Chapter Four #2
Callum stood up from the bed. “I’ll leave you to get ready, then.” He tapped on the side of the shopping bags and added, “I hope you find something you like. If not, I’ll be happy to buy you something else.”
Overwhelmed by his generosity and unsure what to say, I nodded with a smile. Before he left the room, Callum swooped in to give me another kiss. It was quick, but still just as good as the last one.
Once I was alone in the room, I excitedly pulled the clothing out of the plastic bags. There were two pairs of jeans and several t-shirts and sweaters in different colors; they were all beautiful, and they all looked like they’d fit me.
There was no underwear to be found, but I didn’t mind. I stood up and pulled on a pair of dark blue jeans. They were a little loose, but comfortable. I rolled on a pair of socks and pushed my feet into a pair of boots which fit perfectly.
After looking over all of the shirts again, I chose a gray sweater; I thought it would be nice to match Callum for our date.
I combed my fingers through my wild curls, took a deep breath, and stepped out into the living room, where Callum was waiting for me.
His lips stretched into a wide smile when I emerged.
“You look lovely.”
“Thanks.” I ran my hand down the front of my soft, warm sweater. “And thank you again for the clothes; they’re so nice.”
“Of course. Here; just let me get these for you…” He reached behind my head and pulled off a paper paper shopping tag before doing the same to the back of my pants.
I was so excited to get dressed, I didn’t even notice them.
Callum gently tugged on the waistband of my jeans.
“Hmm, these are a little loose. I’ve got a belt if you’d-”
“No!” Callum flinched at my too-loud exclamation and my cheeks heated. “Sorry. I...I don’t like belts. I know it’s stupid.” It wasn’t like one could hurt me on its own, but just the sight of a strip of leather made my stomach turn.
"It's not stupid," he insisted, cupping my cheek. "I didn't mean to upset you. If the jeans are okay for now, I'll wash them in hot water later to try and shrink them." I nodded my thanks and he dropped his hand to take mine. "May I introduce you to my friends now?"
Friends ? I thought I was only meeting one person, but I didn't mind, so I nodded again and Callum led me to the sofa. No one was there and I was confused until I saw a computer on the coffee table with a familiar face on its screen.
"Sam?" I asked in a shaking voice as I took a seat on the couch.
The cute blond smiled and gave me a wave. "Hey, Brodie." I was shocked that one, he knew me already, and two, he seemed so relaxed. Why is he smiling at me? Why isn't he yelling or swearing ? I don't deserve his smile .
"Sam, I'm so sorry," I blurted out as my eyes welled up.
"I'm so sorry that I hurt you. I scared your friend and I'm sure you were scared too and I could have killed you!
" Tears fell down my cheeks as my words tumbled out.
"I didn't mean to hurt you, but I still pulled the trigger and it's all my fault.
" Callum sat beside me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders as I wept so hard, Sam's face became too blurry to see.
"Hey, hey, it's okay," Sam insisted, trying to calm me down. "I'm still kickin' and look, I barely have a scar on my face."
"I gave you a scar!" I wailed. I hadn't thought of that yet; Sam would have a physical reminder of what happened for the rest of his life.
"Hey, I think his scar is sexy as hell," another voice spoke. One of the redheads from the games squeezed into the frame with Sam.
Sam nodded happily. "Really, I should thank you; this thing has gotten me laid so many times." I wondered how many times were possible since it only happened two days ago. "This is my mate Flynn, by the way."
"Don't forget about me!" A second redhead appeared beside Sam.
"How could I forget you, my little ginger sex bunny?" The two of them kissed and groped each other shamelessly.
"Sam! You're supposed to be making Brodie feel better, not making out with your men!
" The screen shifted and focused on the blue eyed, sweater-wearing man from the field, and next to him was the shaggy blond dressed in black.
"Sorry about them; they never stop. Anyway, "sex bunny" is Fletcher, I'm Ben, and this is my friend Milo. It's nice to meet you, Brodie."
"Why?" I asked seriously. "Ben, I saw you the other day; you were so scared, and it was all because of me. I did something so horrible. Why are you being nice to me?"
"Callum told us about your brothers," Ben replied.
" They're the ones who did something horrible.
You were just trying to survive. Besides, you didn't shoot Sam on purpose.
If he wasn't such an awesome bodyguard, the bullet wouldn't have touched anyone.
" Sam didn't look like a typical bodyguard, but I'd seen his merit on the field.
"Brodie," Milo said to get my attention, "I know what it's like to be under someone else's control and how scary that can be.
" He paused to smile at Ben when his friend took his hand.
"I've been hurt when I didn't follow directions, and I know that when it comes to what happened the other day, you didn't have a choice.
But you're safe now. Callum will protect you just like Bastian protects me. "
"Always, cielito," a big man with long black hair promised as he snuggled close to Milo and kissed his lips.
I recognized him as well, and before I could stop myself, asked, "So, he's not your father?" Sam's voice laughed from offscreen and Bastian glared at him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude; I heard you call him 'Poppy' at the games and I thought he was your dad."
Milo smiled in understanding. "Papi does mean Daddy in Spanish, but Bastian isn't my dad; he's my partner." I nodded even though I was still confused.
The screen jerked again, and Sam's face came into focus. He flicked his eyebrows wildly and explained, "He calls him that because they're super kinky."
"Kinky?" I wasn't familiar with the word.
