37. Brody
THIRTY-SEVEN
“There they are,” Bree’s friend Lacey says as Hayden and I walk through the door of Heart’s, thanks to her letting us in. It’s after hours, so the shop is closed, but they’re still here closing up. “Heard you were the reason the kids had the best birthday ever.” Her brows rise for dramatic effect. “Their words, not mine.”
When Hayden and I shrug, a grin spreads across her face. “I wish I could’ve been there, but my son had his end of football camp award ceremony, so I was out of town. But I heard what you guys did. Thank you. I haven’t seen her this happy since…” She clears her throat, not needing to finish her statement. “She works hard, moms even harder, and doesn’t give enough to herself. She needs someone to put her and her kids first.”
I’m about to respond when I hear Bree speak. “Miles, I understand you’re bored, but I have to work, so I need you to chill out for a little while, please.”
I glance over and see Bree walking out of the kitchen with Miles on her heels. Her face is etched in frustration, but as always, she speaks with the patience of a saint. She’s been so busy this week we haven’t seen her at all. She’s still looking for a new baker, and until then, she’s doing it all on her own. But it’s Friday, and we insisted on spending some time with her and the kids.
“But Mom,” Miles moans.
Bree looks up, and when she sees us standing there, a small smile graces her lips. “Hey,” she says, walking over and kissing me and then Hayden. “Did we have plans?”
I chuckle softly. The woman has so much going on that she can’t even remember whether we made plans.
“Shoot, we did, didn’t we?” She groans, then glances at Lacey. “Don’t you need to get going? Your husband will not be thrilled that his wife is late for their anniversary dinner.”
“He married me for better or worse,” Lacey jokes. “You sure you’re okay? If you need me to?—”
“I’m good. I promise,” Bree assures her. “Go. Enjoy your anniversary weekend. I’ll see you Monday.”
Once Lacey is gone, Miles starts whining again that he’s bored, and Bree takes a deep breath, her eyes going to the ceiling like she’s praying to God not to let her lose it on her child.
“Hey,” I say, pulling her away from everyone. “Why don’t Hayden and I take the kids to the park while you finish up here, and then once you’re done, we can go back to our place for dinner and a movie?” We’ve wanted to bring the kids to our place. We’re hoping to eventually convince Bree to move in with us, and the first step is to make sure the kids are comfortable there.
“I couldn’t?—”
“Yes! Please, Mom,” Miles begs, obviously hearing what I said despite me trying to speak low enough so he couldn’t.
“Kids have bionic hearing,” I mutter. “I’ll remember that.”
This makes Bree bark out a laugh. Fuck, I love that sound.
“Guess I can’t say no now.” She rolls her eyes playfully. “But you’re sure you’re okay with that? I have an interview with a potential baker in”—she glances at her watch—“thirty minutes. She seems promising, and if it works out, it will mean I won’t be working as much.”
“You don’t have to explain shit to us,” I say, needing her to know we’re not about to add to the weight on her shoulders, “but that makes me happy because you seem a bit stressed.”
“I am,” she admits. “I got two more contracts, which is amazing, but that also means more work. Hopefully, this interview goes well.”
“You focus on that, and we’ll take the kids to the park and then meet you back here,” Hayden says.
“Yes!” Miles fist pumps in the air. “Evie! We’re going to the park.”
“Yay!” She comes running out of the kitchen with a box in her hands. “I made you cupcakes,” she says, thrusting the box at me. “Both of you.”
Opening the lid, I find two sprinkle-covered cupcakes. “Thanks, princess. They look delicious,” I say, closing the box.
“You’re welcome.” She beams.
After saying goodbye to Bree, we take off to the park. Miles loves all sports, so on the way, we stop at the store and pick up a basketball, and while we’re there, Evie gets chalk.
We spend the afternoon playing with the kids, who, when they’re not cooped up in the bakery, are damn good kids. I can’t really blame them, though. At their age, my mom had me in camp all summer. It was probably to pawn me off so she wouldn’t have to deal with me, but I loved everything we did. Which gives me an idea…
“You did what?” Bree gasps, glancing around to make sure the kids can’t overhear. “Brody, that’s too much. I…”
“It’s only four weeks of camp,” I say, shrugging it off. “The kids have a month of summer left, so why torture them and yourself when they can be having fun for the next four weeks? The sports complex had a couple of spots available. Evie will be doing dance, gymnastics, and swimming, and Miles will get to play a bunch of different sports.” She opens her mouth to argue, but I speak over her. “And before you ask how you’re going to get them there and pick them up every day, you’re not. Hayden and I will. The great thing about running my own company is that I can come and go as I please. Hayden and I will pick them up before we go into work and get them at the end of the day.”
