39. Eli
Eli
Istand at the refrigerator, door open, debating what Selena will want for breakfast. Is she a breakfast person?
Have allergies? Fuck, we don’t know nearly enough about her.
My fingers tap on the refrigerator door, making a dance worthy rhythm before I finally settle on eggs, bacon and pancakes.
Pulling out everything I need, I set the ingredients down on the kitchen counter and get to work.
About five minutes later, my brothers make their way into the kitchen. I have to work this morning and Zeke is working tonight. I’d rather be here, but work calls. We’re just thankful that our captain is being lenient with our schedule.
“Something smells good.” Zeke steps up beside me, giving my shoulder a squeeze before taking a mug out of the cupboard and pouring himself some coffee.
“Is Selena up?”
“No,” Jay answers. “She’s probably exhausted and it's still early.”
“Fuck, I don’t want to go to work today.” Zeke drops down in the chair at the table. “I’d rather be here with our girl.”
Fuck, those words sound amazing, If only they were true. For us they are; Selena, on the other hand, still needs some convincing.
“At least you’ll be here with her all day and night,” I remind him. Jay is the only one lucky enough to be off all day. Our schedule will be like that for the next week, with Zeke filling in for one of us on our day off, then it’s back to the regularly scheduled program.
“Lucky fucker,” I mumble.
“Yes, I am,” Jay boasts, puffing out his chest
“Who's lucky?” comes from the woman we’re all three consumed with. How we missed her entering the room is beyond me.
“I am, Babygirl. We need to make plans for the night. We can go out to dinner, then come home and snuggle on the couch and watch a movie. I heard there’s a really good one on Netflix,” Jay tells her as he pulls out a chair at the table for her.
I start putting some eggs and bacon on a plate for Selena so that she can eat. “Do you want to try some coffee?” I ask her.
She steps further into the kitchen when she suddenly freezes. The color drains from her face so quickly it's almost alarming. Her nose wrinkles, and her eyes narrow toward the skillet on the stove.
"Oh, no," she mutters.
Her throat bobs as she swallows hard. Once. Twice. With every breath she takes, she looks worse. A sheen of sweat appears along her forehead. Her face turns a sickly shade of pale.
"Princess, are you okay?" I ask.
She doesn't answer immediately. Instead, she slaps a hand over her mouth and stumbles backward. Her eyes water. Her entire body tenses as another wave of nausea visibly rolls through her.
I watch her fight it for a few seconds, breathing shallowly through her mouth, but it's a losing battle as she continues to gag. She turns quickly and sprints out of the room, heading for the hallway. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know what she’s about to do.
“Throw those eggs in the garbage,” Zeke growls as he takes off after her.
He doesn’t have to tell me twice. She’s been doing so good with not throwing up since she was released from the hospital yesterday. Unless she’s been hiding it from us.
Jay is up, opening the back door and windows as I toss the eggs I was just ready to devour right into the trash and carry the bag outside.
I think about spraying some air freshener, but decide against it, not knowing if it’ll make the smell worse.
“Fuck man, I was hoping she was done getting sick,” Jay whispers as he steps up beside me, his eyes locked on the doorway she ran through.
“Me too,” I sigh. “We need to make sure she doesn’t get as dehydrated as she was. So as of this moment, eggs are banned in the house. Maybe bacon too.”
We both groan at that, but we’ll do anything for her. Jay and I get busy cleaning up the dishes, and trying to erase every ounce of the smell from the kitchen. We’re just turning the dishwasher on when Zeke and Selena step back into the kitchen.
“Are you okay?” I twist the dishtowel in my hand. “Can I make you something else? Maybe some cereal. Or toast.”
“Toast sounds good, and yeah, I’m fine. Embarrassed, but okay.” She makes her way over to the table and drops down into the chair. Zeke steps up behind her and places a soft kiss on the top of her head.
“No need to be embarrassed. I’m going to get you something to drink,” he tells her as he makes his way to the refrigerator.
She keeps her head down as she chews on her bottom lip. There’s something off about the way she’s acting. Something more than just embarrassment. As much as I want to pry and ask her, I don’t.
“So back to our day, Babygirl. How about we go shopping? We can do it online or in the store.” Jay sits down beside her, angling his body toward her.
“Ummm,” she looks between the three of us nervously. “I can’t go shopping. I need to call and get my credit and debit cards replaced. Well, unless I can get into my apartment and see if my purse is still salvageable.”
Fuck, she knows there was a lot of damage, but how do I tell her that her apartment is a complete loss?
“There’s nothing left, Princess. It was all destroyed. I’m so sorry,” I tell her as I place some toast in front of her.
“Ohh, it’s okay then. I guess I need to get a new driver’s license,” she says. “Maybe I can get Sam to help me.”
Fury engulfs me that she thinks she needs to ask another man for help. Granted, he’s her best friend and I get it. But damn if my woman is going to have any man, besides my two brothers, take care of her.
The day I can’t take care of my woman is the day I’m dead and buried, and even then I’ll have her set up like a queen.
“We can take care of anything you need.” I’m already pulling out my wallet and removing my credit card, handing it to her.
She shakes her head, refusing my offer. “No, I can’t do that.”
“Oh, you can and you will, Cupcake.” Zeke croons as he hands over his card as well.
“And since I’m going to be with you, I can guarantee you’ll be using my card,” Jay adds.
She just sits there, jaw dropped and speechless. It’s about time she gets we’re not playing around. She’s our woman, and we’re going to take care of her. Best she learns it now, since it’ll make everything easier.
I can see the wheels in her brain turning and just as she gets ready to speak, I nip what I know she’s going to say in the bud.
“And no, you’re not paying us back.”
“How did you know I was going to say that?” she asks, her eyes peeking up at me through her eyelashes.
“Because I did, Princess. Now take the cards and don’t argue. Jay will make sure everything is spread between the three of them. That includes you ordering all the clothes you need.”
She takes the cards, holding them delicately between her fingers. “But I need to repay you.”
“Well, I for one will take kisses for starters, but we can always go further than that. Maybe recreate the night we met.” Zeke gives her a wink, and she laughs. Guess she doesn’t realize he isn’t kidding.