Chapter Eleven

The six of them and the two kids spent the day doing normal things. Like resting, talking, and watching television. The men were careful about not talking job stuff in front of the kids. Kellum couldn’t remember when he’d had a day like that, where he could just relax with friends and not have to worry about anything. Oh, the thought of his uncle, and the shit he’d caused wasn’t far from his mind, but for one whole day, he pushed it out of his mind.

Creed was hilarious and had Aaron and Dylan in stitches with laughter throughout the day and Ace was just as bad. With games of tag and dragging out the toys from the children’s room, they kept plenty busy.

Ordering pizza and soda to finish off the night had been perfect and after the kids were in bed, they spent another hour just talking lightheartedly.

Finally, Kellum yawned. “I’m beat.”

Creed stood. “Same. You all are welcome to the rooms.” Creed waved a hand down the hallway.

Jordan and Owen had both opted to stay the night and had taken over two separate guest rooms, while Ace and Jacob had gone home to their place in Ojai, promising to return sometime in the morning.

Just about sunrise, Kellum stood in the bright kitchen the next morning and fell in love all over again. It had everything he’d ever dreamed of with modern appliances, marble countertops, and a black glass stove. Everything else was stainless steel. A vase with red flowers sat in the center of the large, free-standing island with high back stools surrounding it.

He opened the cupboards and finished tidying up things that he hadn’t gotten to yesterday. While he didn’t mind imperfection, he was a neat freak and being tidy was in his nature. He was positive Creed wouldn’t mind at all. After the cupboards and fridge were organized, he put away the dishes in the dishwasher and heard a noise at the kitchen door.

Jordan stood barefoot, wearing ripped and faded blue jeans and a white t-shirt, scratching at the back of his head.

Creed passed Jordan coming into the kitchen with a yawn and sat at the table before opening his laptop. Kellum poured Creed a cup of coffee, and he gave the man a grateful smile.

“Whoa…” Jordan said, opening up the fridge.

“What?” Owen sauntered into the room wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a tight white t-shirt, and he leaned an arm on the open door of the refrigerator and glanced inside.

“It’s like Sleeping with the Enemy.” Jordan turned with a laugh and opened the cupboard doors. Inside, all the canned goods were facing outward and in alphabetical order by category.

Kellum’s gasp drew the attention of all three men.

Creed growled and stood, his chair crashing back, his eyes locked on Kellum’s white face and swimming eyes before the slender man spun and ran.

“Damn it,” Creed snarled, heading after Kellum.

“What did I do?” Jordan sounded shocked, but Creed didn’t stop to fill him in.

“You’re okay,” Owen said softly.

“Wait? Did Kellum organize these?” Jordan stood frozen for a second. “I thought it was Creed, so I was going to give him shit.” With a frustrated sound, Jordan slammed out the back door, not waiting when Owen called him to stop.

“Shit, me and my big fucking mouth,” Jordan said to himself and stopped at the edge of the swimming pool. He bent over with his hands braced on his thighs. When Owen’s palm touched his back, Jordan allowed it for a few seconds and then twisted away.

“Jordan.”

“Go away.”

“No.”

“You’re so fucking stubborn,” Jordan hissed and rounded on the bigger man.

“You have no idea,” Owen muttered, advancing closer. Jordan stepped back and Owen advanced again and Jordan kept backing up.

“Shit!” Jordan’s arms wobbled, swinging out wildly when his foot hit the edge of the pool.

Owen reached out and fisted the front of his shirt. Jordan couldn’t take one more second of Owen’s touch right then without his world imploding so he jerked away, stepping sideways. Owen went forward, still fisting his shirt, and ended up going over.

Jordan went with him and pool water closed over his head. The first thing he thought of was his fucking phone. He yanked it from his pocket and when he hit the surface, he tossed it up on the edge. Shoving his plastered hair from his face, he turned to search for Owen.

