Chapter 17
seventeen
. . .
Cutler
Brody
Are you still good to pick up Clover today, Heart?
Yes. Gracie and I are leaving here in ten minutes to come pick her up.
The guys and I took turns spending Saturdays with Brody’s daughter, Clover, because he typically needed to be at the container park on Saturday afternoons, and it was the one day that he didn’t have his nanny. I looked forward to spending the day with her once a month.
Brody
Appreciate it.
Bass
I’m at the restaurant today, so stop by with the little nugget if you’re downtown.
Gracie and I are going to take her to the diner and then stop in Snow Balls for her favorite ice cream. We’ll drop by and see you.
Phoenix
Bring her by the firehouse too. I miss my girl. I don’t miss any of you fuckers, but I always miss Clover.
Cannon
She’s a chick magnet too. But seeing as Heart is always with Gracie, I don’t think women are going to be hitting him up.
Brody
Way to use my daughter to get women.
Cannon
Hey, Clover’s my girl. But if women find it sexy that I’ve got the cutest girl in town hanging out with me, so be it.
Bass
It’s slightly opportunistic but it works for you.
Cannon
I’ll take that as a compliment.
Phoenix
I don’t believe that was a compliment.
Bass
Heart, can you stop by my place this weekend? The shower keeps backing up and I think it’s a plumbing issue, probably due to Jovi’s fucking hair clogging the drain. But I tried pouring shit down there, and it’s not working.
Cannon
Wow. I just pictured Jovi in the shower naked. Not a bad way to start my day.
Bass
Fuck you. Get your filthy fucking thoughts away from my sister.
Cannon
Did you not just tell us that she was naked in the shower?
Phoenix
Quit while you’re ahead, dickhead.
Bass
Dude. Do not fucking joke about Jovi. The girl is going places, and it’s not here in Blue Sky Bay.
I’ll stop by tomorrow and take a look at the pipes.
Phoenix
You live on a houseboat. Your pipes are probably shit.
Cannon
I think you’ve all got shit pipes. Fairly certain I’m the only one that has a pipe that works really well.
Bass
You set him up for that one, Nix.
My pipe has always been solid.
Cannon
You just don’t use it anymore? Or are you keeping secrets from us?
Phoenix
I was kind of wondering the same thing, I’m just not a dick so I didn’t want to ask.
Brody
Don’t flatter yourself. You’re a complete dick. But I think we’re all wondering the same thing.
Bass
Have you crossed into a gray area, my man?
I don’t know anything about a gray area, boys. I’m just living my best life over here.
Phoenix
What kind of bullshit answer is that?
Cannon
It means he’s definitely in a gray area. He and his pipe are up to no good.
Brody
Since when do we keep secrets?
Bass
There’s only one person he would keep a secret for, and we all know who that is.
You’re all ridiculous. On my way to your place now, Brody.
They weren’t being ridiculous. I was being secretive, and they fucking knew it.
We didn’t keep shit from one another.
But I was in a very gray area.
We weren’t having sex, so it wasn’t as gray as it could’ve been.
“Why do you look perplexed?” Gracie asked as we walked side by side. Brody’s house was close to downtown and not far from me, and it was a nice day, so we were walking.
Clover liked to walk, and when she got tired, she loved for me to pop her up on my shoulders. Gracie knew her, but she hadn’t seen her since she’d been back in town, as the last few weeks had been busy for both of us. She was anxious to see her, since Clover had grown so much over the last year.
“I’m not perplexed. I’m actually very relaxed,” I chuckled, glancing over at her with a smirk.
She laughed and shook her head. “I think we’re both relaxed. We’ve got ourselves a nice little arrangement.”
“Don’t use the word ‘little’ with our arrangement,” I said with a loud laugh.
“Fine. We’ve got ourselves a nice big arrangement.”
I glanced down at her, not able to hide the smile on my face. “You surprised me when you came into my shower after we got out of the lake last night.”
