The MC’s Little Brother (Bikers and Babies #3)

Chapter 36

36

Melissa

W eren’t men supposed to be selfish in bed? That’s what I’d always experienced, anyway. So when Mattias laid me out on his desk, I expected something different. Not that I was complaining. He was set on making me come with his mouth alone and really freaking thorough about it. I needed a minute to come down from the mind-shattering experience. But when I offered to reciprocate, he denied me with a quick kiss and a smile that melted me into a puddle on the floor. It wasn’t fair that he was that handsome and cute at the same time. I couldn’t survive that.

Since he obviously wasn’t going to let me, I gave him his space to work. I’d get back at him later. I needed a shower before work. Maybe I could convince him to join me.

Heading to the kitchen, I found a plate with my name on it in the oven. Xander had scribbled a little note on top telling me to have a good shift tonight. I smiled and tucked in, making a mental note to thank him later. And maybe also mention he was a better cook than me. He’d get a kick out of that .

Wraith came out of his office while I was cleaning up, a frown on his face. I tipped my head at him.

“What is it?”

“I got a call from work. I need to pick up something from the office. It’s a long drive, and I’m worried about being able to pick up Xander on time.”

Pursing my lips, I considered him. “What am I? Chopped liver?”

He chuckled, the low sound giving me goosebumps. That laugh and that smile were lethal. I was helpless to resist him.

“I put you as an approved pick-up and an emergency contact. I hope you don’t mind. He trusts you and if I’m busy, I know he’d feel more comfortable with you than any of the crew.”

Wrapping my arms around his waist, I leaned back to look at him. No teasing this time. He was worried about his little brother and he needed to know, relationship or not, that I’d be there for Xander.

“I’m glad. If he needs help, I’ll show up. No matter what.” Pausing, I thought about it before adding, “Just don’t expect me to cook dinner. We’ll order out if you’re not around.”

Wrapping himself around me, he leaned to kiss me, murmuring against my lips. “Good. I don’t want him getting food poisoning.”

Gasping with mock outrage, I smacked my palm on his chest. He just laughed, settling me with a slow kiss. I didn’t forget that line he used about making up for the kisses we should’ve had. I almost wanted to tattoo that somewhere so I wouldn’t forget. It was a swoon worthy line, and he’d need to come up with something amazing to top it.

Mattias left on his bike not long later, ruining my plan to drag him into the shower with me. Since I had most of the day to myself, I figured I’d take Thor for a run and maybe visit Skylar and the babies. She was so overwhelmed with two babies, it was hard for her to get out much, so she mostly stayed home instead of going to the shop with Butch. I came over to help with cleaning and babysitting so she could nap on the days when I wasn’t busy with work or was avoiding chores in my own house.

The run went well, though I got a few side glances from Thor. I knew he ran with Mattias almost daily, and I wasn’t nearly as fast as him. Plus, I had shorter legs. Thor kept looking at me like, are you serious? It made me laugh so hard, I had to stop a few times to catch my breath. Once we got back, I gave him a treat and ran upstairs to shower and change. Not into scrubs right away, that’d be exhausting. Instead, I grabbed shorts and a t-shirt, and I was in the middle of putting on my makeup when my phone rang on the counter next to me. I picked it up without looking, putting it to my ear.

“Hello?”

“Hello, is this Ms. Lawson?”

I frowned at the unfamiliar voice. “This is. Who’s this?”

“My name is Monica Stine. I’m the nurse at Golden Sierra Middle School. I’m calling about Xander Ruiz?”

Sucking in a breath, I put the makeup brush down. “Is something wrong?”

He’d only been in school a few hours at this point. He couldn’t be having trouble already, could he? Unless he wasn’t as recovered as we thought?

“Well, it seems like Xander had a bit of a panic attack. His teachers have been giving him some tests to see where he’s at since Mr. Ruiz said he struggled before now, and it must have been too much for him. He’s asking to go home.”

Yikes. A whole day of testing with no warning? I’d probably panic too.

“Alright. I’ll be there in ten minutes. Does he need an ambulance? Did he lose consciousness at all?”

“No, no, nothing like that,” she reassured me. “He’s laying down in my office now and he seems to be alright. Just worn out and upset.”

“I’ll bet. Alright, I’m on my way. Can I talk to him?”

She handed off the phone while I pulled my hair into a half ponytail, tying it up in a hurry. I hadn’t gotten to styling it yet, and I looked a little messy. I didn’t really care about how I looked, though. I just wanted to get to Xander.

“Hello?” Xander’s voice was small and quiet, and I could hear the gravel, like he was choking back tears.

