping rice and chicken stir fry onto my tray. It was sticky rice, not the blasphemous minute-rice type. It was the simple things in life that made me happy.
“I grew some of those vegetables in the hot house,” Jaxson smugly told me as he sidled beside me.
I jumped and shot him a look before I smiled.“So I was told,” I stated.“Drake showed me the grow houses.It’s impressive and amazing.”
He preened under my praise as if he’d single-handedly accomplished it. The Mississippi team came in ready to transform the lower structure to grow various fruits and vegetables. It seemed like a lot of work since we didn’t know how long we might reside here, but Drake explained that they intended to keep the facility going even after neutralizing Horatio and his minions. They fully expected some people wouldn’t accept us now that we were outed, and they wanted to ensure a safe environment for any seeking refuge here in the future.
“There’s a line back there, Jax,” Noah exasperatedly stated.
“And then?” He carelessly shrugged before brushing his lips against mine.“I missed you.”
I understood he didn’t mean since this morning. “I missed you too.” I caressed his cheek and stood on my tiptoes to peck his lips then grabbed a cup and headed toward the soft drink dispensers. It took a minute of deliberation before I settled on green tea.
“I’ll get with Megan, Hazel, and your mom to see if they want any of my help,” Dawn cheerily chirped as if she hadn’t been arguing with Race less than five minutes ago. I blinked at her in confusion before she grinned. “Gender reveal party. Aunty Dawn wants the babies to know how much she already loves them. We might as well have a welcome back party while we’re at it, too.”
I groaned and shook my head as we headed toward a set of tables. “Umm, I’m good, thanks! I just want this to be about the babies.”
“We should do a welcome back party!” Jaxson enthusiastically stated as he placed his tray beside me.
“Only if Blake wants it,” Drake intervened.
Noah frowned. “Why wouldn’t you want a welcome-back party?”
“I don’t want or need one,” I ruefully stated.
“What welcome back party?” Rachel enthusiastically commented, coming out of nowhere. “We should throw a barbecue. The weather is getting so nice.”
I groaned.“Please, no.The gender party and a baby shower in a few months will be more than enough.”
“We need to respect Blake's wishes in this.” Jace’s firm tone shut down the conversation a moment before he sat across from me.
I shot Jace an appreciative smile as the guys claimed the remaining seats. Noah took the other spot beside me while Troy, Remy, and Drake sat across from us. I took a hearty bite of my meal and groaned in appreciation.
“You’re no fun!” Dawn pouted, sitting beside Drake.
“Girl…” Rachel sucked her teeth. “If it were me , I would treat my return like the retailers treat Christmas. You know how they break out Santa and all the trappings of Christmas the day after Halloween? It would be a celebration that lasted months!”
“Right!” Dawn enthusiastically agreed.
“Like anyone would want to take either of you,” Marcel scoffed.“They’d return you in less than five minutes.”
A round of groans went around the table, and some of the people looked at me with concern.
“Too soon,” Terrance coughed.
I smiled and shrugged. “It’s all good. I’m still trying to process everything, but I don’t want you guys to behave any differently than you normally would. I need normal. I want you all to behave as if my abduction wasn’t a huge ordeal. Okay?”
“Is that healthy?” Race carefully asked.
Dawn groaned.“Please don’t psychoanalyze her, therapist major.”
“I’m just saying,” Race said with a shrug.“Sometimes avoiding an issue can fester into larger issues.”
I frowned. Nearly everyone at the table understood my avoidance issues.In fact, it had become a problem in the past. Dr. Wong had threatened to bench me until I was mentally cleared to perform my duties. I still had symptoms of PTSD, but enduring my forced isolation and abduction after finding out I was pregnant had given me a lot of time to self-reflect. I had even read plenty of self-help books, but I knew they weren’t a permanent solution. Maybe it was time I continued therapy. I needed to be one hundred percent for the sake of my babies and my guys.
“It may not be,” I said with a shrug.“But for right now, that’s what I would like.”
“Hey, mon trésor .How was your morning?” Lincoln inquired as he finally joined us with a tray of food.
Jaxson abruptly stood up and marched over to the other side of the table. Noah, Troy, Jace, Drake, and Remy chuckled. For a split second, I was confused. I didn’t understand what was so funny, but then understanding dawned. Lincoln had used his gift to make Jaxson move.
“Lincoln!” I laughed. “That was mean. You know he’ll retaliate.And it was good. How was yours, and what do your fan clubs call themselves?”
