Sixes & Sevens (Seven Hearts Book 1) (6 page)

Alec and Lee led her through the halls of the Rec center, they opened doors, and took her hand to help her up and down the steps. She felt like the princess Alec had called her. They arrived at a shiny new red Camaro, and Jaycee’s jaw dropped.

“This is your car?” She asked, stunned.

“Camaros were my father’s favorite car, although he collected vintage cars,” Lee answered.

“All of us have our own vehicle though. There’s no shortage of motors in our garage,” Alec said suggestively.

“Ha! So, how did you all wind up living together, if you don’t go to school here, Lee?”

“We met when we were little kids. We kept in touch, and when I inherited my house I invited the guys to move in,” he answered.

“That was very kind of you,” she marveled.

“Not really, the house is too big for one person alone-all of us are so busy-it’s easier to keep house with more hands.” Rationalizing, Lee left out the deeper reason. Alec smiled, but didn’t comment. The true reason could wait until Marc came back, and everything was brought to light.

Five minutes—and a couple of stop lights later—they reached High View Lane where the boys’ home was located. It was a lovely large farm-styled home situated on a corner lot. It was two stories, with a brown roof and beige siding. White railings and posts outlined a wraparound porch, complete with porch swing. Jaycee sighed, she was pretty sure this was her dream house. She angled her face as close to the window as she could without leaving marks on the glass. They parked on the street, but the drive went behind the house where the garage was attached to the back of the house. A large double door provided the entrance to the home. It was framed on both sides by windows set further down the walls.

“This is really a beautiful home, guys,” Jaycee gushed.

“Just wait till you see the inside!” Alec exclaimed. Pulling out his key, he opened the door and stood aside for Jaycee to enter first. The door opened up into a foyer with a coat closet to the right. The house appeared to have a fairly open floor plan. The living room was spacious and seemed to blend into a game room on one side. The two rooms took up the entire middle of the house. The rightmost side of the house flowed into a lovely dining room with cherry furniture at the front corner of the structure. An overly large dining set took up most of the room. Behind that and housed in the back right corner was the kitchen, complete with every convenience Jaycee could imagine. The countertops appeared to be granite.

The left side of the house accommodated three more doors, the middle one being the only open door, which appeared to be an oversized bathroom. The walls were a medium blue tile with white fixtures. The staircase leading to the second floor was housed to the right side of the foyer, when facing the front door from inside. The steps were a polished light oak. The entrance to the stairs faced the front of the house. If Jaycee had to describe the house in one word she would have chosen
luxurious
. Higher ceilings than the standard eight feet made the house feel enormous. She supposed having taller males in residence would make the space seem less lofty, and more appropriate.

Masculine
would have been another apt description the house. The colors were mostly earth tones—rich blues, dark greens, deep tans, and browns—in all shades. Hardwood blanketed the floors. A large rug spanned the living room floor, giving the area around the L-shaped sofa the feel of being its own space. A massive television hung from the back wall. The TV was curved, though she couldn’t figure out why. It was elegant and expensive in appearance. Not like the twenty- or thirty-five-inch screens she’d been used to at the fosters’. Pulling her jaw tight, Jaycee realized she’d been wandering around with her mouth gaping like a fish.

“So, what’s the verdict, Princess?” Alec spoke directly in Jaycee’s ear, causing her to jump half a foot. She hadn’t realized he was following so close behind her.

“I wouldn’t trade it for Buckingham Palace.” Admiring the house, Jaycee turned each direction, taking in all the details she’d missed with each pass. “Who did your decorating? They’re amazing!”

Lee shot Alec a look to keep him quiet. “One of our brothers, by which I mean the friends who live here. He’s a model actually, so his tastes have to be impeccable. He typically chooses our decor, and influences our clothing choices.

“A real model? Wow! I’ve never met a model. That must be a fascinating job. Getting to travel the world and all. I’ve only ever seen Missouri. Not that Missouri isn’t beautiful, but I’d love to see the ocean.” Jaycee grew quiet, realizing she had begun to ramble. Collywobbles filled her stomach. She felt
so
out of her depth with these two. Their world was so very different from hers.