“Hey, you. I’m on my way right now. Are you okay?”

I could imagine him shrugging one shoulder, his voice a little watery. “I wanna go home. Is Mattias coming?”

I winced. Mattias was going to lose his shit when he realized the one time he had to leave, Xander needed him.

“No, sweetie. He had to go into the office to pick something up. It’s just me. Is that okay? I can call him and tell him to turn around.” He’d do it in a heartbeat, I knew that. I was pretty sure he’d hand over his resignation before he’d let his work come between him and his brother.

“No… It’s okay…” he mumbled. “When will you get here?”

“I’m walking out right now. And I’ll bring Thor with me, okay?” Xander was attached to the sweet puppy, and I knew it’d help. I patted my leg, whistling for Thor to follow me outside as we headed for my car.

“Okay. Thanks, Mel.”

“Any time, sweetie. I’ll be right there.”

He hung up, and I opened the back door for Thor to jump into my car. He’d drool all over the windows, but I never cared about that. My car was almost as messy as my home. After closing the door behind him, I dropped into the driver’s seat and plugged my phone into the center console so I could call Mattias hands free. No way was I going to hide what happened. I just had to say it right, so he didn't panic while driving.

Most of the guys had Bluetooth in their helmets, so Mattias answered on the second right, a frown in his voice already.

“Mel? What’s wrong?”

“Other than you forcing me to take a very lonely shower?” I teased. I was hoping to put him at ease enough to keep him from losing his cool. If I wasn’t freaking out, he had no reason to either. “On a serious note, I got a call from Xander’s school. They had him doing a lot of testing today and he freaked out a little. Nothing serious, you don’t need to turn around, I’m on my way to pick him up now, but I thought you’d want to know.”

He was quiet for a minute, and I could tell he was doing his best to keep calm. When he finally spoke, his voice was apprehensive, but not panicked.

“You’re sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. I spoke to him on the phone. He’s alright. The nurse said he’s worn out and upset, so I figured I could talk to him, maybe take him out for lunch, and see how he’s feeling afterward.”

Mattias hummed thoughtfully. “I don’t mind him taking a half day if he needs it.”

“Neither do I,” I agreed. “But if it's something he can work through on his own, I want to encourage him to do that. It should be close to lunch time at his school anyway, so give me a chance to work my magic and I’ll update you a little later, alright? ”

Huffing out a laugh, he said, “You definitely have some kind of magic. Alright, let me know if you need me to turn around. I got a call earlier, but I didn’t recognize the number, so I didn't answer it. I don’t drive and talk if I can help it.”

“You’re talking to me now,” I pointed out with a smirk.

“I pulled over, brat,” he shot back. “You’re important enough for me to take a minute to do that. I’ll add the school’s number to my phone so I won’t miss it in the future.”

I seriously loved how easily he admitted how important I was to him. There was no awkward period in our relationship. We fell into it like it was natural and it felt like we’d been together a lot longer than two weeks.

We hung up right as I pulled into the school parking lot. Unlike Mattias, I didn’t have a problem driving and talking, but I also had four walls surrounding me and I couldn’t go that fast in the town proper. He needed to focus on what he was doing because more often than not, with motorcycle crashes, it was idiot drivers around them that were dangerous, not the motorcycles themselves.

Leaving the back windows cracked and the AC on for Thor, I hopped out of the car, hustling inside. I stopped in the main office first to sign in. Since I was one of Xander’s emergency contacts, they only needed to check my ID and have me sign a piece of paper on why I was there before they escorted me to the nurse’s office.

Xander was sitting on the edge of a cot in a small room just off her office when I came in. He looked up at me, shamefaced and embarrassed. I offered him a smile before listening to the school nurse tell me more about what happened.

“I don’t think it was bad enough to warrant going home, but he’s really upset and keeps asking to leave. It might be better to take a half day and clear his head before starting again tomorrow.”

I nodded. “Maybe. For now, I think I’m going to take him to lunch and talk for a bit. If he feels confident enough to come back, can he do that?”

She gave Xander a sympathetic smile. “I think that’s an excellent idea. You can sign him out in the main office and sign him back in if he returns. If he can’t, just give me a call and I’ll let the office know he’ll be back in the morning.”

“Thanks. Xander? You ready to go?”

Throwing his backpack over one shoulder, he didn’t answer outside of getting up and following me out. He kept his eyes down and refused to speak to anyone until we got outside. Putting my arm around his shoulder, I squeezed tightly.

“You’ll be alright. Let’s get some food. Somewhere dog friendly, I think. Do you like tacos?”