1
KAIN
“I need you to do me a favor,” Travis says. The phone line crackles and then it seems to go dead.
“Travis. You there?” I twist to glance at the screen, checking to see if the call has disconnected, but the timer continues to tick. I expected the phone connection from Germany to be better than this.
“Can you hear me?” Travis yells.
“Yeah, bro,” I say. “What favor?”
“I need you to go over to my house and clear the dirty magazines out of my closet. Mom just told me she’s going to decorate my room while I’m gone, and I don’t want her to find them.”
I snort, shaking my head. “You seriously give a fuck about your mom finding that? She knows you’re not a kid anymore. Right? And you’re not a virgin, for fuck’s sake.” I pause for theatrical effect. “You aren’t a virgin anymore, are you?”
“Fuck off,” Travis laughs. The line crackles again, distorting the sound of his amusement. “Just tell her I’ve asked you guys to help her move my stuff so that she doesn’t do her back in again. She’ll be grateful. And then, while you’re packing and shifting boxes, you can bag up the unmentionables.”
“And do what with them?” I flop onto the couch, tired at just the thought of carrying out Travis’s instructions. Even though it’s going to be a ball ache, I won’t say no. I’d never say no to my best friend.
“Keep them safe for when I get back. There’s some classic stuff there.”
“Classic?” My mind conjures nineteen-seventies style bushes, but before Travis can elaborate, I cut him off. “In fact, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”
“And say hi to Gabriella from me.”
Gabriella. If talking about classic porn had my mind drifting to filthy places, the mention of Travis’s sister might as well send me to hell. Long golden hair, curves for days, and legs that seem to stretch up to the heavens. Her mom named her after an angel, and she seems to have taken that form on earth. If she wasn’t Travis’s sister, I’d be all over her like a rash. We all would be. Blake and Dalton have the same taste as me in women and we’ve had more than one conversation about how hot she is.
“You want me to say hi to your sister? Don’t you speak to her?”
“I’m working so damned hard right now. It’s hard to find time to take a dump.”
I snort, as images I’d rather weren’t taking residence in my head do so anyway. “I’ll tell her.”
My older brother, Dalton, lumbers into the room, slumping into the chair opposite me. He deflates in front of me, letting all his muscles relax, the exhaustion of a hard day’s work pouring off him. Dad keeps him busy at whatever construction site is their current focus. He’s priming him to take over the family business. I guess I should be grateful that he wants to because me and Blake have absolutely no interest in it.
“I just want to let you know it hasn’t passed unnoticed that you have time to call me about your porn collection, but no time to call your sister to say hi,” I say, and laugh silently at Dalton’s comically raised eyebrows.
“Don’t give me shit, Kain. Just get over there before my mom goes foraging and can never look me in the eye again.”
This time, when the line crackles, it disconnects, but it doesn’t matter. Travis made it clear what I need to do to help.
“What was that about?” Dalton asks, stretching like a lazy cat. The latest tattoo our brother Blake inked for him comes into view as his shirt tugs over his bicep. It’s a tiger, framed by a large, spiked plant. Awesome art, but I don’t get the appeal of being permanently marked by something you might grow to hate in the future.
“Travis’s mom is going to decorate his room while he’s overseas, and he’s worried about her finding his sketchy ‘classic’ porn collection.” I say classic and make air quotes because I still don’t know what it means.
“Seriously?” Dalton flops his arms by his sides and rolls his head on his neck.
“Seriously. And he wants us to help box up his other stuff and move it so that his mom doesn’t hurt herself.”
“When.”
“ASAP,” I say.
“Now?”
I nod at him and raise my eyebrows. “You’ve just exhaled enough breath to extinguish a forest fire and cracked every one of your vertebrae. You sure you’re in a fit state to do anything?”
“Don’t start again about who’s fitter.” Dalton rolls his eyes and I grab the cushion next to me and toss it at his head.
“I don’t need to start again,” I say. “Because it’s me.”
He flexes his big biceps and smirks. “You see this? It’s built on real work, Kain. Not fancy push-ups while Coach tells you what a good boy you are.”
“Fuck you.” I toss another pillow in his direction and he catches it, hurling it back.
“Where’s Blake?” I ask.
“Washing his hair,” Dalton scoffs, as though he considers anything over two minutes under cold water with army regulation soap something only a girl would do. All that time he’s spent on construction sites seems to have warped his brain.
“Go tell him we’re needed next door. No time like the present.”
“And what are you going to do?” Dalton asks, struggling to his feet.
“I’m going to search out a bag so we can smuggle all those filthy magazines out of that house.”
“Good thinking. I’m sure Travis won’t mind us taking a look.” Dalton wiggles his eyebrows, widening his blue eyes comically.
“The prospect of jacking off to the same shit as my best mate isn’t that appealing.” Construction sites have ruined Dalton for good.
Blake is in the shower for another fifteen minutes, much to Dalton’s amusement, and in that time, I root out a suitable bag and make us all sandwiches that better resemble doorsteps. My taste buds beg for a delicious hot meal. Anything involving meat and potatoes would hit the spot, but with four men in this house, culinary skills are in short supply.
