Sixes & Sevens (Seven Hearts Book 1) (17 page)

January 6, 2016

Alec stepped off the final step, and came around the living room. The guys had formed a circle around Jaycee while he was gone. They stood facing her shoulder to shoulder, to save their own eyes a sight they wouldn’t care to see. Jaycee could only see the room through the gaps in their legs. As Alec ran past the living room, and into the kitchen all she could see were his legs and feet. Her heart thrummed in time with Alec’s footfalls. The slap of his feet against the wood floors was thunderous in the otherwise silent house.

Jaycee was bored with being sheltered, but not brave enough to dare a full-on look. She thought if she leaned down enough, she might catch a glimpse of Alec’s thighs as he ran by the next time. Only, as Jaycee attempted to lean over in the small space, she crashed into an unsuspecting Sean, who toppled to the ground. Before the guys could recover the circle, Jaycee caught a full view of Alec’s tight butt.

“Wow!” Jaycee exclaimed before a set of hands came firmly down upon her still-wide eyes. Jaycee smelled the air, noting it was Marc who’d managed to reach her first.

“If you’re so keen on seeing a naked man, I could arrange a private viewing,” Marc said, trying to get Jaycee to admit she’d been wrong to peek. He hoped her bogglish side would appear now that it was desperately needed.

“I’m not…I just was curious. I didn’t see much…,” Jaycee hedged.

“Except Alec’s entire nude backside,” Finished Jonathan.

“I’d see a lot more than that if I had decided to pursue art rather than literature.”

“Thank God for small favors!” Jonathan cried.

“You are not going anywhere
near
a nude male model, little one,” Marc said protectively.

“Not even you?” Jaycee was shocked by her own words. Blushing profusely, she had caught Marc at a loss. His perfectly formed mouth gaped like a fish.

“I think we need to reboot Marc,” Sean told Lee.

“He’ll come around.” Lee laughed.

“My heart can’t take this much excitement,” Garrett said gripping his chest, looking a bit green.

“Are you okay, Garrett?” Jaycee raced to his side, examining him.

“I’ll be fine, little dove, but a hug would help,” he said, pressing Jaycee to his chest. He breathed slowly through his mouth.

Meanwhile, Alec was still shaking upstairs. His heart had nearly stopped when he’d heard the commotion. Jaycee had seen his naked backside. He wasn’t shy, but for some reason he was rattled. Part of him was a tad sexually excited, but the rest of him was a steamy mess of nerves. Did Jaycee like what she saw? Maybe he should have hung around to find out? No, that definitely would have gotten him maimed. The family meeting tonight would be painful. They were already supposed to be talking about their boundaries where Jaycee was concerned…now he was afraid nudity would make the list of topics tonight. Damn it, it had started out as innocent fun, but now he was certain a lecture would be involved. He’d need to be more careful in the future. Jaycee wasn’t as predictable as he’d first thought. Now that the little dove—as Garrett called her—had found her wings, she was learning to fly.

Downstairs, the others had gathered on the sofa for the meeting. Sean had popped some popcorn, while Garrett got everyone a drink. Jaycee sat in the middle of the sofa with Marc on one side, and Garrett on the other. Sean sat at her feet again, while Lee sat in a chair he’d pulled opposite the sofa. Jonathan sat beside Garrett. Now all they needed was Alec to return.

“While we’re waiting for Alec, does anyone want to explain to Jaycee how and why we have these meetings?” Lee asked.

“I will,” offered Sean. “Family meetings are important, because with so many of us coming and going, events or even people, can easily get lost in the shuffle. I’ve created a synced calendar for everyone, but that only helps if the item is something you would put on the calendar. So, we try to gather every week or so talk about what’s going on with everyone, and what we all need to work on.”

Focusing on Jaycee, Lee explained their system, “It keeps everyone on the same page, and gives everyone a voice about what’s going on in the household. Any grievances can be aired, and a good solution can be provided by anyone in the group. Make sense?”