“It only seemed fair. I mean, I had a feeling I knew what you were going to do in that shower, so I thought I’d give you a hand,” she said, smiling up at me as her cheeks turned a dark shade of pink.
“Literally and figuratively.”
She’d shocked the shit out of me when she’d knocked on the bathroom door and asked if she could join me. And she’d used her hand to do exactly what she’d known my hand was about to do.
She was a quick study.
Because skinny-dipping with Gracie Reynolds was beyond any fantasy I’d ever had, and I couldn’t wait to get in that shower after we’d come back inside.
The way she’d glided up and down my dick, all desperate and needy.
Dry-humping with this girl was better than sex with anyone else.
And kissing her—fuck me.
We probably shouldn’t have gone there, because I wanted my lips on hers any free moment I had now.
But I had to be careful: I couldn’t push too hard. I wanted her to call the shots and feel in control of this situation. So we’d watched a movie after the shower and kept our hands to ourselves, which took every bit of restraint I had.
We turned the final corner, and she peeked up at me, her teeth sinking into her bottom lip. “I liked it. The lake and the shower.”
“Good. We can do that as often as you want.”
“Well, now I feel like I’m the desperate one. Do you want to do it, or are you doing this as a favor?” she asked, and I could hear the doubt in her voice. I reached for her hand to stop her from moving forward and pressed her back against the side of the tree beside us.
“A favor? Are you fucking serious? Did it seem like a favor when I groaned your name in the shower last night?” I said against her ear, nipping at her lobe.
I pulled back, and she searched my gaze. “No. But why am I the one who initiates when we—you know, do stuff?”
“Because I’d have bent you over the kitchen counter already if you’d been down for that. You’re the one who wants a contract and rules. I’m the one who’s following your lead.”
She tucked her lips between her teeth and then blew out a breath. “So you’d have sex with me without hesitation?”
I caught myself smiling before I could stop it. God, did she really think I was just some horny asshole, ready to throw myself at anyone? Did she not know that it was just her?
Only her.
The thought made my chest tighten in a way I couldn’t explain.
I didn’t want to read too much into it. Didn’t want to scare her with how much she occupied my thoughts. So, I played it off, letting a playful grin spread across my face.
“Without hesitation?” I echoed, voice light, teasing.
“My only hesitation is you, Jeege. I don’t want to do anything that doesn’t feel right to you.
But yeah, I mean, we were dry-humping in the lake, and you gave me a hand job in the shower.
And we had a whole lot of fun on the boat a few weeks ago.
So, sex wouldn’t be a big jump for me personally.
Do I want it? Do I think about it every fucking second I’m around you?
Fuck yes.” I chuckled. “But I’ll do whatever you’re comfortable doing, because you’re my girl, and that’s how this works. ”
I realized how often I’d found myself taking her in, without even thinking about it. Not in a lecherous way—it was never about that. But in the quiet, impossible-to-ignore way she moved. The way she laughed.
The way she existed.
The tilt in her head when she smiled, the little gestures she didn’t even notice. It had become a habit, these stolen moments I took, each leaving my chest tight, my heart a little heavier with something I didn’t fully understand.
I’d catch her looking my way sometimes and wonder how I’d gotten so damn lucky that she was in my life.
It terrified me that I was having these feelings. Feelings that I wasn’t supposed to have.
She just wanted me to show her a good time.
This was a recipe for disaster.
She nodded. “I’m going to think this over. I just don’t want to get attached, you know, physically. We’re best friends. I’m leaving in a few months.”
There she went again. Reminding me about the expiration date on our arrangement.
But I watched her, trying to catch the little tells, the flicker in her eyes, or the slightest quiver in her voice. Her hands rested casually, her expression neutral, yet I could swear there was something behind her words that she wasn’t saying.
“All right, let’s go get Clover and stop talking about sex,” I said. “I can’t be all horned up when we’re picking up my goddaughter.”
All four of us were godfathers to Clover, and I loved it because my dad’s best friends had done the same thing for me when I was young.