“I’m sure he would be interested to tell you about it some time,” said Alec, shooting Lee a mischievous look. “And I’m certain you’ll meet him sometime. He’s out of the country at the moment. Milan, I believe, but he should be returning in a few days.

“I’m sure he wouldn’t want to meet me.” Staring at her worn boots, Jaycee couldn’t imagine a world traveled model wanting to spend time in her unfashionable presence.

“You would be surprised.” Alec grunted on the last word. Jaycee once again had missed the movement, but suspected Lee had delivered another blow to Alec’s person. Considering Alec was rubbing his ribs, it was no mystery where. “You know I have a game tomorrow, why don’t you let the other team have a piece of me that isn’t already black and blue?” He hissed at Lee. While his tone seemed harsh, she could tell by the look in his eye that he was joking. The telltale smile was back in place.

“Has the university’s season begun already? The term hasn’t even started yet,” Jaycee puzzled.

“No, I belong to a local hockey league. Just a bunch of guys who want to play the sport for the fun of it, instead of the fame and glory. Not that we don’t keep score. We’re all too competitive for that.” Winking at Jaycee, he flashed her a dazzling smile. His grin was infectious. “You should come.” Before Jaycee could reply, the front door swung open, and in walked another angel. Her heart couldn’t take much more of this!

He was shorter than Lee and Alec, but still several inches taller than her…five feet six maybe? Less muscular than the other guys as well, though still fit and lean. Hanging about his eyes, his hair was a light brown with natural blond highlights. His eyes were green and large. His skin was a pale cream. Freckles dotted his arms and body like he came from Irish stock, though they were absent from his face. He wore a brown worn backpack, khaki pants, a gray polo, and brown Dr. Martens. Head slightly angled down, he looked at his feet as he walked and mumbled to himself. By the wrinkles in his brow, he was clearly trying to solve some problem.

“Sean,” Alec stepped in his housemate’s path, bringing him to a halt. “Meet Jaycee.” Sean’s eyes raised, and the mumbling ceased. Only his pupils dilating gave any indication of his surprise. “We ran into her today at the pool, and couldn’t help but bring her home with us. She’s new to campus this semester.” Nodding as he spoke, Alec imbued his words with more meaning than Jaycee could decipher. It didn’t seem malicious, so she decided to let it slide.

“Hi, Jaycee. I’m Sean Kavanagh. It’s nice to meet you. I’d love to talk with you in a minute. I just need to write something down real quick. If you’ll excuse me.” Sean waited for her nod, before racing past them, and up the stairs. She heard a door open and close, a pen scribbling madly. The hum of a great number of electronic devices being switched on at once and deft typing could be heard through the ceiling.

Laughing Alec said, “That was Sean for you. He’s a hacker. A legal one though. He’s been working on some security software for the university. I’m sure he just solved some problem he’s been toying with. Give him some time, he’ll be back down soon. Would you like something to drink?” Leading her further into the room, he walked toward the kitchen and neared the fridge on the back wall.

“Sure, what do you have?” she asked.

“Well, I’m not gonna lie, the cold stuff is mostly all healthy. Jonathan tries to keep us going in a good direction. He’s a doctor.”

“A doctor? Is he much older?”

“No, he’s a genius. Graduated way before his time. He’s only a few years older than you, I’d imagine.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, makes me look bad,” Alec chortled, and turned back to the fridge. “There’s other things I’ve hidden in the pantry, but we’ve got orange juice, Gatorade, milk, tomato juice, and some kind of energy drink. That’s the cold stuff. I’ve got root beer, real beer, and Mountain Dew stashed away if you’d rather have that.” Alec wiggled his eyebrows.

Laughing Jaycee replied, “I’m fine with water, but I appreciate the thought.” Picking a tall clear glass from the cabinet, Alec filled it with filtered water from the fridge.