“Yes, it’s a good system. I could have used something like this at my second foster home. With so many kids, no one knew what was going on in all the chaos,” Jaycee said, shaking her head to banish the memories.

Just then, Alec walked into the room, pulled up a chair near Lee, and got settled. “What did I miss?”

“Nothing much, we were just explaining to Jaycee the importance of family meetings. Which it looks like we’re ready to start. Does anyone have any old business we need to discuss first?” Lee addressed the group.

Marc raised a hand, “I’d like to suggest we amend the previous shower schedule to account for our newest member.”

“We’ll get to that in a while. Any other old business?” he asked.

“I’ve finished writing the security scripts for the University, so my schedule has lightened up in time for classes to start,” Sean said.

“Great. How many classes did you decide on this semester?” questioned Lee.

“Just four. I took the required gen. ed. classes over the summer, so I won’t be overloaded with work if we get any clients during this semester.” Sean turned to Jaycee. “With Lee’s consulting business, we often help out the government, or even civilians. With technology being what it is, I’m often overloaded with work to crack the case. I started out school taking too many classes, which soon became a problem. Most of us here try to take all the required general education classes during the summer semesters, so we can take a lighter load the rest of the year.”

“That’s a good plan,” Jaycee commented.

“It does make things easier for the ones who are still in school,” Lee replied. “Yes, Garrett?” He asked, noticing Garrett’s raised hand.

“We completed one of the houses we were finishing up this winter, but the ranch in city limits is behind schedule again, so I might be required to work later each night to catch up,” Garrett said.

“Okay, I’ll make a note of that. Does anyone else have any other old business?” Keeping his eyes on Alec, Lee addressed the group.

“Uh, yeah?” Alec offered, wondering why Lee was giving him a loaded look.

“Why don’t you tell us about your schedule?” Lee lead.

“Oh, yeah. Hockey will be over in another week, getting ready for the college teams to pick up. I decided not to play multiple sports this year,” Alec said with a coughed to cover his embarrassment. “I’m going to play football again. Our first game will be in a few weeks.”

“Be sure to enter the schedule into the calendar, so everyone has an opportunity to go,” Sean reminded him.

“Will do.”

“I decided not to pick up any extra shifts at the hospital this semester. Seeing as we have a new member in the house, I’d rather have more time available to spend at home this year,” Jonathan said.

“Okay, I think that’s a wise choice. Anyone else? No? All right, let’s move on to new business.” Lee swung his head to Alec, “Would you care to start?”

Alec cringed. “I just…”

“What the hell were you thinking, man? She just moved in with us, are you trying to scare her off?” Marc roared.

“No! I honestly never thought she’d take the bet, but I’m a man of my word.” Alec said, raising his voice.

“Next time, keep your words to yourself,” Garrett grumbled. “She’s a lady, and we need to treat her like one.”

“Guys, seriously, it wasn’t on purpose. The little minx peeked.” Alec swung a rueful look at Jaycee.

“Sorry.” Jaycee flushed, hiding her head.

“All right, I think we’ve badgered him enough. Now’s the perfect time to address our newest family member. Welcome to the group, Jaycee.” Lee held his hand out to Jaycee, pulling her to her feet.

“Thanks, Lee.” Jaycee turned to face the guys. “I really couldn’t be any more grateful for everything all of you have done for me. I’m so glad the Wallners lived next door to us, and I’m really happy you all have been Marc’s friends for so long. I doubt we would have met under other circumstances.” She started to tear up. “I’m truly honored that you consider me part of your family, I hope I can live up to your expectations.”

“Baby girl, there are no expectations. Just keep being yourself.” Marc stood up, and pulled Jaycee into a side hug, and led her back to her seat.

“Nicely said. Now, with Jaycee being here, we do need to discuss the changes to the house dynamic,” Lee said.

“We need to set boundaries.” Jonathan spoke while shooting a scathing look at Alec.

“True,” Marc added.

“Any proposals for the new rules?” Lee asked.

“I think there should be a common courtesy rule…something about knocking before entering any room?” Sean suggested.