“Lincoln hugs them,” Noah wickedly informed me with a chuckle.
It seemed strange to me for a moment before realization sunk in.Lincoln Hudgens.Hudgens. Hugs them—cheesy and not too innovative.
Lincoln scowled for a second.“I’m sorry, Blake.I’ve tried to dissuade the more enthusiastic fans, but unfortunately, some women just don’t understand.”
I could see the sincerity in his eyes.It truly bothered him.
I leaned over and kissed his cheek. After my blow-up this morning, I knew I had to temper my anger and emotions. The guys would always attract females' attention, so I had to deal with it and trust them to handle it accordingly.
“I know it’s par for the course.” I smiled. “I have seven sexy men, so I can’t blame a girl for trying—scratch that. I do blame them. I just wish karma bites them in the ass sooner than later.”
I stabbed another bite of my food. “How long are you going to keep him like that?” I nodded toward Jaxson. “You know, the longer you keep him in that state, the harsher the retaliation.”
“He deserves it,” Noah argued. “Yesterday, I didn’t want to go into the insect and amphibian house at the zoo, but Harry and Alex begged me to go with them.” He shuddered.
Nearly the whole table erupted in laughter, and it didn’t take long for me to assume what happened. Why Noah would set himself up like that baffled me. I smiled at the image my imagination had conjured.
“Let me guess, the spiders got out.” I attempted to sympathize with him, but it was kind of funny.
“He should have known it was coming!” Troy chuckled, wiping his eyes.
“Kind of like you should have realized the lion didn’t really get out of his enclosure,” Jace dryly stated.
With the hilarious scenario clear as day in my mind, I couldn’t stop my giggles.
“He deserves it,” Lincoln firmly stated.“I still owe him for the last time.”
“What did he do?” I asked.
The guys had filled me in on some of Jaxson’s shenanigans, but sometimes there wasn’t enough time in our conversations to completely dig into all the details.
“What didn’t he do?” he scoffed. “Last Monday, he replaced my spaghetti and meatballs with worms and cow eyeballs. Last weekend, I was sparring with the bo staff when it conveniently turned into a pool noodle. Then this past Wednesday, I woke up with three feet of snow in my room. I warned him I would get him back.”
I laughed so hard that I was in danger of peeing myself by the time he was finished. Finally, when the urge got to be too much, I abruptly stood up, determined to get to the bathroom before I did.
“Where are you going?” Jace stood up in concern.
“To the bathroom,” I called over my shoulder.
“Why?” Dawn asked in confusion.
“I’m pregnant! I was laughing,” I embarrassingly explained.
They started to murmur between themselves before Rachel screeched, “Eww, gross. I’m never getting pregnant, or I’ll always wear diapers. I don’t want to be frightened to pee myself because I became an incubator.”
I was pretty sure the whole cafeteria heard her statement since laughter erupted around my retreating body.
Kill me now!
η
“Okay, okay,” I protested with a laugh. “I think I got enough.”
“You can never have enough clothes,” Troy scoffed as he added another dress to the pile.
The older saleslady dramatically sighed as she leaned her chin into her hand. “Where do I find one of those?”
“Hmm?” I inquired as I examined a bra.
Joanne was a lovely older lady that was almost old enough to be my grandmother. We’d been at the store for nearly an hour, and she had already divulged her story to us. First, Joanne told us about her family—three failed marriages, four children, and six stepchildren that she still kept in contact with. Then she told us how she purchased the maternity shop for her youngest stepdaughter. However, she had grown bored after a year of running it and decided to walk away, so Joanne had stepped in to take it over.
Joanne came over and unclipped a part of the bra. “These are super comfortable during your pregnancy and even after. If you choose to nurse, this bra is multi-functional and highly practical. Now, how do I get one of those?” She pointed behind me.
Puzzled, I peered over my shoulder. I couldn’t help the wide grin that split my face. Jaxson was sitting in a rocking glider with a teddy bear in his lap, reading a children’s book. Remy and Noah seemed to be in a heated debate over a baby stroller. Jace and Lincoln were checking out the stability of a few cribs. Troy delved into the clothing racks for the babies, and Drake seemed to be looking up reviews for breast pumps.
“I guess I was just fortunate.” I smiled as I added bras to my ever-growing pile.
“Which one is daddy?” She smiled as Jaxson added another book to the stack he had already “approved.”