Tears fill her eyes, and she throws her arms around me and pulls me down. “Thank you,” she murmurs, placing a soft kiss on my neck. “You and Hayden are the best boyfriends. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“Well, you’re never going to have to find out.” I kiss her lips, and she sighs into me.
“Carina, the woman I interviewed, is amazing, and I gave her the job,” she says, stepping back slightly. “She’s going to be baking full time. It will be a bit costly, but the new contracts will help even it out. I’m hoping to get a few more contracts. I have several places that sounded interested. At least now, I won’t have to stay late or go in extra early.”
“That’s awesome, sweetness.” Knowing she’ll have help makes me feel better. She’s stretching herself too thin, and it’s only a matter of time until she snaps.
“How about we order in some Chinese and let the kids pick out a movie?”
“That sounds like a perfect Friday night,” she says with a smile. “And maybe if they fall asleep, we can get some adult time in later.” She waggles her brows, and I chuckle at how adorable she is.
Leaning down, I kiss each of her dimples. “Now that sounds like a perfect Friday night.”
“They’re both asleep,” Bree whispers, glancing at the two kids passed out on their blanket bed in the middle of the living room.
“We wore them out at the park,” Hayden says. “You know, if you want to just spend the night…”
“I want to do more than spend the night,” Bree says, standing. “I need to use the restroom. Meet me in Hayden’s room.” With a flirtatious wink, she saunters out of the living room and down the hall. We generally sleep in my room, but I imagine she mentioned Hayden’s since it’s farther down the hall, which means farther away from the sleeping kids.
After making sure the alarm is on in case they wake up confused, we head back to Hayden’s room and close the door. I’ve never had kids before, so I’m not sure how this all works. Is it okay to leave them out there while we do what we’re about to do in here? What if they wake up?
“Hey, Bree, are you sure they’re good out there?” Hayden asks as if reading my mind.
She doesn’t answer, but a second later, the bathroom door opens, and she walks out in only her bra and underwear. They’re nothing special: plain black cotton that covers all the important parts, but holy shit, does she look gorgeous. The swells of her breasts are spilling slightly out of her cups, and her hard nipples are poking through the material. Her underwear is those boy shorts women love, and when she walks past us, we get an eye full of her plump ass cheeks peeking out.
“I turned on the alarm,” I say, my gaze trained on Bree.
“They sleep all night,” she says, climbing onto the bed and crawling to the center, “but even if they do wake up, they’ll just call out my name.”
She turns around and sits up against the headboard. “But if you’re worried, we should probably hurry, just in case.” She sucks her bottom lip into her mouth, biting down seductively, and Hayden and I both take that as our cue to attack.
“Wait,” she says before we make it over to her, halting us in place. “I’ve been thinking about my fantasy. The one I told you about when we video chatted.”
“I don’t remember it,” Hayden says, playing dumb because there’s no way either of us could ever forget that night. “You’re going to have to tell us again.”
Bree’s cheeks stain pink. “Well,” she says slowly, her gaze flitting from Hayden to me since we’re standing next to each other, “it was about you guys.”
“Hmm,” Hayden says. “I think I might recall something about that. You’ll have to be more specific.”
Bree sucks her lip into her mouth shyly. “It started with you two kissing.”
“Is that what you want?” Hayden asks. “You want to see Brody and me kiss?”
Bree nods slowly, and my cock thickens behind my pants at the thought. “Yes,” she says, voicing her thoughts. “I want to see you kiss.”
Hayden turns toward me. “You okay with this?”
I’ve barely nodded my okay before his mouth is on mine with such force, our teeth clash. The kiss is hard and unyielding. We haven’t done this in over ten years, yet it’s as easy as it was the only other time it happened. He palms the side of my face and then deepens the kiss, his strong lips curling against mine as his tongue slides in and devours me.
When he pulls back, my lids slowly open, remembering where we are, and who we’re here with. I take a deep breath, slowly moving my eyes toward Bree, afraid to see the look of disgust on her face, terrified that she’ll realize fantasy isn’t always the same as reality.
But when our eyes meet, the only thing I see is want and desire. Her chest heaves, her lids are slightly hooded, and her fingers are plucking at her hard nipples.
“What else did this fantasy include?” Hayden asks, his voice sounding as turned on as I feel.
Bree’s tongue darts out across the seam of her lips. “Brody,” she breathes, “on his knees, sucking you off.”
Hayden nods, then pops the top button and unzips his pants, lowering them slightly. When he pulls his cock out of its confines, it’s thick and hard with a single vein running from root to tip, just the way I remember.
“Well, you heard her,” he says gruffly. “Get on your knees and suck me.”
When I glance back at Bree, she’s watching intently with her thighs parted and one of her hands between them, stroking her clit.
That’s all I need to see to do as she wants—as Hayden demanded. I drop to my knees and take his length in my hand, stroking it a couple of times. It’s smooth like velvet and hard as a steel beam. And when I put him in my mouth, he tastes like the perfect mix of cleanliness and masculinity.