“Good. No barging into rooms unannounced. Anything else?” he asked.

“Uh, no fighting over Jaycee?” Alec was treading lightly on this subject, trying not to offend anyone…Marc.

“Okay, but if we’re going to have that rule, then we need a few others, like respecting each other’s time with her, and letting her set the pace of the relationship,” Marc countered.

Jaycee raised her hand and Lee acknowledger her. “Could we make a decision on the sleeping arrangements? I don’t want to take over Marc’s room forever.” Jaycee really wanted to address the situation, but she also was happy not to be discussing her possible relationship with each of the guys. How embarrassing!

“Sure, Jaycee. Does anyone have a proposal?” Lee inquired.

“We could rotate rooms,” Garrett suggested.

“I don’t want to force anyone out…what if they have a test that night? Sleeping on the couch could disrupt your sleep…,” Jaycee worried.

“We could go by volunteer basis. Or we could just let Jaycee choose,” Alec suggested.

“Good point, Alec. Jaycee, do you think that’s fair?” Lee asked her.

“Yeah, that sounds good.” She shifted in her seat, feeling a bit out of her comfort zone. She hated putting them out, but what was her other option? Sharing their beds? Woah…that was…well, it was. Really not a half bad idea…but she couldn’t.

“I wouldn’t mind sharing…,” Marc offered, as if he could hear her thoughts.

“I’m down with that too,” Jonathan offered, turning with red cheeks away from Jaycee.

“Me too,” the others chorused.

“Let’s leave that to Jaycee as well,” Lee suggested. Jaycee’s face was hot. Did they see her thoughts on her face?! How did they know she’d been thinking about that? It was so nice snuggling with them during the day, but what would it be like at night?

“Did it bother you having us sleep beside your bed in the dorm?” Lee asked.

“No, it was nice,” Jaycee replied honestly.

“Maybe you could try a night with one of us above the covers, see if it’s something you can handle? And if not, no harm no foul?” Sean suggested.

“Maybe,” Jaycee answered noncommittally. She wasn’t opposed to the idea, she just had a hard time admitting it in front of them.

“I suggest we move on to shower schedules,” Marc said, coming to her rescue.

“All in favor?” Lee counted the hands. “Okay, it’s unanimous. Showers…who has an early class Monday, Wednesday, Friday?” he asked.

Sean’s hand shot up, followed by Jaycee and Garrett. Alec waved his hand in indecision.

“My class is at ten, so it’s probably not the first, but it is early for me,” Alec explained.

“Okay, does anyone have an 8:00 a.m. class?” Lee questioned. Sean, Garrett, and Jaycee’s hands shot up again. “All right, since you need time to get ready, why don’t we do a round of showers at 7:00 a.m.? That should leave enough time for another round to make it in by seven thirty for those with jobs. Everyone else can file in later.”

“Sounds good to me,” replied Garrett.

“I’d like to make a suggestion,” Jonathan said. “Could we set aside a bathroom for Jaycee? It might be easier for her to have a space to herself when she needs it.”

“You mean give her first dibs at one every day?” asked Lee.

“I think that’s fair,” Marc said.

“Agreed,” Garrett chimed in.

“All in favor?” Everyone but Jaycee raised their hand. “The ayes have it. Tuesday/Thursday classes I’m not as worried about, but let’s at least hash out round one of the showers. Jaycee, we’ll give you your choice of shower. Which one do you like best?”

“Um…I haven’t seen the third one, but if it’s okay with all of you, I wouldn’t mind using the one down here.” Jaycee was afraid to kick anyone out of their bathroom, but she knew it would be easier if she could put all her stuff in one place to start.

“Sounds good.” Lee decided to make an executive decision, no one appeared to be protesting. The bathroom was typically shared by Marc and Jonathan, who were both nodding in agreement.

“Tuesday/Thursday early-class people?” inquired Lee, looking around the group. Alec, Jaycee, and Garrett raised their hands. “Okay, you three get first crack at showers on those days. Everyone good?” Heads bobbed in agreement.