Chapter Eighteen

We spent the night with each brother telling me goodbye in his own way. My flight left early in the morning and I had to take the rental car back before I even stepped into the airport.

We had one more tryst with all of us in the tub. I touched his face as he got me off, trying to imprint it on my brain. Tristan wanted me to himself, to romance me with flowers and kisses, with sweet and gentle touches, until he had me trembling with need. Adam wanted me next and had me up against the glass wall that looked out on the balcony. It was hot, with that edge of danger that thrilled me, excited me, and made me want to explore more. We only had a short time, though, so I walked away from him with two love bites, one on the front of my neck that had already started to fade, and one on the back of my neck that my hair would hide. That meant I spent the night with Daniel.

He was as romantic as Tristan, but he had a little bit of an edge of danger like Adam had, though not as much. Just enough to be interesting. He kept me up for hours as he explored my body, then showed me how to please him, in more ways than one. I went to sleep with a tired smile on my face, and one very sore body.

They all got up with me the next morning and we had breakfast before we packed the suitcase they’d gotten for me. I dressed slowly, not at all eager to leave the place. I wanted more time, but we all knew I had to get back home. After that, there wasn’t much else to do. They each told me goodbye in their own way.

Tristan held me for ages, as did Daniel. Adam although still determined to play the tough guy, broke as I turned to Michael when all he did was kiss my cheek and say goodbye. In the end, he held me just as close as his brothers had. Michael did the same when it was his turn. Only he promised he’d get them all to me as quickly as he could. A final kiss on my cheek, his fingers against my face as he wiped away my tears, and a watery smile were the last moments I spent with them.

I took a deep breath and walked out the door. I didn’t look back, I couldn’t. I’d have run back to them if I had. I may have only spent two nights with them, but I’d texted with them for weeks before that. I’d spoken with them now, had seen who they really were, and it was fucking hard to leave them.

I stepped into the elevator, turned in my key when I reached that lobby, then walked down to the parking garage. I quickly found the car, and before I knew it, I was in the airport waiting for my plane. It all passed in a blur because all I could see was their faces, their smiles, the way they each sighed my name.

It was a struggle to pay attention to the announcements, I kept remembering moments with them or looking around the airport, half hoping they’d show up to bring me back to their hotel. Or come home with me.

That made me smile. The thought of the four of them trying to fit into our tiny house, with Mom in the other room. That wouldn’t go down well at all.

My flight was finally called, and I reluctantly boarded the plane. I had to stop in Houston again, but it was a shorter stop this time. I’d have enough time to run from one part of the airport to the next, and then I’d be boarding the new plane. I don’t know why they jammed flights together like that, but it was a cheap ticket so I wouldn’t complain.

I made it home a few hours later, around one in the afternoon. Mom was obviously at work as it was Tuesday afternoon, so I went home and unpacked my suitcase. I checked my phone and saw there was a new group chat. Each brother had sent me a message to tell me how glad they were I’d swiped Amanda’s phone when she dropped it and that they’d call me later.

I went out around four to get something to make for dinner, but Mom called me while I was out.

“Honey, I’m going to be out this evening, can you find yourself something to eat?”

We’d texted earlier about my trip and I’d responded with PG-13 details. It was fun, I had a good time, I was home now. Things like that. Now it was straight to the reason she’d called, could I feed myself?

“Sure, Mom, I’ll just swing by and pick something up then. Hot date?” I asked from my car. I had just stopped when she called and was about to head into the store.

“Yeah, something like that. Don’t forget how old I am. Hot doesn’t really enter into the equation anymore,” she sighed unhappily.

“Mom, you’re super-hot and don’t let anyone tell you any differently!” I said the words with authority and heard her laugh as a result. So much for authoritative.

“If you say so, honey.”

“Hey, listen, are you going somewhere special?” I had an idea.

“Yeah, he’s taking me to Alfredo’s, that new Italian place over by the mall.”

“Hm, what are you going to wear?”

“I thought I’d wear my green dress, the one with the cutouts up between my shoulders?” She didn’t sound convinced. “I brought it with me.”

“I tell you what, come home and change before you go. I have the perfect dress for you.” We were a similar size, so I knew she could get into the sleek red dress the guys had bought for me. “I have the right shoes too.”

“Honey, I couldn’t--” she started but I interrupted her.

“You can and you will. If nothing else, I’ll race them over to you.”

“That might be better. We’d agreed to meet at six PM and you know what traffic is like.”

“I do. I’ll zip home, get the dress and the shoes, and then I’ll be over. I’ll see you soon.”

“Okay. And honey, don’t speed!”

“Bye, Mom.” I hung up, raced back to the house, then to the dental office where she worked. I walked in, smiled at Mom, and pointed to the closed office behind the reception desk. It was a general administration office, so I opened the black garment bag the dress was in and pulled out the dress and shoes.

“Oh, my God, I can’t wear that!” Mom looked at the dress in wonder. “Honey, where did you get this?”

“It was a gift, Mom. Don’t worry. I’ll explain at some point when I’ve got my head around it all, but for now, just know that I had the most incredible weekend and this dress was part of it.”

She looked at me, glanced down at the faint bruise on my neck, quirked an eyebrow with pleased curiosity and then bit her lip. “Did you…”

We weren’t exactly close, but we were loving towards each other and Mom had always been open with me. I knew what she meant and nodded. “I did. And it was… beautiful!”

“Good! Although, with a dress this expensive I have to wonder who you’ve gotten mixed up with…”

“You’ll love th-ahem, him.” I’d almost said them, but I didn’t want to drop that on her tonight. That was for another time. “Come on, try it on. Let me see.”

