Chapter 19
EVERLEE–HOT TUBS AND HISTORY
Brady parks the car, and I step out, looking up at the house I never thought I’d see again, and all the feels come rushing back to me.
I walk inside and set my bag near the door and hear the men talking in the kitchen.
“Hello?” I announce in a singsong voice, leaning forward into the space.
Why do people do that? You aren’t leaning around or into anything.
I shake my head, trying to reel my random thoughts and nerves back in.
This is my first time back here since I ran away, and it all looks exactly the same, like no time has passed.
Knox runs out and slides to a stop in front of me.
“Hey love.” He slips his arm around me and tilts me back into a kiss.
When he pops us back up, I look at him, trying to figure out why he’s in such a good mood.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing.” He grabs my hand and walks me into the kitchen with an extra bounce in his step.
“You seem to be in a fantastic mood.”
“I’m just happy you’re here.”
“Hey!” they all shout, just before Emmett slides me an old-fashioned across the bar.
Grabbing the glass in my hand, I eye them all curiously. “What’s going on?”
They fall silent, all eyes drifting to Emmett at the stove, calmly flipping what looks like steaks in a sizzling pan.
“Emmett?”
He scoops the sauce over the steaks, then looks at me.
“Bo La Vie was just named Best New Restaurant.”
“That’s so exciting!” I squeal.
“Very! This is the first step to getting a Michelin rating.”
“Michelin. If anyone can do it, you can!” I run around the counter to give him an enormous hug. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thank you.” He kisses my forehead, then continues spooning some sort of reduction over the steaks.
“How was your house?” Jax asks, rubbing his biceps. Between the scents of what Emmett’s cooking and the muscles on display, I’m nearly panting.
“Fine,” I say cautiously, tilting my head to the side. I take a sip of my drink and let the crisp, cool burn of the bourbon slide down my throat. “These are marvelous.”
“They are,” Jax says, grabbing my hand and pulling me over towards him and kissing my temple.
I can’t tell if he’s just relishing in Emmett’s happiness or if he’s searching for the truth about what happened at my house.
There’s no way he could know about Rich, but in case he does, I don’t want him to think I am trying to hide anything from them.
“So… I had a visitor.”
“At your apartment?”
I nod. “Rich was there.”
“Why?” Jax asks, pushing me away a little to look at me. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“No, I’m good. Great, in fact. He saw me Thursday at the club, so he came around again trying to worm his way back in. Unfortunately for him, I’ve moved on.”
“You have?” he asks softly, pulling me towards him again, shoulders relaxing.
“Yea. I found.” I pause as he places a gentle kiss on my neck. “These guys.”
“Tell me more,” he murmurs with his lips against my neck, his fingers brushing the skin just above my pants.
“They’re… okay.” I’m getting turned on, and this was not the plan for tonight. I’d have them all and deal with the consequences of an achy pussy later, but damn, my little girly girl needs a break.
“Only okay?” He gently bites then sucks my fevered skin into his mouth, as his tongue swipes over the surface, causing me to shift.
“Well…” I sigh, as my eyes roll into the back of my head.
“We said no sex tonight,” Callum reminds.
Jax sighs and pulls away. “I know. I’m just teasing.”
“Clit tease.” I rub my hand on the inside of his thigh.
“It’s time to eat, anyway,” Emmett says, pulling a dish out of the oven.
Jax looks down at my hips and pumps his eyebrows.
“Stop!” I playfully smack his arm.
He laughs, rubbing his bulging biceps as he stands up. “What can I help with, dearest Emmett?” he asks, strolling over to the counter.
“You can pick a bottle of wine and grab some glasses.”
“Ev, you want to help?”
Callum chuckles. “I think she’ll do better staying up here instead of down in the cellar with you.”
“Next time.” I wink.
He pats the doorframe and takes off. I realize I have no idea where he’s going and, based on Callum’s comment, he’s going downstairs. There’s really so much about them and this house that I don’t know. But that’s going to change.
