Page 47 of Hot Dad Summer

“Daisy. Spit it out.” With a half grunt, half laugh, Wes continued. “Actually, don’t take that advice. I find that I really fucking love when you don’t spit it out.”

Flynn laughed and they fist-bumped over my head. I swatted both of their hands and took a deep breath. “He pulled his dick out. He was…”

“Okay, we get it. Even after what just happened, I still don’t want to hear about one of my brothers jacking off.” Flynn shuddered. “You think he wanted to join?”

I huffed. “I’m not a club. You don’t just join me.”

“So, you wouldn’t be open to him joining?” Wes pinned me with his stern gaze and I knew he could see right through me.

I climbed out of bed with as much dignity as I could manage. “I’m going to get dressed and go check on him. I’m sure he’s in his workshop.”

Wes got up and held up his hand. “Let me grab you something.”

Flynn walked over to me, completely confident in his naked body. He wrapped his arms around me and hugged me. “Are you really okay?”

I melted in his embrace. “I think so. And that scares me a little.”

“Me, too. I keep waiting for the moment you slap us all and run away screaming.” His voice got shaky and he had to clear his throat. “Promise me you won’t.”

It felt like an easy promise to make. I didn’t want to run away from them. I just wasn’t going to think about what would happen when the summer ended. I nodded and smiled at him. “I promise.”

Wes came back with a t-shirt and nothing else. He pulled it over my head and watched as I became instantly obsessed with how big the shirt was on me. Tyler’s shirts had fit normally on me. Not this shirt. It went to mid-thigh and the arms stopped below my elbows. It was amazing.

“Go. Before I decide Max can wait.” His threat was clear.

“Bye!” I took off, hurrying downstairs and through the kitchen door. The storm had stopped but the yard was wet under my feet. Wet and cold. I didn’t stop to worry about shoes. I just wanted to see Max.

36

***Daisy***

It scared me that I was more upset about Max not joining us in the theater room than I was about him seeing us. I didn’t understand what was happening to me but I was losing my mind over the older Calloway brothers. The scariest part was that it had nothing to do with Tyler. I wasn’t using his brothers to get back at him; I genuinely liked them. My feelings were becoming more real by the day and that was about as bad as things could get. Not that I was willing to do anything to help save myself from another broken heart.

I stopped in the doorway to Max’s shop and saw him bent over a table with a sanding block. Instead of going in right away I just watched him. I studied the way his muscles flexed as he worked, the soft sound of his breathing, even the way his hair brushed the back of his shirt collar. He probably needed a trim but I liked the way it looked a little wild.

“Need something, Daisy?” Max’s deep voice made me jump and lose all my calmness.

I took one small step into his workshop and blushed from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet. My core temperature had to go up at least two degrees with how hot my skin felt. I locked my hands together behind my back to keep him from seeing me fidgeting. “Well… I…”

He straightened and turned to face me. The sight of me seemed to strike him because he stumbled back a step. “Nice shirt.”

I frowned down at it and shrugged. “Wes grabbed it for me so I could come out here to check on you.”

“Wes grabbed it, huh?” He tossed the sanding block aside and grabbed a rag to wipe the dust off his hands. Then he crossed to me and picked me up with an ease that would never grow old for me. His arm banded across my ass as he walked me over to the table he’d been working on. Ignoring my gasp and clutching hands, he put me down and then sat in a chair right in front of me. He pulled my feet into his lap and used that same rag to dry them off.

I had to swallow around a lump of emotion. He manhandled me and then touched me so gently that it didn’t even feel like the same man. I couldn’t form words while he took such care with drying my feet. Then he held them in his hand to warm them up like it was the most casual thing in the world.

“Wes gave you my shirt but no socks or shoes. He needs to up his game.” He finally looked up and met my eyes. I tried not to read too much into what I was seeing but it was hard not to feel cherished when he was taking care of me and looking at me like I was something precious.

“I should’ve stopped for shoes but I just wanted to get here.” I heard how desperate that sounded and tried to fix it. “I mean, I wanted to make sure you were okay as soon as I could. Just because. Yeah.”

Max raised his brows and cupped the back of my calves while I let my mouth get away from me.

“I saw you. And you saw me see you. I saw other things, too, but… Anyway. I need to make sure you’re okay after seeing what you saw. I’m sure it was a shock. It was a shock for me, too. Believe me when I say I’ve never done anything like that before. I swear. I don’t even know what to say about it. Um, but I didn’t want you to think… I didn’t want you to think that I… Dammit.” I stopped and scrubbed my hands over my face. I saw mascara smudges when I pulled them back but I didn’t stop to care. “We did what we did. Me and you, I mean. And I didn’t want you to think what happened tonight makes what we did mean less.”

His eyes followed me as I leaned forward and back, side to side. He stayed silent, just a solid force of silent judgement.

“I wanted you to be a part of it. Whatever it is.” At that admission I buried my face in my hands and groaned. “I sound like a slut. Like a demented slut who can’t stop talking. Please, Max, step in here.”