I bit my lip. Joanne was a bit eccentric, but I could see the shrewdness in her eyes. I knew she had seen how each one of my guys had been affectionate with me in one way or another this afternoon. I contemplated lying to save judgment and ridicule, but I had already determined I owned my lifestyle. My life and business weren’t anyone else’s concerns, especially if we weren’t harming anyone.
“Don’t know yet,” I confessed.
I fully expected some judgment or disbelief; instead, she began laughing really, really loud. The only other patron in the shop seemed startled by her raucous mirth.
“I thought reverse harems only existed in my smut books!” She wiped tears from her eyes. “How did you manage to convince all those hunks to share?”
I smiled, glad she wasn’t criticizing me.“Destiny.Fate.Divine intervention,” I said with a shrug.
“Hey, Blake.” Jace slipped an arm around my waist as Lincoln threw one over my shoulders. “Are you okay with the babies being in one nursery, or are we giving them autonomy from the start?”
I smirked at Lincoln. Today, he wore a beard, fake reading glasses, a golfer’s hat over shaggy black hair, and a polo tucked into high-waisted pants. I’d offered to cast an illusion for him, but he didn’t want to tire me out, and Jaxson was still salty because he had made him switch seats with him earlier. Ironically, even with the disguise, he was still a very sexy man.
“I like the idea of them being in the same room until they get a little older,” I said, finally answering Jace. “I was also thinking I would like them to stay in our room for at least a year.” After that comment, I hesitated, trying to get a read on how he might feel about it.
I knew everyone has their own beliefs and opinions, but after reading about SIDS, I was petrified. I understood it could happen even with them beside me, but I wanted, no, I needed to feel like I could peer down at them at any given moment.
Jace nodded. “It’ll be more convenient for feedings and changings in the middle of the night.”
“There were two highly rated bassinets over there,” Lincoln added.“I’ll go grab them.”
I fondly shook my head. “Shouldn’t we hold off on some of the larger purchases? Megan, Hazel, Dawn, Miranda, and Jemmy seemed to have their hearts set on a joint baby shower for Sierra’s baby and ours. Plus,” I hedged, “I was kind of hoping our living conditions would change by the time we started getting the bigger things. Our place is kind of small at the moment.”
Lincoln and Jace exchanged chagrined looks before they smiled at me.“True,” Lincoln said, “but we already know we need some of this stuff for our house on—” He looked at Joanne, who was avidly watching our exchange with interest. I was pretty sure we were the most exciting customers she’d had in a very long time, if not ever. “The West Coast,” he evasively stated. “I know we haven’t decided on our final residence, but I can’t give up my house quite yet.”
We had already discussed house hopping. It wouldn’t be too much hassle with Micah, Mercedes, and Bentley transporting us, and California was an excellent location to stay from time to time because of Lincoln’s career and Troy’s business. Lincoln had already had contractors out to his house to make it conducive for our large family.
“Makes sense,” I agreed.“Want to ship some stuff out to your house?”
He pulled me in, his forehead touching mine before he brushed his lips against mine. I couldn’t help but giggle when his beard tickled my cheek. He shook his head. “I want to ship it to our house. Will that be alright?” Suddenly, he seemed uncharacteristically hesitant.
My heart skipped a beat at his words. The fact that he was renovating his house and now calling it ours made my heart sing.
“More than okay,” I reassured him before gently extricating myself from Jace’s embrace.
I sensed Lincoln’s need for me to reassure him. He had already established his place with the guys, and now I needed to ensure he understood his spot with me. I wanted and needed him in my life. I might have hated the idea of him at first, but I couldn’t deny he belonged with me—with us.
I pulled his bottom lip between my teeth and lightly nipped it before kissing him. He seemed momentarily taken aback before he let out an unintelligible sound, then he pulled me closer and passionately took over our kiss.When our lips pulled apart, we were both breathing heavily, and I had a sudden desire to drag him into the nursing mother's room and defile him in the most delicious way.
“I think I got pregnant just from watching that,” Joanne loudly declared, breaking our trance.
I pulled away from Lincoln as my cheeks heated. His cocky smirk was back in place as he winked at me and sauntered over to the bassinets. Even in his hideous high-waisted khakis, his ass was quite biteable.
I smiled over at Joanne, feeling light-hearted.“Is it any wonder they knocked me up with bi?paternal twins?” I teased.
“Shut the front door!” Joanne loudly exclaimed, and I couldn’t help but giggle. She might be closer to my grandmother’s age, but she seemed to grasp today’s slang well. “You’re pulling my leg!”
