Chapter 20 Morris
MORRIS
“It’s rated PG, Zoey,” Alice says. Her back is to the table as she cleans the coffeemaker over the sink. Just seeing her from behind makes my dick jump in appreciation and recognition of last night. I shove away thoughts of our middle-of-the-night romp and focus on the work ahead.
“PG?” Leo seems to pout with Zoey. “Come on, Alice. She may only be… Wait, Zoey, how old are you?”
“I’m six,” she says, sipping a glass of water. “But I’m an incredibly mature six.”
Somehow, I bite back my laughter at her response, but part of me is sad for the little girl. She shouldn’t be so mature for her age, but I know it’s because of her stepfather.
Leo nods. “She totally is, Alice. I mean, I could watch this dragon show with her, and you know, maybe Lia too. And if it’s scary, well, she’ll have two grown-ups right there, and we can change it.”
“Oh my God, Mom, please?” Zoey sounds far older than her six years, and Alice whirls with a scolding look on her face.
“Zoey,” she says with a sigh. “I don’t know.” Alice catches a glimpse of me coming into the kitchen, and her demeanor immediately changes.
“Come on, Mom,” I whine, joining in the fun. “I mean, Oh. My. God. It’s a dragon.”
Leo starts cracking up as I imitate a teenage girl’s voice. Zoey shocks me by leaping up from her chair and running up to me. She hesitates when she reaches my legs but then grins up at me.
“’Morning, princess,” I say, patting her head.
She gives me a fast, light hug, her arms circling my legs because she’s so tiny. She even closes her eyes for a second as if she’s really giving herself over to the hug.
And goddamn, if there was anything hard left in my heart, it all melted into a puddle looking into her sweet caramel eyes. Damn kids.
“Good morning, Morris. I’m so glad you’re up. Mommy really does not understand how mature I am.” Zoey whirls on a surprisingly glittery sock and plunks back into her chair. “Don’t you think I should be able to watch it?”
My gaze swings to Alice.
“Finish your fruit,” Alice says to Zoey, giving me a smile.
I clap Leo on the shoulder and wish him a good morning, then meet Alice at the sink and plant a kiss on her lips right in front of everyone.
“Oh my God, Mom…” Zoey says. She covers her mouth with her hands and starts giggling hysterically.
I can see how impressionable kids are. One night around new people and she’s picked up all these grown-up phrases from Lia.
“Zoey,” Alice says, that mom tone on full blast again. “Why don’t you go brush your teeth and find your shoes? We have things to do today.”
Lia shoves open the kitchen door and walks toward the sink. “Leo, the yard is all cleaned up after the dogs, but you should know what’s in your trash bin.”
“That’s okay,” he says a little too quickly. “You didn’t have to do that.”
It seems I’m not the only love-sick puppy in this house.
Lia washes her hands at the sink and plops down beside Leo. She helps herself to a slice of toast from his plate and looks from me to Alice.
“So, what’s the plan for the day?” she asks.
“I was kind of hoping I could take Zoey and buy some arts and crafts. She’s never made origami banners, and I was thinking, if it’s all right with you, Leo, we could get some fairy lights and some patterned paper and really start to dress up that backyard. ”
Leo’s eyes are like saucers. I can almost hear the wheels in his head—and heart—spinning. “Dress up the backyard. Uh, yeah… That sounds, uh, great.”
That woman could have told him she was planning to barbecue one of her dogs in the backyard, and he probably would have asked for light relish and handed her a bag of charcoal. He’s totally gone for her.
I look at Alice and then to Leo. “I called the power company. There’s an outstanding balance both on the electric and the gas service that somehow wasn’t cleared when the sale went through.
I need to hit the compound and grab the paperwork from the closing and then head to the power company’s office to sort this out.
Second stop is the electricity service center.
They told me they will turn on the power with proof of the property transfer, but that we’ll need to sort out the bills through the club attorney I used for the closing. ”
“So, how fast do you think they’ll get the power on?” Leo asks. “I can start working as soon as the building has juice.”
“They told me immediately, so you’ll have power today. How would you feel about heading to the building and waiting for me there? You can let me know when the power’s on.”
Leo nods. “Sounds good. What else?”
“We need to get Alice a phone. I can’t be without mine, and we need to be able to reach each other.”
“I have like, three,” Lia says.
“What? You have three phones?” Leo looks at her like she said she cured cancer last summer and just decided to casually announce it over buttered toast.
She finishes a scrap of crust from Leo’s plate and nods.
“Yep. I use one, but I have Mom’s and the one I had before this one.
I never made it back to the store to return them.
Kinda thought maybe I’d donate them. But yeah, that never happened.
” She shrugs. “You can have it. That way, you won’t have to buy the device. ”
“Thank you, Lia.” Alice looks near tears. “Let me pay for it.”
“You’re giving me a place to stay,” Lia says. “I mean Leo is, but y’all have this motley crew family thing going on, so…no biggie.”
Alice looks relieved.
We decide how to split up the most critical issues for the day.
Leo will cover the shop and the building, waiting for the power to go on.
I’ll hit the compound for the paperwork and then will get the utilities turned back on.
Lia will ride with me to the compound and will pick up her van from where she left it parked by Tiny’s bike.
“We need to shop,” Alice tells me. “Groceries. Dog food.”
I nod. “Okay, why don’t you come with me so you can manage the shopping part. Lia, Leo, give Alice a list of whatever you want. Beer, wine, snacks. We’ll get enough stuff to get us through the next couple of days, so don’t be shy.”
“Zoey comes with us, right?” Alice asks.
I nod. “Whatever you want.”
Lia looks disappointed. “Okay, but you have to let me get crafts and stuff. I sort of promised a themed sleepover tonight. Art party and facials. Is Zoey too young to use a sheet mask?”
