Chapter 3: Chapter 3

VADA

I rolled over, groaning when every muscle in my body screamed in protest. This was worse than the time we got rear-ended by a tow truck on the Dolphin Expressway.

Bert didn’t kick me that hard. He was too stoned. But he did throw me on the floor. I guess that was the source of my all-over body ache.

It wasn’t the first time I’d been slapped around by a man. I was my own worst enemy.

Why did I keep going out with the same type of guy?

Was I really that stupid?

I sat up slowly and reached for the pain pills on the nightstand. They’d knocked me out the night before. I barely remembered the drive home from the hospital.

Maybe I’d take some Ibuprofen instead.

~You aren’t at home, girlfriend.~

I glanced around the unfamiliar bedroom, trying to shake the cobwebs from my brain.

~Where am I?~

This had to be part of some weird dream. I was in a bedroom that looked like it could be mine.

The pink camouflage comforter and matching brown sheets. Framed posters on the walls of my favorite things: cats, old cars, and Patrick from ~SpongeBob~.

I was at the guys’ place. They hadn’t wanted to drive me back to my condo downtown after I got discharged from the hospital. I must’ve fallen asleep in the car.

Jake had carried me into the house. I’d woken up in his arms.

I glanced down at the man’s shirt I was wearing, smiling when I recalled Jake offering it to me.

But why did my dad’s best friends have a guest room that was clearly decorated for me? I’d never spent the night at their house before.

I climbed out of the enormous bed, my feet sinking into the fluffy brown area rug.

The bathroom was decorated similarly to the bedroom. Pink and brown tiles, another fluffy brown rug, pink towels, a pink toilet. And the real kicker? A pink corner tub!

My eyes landed on the soap dispenser.

~Patrick!~

There was no way this was real.

I was sleepwalking.

And I had to pee.

After I christened the pink toilet, I wandered back out to the bedroom.

~What in the hell is happening?~

I ventured into the hall and leaned on the railing overlooking the main floor.

The guys lived in a gorgeous mansion in Tahiti Beach. The back of the house was a two-story wall of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a private terrace and the ocean.

There was a huge great room, a dream kitchen, and a dining room with a table for ten.

Underneath the bedrooms, at the front of the house, there was an office, a game room, and a man cave, with a massive television and black leather furniture and all their manly possessions.

My dad and his friends designed some software when they were in high school. They sold it to a big company for millions of dollars and invested in real estate.

We owned multiple properties all over South Florida.

And of course, the classic car restoration business. That was their dream.

Why did the guys live together? I’d never really given it much thought before. I was too wrapped up in myself for the past several years.

Between floundering through and flunking out of college and then partying and dating a string of losers, I hadn’t seen a lot of them.

My dad didn’t live with them. He had a condo downtown. I had my own condo in the same building, which I shared with my best friend, Mandy.

Dad didn’t like the ocean. He lived in Miami, and he never went to the beach. My dad was still grieving for my mother.

Her clothes were still in the closet, her belongings everywhere in the condo they shared.

He hadn’t dated anyone in the fourteen years since she died. Not that I knew of, anyway. They’d been together since high school.

It was really odd for three forty-two-year-old men to live together. They could afford to live on their own.

Did they date?

Were they gay?

“Good morning, beautiful.”

I whirled my head around. I hadn’t heard Jake come up the stairs, and I realized too late that I was only wearing a shirt that went to mid-thigh and a thong. No bra.

I didn’t have big boobs, but there was enough there to require a bra to keep them in check.

~Did Jake just call me ~beautiful?

“Good morning,” I squeaked, trying not to drool all over myself at the sight of his bare chest.

“How did you sleep?”

“Uh, good,” I stuttered, picking my jaw up off the floor.

Jake was ~hot.~

Eight-pack, tattoos, and a thick black treasure trail. And I had no doubt the prize inside his pants would be fabulous.

“I’m glad,” he murmured, his eyes dropping to my bare legs.

~What in tarnation is happening?~

“Uh, I should probably get dressed,” I said.

“Okay,” he agreed.

~Move your feet, you fool.~

He tilted his head, a small smile playing on his sexy mouth. I blinked, squeezing my legs together when my arousal flooded my panties.

Why was he staring at me like he wanted to rip his shirt from my body and devour me?

“I should probably get dressed.”

~You already said that.~

“Probably,” he chuckled. “Your dad is on his way.”

“Dad is coming ~here~?”

“Yeppers,” he said, glancing at his watch. “He should be here soon.”

“Where’s Garrett and Evan?”

“Morning run on the beach.”

“Why didn’t you go?”

“We have a guest. It would’ve been rude to leave you alone.”

“And you volunteered to babysit me?”

“You don’t need a babysitter anymore, Vada,” he said, his voice going all husky as his eyes dropped to my chest.