Sam smiled so widely that he showed all of his teeth as he looked beside me to Callum. "Holy shit, you're gonna have so much fun teaching him dirty stuff." Sam turned back to me and added, "If you ever have any questions, call me; I'm pretty much an expert." Flynn and Fletcher nodded quickly.
"Okay, that's enough." The screen shifted again to yet another face, which I also recognized from the other day. The man had honey colored eyes and dark curls like me, though his were shinier and more tame than mine.
"Hello, Brodie. My name is Dante Javier," he said in a deep, regal voice that had an accent I'd never heard, aside from Bastian. "I apologize for my friends; they can turn off topic easily, and can be very inappropriate."
"Ben tells me everything," Sam pointed out. "I know you're just as filthy as the rest of us."
Dante closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
" Anyway ," he continued when his eyes opened again, "The purpose of this call was to show you that we understand and empathize with your situation.
None of us hold any ill will towards you, and you should have none towards yourself.
Sometimes events are out of our control, and letting them weigh on our minds will only hurt us more.
We want to move past this and form a future as friends. "
"Osito, that's so sweet!" Ben barrelled into Dante and made him chuckle as he hugged him for all he was worth.
Dante's words brought tears to my eyes again. These amazing people were willing to forgive and forget everything, and they wanted me in their lives.
"I’m honored. I...I've never had friends," I admitted with a sniffle.
Ben's eyes shimmered right along with mine when he replied, "Well, now you have seven."
"And Lachlan," Callum reminded me with a squeeze to my shoulder.
I gave him a watery smile and turned my eyes back to the computer screen. Watching Dante and Ben snuggling brought a question to my mind. "Dante, are you a prince?"
His eyes widened and Callum's hand flinched on my shoulder. "How did you know?"
"I heard the guard talking when he took me in. He was talking about the prince's consort and his bodyguard. Since Sam's Ben's bodyguard, I just kind of pieced it together."
"You're very clever." My heart flipped at the compliment; no one had ever told me something like that.
I didn't know much about other countries or governments, but I remembered Callum saying that Sam and his friends had travelled back to Spain, so I asked Dante, "Are you prince of Spain?" I assumed that's where his accent came from.
"In a sense. My father is a king in Spain, and I play more of a diplomatic role in the United States." I couldn’t believe the turn my life had taken; this morning I was in a jail cell, and now I was friends with a prince.
“He’s also a great leader for our...community,” Ben added. “He makes sure everyone is taken care of and happy.”
“You honor me, Benny.” The duo kissed and there was a scoff from the background.
“Hey, if I’m not allowed to make out on camera, neither are you,” Sam whined.
Ben blushed as he parted from his husband and Dante offered, “I apologize.”
“It’s okay; I think it’s sweet.”
“Thank you, Brodie,” Dante replied with a bow of his head. “Now, I don’t want to keep you; I’m sure you two have plans for the evening.”
“We do.” I added excitedly, “Callum is taking me on a date!”
“Ow ow!” Sam grabbed the computer again and said, “Let me give you a couple quick pieces of advice; relax your throat and don’t be afraid to use your hands.” He made a grabby, bouncing gesture while Flynn and Fletcher gave two thumbs up.
“For god’s sake, give me that.” A moment later, Bastian’s face was on screen. “Just have a good time, and congratulations to both of you for finding one another.”
“Thank you, my friend,” Callum replied. “I hope we see each other soon.”
“Oh, I’m sure we’ll get together very soon,” Bastian said with a wink. I figured they had plans I didn’t know about. I was excited to talk to the group again, and maybe even see them in person one day.
Bastian turned the screen so that everyone was in view as they waved goodbye. Callum and I waved back and the screen went black. My brain buzzed as it replayed the conversation that went from sorrowful to silly to I think sexy if I understood Sam correctly. And it was all perfect.
I threw myself onto Callum and hugged him as tightly as possible. “Thank you. Thank you for saving me and helping me and calling your friends. They’re so wonderful and they forgave me and were nice to me and I know a prince!”
I was babbling, spitting out everything my spinning mind came up with. I was free and happy, and couldn’t hold it in. I’d always regret what happened at the games, but now because of Sam’s graciousness, I knew I didn’t have to let it eat me up inside.
“You’re welcome, m’anam,” Callum whispered into my curly hair.
“They are pretty wonderful; I’ve known Dante, Flynn, Fletcher and Bastian a very long time, and they’re remarkable men.
I only met Sam, Ben and Milo recently, but I feel the same way about them.
And none of them want you worrying yourself to death over this; everything is forgiven and in the past. We all want you to be happy. ”
“You know, all of my life I’ve felt like a mistake. And after what happened with Sam, I wanted to die.”
“Please, Brodie,” Callum interrupted, squeezing me tighter. “It hurts my heart to hear such things.”
“But everything’s different now,” I added quickly.
I never wanted to hurt Callum. “I am happy for the first time in my life. I have friends and a nice place to stay...and I have you.” I looked up to find a sweet smile on his handsome face.
“I feel safe with you and you make me happy.” I wasn’t the fanciest speaker.
I didn’t know how to turn a romantic phrase like I wanted to, but I hoped Callum understood how I felt.
“You make me happy too.” I didn’t understand how I could, but I wasn’t about to fight or question him.
Callum pressed a soft kiss to my lips, and my heart skipped a beat.
Kissing was just the best, but I doubted it would be this good with anyone else.
“Are you ready for our date?” he asked when he pulled away too soon.
Honestly, I was fine with sitting on the sofa and kissing all night, but I was also looking forward to seeing the village, so I answered, “Ready.”