As he handed the glass to Jaycee, a ringtone playing the classic James Bond theme song started, muffled from the pocket it was coming from. Lee pulled out his phone and chuckled. “This will be interesting.” He swiftly walked way, and began whispering quickly into his phone. After a minute a loud voice could be heard shouting on the other end, though Jaycee couldn’t make out the words. Lee appeared amused—rather than agitated—when he returned a few minutes later. Alec had merely watched Lee with a wide grin, and led Jaycee to sit on a bar stool opposite the fridge.

“Our Mr. Model will be returning a bit early it would seem.” Speaking to Alec, but smiling at Jaycee, Lee looked somewhat amused, and perhaps a bit self-satisfied. Jaycee wondered at all the subtext and hidden meaning about these two. Or should she say five? So far she’d counted Alec, Lee, their unnamed model friend, Jonathan, and Sean who lived with them. No wonder their house was so large. She wondered if they cooked for themselves, and who did the massive amounts of laundry?

“Serves him right for leaving us so soon after the start of the semester to go to
Milan
.” Pronouncing the city name with an accent, Alec rolled his eyes.

“He’s not happy, but he’ll live,” Lee replied with satisfaction, taking way too much joy in his brother’s distress.

“Why wouldn’t he be happy?” she asked.

“Limerence, my dear,” Alec said with a chuckle.

Jaycee didn’t want to admit her ignorance of the word, so she merely nodded, looking confused. Alec laughed, but slyly didn’t elaborate.

“So, what should we do now?” Asked Jaycee, as she finished her glass of water. Alec took the glass, and put it in the sink.

“Would you like to watch a movie? If you’re in no hurry to return to campus until evening, we’ve got plenty of time to kill. We can order pizzas for dinner if that’s okay?” Picking up his cell, Lee looked up the number for delivery.

“Sure, that sounds great. I haven’t had pizza in forever,” Jaycee replied wistfully. Her foster parents didn’t want their family to grow fat on junk food, so nothing unhealthy was allowed at meal times. Jaycee had a sneaking suspicion the rules hadn’t applied to Roger, but had been made when she had come to live with them. Her other foster parents hadn’t wanted to spend the money on the kids, so any pizza they’d had was of the cheaper frozen variety.

January 3, 2016

Alec had suggested Jaycee choose the movie. Not wanting to pick a film they would find boring, Jaycee had asked for assistance. They had worked together and decided to watch
The Avengers
. Lee had ordered several different pizzas: cheese, pepperoni, meat lovers, and a bacon and pineapple concoction they assured her was amazing. Jaycee had suggested they wait for Sean, but the guys guaranteed her Sean would appear when he smelled the pizza. Besides, they told her he wouldn’t be much fun till he got the question in his head sorted out.

Settling onto their leather couch, Jaycee was surrounded on both sides by warm male bodies. She couldn’t help but notice how good they smelled. She had read a book once that said a person’s sense of smell was the closest of the senses tied to memory. She fully believed it, every time she smelled Old Spice, she would think of her dad. Even Petrichor reminded her of her father, and the way he loved to watch the rain from their front porch. Not that the guys smelled like her father. Lee smelled like an aromatic sweet vanilla and balsamic almond (Pi by Givenchy). Whereas Alec smelled like a warm citrus marine spice (1 Million by Paco Rabanne). While Alec’s scent was similar, it had spicier undercurrents. Sean had smelled more like Irish Spring soap: fresh and clean with no artifice. None of the scents were really any more appealing than the other, but they were all different, like the guys themselves. They just smelled delightful!

As Jaycee sank further into the couch, she was reminded of her lack of undergarments. Maybe she should have gone back to her dorm? How could she have forgotten she wasn’t wearing a bra or panties?!? Going commando in jeans wasn’t the most comfortable, as the material rubbed her sensitive flesh, and scratched her normally protected private parts. While going braless was undeniably more comfortable at home, it wasn’t something she’d had the privilege of doing often, and it was awkward around members of the opposite sex. She was amazed she’d been able to forget about her situation for as long as she had. Maybe she could attribute it to how nice they made her feel? Her discomforts weren’t in the forefront of her mind while they held her attention. The movie had already started, finally reaching the main titles, when Lee put his arm on the back of the couch behind her. It was a natural move, not a come-on, but she couldn’t stop her heart from beating a bit faster.

