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She blinks at me as if I just told her she was going to have her baby in space. “Have the baby here?”
“Yes. Presley did it. Even though hers wasn’t planned, I’m almost positive home births are the new thing. You’ll have to get a midwife. Not sure what those cost. Or how much cleanup that involves. Side note: ew. If you do a water birth, you can keep all that in one pool. Seems less messy. Maybe the whole weightless in water thing makes it easier. Who the hell knows? I don’t have kids. You come to me for a pregnancy solution and you’re likely going to be—”
“You’re a genius,” she interrupts me, and before I can agree or disagree, she grabs me by the hand at the same time she opens the door and pulls me out of the room. “We’re going to tell Maddox.”
And just like that, all is well with the world. If I’m going to be the problem solver around here for things I don’t know, I’m going to need alcohol, and lots of it.
TWELVE
PAXTYN
Ifollow behind Gabby down the stairs and through the house until I notice Sayler in the kitchen with a row of drinks in front of her, a blender, rimming salt, margarita mix, and a bottle of tequila.
Yes.
She looks up, glancing first at Gabby and then at me. I squint as my ears get assaulted by loud banging on drums. What is the point of soundproofing if the door is wide open? That is not a pleasant sound. She gives me a small smile, obviously not bringing attention to the giant elephant close by, also known as the upset drummer. “Mocktails for them and cocktails for us? Seemed appropriate.”
The grin spreads wide as I think over what she just said. “Wait, you’re drinking? What about the cub?”
Sayler laughs, a glow to her cheeks I haven’t noticed. “I switched her to formula a couple of weeks ago. Half and half the first week. She had my milk exclusively for four months. I’m ready to balance between being a mom and being my age.”
I take off around the bar, practically tackling her with a hug, making it super dramatic and girly when I jump up and down and say, “I’m so happy I have a female drinking buddy.”
She giggles, somewhat sharing my excitement. “I reserved my first drinking night for when you guys were here.”
“I’m going to talk to Maddox for a second and try not to get jealous over this,” Gabby says, making me laugh in return. “Extra salt, bitch,” she yells out at me as she makes it to the garage door in this weird half waddle half walk.
I just now notice Sayler’s like attire with her swimsuit string around her neck and the oversized tee shirt tank she’s wearing. “You’re getting in the poolanddrinking? This is amazing. No offense, but I thought I was going to be a loner this summer with all the babies and pregnant women in this place, especially when Landon is at work.”
She grins at me. “I am offended. Do I come off as that big of a bore? It’s my summer break too. I have to make it count before fall semester starts and I’m back to commuting to campus and trying to study with a baby. I know I technically took a break for a semester since she was due right after it started, but a newborn is hard work, so it wasn’t exactly a vacay, if you know what I mean.”
I hold up my hands in surrender. “No argument there. I’m definitely not ready for one of those. Speaking of, where is the little nugget?”
She grabs a pool-friendly, insulated margarita glass—one of the two closest to the tequila—and hands it to me. “Outside with Riggan, Konnor, and Landon in the outdoor kitchen where it’s shady. Presley is napping with Kylar. She still has her days and nights mixed up so Presley will be up most of the night. She naps a few times during the day. She’ll join us in an hour or so before we start grilling steaks.” She grabs her glass and nods her head toward the door. “Come on. I have new pool floats with our names on them.”
I take a sip of my margarita as I follow her outside, spotting the boys over on the outdoor couch in the covered area below the fan, each holding a beer and watching the TV that is mounted on the wall over an outdoor fireplace. I’m surprised they’re not playing pool.
I have to hand it to Mom and Dad, this house is amazing. Who knows what kind of deal he has worked out with Presley, because Dad doesn’t lose money for the hell of it, and if he were going to hand her a house, I doubt it would be this big or luxurious. No married couple has this for their starter home as young as they are.
He probably takes it out of her salary and the other ones pay her rent. Konnor’s parents likely had something to do with it too, since we’re all like one big happy family. The dynamic of my parents and his is weird, to say the least. Who knows? I don’t ask questions. Can’t say that I care. Working for the family biz is just another way to have your rich parents’ claws in you, which is why I’m still undecided about my career path after high school. At least I do actually like my parents.
There is a Pack N Play next to them, farthest from the sun and likely where the nugget is. As if they all have some weird sense for someone coming out here, they simultaneously turn around when Sayler and I make it to the loungers where there is already a folded beach towel on each one and a small party speaker next to tanning oil.
“Ladies,” Konnor says as he tips his beer at us, and then turns back toward the TV to watch whatever is on it, racing it looks like. The other two haven’t turned back around yet, which is super fucking creepy despite how hot both of them are. I’m not sure what happened to practicing in the garage, or why Maddox is the only one out there, but I wasn’t expecting to have an audience for my pool day.
I ignore them, taking another sip before setting my cup down on the concrete to remove my cover-up. When the fabric makes it to my head, my belly flutters from the feeling of someone watching me. I’ve never been modest. I don’t know why he can keep my mind all jumbled and make me feel exposed.
I turn it right side out and lay it over the back of my chair before facing the pool. The chairs are set up at the deep end, between the pool and the guys. There are four, but the other two are on the other side of the pool. Sayler is already lying on her spread out towel in her bikini, the speaker in one hand and her phone in the other like she’s connecting it to Bluetooth.
I grab the tanning oil and start rubbing it on, beginning with my arms and shoulders. When I make it to my chest and cleavage, the bottle comes flying out of my hand and my body is throttled forward. I can barely register that I’m about to go in the water before reflex takes over and I hold my breath.
I sink the second I break the water’s surface, my feet already paddling to go back up. It takes a second and fresh air for me to realize there is a hard body at my back and arms around my bare waist. Thank God I wore waterproof makeup. I swipe the water off my face and run my hands over my hair to push it back when a mouth appears at my ear. “I’m not doing this shit anymore.”
I relax against his chest, my heart racing, not even mad about him grabbing me and throwing us both into the pool, because the fact that he’s in the pool says a lot. I don’t know if it’s just me, but he’s never been in it with me here, the jacuzzi either. Our feet touch every few seconds, both of us paddling to stay afloat in deep water. “What shit?”
He discreetly rubs my ass against his growing erection underwater, making me realize he’s in his cargo shorts. He must have stood up the second I turned around to have time to ditch his shirt and shoes. “This ignoring each other ‘til we’re in private. I’m done with it. I haven’t seen your ass since we got here. I figured you’d come into the garage at some point, demanding for me to do something. That’s more your style than disappearing for hours.”
I smile to myself before turning around in his arms, realizing just how much has changed since November. He didn’t ignore me when we visited after Chloe’s birth, but it was still more private than public in terms of affection, almost like dipping your toes in the water before jumping in. This is drastically different. He threw me in the pool, which is flirting, and now he’s holding me out in the open.
