Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 77490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77490 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
We try to make ourselves sleep, so we’ll be rested for our spring cleaning day, but we keep waking up and reaching for each other. We drink water, doze off, and then wake again.
When morning arrives, I don’t feel as tired as I expected. My fragments of sleep must have gotten me better-quality rest than I thought; maybe that’s one of the side benefits of sex. Whatever the reason, I’m ridiculously happy and satisfied.
Gray cooks a delicious breakfast for us all with bacon and actual homemade waffles, and then we head out. Brax’s mom isn’t bothered at all by surprise guests showing up. On the contrary, she seems delighted to see us, and insists on bringing out iced tea, lemonade, and cookies for us to share.
The morning passes quickly. I rake leaves, dust blinds and ceiling fans, and help change the linens on the beds and the towels in the bathrooms. Brax’s younger siblings are home too, doing their own chores. I get quite a few curious glances from them, but they don’t try to grill me about my relationship to their brother.
We’re about to break for lunch when my phone rings. I see it’s Josephine calling, and my good mood vanishes. Keeping so busy had helped me forget, at least momentarily, what day it is.
“Hello, Josephine.”
“Ava.” Her voice is choked with tears, and I know before she says another word that I haven’t had a miraculous escape from my church’s judgment. “They—they voted—”
“It’s okay, Josephine. I knew they would.” It still hurts, no matter how prepared I was; there’s a dull ache in my chest, like a bruise that won’t heal.
“I’m sorry,” she says.
“It’s all right. Thank you for letting me know.”
I end the call. My men are all looking at me with various degrees of concern, so I shrug. “As we expected,” I say, and don’t go into more detail because I don’t think Brax’s family has any idea about the situation.
Gray comes over and pulls me into a hug. He doesn’t say anything, but his touch somehow eases some of my sadness and hurt. Brax and Erik hug me in turn, and I breathe them in like the lifelines they are.
After we finish lunch, Brax checks his list and finds that we’ve done it all, so we say goodbye and head back to Gray’s. Despite my attempts to appear nonchalant, I can’t stop thinking about my ouster from the church. The men catch my mood and don’t try to get me talking. Gray puts on a movie, but with the volume low, and they all stay quiet and close by, ready to offer support.
The main thing I’m worried about is my job. I can’t imagine the Todds wanting me to stay on after this. I can probably get a job with one of the big craft stores in the area—unless the Todds won’t give me a reference—but it won’t be the same as the little yarn store, where I know all the regulars by name.
“I have to go to work,” Gray says eventually, “but you all are welcome to hang out here.”
“I have a project to finish for one of my classes,” Brax says. He reaches out and takes my hand. “Everything is going to be okay, Ava. Hang in there.”
“I will. Thank you.”
“I’ll see you soon.” He drops a soft kiss on my lips and leaves. Erik and I leave too, after I get a goodbye hug and kiss from Gray.
“Illegitimi non carborundum,” he tells me.
“What’s that?”
He winks. “Don’t let the bastards get you down.”
He’s made me laugh again. “Thanks. Have a good shift at work.”
“Drop by later if you want,” he says.
“We might, thanks.”
Erik takes me home. “Do you need to do anything?” I ask him.
“No, I can come over.”
I feel guilty that I’m monopolizing his time, but I’m thankful for the company. I need some distraction from the thoughts going around and around in my head. We watch more tv, I make us sandwiches for dinner, and then I say, “Do you think Brax is done with his project?”
In answer, Erik pulls out his phone and starts typing. “He’s done,” he says a minute later. “Do you want to go to Metro Station?”
“Yeah.”
We meet there and keep Gray company for the rest of the evening. The bar is relatively quiet, so a lot of the time it’s just me and my men.
My men. My friends, my lovers, my gateway to an amazing new world. No matter what happens, I will never regret meeting them, never regret the moments we’ve spent together.
When Gray’s shift ends, he says, “Coming back to mine?” We all nod. No big discussion needed.
But it’s late, and I’m tired, so once we’re there, I summon the courage to ask, “Do you think you could just … hold me tonight?”
“Of course,” Brax says. Gray gives me one of his shirts to sleep in, the men keep their boxers and t-shirts on, and I tumble into slumber surrounded by their warmth and strength.