The man was just surfacing having thought of the same thing and placed his phone on the edge of the pool along with a wallet. Jordan carried his ID and cards in his cell phone case, so he didn’t have that to worry about and his iPod earbuds were on the dresser in the spare room.

Owen was glaring at him. “You did that on purpose.”

Jordan glared right back. “You…you…jackass.”

“Ack!” Jordan sprang through the deep water when Owen lunged toward him. If he hadn’t had his jeans weighing him down, he would have been much faster. Owen, on the other hand, didn’t seem hindered at all by the wet sweatpants. Jordan was caught and caged against the edge of the pool by Owen’s muscled arms.

“Back up,” he hissed with a glare.

“No,” Owen said, and the husky tone had Jordan’s dick hard.

“I mean it.”

Owen leaned in, his cheek close, his lips mere inches away. Was he going to kiss him? Sliding past his mouth, Owen placed his lips inches from his ear and Jordan bit back the moan wanting to escape.

“And what if I don’t?” Owen husked, and the deep sound against his ear sent a shiver down Jordan’s spine.

“If you two are done playing in the water, we have things to discuss with Kellum,” Ace said from the side of the pool.

His boss’s voice was like a cold dash of water and when Owen snapped his head up, Jordan sank beneath the water and swam the distance to the shallow end before he scrambled out of the pool and flung himself on a lounge chair that was on the far side of the pool.

Owen watched Jordan evade him again and scowled up at his older brother. “Cock blocker.”

Ace smirked and held out his hand. Owen gripped it and his brother pulled him from the pool.

“How’d you get in?” Owen asked Ace.

“Aaron unlocked the door,” Ace said.

“That’s not good.”

Ace grinned. “He checked the window first.”

“Ah, well, smart kid,” Owen said, retrieving his wallet and cell phone from the side of the pool.

“Yeah, where’s Creed?” Ace asked as they retraced their steps toward the house.

“Talking to Kellum, I imagine,” Owen said.

“You going to tell me what you and Jordan were doing in the pool?”

Owen sent his brother a sideways scowl before glancing at Jordan, who was tapping his cell phone against his hand.

“I take that as a…no,” Ace laughed.

Creed gently knocked on Kellum’s door.

“Kell?”

“I’m okay.”

Creed didn’t believe that and cracked the door. He saw Kellum sitting on the bed and slipped inside the room and shut the door. Leaning back against it, he stared at Kellum.

“It’s okay to organize my cupboards.”

“I shouldn’t have touched anything.” Kellum glanced away. “I don’t belong here.”

“Yes, you do.”

“I can’t stay here.”

“Yes, you can.”

Kellum sighed in frustration and ran a hand through his hair, sending the blond strands sticking up.

“I like that you put my stuff in order.”

Kellum looked skeptically at him and Creed approached the bed and sat on the edge of the mattress facing Kellum. “I’m not bullshitting you. I like it.”

A snort came from Kellum’s throat, but his lips curved just the tiniest bit and Creed felt like he’d won the fucking lottery.

“In fact, I have several drawers and cabinets throughout the whole house, you can knock yourself out.”

At that, Kellum laughed and shoved him on the arm. Creed toppled sideways with a chuckle and then straightened.

The shadows, if not all faded, were at least lessened and they shared a smile.

“I have got an idea,” Creed said, and he stood before holding out his hand.

“What?” Kellum eyed his hand.

“Ace and Jacob brought fast food.” Creed waggled his brows.

Kellum snorted a huffing laugh and shook his head before grabbing his hand. Creed pulled gently and Kellum stood on the bed.

“Jump on,” Creed said, turning to offer his back.

Kellum gaped at the big, stooped over man. Creed tossed a look and a wink over one shoulder.

“You know you want to,” Creed said.

Oh, hell yes, he did and with a laugh, Kellum launched off the bed and wrapped himself around Creed’s big back.

Just for this moment in time, he wanted to be a kid again and forget about all the shit that made the world a terrible place.