Sadie (25 page)

20

“You look nice,” Ethan said as he appraised my dark blue dress.

“Thanks,” I said as my cheeks blushed. I felt awkward in it. It was short and only had one strap. My hair was curled at the ends and cascaded over my shoulders. I tried to make myself look beautiful, but I wasn’t sure if I was doing it right or if it just looked like I was trying too hard.

I looked at his blue
shirt. “We match.”

He glanced at his clothes. “I guess we do.”

“Is that okay?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t it be, baby?”

“Your brothers won’t make fun of you?”

He laughed. “Sadie, they aren’t going to look at me once. Their eyes will be glued to your beautiful legs and luscious ass.”

I blushed a darker shade of red.

He stared at me. “I don’t get it.”

“What?”

“How do you not understand how beautiful you are? Haven’t guys been hitting on you your whole life?”

“Um, no.”

“I really doubt that. You’re probably just too humble
to notice it.”

I shrugged.

“How long has Alex had feelings for you?”

“I don’t know. They just started.”

“Wrong. He’s liked you forever. He finally grew a pair when I came into the picture. Fucking coward.”

I stared at him. “Can we leave the temper at home?”

“Fine.” He opened the front door and let me walk through.

“And don’t attack anyone that talks to me.”

“Attack? When have I ever attacked anyone?”

“When that guy at the bar brought me a drink
, you flipped out.”

“Well, you’re my girlfriend. That guy need
ed to know his boundaries.”

“And
how was he supposed to know I was taken unless he asked? I doubt he’s a mind reader.”

“Whatever. I don’t like it when people hit on you—look at you. They are asking for a death sentence.”

“God, I feel bad for our daughters.”

“What?”

I felt my heart stop. Damn, I shouldn’t have said that. It was way too soon to talk about marriage and kids. “Uh, nothing.”

“You wanna have kids with me?”

“What?”

He grabbed me and pushed me against the wall. “I’ll make my question clear, baby. Do you want to be the mother of my children?”

I looked away. “I don’t understand the question.”

He grabbed my face and forced me to look at him. “I want to have kids someday. And I would love
for you to be their mother.” I felt my heart start to beat again. I was relieved he felt that way. I thought he was going to run for his life. “Now, what did you say, baby?”

“I feel bad for our daughters.”

“And why is that?”

“Because you’re a crazy asshole.”

“Your point?”

“Well, when our girls go on dates
, you’re going to freak out.”

“Why would they go on a date?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Because they’ll be beautiful like you.”

“I don’t think so.”

“It’s going to happen.”

“I’ll pick someone I approve of.”

“Are we having arranged marriages for our kids?” I asked incredulously.

“No. But I know how to sniff out the dogs fro
m the good guys. I used to be the worst dog on the block. I’ll know them when I see them.”

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“What?”

“Now you’re the sweetest guy I’ve ever met.”

“And I’m only that way for one person—you. You don’t know how many hearts I’ve broken, how many virginities I’ve stolen, and how many women I’ve played. I’m not a good person. Just because I’m in love with you and treat you right doesn’t vindicate me for my previous behavior.”

“Well, I think you’re wonderful.”

“You’re the only one who thinks that.”

“Ethan, I love you.”

His eyes softened. “I love you too.”

“I’ll take care of the girls.”

“I don’t think so. What kind of role model are you? You were going to sleep with me on our first date.”

“
But I didn’t lose my virginity until after I graduated college, and I’m going to sleep with one man for my whole life. I think that’s pretty admirable.”

“Well—I—”

“That’s what I thought.”

He smiled. “You have a point.”

“I know I do.”

“How about we talk about this later—when we actually have the kids. Hopefully
, we’ll just have boys.”

“And why is that any different?”

“Because they are boys—they can do whatever they want.”

“I don’t think so,” I snapped
. “They are going to be gentlemen.”

“Well, we can’t control that.”

“It’s called good parenting, Ethan.”

He smiled. “I guess we’ll talk about this when the times comes.”

I rolled my eyes. “You can just stop being a sexist pig and we wouldn’t have a problem.”

“I’m not sexist, but I admit that I’m a pig. I know how guys think. My little girl won’t be treated that way.”

“Poor Becky.”

“Don’t even get me started on that.”

“She’ll go on her first date when she’s thirty.”

“Maybe not even then.”

I laughed. “Babe, let’s go. We’re going to be late.”

He sighed. “I suppose. We shouldn’t talk about such serious things before we go out.”

“I agree.”

He grabbed my hand and guided me to the elevator.
When we rode to the bottom floor, he kissed my neck, pressing me against the wall. I leaned my head back and let him run kisses across my skin. I was totally helpless against him. I ran my fingers through his hair and just enjoyed it.

When the bell sounded, Ethan pulled away. “Damn.”

“What?”

“I want you.”

“What’s new?”

He started clapping. “About time!”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, you finally convinced me.”

“Good. I don’t know how many times I’ve had to fuck you to convince you. Or how many times I
’ve had to tell you how goddamn beautiful you are.”

I shrugged. “I’m hard of hearing.”

“You’re deaf, actually.”

He took my hand and guided
me from the building and out to the street. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and we maneuvered down the sidewalk. Women walked by in their dresses, heading to restaurants and bars. Groups of guys walked down the street, checking out the beautiful ladies they passed. Ethan didn’t seem to notice anything. He only paid attention to me—me alone.