They were family, and I’d grown up with them, and I wanted to do the same thing for Clover.
When we arrived, Brody thanked us both profusely before hurrying out the door to get to work.
Clover Quinn Stark was four years old, and quite possibly the cutest child on the planet.
Her light brown hair fell around her shoulders in ringlets, and I chuckled as she sat on Gracie’s lap, telling her about her favorite ice cream.
“My uncle always gets me all my favorite ice creams from my Snow Balls if I eat my lunch real good,” she said. “Right, Uncle Cutty?”
“Yes, ma’am, Lucky Clover. Should we get walking?” I asked as she pushed off of Gracie’s lap, and I took her hand and led her out the door.
They both happened to be wearing yellow sundresses and sneakers, and Clover had already gasped and chuckled about the coincidence. They looked cute as hell, and I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face.
“Gracie, I like your name, do you like my name, because it’s Clover.
Clover Quinn Stark but Uncle Cutty calls me his Lucky Clover, ’cause sometimes I’m his lucky girl.
And I think you’re a lucky girl too, ’cause you’re uncle Cutty’s bestie, like my bestie is Pippa, and I calls her Pippa Mint because my favorite ice cream is peppermint,” she said, all in one breath.
The girl hadn’t talked much until she turned three, and once she started, she had a lot to make up for.
Gracie and I each held one of her little hands in ours as she walked between us, and I chuckled at how much she’d just shared because she was cute as hell.
“I love your name so much, and I love peppermint ice cream too,” Gracie said. “And yes, Uncle Cutty is my bestie for sure.”
“Well, I feel like I won the lottery spending the day with my two best girls,” I said as we walked into the Cozy Griddle, which was her favorite place to eat.
We ate lunch, and she told us all about her plans to go kayaking with her daddy tomorrow, which was her favorite. And then we stopped at Snow Balls for ice cream, and I was always grateful that the owner, Sandra, allowed Clover to put three flavors into her one scoop.
Peppermint. Lemon. Strawberry.
Not a combo I would choose, but she was very passionate about her three choices.
We then walked around downtown and stopped by to see Bass and Phoenix, and it was a full afternoon.
“Do you gots any kids, Gracie?” she asked as we walked toward her house.
“I don’t. But someday I hope I do.”
“You feels like a mama,” she said. “My uncle Cutty isn’t a daddy, so he says I’m his little girl too.”
“Yeah, he talks about you all the time.” Gracie smiled down at her, and I could swear my fucking chest tightened. Because I could watch these two all day long.
“He talks abouts you too,” Clover said, giggling. “I wish you could stay here with us forever.”
Me too.
“I promise I’ll visit a lot.”
“Uncle Cutty is gonna be’s sad. But he can be my bestie with Pippa Mint.” She looked up at me with those big green eyes.
“Thanks, Lucky Clover. I’ve got my two girls. That’s all I need.” I winked at her as the front door pulled open, and Brody filled the doorway.
“How much ice cream did they give you?” He raised a brow, his voice filled with humor.
Brody was a damn good father, and if I ever did decide to have children, I’d take a lot of what I’d learned from him, mixed with the fact that my pops was the best dad I could have ever asked for.
“Just one scoops, daddy. With three flaveys.” She held up four chubby little fingers instead of three and then concentrated hard until she figured out how to push one down.
We all laughed, and I scooped her up and nuzzled her neck. “Love you, Lucky Clover.”
“Love you, Uncle Cutty,” she said over a fit of giggles.
And then she reached for Gracie, who pulled her into her arms. “Thanks for the best day ever, sweet Clover.”
“You’re my bestie too, Miss Gracie.” And she kissed her cheek.
Gracie shook her head and smiled. “Besties forever.”
Brody took her into his arms and thanked us several times, and we made our way home.
I could get used to this.
Just hanging with my girl.
Lunches and friends and making memories.
Working together and creating beautiful homes.
Laughing until my stomach hurt.
Skinny-dipping in the lake together.
Yes. I could definitely get used to this.