I grab the plates Emmett’s preparing and take them over to the table.
Jax is up a few minutes later, and we’re toasting the future Michelin star chef and enjoying a delicious dinner.
I’m over the moon happy and realize this is the first normal thing we’ve ever done together.
All of us just sitting around a table eating food and joking, nothing sexual about it. Just enjoying each other’s company.
I have to force them to let me wash the dishes after dinner because I need to contribute somehow. After the last dish is dried and placed back on the shelf, Knox swoops me into his arms and carries me upstairs to the roof.
“No sex,” he says, looking at me. “So keep your hands to yourself.”
A moment later, I’m standing stripped down on their roof.
I don’t know of a time ever in my life where I have felt this comfortable being completely naked in front of someone.
Hell, in front of four deliciously hot as fuck someone’s.
I’ve always been self-conscious, even after a year and a half with Rich.
Although that could be because he would occasionally comment if I looked bloated or would suggest I needed to hit the gym after patting my belly or ass.
Near the end, I guess it was because I was fairly certain he was cheating on me, and figured it was because I wasn’t good enough, or thin enough, or pretty enough.
But these guys… they appreciate me for who I am, curves and all.
A warmth bubbles inside me. I’m falling for them fast, and the thought terrifies me.
Callum and Jax are already sitting inside the hot tub with a stemless glass of wine perched on the deck beside them, with three other glasses poured around the outside. Knox is climbing in a moment later as Emmett walks through the door.
“Come on in,” Jax offers, walking across the hot tub, holding his hand out.
I grab it and step in, letting the hot water bite against my skin, looking around awkwardly.
Jax chuckles. “We won’t bite. Unless you ask.” He pumps his brows, then sits down.
“We aren’t trying to trick you,” Callum adds, noticing my awkwardness. “We really just want to take care of you, since we didn’t get the chance to do that all weekend.”
“You don’t have to.” I skim my hand across the top of the water.
I’m not used to having this kind of attention shown to me.
Sure, this isn’t the first time I’ve been in the hot tub with them, but it’s usually sexually charged and I know what the result is going to be.
Usually several orgasms. But this… this is uncharted territory. This is open-ended.
“We know,” he says, picking up my foot and rubbing his thumbs across it. He hits a spot, and a moan escapes my lips as my head falls back. “But we like to.” He laughs.
We’re all in the hot tub enjoying the bubbles, heat, and soft jams of Teddy Swims when Callum releases my foot. “Your family seems nice.”
I open my eyes and look at him. “They’re great, but can be a little much at times.”
He chuckles. “Your mom really wanted you with Winston.”
I shrug, cringing at the memory of them walking in and seeing me on a date with him.
“He’s a nice guy,” Callum repeats his words from this weekend.
“I don’t want him,” I huff.
“What do you want?” Jax asks, and the air grows heavy.
I look around at each of them, their eyes fixed on me.
Is this what we’re doing? Are we having this talk right now?
Well, no time like the present to rip the Band-Aid off, I suppose.
“I want you all. I’ve always wanted you all.
Even when I left, I wanted you all. I didn’t want to get hurt and thought you didn’t want me.
” They all sit forward and start to speak, but I hold my hand up.
“I know. I get why you have the rules, and I was just trying to follow them. At least that’s what I tried to convince myself. ”
I don’t realize until I’m done speaking that Emmett is running his hands through my hair.
Jax starts, “We have rules to protect everyone and to protect us. We know you’ve talked with Sophie quite a bit during these last two months.
She wouldn’t divulge the details, however, she shared the gist of what your concerns are, which mirror ours.
As you know, Sophie was the first and only serious relationship we had, and the reason for the rules.
We got hurt, she got hurt. In the end, we knew what happened was what needed to happen, but when you left us… ”
“I’m sorry.”
“We know,” Callum says. “Look. Tonight isn’t for talking about our future.
We’ll talk about that Tuesday. We just wanted you to know we aren’t going anywhere and will make this work.