I shrug because I really have no clue what a sheet mask is, but Alice shakes her head, letting me know she has it under control.
“No. She’s not too young,” Alice answers.
“One last question…” Lia says. “The dogs.”
“What about them?” I ask.
“They are pretty used to being with me all day, every day,” Lia says.
“Why don’t you bring them to the shop?” Leo suggests. “I can open up one of the empty storefronts, and you and the dogs and Zoey can come too and play in there once the power is back on.”
“I don’t know if puppies and a kid at the shop is such a good idea. I haven’t even been inside yet, and I don’t know if there’s anything unsafe.” I look to Alice. “I think we should probably keep Zoey with us today.”
Leo shakes his head. “I do, and I have those keys for you, Morris. All the storefronts are pretty well cleaned out. Counters and light fixtures, but it’s actually pretty ideal for dogs and kids. Nothing to hurt or to get hurt on.”
Alice surprises me by smiling at Lia. “You know, I think we should let Zoey choose.” She looks at me.
“If Lia is okay taking Zoey for the day, they can turn on the phone and then go to the craft store and meet us at your building for lunch. We’ll pick up the phone and Zoey, and we can either figure out what else needs to be done, or we can come back here and start cleaning, cooking.
If we’re going to be staying here for a while, I’d like to get a system down so Leo doesn’t mind the houseguests. ”
“I don’t mind,” Leo says, staring straight at Lia. “I don’t mind at all.”
“Does that work for you, Lia? We can all ride together to the compound to get your van, and then we’ll let Zoey choose if she wants to go with you and the pups or me and Morris.” Alice seems to have forged some new connection to Tiny’s daughter.
I like it.
I like what that means a lot.
“I should call my sister today,” Alice says quietly as we climb out of the truck. “Once we have the new phone.”
“You wanna check in now?” I ask, handing her my phone. While Lia tumbles out of the back with the dogs, I tell Alice the passcode to unlock the device. She looks at me like I just whipped out my dick in broad daylight in the middle of an elementary school playground. “What?” I ask.
“Morris, you don’t have to tell me your passcode.” She’s holding my phone like she expects a bunch of dick pics and pussy shots from other women to jump from the screen.
“No secrets between us, baby,” I say. I slide off my sunglasses and clip them to the inside of my T-shirt. “I trust you completely.”
She just watches me as I climb out of the car. “You’ve got my phone,” I toss at her. “Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” I give her a smirk, and she flushes.
“Morris,” she asks, sounding a little hesitant. She’s helping Zoey out of the booster seat and onto the paved parking pad. “Can Zoey and I come inside?”
I resist the urge to slap my knee and break out into laughter. “Yeah,” I tell her. “You can all come inside. You’d be surprised how tame a club compound is during the day.” I lean close and whisper in Alice’s ear. “Just let me get a head start so I can clear out the coke and the strippers.”
She gives me a horrified look, and I let a laugh rip.
“Adorable,” I say, shaking my head. “Come on in.”
We head inside, and, of course, the first person we see is Midge. She gives Lia a wave but makes a beeline for Alice and me. She peers at us and then at Zoey.
“Lots of changes around here,” Midge quips. “Woulda been nice if someone told me the club was opening a day care.”
“Real funny,” I say, not at all amused. “This here’s my girl, Alice,” I say, nodding, “and her daughter, Zoey. I assume you already met Lia.”
Midge sniffs and lifts her chin at us, clearly none too pleased to have the estrogen bus pulling up to the compound and letting off a whole load of female talent.
Midge has the face of a walnut and the body of a melted candle, so three stunners like Alice, Zoey, and Lia are bound to ruffle the old gal’s feathers.
“You’ll always be our number one, Midge,” I say, then give her a saucy smack on the ass behind the kitchen counter where Zoey won’t notice.
Alice clearly does, her eyes widening, but I give her a wink and figure I’ll explain later.
“Do you have any juice?” Zoey asks Midge, walking up to the counter. “Is this your kitchen? It’s really pretty.” She runs a finger along a barstool perched nearby. “Can I sit on this?”
Midge looks like she’s about to blow a gasket, but then she shocks me by giving Zoey a full-mouth smile.
I’m shocked again as I look and see how few teeth old Midge really has. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her smile, definitely not one of these full-gum reveals.
“Do you like orange juice?” Midge asks. “I happen to have some ice-cold orange juice right here.”
Zoey and Midge set to work on finding juice, and Lia goes on the hunt to find her father.
I grab Alice’s hand and lead her to my room. The door is closed, and there’s a placard on the door with my name and position engraved on it.
“You’re the vice president of the club?” she asks.
I nod. “It’s part of the reason why I don’t spend much time at that apartment. I stay here, close to my brothers. Close to the business.”
She follows me into my room, and when we’re safely inside, I close the door and whirl Alice around, pressing her backside against the closed door.
“How much time do you think we have?” I ask, nudging her legs open with a knee. I lower my face to her neck and just breathe her in. “Alice,” I grit out, my dick dancing against my denim.
“I think you should find your paperwork, and I should call my sister,” Alice says, but her actions don’t fit her words.
She’s pressed the flat of her hand against my hard cock and is rubbing firm circles over my dick.
“Jesus, baby.” I press myself against her and work my hips in slow, torturous movements, grinding against her.
“Oh, Morris. No, no, no…we can’t.” She’s grinning like a greedy teenager in the back seat of a car, telling me no with her words and yes with her body, her eyes, and that wicked smile. “I mean, yes, we will, but not now.”
“Ahhh, fuck it.” I cough and shake my head to clear the cobwebs and push away from my girl. “Tonight,” I say. “Don’t expect to get any sleep.”