A part of Jaycee longed to lean into Lee, she had always dreamed of snuggling up with someone while watching a movie, but she didn’t have the nerve. She’d just met them, there was no way she’d be so forward. Besides, if she accidentally brushed up against him, he might figure out she wasn’t wearing undergarments which could send the wrong message. She held herself stiff, until Alec leaned over, and began playing with a strand of her hair. If she were a cat, she would be purring. His fingers sunk further into her hair to touch her scalp with soft caresses.

The doorbell rang, making Jaycee jump guiltily. Looking around startled, Jaycee pulled away from Alec’s fingers; she realized it was just the pizza delivery man. Lee removed himself from the sofa, and grabbed his wallet. Pulling out some cash, he opened the door and paid for the pizzas. Telling the boy to keep the change, he put the pizzas on the long coffee table in front of the couch.

“You need to put a coaster under that. Mr. Model and Jonathan won’t be pleased if the table gets heat scorched,” Alec scolded Lee. But Lee just grunted as he headed to the kitchen to comply.

“So all five of you live here?”

“Six actually, Garrett’s at work. He builds houses for his father when he’s not studying. He takes a few classes at UEM, he’s working on getting an engineering degree. With everything he knows, he could probably test out of most of his classes, but he believes in putting in the work,” explained Alec. With the pizza safely placed on hot pads, Lee handed out plates, and napkins. Heading back to the kitchen, he grabbed a stack of plastic cups and a liter of soda.

“Where’d you pull that out of?” Alec asked.

“That’s my dirty little secret.” He poured them each a cup of Pepsi and handed them out. “I hope you like Pepsi. I didn’t really figure you’d want milk with your pizza,” he said to Jaycee.

“It’s good, thanks.” Jaycee took the cup, and set it on the table in front of her. Alec pressed play on the movie as footsteps could be heard from above. They were right, Sean smelled the pizza. Jaycee took a slice of pepperoni, and one slice of the bacon and pineapple. She didn’t usually try new flavors, but she wanted to humor the guys. Pepperoni would always be her favorite, but the other wasn’t half bad. Once Sean was settled on the opposite side of Alec, they started eating and watched the movie. No one spoke much as the guys were busy stuffing their faces, and Jaycee didn’t want to talk with her mouth full.

The Avengers
is about two and a half hours long, but midway in the front door opened again. A dark haired man, more muscular than the others and about the same height as Alec,-walked in. His hair was dark brown and short, though long enough on top to be brushed forward. His eyes were a deep chocolate brown. Around his waist he carried a tool belt filled with screws, nails, and a hammer, among other hardware. This must be Garrett. He was more muscular than the other guys from using his body to build houses for years. A deep tan covered his exposed skin. Tired from his day, Garrett waved silently, and walked right past the couch, before doing a double take, and finding his way back to Jaycee. Alec paused the movie.

“Garrett Andres, meet Jaycee Monroe. She’s new to campus, so we’re making her feel welcome,” Lee said. Jaycee managed to hold back her wince at her last name being spoken aloud. The guys exchanged more looks. By this point Jaycee had been expecting it. Maybe it was just a guy thing? She hadn’t been around many guys before, maybe she had never noticed this behavior before because she wasn’t exposed to it enough?

“It’s a pleasure, Jaycee. Do you mind if I join you?” Garrett dropped his gear onto another side table, elbowed Alec out of the way, and sat down in his place. He smelled of grapefruit, red saffron, lavender, redwood, hot amber, and coffee beans (Polo Red by Ralph Lauren). Yum! As he settled in, he noticed something on the sofa and picked it up to examine it. Jaycee’s face flamed. Her panties! Jaycee quickly snatched her panties from his hand, stuffing them back in her pocket and averting her face. When she summoned the courage to turn back, she noticed the guys had all stopped to stare at her. Sean’s face was flushed as well. Alec had a wicked gleam in his eye. Lee looked intrigued and Garrett looked a wee bit ashamed.