We wolf down our makeshift meal and head next door before Dad arrives home and gets involved. It’s a journey that I could take in my sleep. Every uneven paving stone is familiar, every overhanging plant comes with a happy childhood memory.
Travis’s house has always been like a second home to us. Well, at least it was while Travis was living there. Since his company posted him to their headquarters in Berlin, things have felt different. It’s not that Darleen, his mom, isn’t friendly. It’s more that our acceptable reason for going over isn’t there anymore.
And I miss it.
The warmth of a home with a mom in it cannot be underestimated. Travis and I both lost parents, but his home is still just as inviting, whereas ours has turned into a man cave, and not a nice one.
The appeal of a home with Gabriella in it also can’t be underestimated.
Her car is out front, so I know she’s home. I glance up at the window to her room, wondering if she’s watching us make our approach. Probably not. As far as I can tell, she’s always just thought of us as her brother’s annoying friends who take up too much space in the den and monopolize the TV.
Darleen is quick to answer our knock and draws us all in for warm hugs, ending with her hands on her hips and her chin tipped up to take us in. “You guys been rubbing fertilizer into your feet again? Surely you should have stopped growing by now.”
“We’re growing this way these days,” Dalton says, flexing his bicep, and I roll my eyes. Seriously? He wants to show off to Travis’s mom like he did when he was ten. Lame.
“Travis called us. He asked us to come round and clean out his room so that you can decorate.”
“He did? That’s so thoughtful of him to ask for your help. You go on up. I’ve already started packing boxes. You can just carry on while I fix dinner. You’ll stay, won’t you?”
Before Blake and Dalton can jump in and say yes, I interject. “I’m afraid we can’t,” I say. “We just ate.”
“Oh,” Darleen says, touching her short blonde hair. “Maybe another time?”
“That would be awesome.” It really would be. A chance to sit across from Gabriella and eat some of Darleen’s delicious cooking. Awesome is frankly an understatement.
“Gabriella’s up there,” she says. “Say hi. She’ll be happy to see you. The house has seemed so quiet since Travis left.”
“We will,” Blake says breezily, but I feel anything but. It’s been weeks since I saw Gabriella for more than a fleeting moment, and I’m craving the sight of her like an addict.
We remove our shoes at the bottom of the stairs, following Darleen’s rule, and make our way up to the top floor where Travis and Gabriella have rooms. Travis’s door is open, but Gabby’s is disappointingly shut. There’s a bathroom between their rooms that we used to pretend was a portal to another universe, Planet Angel. We’d slide across the floor and crawl into Gabriella’s room, and she’d scream at the unwelcome invasion. The memory makes me smile.
“Keep your voices down,” I whisper. “She might be sleeping.”
Dalton snorts as we enter the room we practically lived in when we were kids. “What do you want to do? Tiptoe into her room and kiss her awake like the prince from Sleeping Beauty.”
“I’m trying to avoid being a douchebag,” I say, scowling.
“Do you guys ever stop bitchin’?” Blake asks, rubbing his latest tattoo. It’s a pirate ship, leaning on a rough sea. Incredible art, but not for me.
I have my hand on the closet door when there’s an agonized shout from Gabby’s room, followed by the clatter of something hitting the hardwood floor. I don’t even think about what I’m doing before I barrel through the door to the shared bathroom and burst into Gabriella’s room, expecting to find her lying injured on the floor and in need of rescue.
Maybe I am channeling the rescuing prince today.
Instead, I find her lying on her bed, legs spread wide and pussy bared, panting as her magic wand vibrator spins out of control on the floor. Her glazed eyes lock onto mine, shock cutting through the aftermath of what I now realize was an orgasm, not a domestic accident. With her blonde hair spilling out over the pillows, she really looks like a fairy-tale princess. At least, one who’s gotten to the end of the fairy tale and is seeking her happily ever after ending.
Blake and Dalton stumble into me from behind, and I’m almost propelled headfirst onto Gabby’s bed, just as she finally snaps into action and jumps up, her skirt falling to cover her nakedness.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Grabbing the vibrator, she stands before us like an avenging angel clutching an instrument of heavenly wrath. When she finds the switch, the low hum it was emitting stops immediately, and then the room is silent.
Silent except for my blood rushing in my ears and my heart hammering in my chest.
“GET OUT,” she yells, her face redder than a tomato ripened in the summer sun. “GET OUT!”
I take a step back, treading on Blake’s foot. When I turn, I find my two brothers stunned into an open-mouthed stupor. “You heard her. Get out.”
I hook my arm into Dalton’s and drag him back through the bathroom, turning to make sure Blake is following. He is, thank goodness.
The bathroom door slams on Gabby’s side and locks.
And in the aftermath of that click, I stare at my brothers, not quite believing what has just happened. And definitely not believing what we just saw.
Gabriella Cross masturbating. I just saw the pussy of the girl I’ve been crushing on for years. And instead of being mortified for her, I want to close my eyes and think about that image to cement it into my brain forever. I’ve never wanted a photographic memory more than I do at this moment.
“Did you see that?” Dalton mutters, his shock still making him appear like a startled goldfish. He rubs the back of his neck, shaking his head.
