20. Hayden
TWENTY
Playing hooky with Bree means getting up at the crack of dawn and getting my shit done, so I can take the day off. But as I lie in Brody’s bed, where the three of us fell asleep last night—after giving Bree a couple of orgasms that left her sated and barely able to keep her eyes open—it’s hard as hell to pry myself from this bed.
Bree’s sleeping on her stomach, facing me. Her blond hair is splayed out across the pillow and the sheet is only covering her lower half, exposing her creamy back. She’s snoring softly and her plump lips are making a perfect O shape, reminding me of the way she sucked Brody’s and my dick last night.
She’s gorgeous, but more than that, she’s sweet and funny and down to earth. She’s the complete opposite of the women Brody and I have dated, yet she’s perfect for us. The way she’s shy and reserved, yet trusting and open?—
“I can feel you staring,” she rasps, cutting off my thoughts. She scoots toward me, laying her head into the crook of my shoulder and throwing her arm over my torso.
“I can’t help it,” I admit, not caring that the next words out of my mouth make me sound corny as hell. “I could stare at you all the damn time.”
She laughs softly and snuggles closer against me. “Do it quieter so I can sleep,” she jokes.
I’m supposed to get up, get some work shit done, but I lie here instead, trailing my fingers up and down her back as I listen to her fall back asleep. I lean in and smell her hair—because I’ve officially turned soft—and sigh at the vanilla scent. She always smells sweet, like she was made to be in a bakery.
“You’re such a creeper,” Brody whispers through his laugh, obviously having caught me sniffing Bree’s hair.
“How the hell does she always smell like a damn cupcake?” I whisper back, shaking my head.
“She’s too sweet for her own good.”
“Truth. You sure you don’t want to join us at the beach?”
“Nah,” he says. “I have a meeting this morning that I can’t miss.”
After watching her sleep for a few more minutes, I carefully shift out from under her so I can get ready and get some stuff done. If I’m going to convince my dad and the other investors that we’re better off forgetting about the building Bree lives in, I’ll need to make a compelling argument because the first time I brought it up, my dad wasn’t buying it.
I’m working in my office when Bree comes padding in a few hours later, freshly showered and dressed in what looks like a bathing suit cover-up and flip-flops, holding a cup of coffee and a muffin in her hands.
“Breakfast,” she says with a smile, setting it down. She goes to retreat, but before she can get away, I snag her by those luscious hips and pull her back toward me.
“You bake these this morning?” I ask, breaking a piece off and popping it into my mouth. It’s banana and practically melts in my mouth. I swallow it down with a sip of the iced coffee she brought, and it tastes better than anything I’ve ever made, which makes sense since she does this for a living.
“Yeah,” she says. “I used the ingredients you guys had on hand. The only fruit you have are bananas.”
“A man could get used to this.” I break another piece off and push it past her lips.
She chews and swallows, then asks, “Used to what?”
“For one, waking up next to a beautiful, naked woman…” She blushes, her cheeks and neck turning an adorable shade of pink, and I note to make her blush more often. “And then being made coffee and homemade muffins. Keep it up, and Brody and I will be begging you to never leave.” Hell, we’re already considering it, and she’s only spent the night twice.
“Very funny. You almost done?”
“Yep.” I close my laptop. “I’m ready to go.”
“A woman could get used to this,” Bree sighs, repeating the words I said to her earlier as she sips a fruity beverage our cabana boy just brought her.
When we arrived at the beach club I booked for the day and were taken back to the cabana I rented that’s located directly on the private beach, complete with a huge couch, a double lounger, a mini fridge, and a television, Bree asked, “Is this for us?”
I nodded, and she looked around, perplexed, then added, “Well, damn, when you do the beach, you go all out, huh? I was proud of myself for remembering to bring a blanket we could share.” Then she reached up and encircled her arms around me, murmuring, “Thank you,” while peppering kisses all over my face.
“I want you to get used to it,” I tell her, squeezing her thigh. “My hope is you’ll get so used to it that you’ll never leave.”
She sets her drink on the table and turns toward me. “I don’t need any of this,” she says, her tone serious. “I appreciate it, but I don’t need it. I’ve been happy my entire life, laying a blanket in the sand and lying across it. The only thing I want is to find someone who wants to lie on that blanket with me. Who loves my kids and me, and wants to create a life with us. I want someone who will stand by me and be my best friend. The rest is just a bonus.”
At her words, a ten-ton weight of guilt settles in my gut, and I vow to meet with my dad tomorrow to discuss the situation. I can’t keep hiding this from her, and the sooner I tell her, the better it will be.
“What about two men who want to lie on that blanket with you? Who want to love you and your kids? Who want to stand by your side?”
She smiles softly. “I’d feel like I won the damn lottery.”
“You should’ve taken me to my house. I have sand in places sand should never be in, and I need to take a shower.”
“Which is exactly why I brought you here instead,” I tell her, lifting her over my shoulder caveman style and slapping her ass.
“Hayden!” she shrieks. “Put me down!”
I ignore her, carrying her to my bathroom, and then set her down once we’re both standing in the open shower that could easily fit several people. I turn the hot water on, and it immediately waterfalls down on us.
“Better take off your clothes, so you can get all that sand out,” I say, waggling my brows as I pull my shirt off and throw it to the side.