“I’m sorry, Jaycee, I didn’t see what they were…” Garrett sputtered.

“It’s okay. This looks bad, but it’s my own fault. I met the other guys at the rec center. I had taken a shower, but didn’t have clean clothes, so I took off my base layer to feel cleaner. I…uh…didn’t want to go back to my dorm while my roommate was there. She’s a bit much, so I came here, but I forgot my um…under garments were in my pocket.” By the end of her explanation Jaycee wanted to hide in the sofa, or maybe under a rock. Were there rocks in the front yard? Maybe she would go find out…

Sean rose to his feet. He assisted her to her own and dragged her upstairs without a word. The upstairs opened up into another living area, off of which were two bedrooms to each side, and one in the middle against the back wall of the house. A bathroom divided up each bedroom duo. Sean turned into the second door on the left and pulled Jaycee with him. He left the door open.

“There’s a bathroom through that door there.” He pointed at the green wall between his bedroom and the next. “If you want you can put your garments back on, or you can wear a pair of mine. They might be a bit big on you, but I’m sure if you rolled them up—”

“That would be great! Thank you, Sean.” Jaycee was relieved. They didn’t think she was weird or slutty for having stuck her panties in her pocket. Sean merely helped her out, no questions asked. “I wouldn’t mind borrowing a pair…if it’s not too much trouble.”

Sean pulled out a pair of blue cotton boxers, he handed them over with a blush, and a sweet smile. “Anything you need, Jaycee. Just ask me.” He took a deep breath, as if steeling himself before saying, “You said you took off all your—do you need another layer—um…up top? I’ve got some tank tops that might fit you, if you wanted a makeshift…uh—well, you get the drift.” Sean shuffled his feet, embarrassed.

“Yes, please. Sean, you really are wonderful.” She stepped aside, while Sean dug a white tank out of his closet, and passed it to her. She entered the bathroom and shut and locked the door. This bathroom was covered in white tile, but the fixtures were a sparkly deep brown, with a matching granite countertop. Brown and red accents throughout the bathroom completed the look. Wow, it had a shower, separate tub, a double sink, and massive mirror! Jaycee quickly pulled off her hoodie, and sweater. She managed to twist and wrap his tank top around her chest, so it gave her a bit of breast support. When she threw her sweater back on, the lines were almost normal. She put her hoodie back on for extra comfort, but didn’t zip it up fully this time. She pulled her jeans off, and pulled on Sean’s boxers. They were a bit too loose, so she rolled them over a few times, and put her jeans back on. Feeling decent again, Jaycee was in such a good mood when she unlocked the door, she couldn’t help but give Sean a hug. Sean returned her embrace after his initial moment of surprise. He even leaned his cheek down on her head, she couldn’t be certain, but she suspected he was smelling her hair. Thank God she’d had a shower!

Awkwardly she pulled away, Sean took the lead guiding her back down to the others. “We’re all good now.” He informed the other guys briefly. A look of relief washed over the group. They had been afraid she would leave. They hadn’t wanted to drive her away, but it was hard not to react to seeing a beautiful girl’s underwear appear out of nowhere. Gentlemen at heart, they refused to let her feel insecure around them. Garrett steered her back to her seat with another apology.

“It’s okay, guys. Let’s just finish the movie, please?” She begged.

“As you wish, Princess.” Alec pointed the remote, and they resumed
The Avengers
. As the movie progressed, the guys drew closer to Jaycee. With Lee to her left, and Garrett on her right, Sean wound up sitting at her feet, and Alec…well, he found a bar stool, so he could sit behind her and play with her hair. This was the scene Jonathan Kavanagh saw when he came home. The girl looked familiar to him, but fatigued from a day at work, he wasn’t sure why. She was beautiful regardless, but he wasn’t sure how he felt about his brothers being so close to her. What had happened while he was working at the health center?