“I think my dad might disagree with that statement,” I said, laughing nervously. “I better get dressed.”

“See you in a bit,” he said before turning and heading back down the stairs.

I scurried into my room and snatched my phone from the nightstand to fire a text off to Mandy.

Vada

You’re never going to believe this.

She answered almost immediately. Mandy never put her phone down. She even took it in the bathroom with her.

Mandy

What?

Vada

Jake was checking me out.

Mandy

What? When?

Vada

Just now.

Mandy

Where are you?

Vada

I’m at the guys’ place.

Mandy

The mansion in Tahiti Beach?

Vada

Yeah.

Mandy

How did you end up there?

Vada

Bert tried to kick the shit out of me.

Mandy

OMG! Are you okay?

Vada

Yeah. The cops showed up and arrested him. He was dealing coke!

Mandy

What?!

Vada

My dad made me go to the hospital. The guys took me and then brought me here.

Mandy

And Jake put the moves on you?

Vada

No. He was just looking at me differently.

Mandy

Different how?

Vada

He was looking at my legs, and then I caught him staring at my tits.

Mandy

Go Vada!

Vada

He’s one of my dad’s best friends. And he’s, like, forty-two. He’s old!

Mandy

So? That means he’s experienced in the bedroom.

Vada

I better get dressed. My dad is coming to have some important meeting with me.

Mandy

When are you gonna be home?

Vada

I’ll probably catch a ride back with my dad.

Mandy

Okay. See you when you get here.

***

“How are you feeling this morning, pumpkin?” Dad asked, pulling me into his arms.

“I’m fine, Dad.”

We settled on the white leather sectional sofa in the great room. I glanced back and forth between my dad and his friends.

Why did every single one of them look scared shitless?

“What’s going on?” I asked.

My dad cleared his throat, rubbing his jaw vigorously while he stared out the window. “You could’ve been seriously injured or killed yesterday, Vada.”

“I’m fine, Dad.”

“You’re not fine, sweetheart.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your life is a disaster, Vada. You have no focus, no goals. And you keep associating with people who bring you nothing but grief.”

“Is this supposed to be some kind of intervention?” I snapped, pushing up from the sofa. “Because if it is, I’m outta here.”

“It’s not an intervention, Vada,” he said.

“Then what is this?”

“It’s a business meeting of sorts.”

“I don’t work for you guys.”

“It’s time for you to learn the business.”

“Why?”

“Because you need some direction in your life! You have too much time on your hands, Vada.”

“Fine,” I said. “I’ll come work for you.”

“That’s great, honey.”

“When do I start?”

“I’d like you to accompany Evan, Garrett, and Jake on their upcoming parts acquisition trip.”

“Their what?”

“We’re going on a road trip,” Evan explained. “To find rare parts for the cars we restore.”

“Why? Can’t you find them online?”

“Sometimes,” Jake said. “But there’s lots of old cars all over America, just sitting in fields or barns rotting away. They’re gold mines.

“A lot of the owners have no idea how valuable the parts on those cars are, or how to go about selling them online.”

“This is a dream trip we’ve been planning for a long time,” Garrett said. “It’s not all about work. We’re gonna do some fun stuff. And we’re gonna spend a week in Vegas and attend Part Con.”

“How long are you going to be gone?” I asked.

“A month.”

“A month? How can you guys all be away that long?”

“I can do my work remotely,” Evan replied. “And so can Garrett.”

“Why would you want me tagging along?”

Silence.

Not one of them would make eye contact with me.

My gut churned with nerves, my sense of foreboding growing stronger by the minute. Nothing could have prepared me for my dad’s next words.

“The guys have chosen you to be their wife, and I’ve given them my blessing.”

I blinked rapidly, my eyes darting around the group of men sitting in front of me while I waited for one of them to crack a smile.

But they were as serious as a heart attack. Even Garrett. And he was ~never~ serious about anything.

“You can’t be serious,” I whispered.

“I’d like you to consider it, Vada,” Dad said. “Use the time away to get to know them. I think you’ll find this to be a smart decision.”

“I already know them! They’re your best friends, Dad! They’ve known me my entire life! They probably changed my diapers!”

“There’s no reason to yell,” Evan said calmly.

“Are you guys ~insane~?”

“We’ve been looking for the right woman for years,” Jake explained.

“Polygamy is against the law!”

“Polyandry,” Evan corrected.

“What is that?”

“When a woman has multiple husbands.”

“That’s not a thing!”

“It’s not recognized or accepted in society, but lots of people do it,” Jake said. “We have many friends who share wives. They’re all great people.”

“So you belong to some sicko club?”

“It’s not like that,” Garrett said.

“Then what is it like? Please explain.”

“I don’t think your dad wants to be here for this conversation,” Jake suggested.

“You know what?” I said, rising from the sofa. “Neither do I.”