“Cindy’s out there on her own.”

“There were two patients out there. If you hurry, you can try it on and get back into your scrubs before anyone notices.” I urged her on.

Mom, giggling like a kid let loose in a candy shop, went for the dress as she threw her scrubs off. She slid into it and zipped it up on the side then stood up. Even without the shoes, I could see where I got my figure.

“You’re gorgeous, Mom!” I whispered tears in my eyes.

She looked at me and then down at herself and raised an eyebrow again. “Really? I don’t look like one of those desperate housewives?”

“Not at all. You look young, sophisticated, and beautiful. Not like a mom at all.” I hugged her and stood back as she changed into her scrubs again. She still had work to do so I left her with the dress and the shoes and went home.

I had more messages from the guys that I answered by the time I pulled in with carryout Mexican food and a bottle of wine. I went into the kitchen, took out the food, and ate as I texted the fellas back. I was smiling happily when Brooklyn called me.

“You home now?” She asked with suspicion like it might not be me on the phone, and I laughed.

“Yes, I’m home, Mommy. Safe and sound.” I relaxed into the chair, ready for a long chat with my BFF.

“Good. Now, explain what this mysterious trip of yours was all about.”

“How did you know about it?” I remembered now; I hadn’t told her about the trip.

“I, uh… well, I called your Mom.” She finally answered after a moment of thought. Her confession only confused me.

“Why?” I asked as the mystery deepened.

“Well, I haven’t told my parents yet and I had a pregnancy question, so I called her,” Brooklyn admitted.

“Oh, you chicken!” But I knew telling secrets could be hard.

“I know! It’s not as if my parents aren’t accepting and kind, but I don’t know. I’m afraid to tell them this for some reason. And they love Stuart, so it’s not him either. I don’t know, I’m just afraid to tell them.”

“I understand.” I had my own secret that I wasn’t ready to tell, at least not to my mom.

“So, what was in Vegas, Nic? What did you do? Spend the weekend as a dancing girl in a cage or something?” She laughed because she knew it wouldn’t happen, but she wasn’t far off. I’d been locked away, but it had been with my four men.

“Something like that,” I answered vaguely. “I’ll tell you when I see you on Friday, alright? This needs to be a one-on-one talk, not over the phone.”

I sidestepped that conversation for now. We had an agreement that we’d made a long time ago. If it was something we needed to think about, brood over for a bit, we’d say it in some way. One-on-one talk was one of those ways.

“I hear you, honey. Totally understand. There are some things you just have to ponder over for a while. Like this pregnancy of mine. I wanted to wait, but when it happened… well, I had to think about it on my own for a while, before I could talk to even Stuart about it.”

“I understand,” I replied and stuck my finger in a bit of sour cream left on the flimsy metal bowl my food came in. “I guess we’re both trying to get into adulthood now, with no real clue how to do it.”

“You can say that again. Do you think we’ll have this down when we’re 40?” she asked with a happy tone in her voice.

“I’m not sure. I think the real grownups are just playing at it, the same way we are,” I told her and got up to go to the couch. I threw my flimsy bowl and the bag it came in away on the way and that took care of the dishes. “My idea of doing dishes just now was throwing away the bag and the container. So, not ready for this adulting gig.”

“Do we have to be? Can’t I have my baby, and we can all grow up together? We’ll still be teenagers, and when it’s ready to go to college, we’ll finally be ready, I think.” Brooklyn whined playfully.

“I think we could get away with that.” I sat down on the couch, my back and legs sore but I still managed to stretch out. “Maybe we could talk the baby into being the grownup for us?”

“Nah, we couldn’t do that to the poor child. It’s going to have me as a mother and Stuart as a father, that’s punishment enough.”

“And me as an aunty, so I’ll balance things out,” I assured her, but I wasn’t sure I was any more of a role model than they were. I had just started a relationship with four men.

“Well, I hope so.” I heard her give a deep sigh and then I heard a door open. “Hi, baby. Just talking to Nic.”

“Tell her I said hi,” I heard from the other line.

“Hi, Stuart,” I called over the phone and grinned. Almost like old times.

“I guess we’re going to dinner now, Nic. I love you though and can’t wait to see you soon!”

“I’ll be there before you know it,” I told her happily.

“Good. Talk to you then, if not before.” She made kissing noises over the phone and then disconnected.

I sighed, ready to sleep. I’d told the fellas I was on my way to bed, so we delayed our call for a night. I just needed some rest and time to recover from that impossibly wonderful weekend.

I put a movie on Netflix and before I knew it, Mom was coming in to wake me up so I could sleep in my bed, and the TV had gone off.

“Mom? What time is it?” I asked blearily and looked up at her.

“It’s late, honey. Get to bed. You’ll get a crick in your neck if you sleep there.”

“Okay. Love you,” I murmured the words and went back to the bedroom.

I crawled into my bed, with its cool sheets and soft blankets, so unlike the bed in the hotel room. That bed had been luxurious, but this was my bed and it was in my home. Everything was familiar here, even the smell from the fragrance sticks Mom used around the house. I loved the smell of red berries that came out of the bamboo sticks as they absorbed the liquid, and I always knew I was home when I smelled that.

I sighed a deep, heavy sigh as I thought about the weekend one more time. I couldn’t believe they still wanted to talk to me, but they did. I was over the moon about it, and tomorrow, I’d let it sink in finally. Tonight, I needed rest.