I suck his cock deep and rough, the sounds of Bree moaning spurring me on. Hayden’s shaft thickens, and I assume he’s about to come until he steps back, and his dick pops out of my mouth.
“Does that turn you on?” he asks Bree, who’s fingering the hell out of her pussy.
“So much,” she breathes.
“What happens next?” he asks her, knowing her fantasy ended there—at least from what she told us over the phone.
“I… I don’t know,” she croaks, clearly close to an orgasm.
“What do you want to happen next?” he asks.
“I want you to fuck me.” She spreads her legs farther, and she’s so wet that she’s glistening in the bit of light coming in through the slats of the blinds. “While Brody fucks my ass.”
And because she doesn’t have to tell either of us twice, we do just that—twice. And when she’s sated and sleepy and can barely keep her eyes open, we carry her and her kids up to the guest bedroom, so they can sleep in a comfortable bed.
“I like this,” Hayden says, eyeing Bree and her kids in the king-sized bed. “All of us under one roof.”
“You and me both,” I agree.
“Please, Mom,” Miles begs. “Can we pleeeeaaaasssse stay here?” Miles clasps his fingers together and lifts them in a praying gesture. “They have a PlayStation with the most awesome games, and Brody said I can play if you say yes.” I stifle my chuckle at his puppy dog eyes.
“Fine,” Bree says, giving in. “Evie, do you want to come with me?”
We glance over at Evie, who’s sitting on the couch with Hayden in front of her. She’s brushing his hair and sticking bows in it.
“I’ll stay here,” Evie says. “I still have to do Hayden’s makeup and paint his nails. And he said he’ll paint mine too.”
“All right,” Bree says. “But you two better behave.”
“We will,” the kids say in unison.
“And if they don’t,” she says, her eyes meeting mine, “bring them to the coffeehouse and I’ll put them to work.” She gives me a chaste kiss. “Thank you.”
She gives Miles a kiss next, then Evie, then kneels in front of Hayden to give him a kiss. When he leans in, Evie chides, “Don’t move, or you’ll ruin your hair,” making Bree laugh.
The morning is spent playing video games and hairdresser—Evie gets a hold of me after she’s done with Hayden, and although she can’t do my hair, my face and nails are game. When afternoon comes, and the kids are hungry, I get an idea.
“Who wants to make homemade pizza?”
Both kids shout in excitement.
“All right, go get dressed, and then we’ll go to the store so we can pick up the ingredients.”
While we wait for them to get ready, I text Bree to let her know our plans since I don’t want to leave without her knowing where her kids are, and she says she’ll be back around four o’clock. She’s training the new baker and a part-timer who’d like more hours, which means they need to learn how to close the shop.
Me
Want to do dinner and a movie again?
Now that she’s crossed the line and lets us hang out with the kids, if it were up to me, we’d hang out every night—especially since they’re already comfortable at our place and seem to like Hayden and me.
Bree
You really want to spend another night at home after babysitting two kids all day?
Hayden
We can go out if you want.
Bree
I can’t go out… I meant YOU GUYS. Why would you want to be trapped at home all night after being stuck at home all day?
Hayden glances over at me and shakes his head.
“She’ll get it eventually,” I tell him. “She just needs time.”
Me
I don’t think you seem to understand. Hayden and I aren’t babysitting your kids. We’re caring for and spending time with our girlfriend’s children while she busts her ass at work. And tonight, after you get home, we want nothing more than to order in dinner and watch a movie with you and your kids. We hope that one day when you’re ready, we’ll all live under one roof as a family. We’re not trapped or stuck. We’re in love with a woman who has two kids. Two kids who are pretty damn amazing, just like their mom.
Bree
And now I’m crying in the middle of the coffeehouse. I love you.
Hayden
We love you more. See you later.
“Ready!” Evie yells, flying down the stairs. “Can we get pineapple for the pizza? Please?”
“Pineapple is not meant for pizza!” Miles shouts, coming down after her. “We need sausage and pepperoni and lots of cheese.”
“I want pineapple,” Evie argues.
“No way,” Miles says back.
“How about we all make our own pizzas, and you guys can put whatever you want on yours?” I say.
Evie glances at me. “Whatever we want?” she asks slowly.
“Sure.” I shrug, proud of myself for ending that argument before it started.
Two hours later, the kids insist on sending their mom pictures of their pizzas. Miles’s is pepperoni, Cheetos, sausage, and Doritos, and Evie’s is M&M, Twix, mini marshmallows, and pineapple.
And as I hit send on the text, I think to myself that before I agree next time, I’ll make sure to ask questions… seek clarification. It’s like being in a business meeting. I wasn’t prepared.
But next time, I will be.