Page 56 of Returning to Everton

As soon as we walk inside, the guys all go to the kitchen to get a drink, probably something stronger than beer, and I take Logan up to his room. He gets his pajamas on and I tuck him in.

“Night bud,” I tell him as I kiss his head. He’s getting too big for me to do that for much longer, so I’m gonna do it until he makes me stop.

“Night Dad. Thanks for letting me play with Violet. She has an awesome playhouse,” he says around a yawn.

I chuckle and shut the door behind me. I take a deep breath, and head to my execution. When I get downstairs, they’re all sitting in the living room waiting for me. They left the single chair open for me, so I’m the center of attention, all eyes on me. I walk over to find someone who was thoughtful enough to get me a whisky too. Maybe they’re not ready to kill me, just yet. They might be by the time I’m done telling them everything.

“Start at the beginning,” Hudson demands. “You brought Rowen home from the park on Tuesday. What happened before we got there?”

“It started out innocent enough. We were talking on the way home about Violet and got to talking about how I teach at Everton Elementary. When we got to her house, we went into the kitchen to get something to drink while we waited on y’all. Well, I saw the playhouse so Rowen took me out there to show it to me.

“She walked into the playhouse and I followed her. She was completely shocked by the room we were in. I can’t say I wasn’t a little surprised too, but Rowen was expecting the same room she saw when she was in there with Violet. That wasnotthe room we walked into,” I start to explain.

“What do you mean? It wasn’t the same room Violet was playing in today?” Ayden questions.

“Not at all. See Nate here did a little too good of a job on that playhouse. The room I saw had a huge bed in one corner with mirrors on the walls and ceiling. There was a sex swing hanging on the other side of the room. There were sex toys along another wall and a bondage bench. The other side of the room was an aftercare area with comfortable looking chairs and a small kitchen with a fridge and snacks.

“Rowen was just flabbergasted. She had no idea what the bench was, and hadn’t even seen most of the stuff, let alone used any of it. I explained to her that the house changed to whatever you want it to be. I told her deep down she wanted to use this stuff. And guys, she didn’t disagree. In fact, she admitted that she wanted to try it all. After that, she asked me to kiss her. I couldn’t say no to that guys. God knows none of you would have,” I defend then take a sip of my whisky.

“And let me tell you, it was the best kiss of my life. I haven’t stopped thinking about it or her since. We’ve been texting a lot this week, getting to know each other. I think it’s easier for her to text than it is to talk to me face to face. She tends to think loudly and forgets that I can read her mind. It embarrasses her sometimes, so texting makes her feel more comfortable.”

“But why didn’t youtellus Declan?” Hudson scolds me.

“I don’t know Hudson. I honestly don’t. It’s not like I hid it from y’all on purpose. I didn’t do anything wrong by kissing her. You won’t convince me otherwise. Ididfeck up by not telling you about it. My only excuse is that I was in shock. I haven’t evenlookedat another woman since Jane died. I was trying to process the whole thing; the kiss, my feelings about it, about Rowen. I just needed time. Then it honestly just slipped my mind.

“When we were all in the kitchen getting hugs from Rowen, I started walking up to her to get one, and she was thinking about the kiss. Really loudly. I really was just going to hug her but by the time I got to her, she was begging me in her mind to kiss her again. I couldn’t resist. I’m sorry, but that woman has been starved for attention, and I won’t have herbeggingfor it. All she ever has to do is ask and I’ll give it to her,” I declare.

“Well, that shit can’t happen again Declan. There can be no secrets if this is going to work. Anyone sees Rowe, we all know about it. Something happens, we have to talk about it. Communication is the key to any relationship, but in a relationship with six people? There is going to be a lot of talking. You better get used to it now,” Hudson continues to chastise me. He looks around at everyone, making sure they know this isn’t just about me. He’s talking to all of us.

“We don’t need a play by play on everything that happens between anyone and Rowen. There are some things thatshouldbe private. But a little heads up that y’all are at that point in your relationship would be nice. It’s going to be hard, and there are going to be times when some of us are jealous of others, like tonight. All of us were jealous as fuck that you were kissing Rowe,” Hudson says to me.

“I think Ayden took it the hardest because he doesn’t like to be blindsided like that, but trust me, I wish I was the one kissing her. I’m not ever going to stop Rowen from seeking comfort or affection from any of you, but that doesn’t mean I won’t wish I was the one giving it to her,” he confesses.

“Well, I don’t think that’s going to be a problem,” I tell him. “Obviously Rowen and I need to talk too, but after Ayden got all pissed and stormed off, she realized that kissing me was a mistake. She doesn’t want to lose y’all when she just got you back. And she thinks being with me like that will push you away. Even though she clearly wants all of us, she’s not there yet. She still thinks she can’t have us all. Hell, she still thinks y’all don’t even want her like that,” I tell them.

“I swear to god I’m going to turn that girl’s ass red when I finally get a hold of her,” Nate growls. “How the hell could she not know we want her?”

“I think she’s starting to believe you might, but honestly? I think y’all just need to sit her down and tell her point-blank what you want. Otherwise, this is just going to keep going on as it is. With her wanting us and us wanting her, but no one actually doing anything about it.”

“God knows we don’t want that!” Ayden exclaims. “I mean fuck I might have been jealous that you got to kiss her, but I just want my chance too. Like you said, she’s been starved for attention. That piece of shit husband of hers didn’t treat her like we will. Once she accepts that she can have us all, she will never have that problem again. Hell, she’ll probably get too much attention.” We all chuckle. He’s not wrong about that.

“I’d say we should take it slow and work up to all the attention we want to shower her with, but I honestly don’t think that’s what she wants. I think once she accepts that we all want her, she’s going to be all in,” I share my suspicions.

“I’ll try to get a read on her Monday at the bakery. Maybe with us alone, and Violet not there, she’ll loosen up some and open up to me. That reminds me, I wonder what she’s going to do with Violet while she’s at work the next few weeks,” Hudson ponders.

“She’ll probably have her mom watch her. She’s going over there for dinner tomorrow remember? I bet she asks her then,” Kayden speculates.

“I don’t know. If Hudson is picking her up at 4 a.m., that’s pretty early. Anyone mind if I offer to watch Violet? I figure I can ride over there with Hudson in the morning then when Nate and Logan wake up, they can come over and the kids can play,” I suggest.

“That’s not a bad idea. Why don’t you text her now so she sees it when she wakes up and doesn’t ask her mom first,” Hudson recommends.

I nod my head in agreement and pull out my phone.

Me:Hey Rowen, I know you’re sleeping, but I wanted to text you before I forgot. The guys and I were talking about what you were going to do with Violet while you work until school starts. We figured you would probably ask your mom, but 4 am is awfully early. I can come over with Hudson when he picks you up and stay with Violet. Then Nate can bring Logan over when they wake up and the kids can play. Text me when you get this. Sleep wella mhuirnín.

“Okay, hopefully, I didn’t just wake her up by sending that,” I muse. “Though I think her phone is still in her pocket, so she probably didn’t hear it go off under the covers.”

The guys agree it’s unlikely I woke her up. We’ll hopefully hear from her in the morning.

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