I smiled and shook my head. “No, ma’am.” I was getting ready to caress my belly, but Troy had somehow snuck up on us and had his hand there before I did.
He rubbed it and kissed my cheek before smiling at Joanne. “Our girl is one of a kind. Of course she accomplished a medical phenomenon. She’s telling you the truth. She’s growing two amazing babies from two of us.”
Joanne made a great show of fanning her face.“I don’t even think I have any eggs left, but with you men, I think I may be growing some more.”
Jace looked discomfited for a moment while Troy and I began to laugh. She was such a character, and I had every intention of doing our registry here. She might be slightly overpriced compared to the big box stores, but her products were of higher quality. Our shopping experience today was more personable than I probably would have gotten anywhere else. Plus, I liked to support local businesses whenever possible.
“Are we breastfeeding?” Jaxson asked rather loudly from across the store.
He seemed to think over twenty-five books was enough for the children because he had joined Drake. In addition, he had two baby carriers affixed to his chest and back with teddy bears nestled inside each of them. But what alarmed—or was it amused— me the most was the fact that he had the display model of a breast pump attached to his non-breast.
More customers had come into the shop. The women looked either mortified or irritated, while the only other man seemed to find humor in Jaxson’s lack of filter and loudness. And Joanne? She was bent over, boisterously laughing. As I said, I was sure she would have quite a bit to talk about with the ladies over Bridge this week. Yes, we knew of her weekly Bridge nights and Sunday mimosa brunches.
“Bet that one keeps you laughing,” she said between gasps.
“You could say that.” I gave her an indulgent smile.“Um, Jax, can we discuss this later?”
“What? We’re talking about breastfeeding. It’s completely natural, and we should talk about it more. Your breasts aren’t just for us to play with!” I choked on air and shook my head, burying my head in my hands. “They can nurture our babies too,” Jaxson added, raising his already loud voice.“Don’t know why some people,” he shot a few of the more uptight women a look, “think it’s so taboo. Bet if any of those Hemsworth brothers, Jason Momoa, Henry Cavill, or even say Lincoln Hudgens were to whip a boobie out and feed a baby, no one would bat an eye. Yet they see a woman publicly feeding their baby and lose their ever-loving minds, so they want you to cover up as if the sight is offensive. Have any of you tried to eat with a blanket on your head? I have! And it’s hot!”
I didn’t know whether to be embarrassed or laugh. I didn’t doubt Jaxson’s claims. I could easily imagine him eating with a blanket over his head for “research” purposes. However, I was also positive he never put any thought into the matter until he started reading those pregnancy books.
Sometimes Jaxson was so extra, but I wouldn’t want to change him in the slightest. However, I did wish I could curb his impulsiveness from time to time. Well… technically, I could, but…
“Okay, okay,” Noah said, forcing the words out between the laughter he failed to contain. “Let’s not stress out our baby mama. We can talk about her choices at home. We don’t need to discuss this right now.”
“I think it’s important to discuss this now,” Jaxson mischievously declared with a mutinous chin tilt. “Drake and I want to ensure she gets the best breast pump possible while we’re here.”
“Get your doctor to write a script,” one woman piped up, amused by Jaxson’s antics. “Most insurance companies will reimburse you for them.”
“See?” Jaxson smugly crowed.“She gets it. Thank you. We’ll do that.It’s good to know.”
“Enough, Jax,” Remy grumbled. “It’s Blake’s body, and she’s choosing not to discuss it. Whatever she decides, we’ll support her no matter how strongly you feel about it.”
Jaxson’s face fell for a minute.“Maybe—” he began before I quickly cut him off.
“I want to if I can, but some women can’t produce enough. Plus, some babies struggle with latching.” I hastily made my way toward him, knowing he was winding up for another speech. “Ultimately, just as long as the babies are fed and growing, that’s all that matters.”
Remy lightly cuffed him in the head. “You shouldn’t have forced her to share that. It shouldn’t matter to you. It’s not like you’ll be feeding them from your body.”
Jaxson rubbed the back of his head with a glare toward Remy before straightening and smirking. “Well, I’m sure I could give it a try.”
“Jaxson James!” Jace, Drake, and I shouted simultaneously.
“Let’s go!” I fervently added, knowing we were seconds away from Jaxson attempting to give himself breasts. Knowing him, they would have been filled with milk as well.