It’s been a couple of days since Zac and I had sex. I knew exactly what I was doing the night that Zac busted into my room after his shower. Confronting him with the fact that he really does want me was gratifying. Even more satisfying was being with him…even if it was only one time.
Zac’s tongue is magical, his movements precise. The man knows what he’s doing. My body felt alive with every touch, every lick. Zac’s cock is massive, and he filled me to the hilt. I know that he said we couldn’t do it again, but the man left me lusting for more. My connection, my desire for him has grown since that night.
Curiosity is getting the better of me, and I decide to see how Zac is doing. I walk through the Jack and Jill bathroom to knock on his door. “Zac?”
“Yeah. Come in,” He answers.
I open the door and Zac is sitting on his bed lacing up his tennis shoes. “Hey about the other night—” I stop when Zac gets up from the bed.
“I told you, Cayden, it was only that one time.” He holds his finger up in the air. “The. One. Time.”
“Well, damn, Zac, you’ve made it crystal clear. You know, big boy, you’ll crave it again.” Just like I am craving it now. I storm out of his room and back into mine.
Glancing at the calendar, I realize that we are only a few days away from the Fourth of July. Usually, we have a party, but this year it’s going to be different. Our group has changed a lot since last year. We now have Zac, Dex, Maverick, and Raine in our lives. My sisters and I need to talk about what we’re going to do.
Sometimes, my timing is perfect. I walk into the kitchen and find everyone there. “Hey, peeps. What’s shakin’?”
“Just some ass.” Maverick starts to shake his butt.
“Yeah, you’re cheeky today.” I smile, grabbing a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. “So, have y’all thought about what we’re gonna do for the Fourth?” I unscrew the lid off the water and take a large swallow, waiting for an answer. Five sets of very wide eyes are staring at me.
“Um, no, actually. I didn’t think we were gonna do much.” Callie rubs her hands together nervously, and Dex surrounds her body with his, pulling her close.
“I’m not talking a party. More of a cookout with some fireworks for us, not like we used to do. I wouldn’t want that now anyway.” I would never plan another bonfire after what happened to Callie last year.
Dex meets my gaze. “Sure. We could do something with all of us. I’m game as long as everyone else is.” He nods, letting me know it’ll be alright.
“We’re in!” Cydney and Maverick act enthusiastic with huge grins on their faces.
I glance over to Zac. “And you, Zac? Are you game too?”
“Absolutely. I’m up for a game, gathering, or any challenge that comes my way,” Zac states, his eyes wide.
Okay, that’s different from earlier. I’m just going to go with it for now.
“Great. How about we get a grocery list together and plan on some fireworks too?” I clap my hands together and grab a pen and some paper. Sitting down at the kitchen table, I tap the pen against the paper, and Zac slides in beside me, bringing me out of my thoughts. “Hey, um, make sure to put sparklers on your list.”
I tamp down on the internal giggle that bubbles inside me before it can escape. I tilt my head to the side and gaze into his amazing hazel eyes, noticing that they have blue flecks in them. Sucking in my bottom lip to hold in the mirth, I smile. “Are those your favorite?” I let the laughter explode.
When I calm down a bit, he says, “Actually, yeah, they are my favorite. I’ve always enjoyed them. You can hold them in your hands and whirl them around making different designs. I think they’re a lot more fun than the huge explosions.” For one small moment, I see the Zac we all know and love. His eyes are bright instead of dark with torment.
Glancing down at the paper, I add Zac’s request to the list. “Got it.” I think Zac just shared a little part of himself with me…it’s a good start.
A brief silence falls between us, and then he adds, “Great. Thanks, Cayd.” And just like that, he stands up from the table and walks away.
There’s not much more to do at this point, except to go with the flow until I can get Zac to let down some walls and open up to me. I finish my list, making sure to put a giant star by the sparklers. We’ll go to the store within the next couple of days.
* * *
I pull my long auburn hair back into a ponytail, taking a peek in the mirror to give myself a final once over. Afterward, I head downstairs to get my sisters so that we can go to the store. “Yo, sisters! You ready?” I holler.
I hear Cydney yell back, “Yes, let’s go, hoe!”
The three of us meet in the living room, and we head out the front door. On our way to the store, Callie speaks up, “Are you gonna invite Brody over for the celebration?”
Oh. Well, shit. I hadn’t thought of that. “Probably. He’s been doing stuff with us. We’ll have to wait and see. His chores on the ranch have been keeping him busy.” I actually know full well that he will probably be there. I’ll go ahead and send him a text to invite him to the cookout and fireworks show.
Arriving at the store, I park the Jeep and kill the engine. I immediately see the fireworks display tent. “Hold up. Let’s go ahead and pick out the fireworks we want.”
I search until I find the sparklers, knowing that would make Zac happy, and grab three boxes. As I clutch them, I chuckle to myself. Zac’s favorite would be sparklers and not some kind of artillery booming firework. Cydney picks up some Roman candles, while Callie chooses some other snake type thing. I’m not sure what the hell it is. We keep filling our bag with more and more fireworks, including the ones that have different varieties of fireworks. We don’t even look to see what’s in them, we just know we want them because…well, it’s fireworks and we love them.
Once we pay for the fireworks and put them in the car, I pull out the food list and we head inside the grocery store. We only need to grab one cart instead of our normal three when we enter the store since we’ve scaled down this year. Starting in the meat aisle, we snatch up hamburger meat and sausages.
“Wait. We’re gonna need more. I mean, we have Dex, Maverick, and Zac. Those three could eat their own weight in food,” Callie expresses her concern for the guys’ healthy appetite. Cydney and I gawk at each other, then burst out laughing because she’s right. They can consume a lot. “What? You’ve seen them devour food.”
“Nothing. We’re agreeing with you,” I tell her, putting more meat into the cart. We continue our stroll through the grocery store and turn down the bread aisle, where we bump into Melanie.
“Hey, Mel,” I greet her. She has her son with her, and he’s adorable.
“Well, hey. How are you, girls?” She asks. “Back from college for the summer?”
“Yeah, we’re home. How have you been?” Melanie looks good, but she also seems frazzled with her hair in a messy bun on top of her head and dark circles under her eyes. I know she hasn’t had it easy and probably doesn’t get all the support she needs. A light bulb goes off. “We’re getting things for the Fourth of July cookout. Would you like to come? You can bring this lil’ man with you too.” I give his belly a tiny tickle.
“Oh, I don’t know ‘bout that. Jacob isn’t that great around a lot of people.” She strokes Jacob’s hair out of his face.
Damn. I have a feeling that she probably thinks it’s going to be a huge get together like we usually throw on the Fourth. “Oh, we aren’t having the big bash. There’ll only be a small group of us.”
Her eyes widen with surprise.
“Plus, we’ll have little Raine with us. She’s the baby that I messaged you about,” Callie reminds her.
“Yeah, if you have the time off, you should come by. Enjoy the food and company,” Cydney insists.
Melanie’s lips lift into a beautiful smile. “Let me check my work schedule. If I’m off, I’ll come by with Jacob. I could use a little relaxation time.”
I put my hands in the air. “Fantastic, fingers crossed.”
Melanie says her goodbyes, and we start to make our way through the store to finish our shopping. We’re on the last aisle when we see Brody leaving the store. None of us say a word. We just let him leave.
And after checking out, we head home ourselves.