Her eyes rake down my chest and over my abs, landing on indents that dip into my shorts. When I push them down my thighs, my soft dick falling flaccid against my thigh, she sucks her bottom lip into her mouth. Some guys would be embarrassed for a woman to see him soft, but since I know I’m a decent size, I couldn’t care less. Besides, if Bree keeps looking at me the way she is, it’ll be hard soon enough.
“Your turn,” I tell her.
“Eh, I’m good.” She shrugs. “I happen to like the sand where it is,” she says, her eyes hinting at a bit of insecurity hidden behind her playful tone.
“Bree…” I step toward her and lift her chin. “I’ve already seen you naked, and every single inch of you is perfection.”
“It’s different in the heat of the moment. You focused more on getting me off than on my rolls and stretch marks.” She sighs. “In the light of day, I’m far from perfect. Meanwhile, you and Brody look like that. It’s hardly fair,” she says, pouting.
“And now… I sound like a whiny, insecure little girl.” She groans, throwing her head back.
“Stop.” I chuckle, gliding my hand down her side and settling it on the curve of her hip. “There’s nothing wrong with being insecure. We all have our flaws and doubts, and we live in a social media-driven society where pictures are photoshopped.
“But I need you to understand that you’re perfect just the way you are. I mean, fuck, you carried and then gave birth to not one but two babies at the same time.”
I grip her chin with my thumb and forefinger, and she opens her eyes. “When I look at you, all I see is your beautiful face.” I kiss the corner of her mouth, and she sighs into my touch.
I lift her shirt halfway, silently asking permission to remove it, and she takes over, slipping it off and dropping it onto the shower floor. She’s still in her bathing suit, so I pull the straps down her arms, then push it down her body until the material is on the floor, next to her shirt, leaving her completely naked.
“I see your perfect breasts.” I tweak her nipple, and she expels a soft gasp.
I trail my fingers down her front, along her soft stomach with a few stretch marks. She flinches when my hand stops and settles there. “I’ve never dated a woman who’s had kids before, but I can honestly tell you that seeing those marks for the first time on a woman was a fucking turn-on. I’ve yet to meet your kids, but I love listening to you talk about them. A huge part of what makes you, you is that you’re a mother, and I can already tell you’re a damn good one. The only thing I see when I look at those marks is strength and love.”
I guide my fingers downward to her neatly trimmed pussy, loving that she willingly spreads her legs for me. “You’re perfect, Bree,” I tell her, shoving two fingers inside her, silencing the loud moan that escapes her with my mouth. “Brody and I want you…all of you, just the way you are.” I finger-fuck her hard and rough, kissing her the same way until she’s coming apart around my fingers. When she sags against the wall, I pull my fingers out and lift her, ready to fuck her right here in the shower. I’ve been dreaming about how it will feel when her tight cunt grips my hard cock.
“Wa-wait,” she breathes just before I enter her. “I…” She swallows thickly. “I can’t do this.”
Stunned, I set her down and back up. “Is everything okay?” I ask, confused as hell.
“Yeah… I’m sorry. It’s just…” She rolls her lips against her teeth. “I can’t have sex with you.”
“Okay, you’re not ready yet? That’s all you had to say.” I tuck a couple of wet strands behind her ear. “I’m okay with waiting. We’re doing this at your pace.”
“It’s not that.” She flinches. “I know you guys said we’re in this together, but I feel like whoever I have sex with first is who I choose. And I don’t want to choose. I want you both equally.” I almost laugh, but then I realize she’s being dead serious, and holy fuck, does it do shit to my heart because she wants us both…equally. Her words solidify Brody’s and my hope that we can somehow make this shit work.
“Then you won’t have to choose,” I tell her, kissing her so she knows I’m not mad and completely understand.
“And how will that work?”
“I don’t know yet,” I tell her honestly, “but we’ll figure it out…together.”
“Where’s Bree?” Brody asks, dropping his briefcase onto the table.
“She had to go by the coffee shop to close up. The woman who was supposed to close had a family emergency.”
“She coming back here when she’s done?”
“She didn’t say. I think I’ll go by there and surprise her. Take her out to dinner. You wanna go?”
“Can’t. I have a proposal I need to finish. Try to convince her to come back here after dinner.” He grabs his laptop and sets it on the table. “Did you guys have a good day at the beach?”
“Yeah.” I grin, recalling how sexy she looked in her one-piece bathing suit. It might’ve covered all the important parts, but it still clung to every curve and was low-cut, showing off the swells of her breasts. Fuck, when I peeled it off her body in the shower, I’ve never been so damn hard in my life. Which reminds me…
“She wouldn’t have sex with me.”
Brody’s brows hit the top of his forehead. “She’s not ready yet? That’s okay. We can give her all the time she wants…”
“Actually, she is ready. But she said she doesn’t want to choose. She’s worried whoever she has sex with first, the other person will feel like she didn’t pick them. She said she wants us both equally.”
Brody’s face splits into a grin. “She’s so damn perfect.”
“Yeah, she is. So what do we do?”
“We choose for her.” He shrugs.
“So how do we do that? And if you suggest some bullshit like flipping a coin, I’m going to punch you in the face.”
Brody throws his head back with a laugh. “Nah, that’s for little kids. I was going to suggest rock, paper, scissors.”