When we
got to the bar, Ethan opened the door for me. As soon as we walked inside, I felt overwhelmed. There were so many people crammed into the place. The women were even more glamorous than the ladies on the streets. Every man was dressed in his best attire. I immediately felt nervous but then I realized I didn’t need to feel that way. Ethan was there.

Ethan hugged me close and guided me through the crowd. He seemed to know where he was going because he headed to a table in the back.

“Hey!” A man stood from the table and shook hands with Ethan. He was tall like Ethan and bigger—more muscular. I could tell they were brothers just by looking at them. He had the same blue eyes that Ethan had—the same ones I stared at when we made love.

“Hey, man,” Ethan said.

“Who’s this?” he asked with a smile. His eyes moved over my body, taking in every curve of my breasts and the shape of my hips.

Ethan squeezed me tighter. “She’s mine.”

His brother laughed. “Calm down.”

Ethan turned to me. “This is my brother, Kyle.”

I smiled. “Hello, Kyle.”

“Whoa, that’s a beautiful smile.”

Ethan glared at him. “Like I said, she’s mine.”

“Chill, brother.”
Kyle embraced me and hugged me tightly. When he pulled away, he looked at me. “I’m very happy to meet you. I’m glad my brother finally pulled his head out of his ass.”

“Me too,” I said.

Kyle smiled. “Welcome to the family, Sadie. If you ever need anything, even if it is just to talk shit about my brother, let me know.”

I laughed. “Thanks.”

Ethan looked at me. “He means it. You can call him for anything.”

Kyle nodded. “My brother pisses me off, but I got his back no matter what.”

“That gives me some peace of mind,” I said.

“And if you ever want to go out to dinner—”

“Kyle,” Ethan snapped.

Kyle rolled his eyes. “Relax. I’m just joking—sort of.”

I smiled. “I believe you.”

Ethan sighed. “And I have another one.”

“Oh?”

“Another brother,
” he explained.

“Well, I’m sure he’s great,” I said.

Ethan shrugged. “He’s okay.”

A man stepped over to us. I knew this was the other brother immediately.

“Hello, gorgeous,” he said with whistle. “You got a sister?”

Ethan glared at him. “Scott.”

He smiled. “You’re such an easy target. I love pissing you off.”

“Good for you,”
Ethan said.

Scott extended his hand. “It’s nice to meet you
, Sadie.” I shook it. “We already know everything about you. We dragged it out of Ethan. I feel like I already know you.”

“I hope that’s a good thing,” I said.

“I think so,” Scott said. “Thanks for coming tonight. We won’t be too annoying.”

I smiled. Both of his brothers were very handsome. I c
ould see why Ethan was threatened by them. They were both tall and muscular, charming and sweet. They probably fought over girls their whole lives.

Ethan pulled me toward the table and placed me in front of it.
He placed his hands on the surface, on either side of me. I was totally caged like an animal. I felt his chest against my back. I felt safe and protected in his arms. There was no doubt that we were together. When his crotch was pressed against my ass, I felt his erection. My thoughts started to wander.

“Ethan, what’s happening?” A man sat across the table
, drinking his beer.

“Hey, man,” Ethan
said. “This is my lady, Sadie.”

“I’m Joe,” he said to me. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.”

Ethan sighed. “Finally. Someone who doesn’t hit on my girlfriend.”

Scott stood by us and gazed across the room. “I see a lot of potential,” he said as he drank from his glass.

Kyle nodded. “I can’t decide.”

I assumed they were talking about women. Ethan didn’t follow their gaze.

He leaned toward my ear. “What would you like, baby?”

“Wine is fine.”

“Alright. I’ll be right back.” He kissed me on the head then walked away.

When he was out of earshot, Kyle looked at me. “So, you met Elisa?”

I smiled. “She’s lovely.”

Scott raised an eyebrow. “Are we talking about the same person?”

I laughed. “
Yes, I think she’s great.”

“A great pain in the ass,” Kyle said with a smirk. “So you like my brother?”

“Obviously,” I said with a smirk.

He smiled. “I like her,” he said to Scott.
“But you’re serious about him?”

“I think that’s obvious too.”

“No need to get defensive, darling. I’m just wondering. He’s fallen for you. I would really hate to see him get hurt.”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” I said.

Kyle nodded. “Fair enough.”

Scott leaned toward me. “
Seriously, you got a sister?” he asked with a smile.

“No. But I have a brother.”

He grimaced. “I’ll pass.”

“How about some cute girlfriend
s?” Kyle asked.

I shrugged. “I might.”

Scott looked at his brother. “We need to behave now.”

“I’m not going to introduce my friends to guys that just want to sleep around,” I said.

“Well, maybe we’ll change our minds when meet them,” Kyle argued.

“I doubt that.”

“You didn’t doubt Ethan,” Scott said.

“That’s totally different,” I said.

Scott rolled his eyes. “He claims it was love at first sight. Seriously, my brother is totally pussy-whipped. It’s ridiculous.”

“Maybe he’s found the right pussy,” I said.

Kyle laughed. “I like her attitude. You’ll fit in well with us, Sadie. I know we come off as assholes, but we really aren’t that bad.”