We want you to think about what that really means, though, because we can’t be hurt again and we don’t want you to get hurt, either.
Family, kids, lifestyle. Just think about it.
There are things I just don’t know if you can have with us. ”
I nod.
A moment later, Emmett wraps his arm around me and pulls me into him, so I lean on his chest and prop my feet on Knox.
We sit like this for who knows how long, just relishing the music and the connectedness.
I’ve never heard of this artist before, and it’s a shame because his voice is… silky, gravelly, perfection.
“I know we’re not having sex tonight, but next time we are…” I point to the speaker.
“Yea? You like you some Teddy Swims?” Jax asks.
“Love.” I laugh.
“Did you talk to Lizzy… after, you know?” Knox asks.
I smile. “Yes. She said she wanted a picture of… you know… so she could figure out how it works.”
Their eyes widen in shock and surprise, making me laugh. “But don’t worry. I shut it down.”
“She’s a strange bird.” Jax chuckles.
“That she is. But she’s mine.”
“You’ve known her a long time?” Knox asks.
“Since grade school.” I smile, remembering the day she walked into the classroom for the first time.
Hair poofed on her head, books clutched to her chest, wearing a denim dress with rainbow zigzag knee-high socks.
I should have known then that she was going to be a force to be reckoned with.
“What about you all?” The question had been weighing on me all weekend, but I didn’t know how to ask or even how to start the conversation.
Now seemed like the best opportunity, since they had cracked the door open.
They all look at one another, then Emmett speaks as he mindlessly twirls his fingers through my hair.
“We’ve known each other for quite some time.
I was first at the foster home, getting there when I was four.
My dad apparently wasn’t in the picture and my mom died in a car crash.
I have this scar here to remind me.” He points to a white line on his arm that was about two inches long. “Next came Jax and Callum.”
I look at them.
“Similar story,” Callum says. “Dad was gone, and Mom liked drugs more than she liked us. She overdosed on heroin when I was nine and Jax was seven.”
“And then our precious Knox joined our little crew.”
Knox adds, “Mom left when I was a baby and Dad got arrested for murder. Although I still think it was a bogus charge. He was at a bar one night and some man was beating on a woman, so my dad stepped in to break it up and when he threw the guy backwards, the man stumbled over his drunken feet and hit his head on the edge of the bar.”
“Have you seen him?”
Knox shakes his head. “He got out and when I went to the prison, he’d left a note for me.
Said it was better this way if he wasn’t in my life.
So I enlisted in the military with Jax and never looked back.
” He takes a large gulp of wine and sets the empty glass back down.
It’s obvious he still has problems with the way his father left things, even if he doesn’t want to admit it.
“I went to business school,” Callum continues.
“And I went to culinary school,” Emmett adds.
“But you all had Mrs. Mary Mae.” I smile.
“We call her Mrs. Mary and she is wonderful,” Emmett says, his fingers dancing up and down my arm.
“Strict as shit, though.” Knox laughs. “Military was a cakewalk because of her.”
“Only because you were unruly!” Jax waves his fist in the air. The way he says unruly makes me think that was a word they heard often growing up.
Callum adds with a serious undertone. “If it hadn’t been for her, though, who knows where we’d be. She definitely saved us.”
They all agree, and silence fills the air again.
The bubbles shut off a few seconds later, followed by a yawn.
Emmett pats my arm. “Let’s get you to bed.”
I sit up, and everyone looks at me. “What’s wrong?” Callum asks.
“Where do I sleep? There are four of you and one of me.”
“Where do you want to sleep?”
“No. You can’t do that. You can’t make me choose between you all. This can’t work if I have to choose.”
Callum steps forward and grabs my hands. “We’ll figure it out. Tonight, we’ll sleep in the voyeur room, so we can all sleep with you and so you don’t have to choose.”
I nod. “So I’m weird and want to take a quick shower before I go to bed.”
“That’s fine, we will too.”
Fucking hell. What are the chances they’ll use the showers in their bedrooms?