“No, I ran in there with my eyes closed,” I snort.
“We just heard Travis’s little sister come,” Blake says, chuckling devilishly.
“It sounded painful,” Dalton muses.
“It’s a fucking waste,” I say. “A travesty. An injustice that such a gorgeous girl has to resort to battery operated pleasure.”
Blake slumps onto Travis’s bed, folding his arms behind his head. “Maybe you should offer her your cock, you know, as community service.”
“Maybe you should shut your fucking mouth,” I say.
“That’s actually not a bad idea,” Dalton says. “I think I will.”
The murderous rage I feel thunder through me hits me off guard. “Like fuck you will,” I hiss, as my body primes for violence.
“Maybe we all should,” Blake muses. “I mean, that vibrator was some serious kit, and it’s only early evening right now. The girl was too thirsty to wait until the cover of darkness. Aaaannnd…” He drags out the word as though he wants to emphasize that he’s about to make his most important point. “…we’ve all been crushing on Gabriella Cross since before we grew hair on our balls. It’s the only solution that would be fair and equitable.”
“Do you hear yourself?” I snarl. “You’re talking about Travis’s little sister, a girl we grew up with, a girl we should respect.”
“Oh, I respect her. I respect her need for pleasure that doesn’t come from a hard, plastic object. I respect her enough to lend her the use of my most prized body part.”
“Not your brain, then,” Dalton mutters. The smile that tugs at the corner of his lips makes me want to punch him, but at least he’s not taking Blake’s suggestion seriously.
Blake fixes him with a knowing stare. “You’ve been beating your meat over Gabby for years.”
I swivel to fix dagger-eyes at a suddenly shifty-looking Dalton, who shrugs his shoulders. “What can I say? I’m a man with eyes and a cock. And a busy right hand.”
“And you.” Blake raises his eyebrows, nodding in my direction. I don’t like how exposed it makes me feel. They’re talking about Gabby like she’s a piece of meat, but I’ve always wanted more from her than just her sweet tits and rounded ass. I’ve wanted a chance to make her smile. I’ve wanted to make her my girl.
“This isn’t right,” I say.
“Of course it is.” Blake swivels his legs off the bed and stretches his arms above his head. “If we don’t, some other asshole out there will. Watching some other asshole take the place we could occupy would eat me from the inside out. We can make her a deal. A strictly no-strings offer that will result in her ultimate satisfaction. Just until she finds a decent man to have a loving relationship with. A decent man who her brother wouldn’t want to chop into pieces for messing with his sister.”
“Listen to you. So worried about her long-term relationship success and happiness. And what about us isn’t decent?”
“Maybe we could ask for something else in return,” Dalton says, looking up thoughtfully, completely avoiding my question.
“Oh yeah? And what would that be?” I roll my shoulders as a grin lights up my brother’s face like New Year’s fireworks.
“Maybe she could cook us dinner. She cooks like her momma, you know. Travis told me.”
It’s at this point that I know my brothers have lost all their fucking sense. “You’re seriously suggesting that a girl like Gabby will not only want to take us up on our offer of a three-sausage buffet, but also want to make us dinner in return. What kind of world are you living in because it isn’t the real one?”
Blake turns to the closet, pulling open the door before he swivels back to me and grins. “I’m living in the world where I know what’s in Gabby’s diary. She wants us. All of us.”
I glance at the door to the bathroom, my mouth dropping open at Blake’s admission, wondering what Gabby’s doing in her room right now. My cock stirs at how close that sweet pussy is. How close she is. I adjust my cock who’s come so close to paradise but has to remain confined to my snug boxer briefs. “You read her diary?” I ask with disgust.
“Not me. Travis. He thought it was hilarious that she had a teenage crush on the three of us.”
“That’s because he never imagined we’d do anything about it.”
“She’s not a kid anymore,” Dalton says. “And Blake’s right. If she’s that thirsty, and it’s not us, it could be someone a whole lot worse.”
“That’s it, bro. Sell yourself,” Blake laughs, tossing Travis’s Yoda pillow at Dalton’s head.
“We care about her, right?” Dalton rubs his beard, as a flush paints the skin over the top of his cheeks. “We’d do good by her.”
“Hell yeah,” Blake agrees, pulling out a pile of the sketchiest looking dirty magazines I’ve ever seen and dropping them on the bed. “Travis doesn’t need to know because there won’t be feelings involved. At least, not from her side. The diary said nothing about our winning personalities. She’s just hooked up on our ripped bodies and rugged good looks. This might be our only chance to know what it’d be like to have a girl like Gabby.”
I stare at my brothers, blinking slowly as their crazy, harebrained idea settles around us. If it’s not us, it could be someone else who doesn’t care for and respect her like we do. It could be so much worse.
The one-eighty my mind has done over the past few minutes unnerves me, but what can I say? I’ve had a crush on Gabby since before I even knew what it was. And if we can be what she needs, even for a few months, that would be more than I’ve ever hoped for.
“Who’s going to ask her?”
Blake and Dalton nod their heads, grinning like I just offered them a case of beer and a monster-sized sirloin. “You,” they both say simultaneously.
Now I’m sure they’ve lost their minds.