A Few Weeks Later

Shay had gone to the club and asked the girls if they were interested in going on dates with Connor and Noah.

Naturally, they were both thrilled at the prospect of finally getting to go out with them. They agreed on a double date, just the four of them, which meant Shay and I were left at home to unwind.

“Damn, where the hell is that tie?” Connor whizzed past our room, screeching to a stop just outside. He reversed and looked at me, his eyes wide with panic. “Did I borrow that tie from you?”

I laughed and pointed to where he’d hung it a few days ago when he’d asked for one. He was dressed in black dress pants, a burgundy short-sleeve button-down shirt, and black dress shoes.

He walked in, grabbed it, and slipped it over his head.

“Dude, chill out,” I said, trying to suppress my laughter at his nervousness. “You teased me about being nervous, but you’re acting way more jittery than I was when I proposed to Shay.”

Just then, Noah zoomed past the room, then came barreling in behind Connor. “Boss, can you please fix this tie for me? I’ve been struggling with it for over ten minutes and can’t get it right.”

I rolled my eyes at these two big babies, got off my bed, and put my book down on the nightstand. As I approached Noah, I could see he was just as panicked as Connor.

He was wearing beige dress pants, black dress shoes, and a solid black short-sleeve button-down shirt. As I adjusted his tie, he used his trembling hands to pull it up under his collar.

I patted both of their shoulders, feeling the heat radiating from under their shirts.

“If you guys don’t calm down, you’re both going to be sweaty and nauseous before you even get to the restaurant. That’s not a good look, is it?”

“Easy for you to say,” Connor retorted. “You had it easy with Shay. We’re going into this blind. We’ve been scanning the club for weeks trying to spot these women, but we haven’t seen them yet.”

He brushed off his shirt and sat down in a chair.

Shay walked in wearing the white dress she’d bought the other day to accommodate her growing belly, which seemed to be expanding every week.

“Listen, guys, they’re just as nervous as you are, so don’t be such babies about this. They’re worried you won’t like them, but they’re a lot like me, so keep that in mind.”

Noah flopped down on the couch. “Do you know how long it’s been since we’ve been on a real date? Years! Sure, we have women we sleep with, but going out like this, not even knowing what they look like, is driving us crazy.”

“I got you the best seats at the restaurant you wanted,” I said, sitting back down on the bed and picking up my book.

“Damn! I don’t have any cash for a tip.” Connor jumped up from the chair, ready to bolt out of the room.

I lifted a finger, then snapped it sharply, drawing his attention to the cash I had on the table beside me. He came over and picked it up. “You’re a lifesaver, man.”

“Give Noah half of it. That’s for both of you to cover dinner and tip, plus a bottle of wine that the ladies like.

“Keep whatever you don’t use for next time. Just relax, let the limo take you two, and enjoy your time with them.” I turned a page in my book.

Shay slowly sat down on the edge of the bed. “They’re going to meet you there in an hour. You’ll recognize them without a problem. Trust me, okay?”

They both took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “We trust you, Shay. It’s just that this isn’t as easy as when the boss kidnapped you and basically made you stay here with him.”

I put my book down. She had her eyebrow raised. “Oh really? Would you like to recreate that night again so you two can kidnap these two women, and, as you say, force them to stay here to become yours?”

They both fumbled with their hands. “I mean, it was just so easy for the two of you that you just seemed to fall into each other’s arms.”

She held up her hand. “Look, you know our story. I was terrified of him and what he could do. Plus, with my past, I just submitted to him at first.

“Then he took pity on me, and that’s when I started to come around. You don’t want to force a woman into anything, or they will either run away or retreat into a shell that you will never get them out of.”

She shot me a glare, and I dropped my head.

Looking up again, I said, “Our situation was a little different. I wanted you, and then I got what I wanted. Actually, it happened faster than I expected, to be honest.” I crossed my arms over my chest.

“We know. It’s just hard for us to be anything but like the boss. That’s how we were raised, and now we’re being thrust into this role we haven’t been in since we were teenagers.” Noah ran his hand through his hair.

Shay stood up to fix his hair, gently running her hand through it to smooth it back into place.

“Look, guys, just be yourselves, and they will like that. They’ve watched you from afar and liked how you interacted with me and others. Don’t overthink this. Just act like you’re with me.

“No sly jokes at first, though. Get to know them, then just go from there. They like you from what they’ve seen of you, so just take it easy. Make small talk until you figure out how to relax and talk to them.

“They’re my friends, and they will be nervous just like you are. Last night they were asking me about what color to wear, how long their dresses should be, and everything else.”

Connor jumped up, dashed out of the room, and then returned with his laptop. He grinned, then pointed to Noah. “That has to be them. See, they’re talking to Shay over in the corner, looking nervous as hell.”

Shay playfully smacked the back of Conner’s head, causing me to burst into laughter. “That’s not fair, Conner. You weren’t supposed to peek at last night’s security footage.”

I let out a chuckle before standing up to stretch. “You gave him the idea, sweetheart. You shouldn’t have mentioned that part.”

“We needed to know who we’re meeting tonight. Can you imagine if we ended up chatting with a completely different pair of women?” Conner shot her a grin.

“Yeah, yeah. I didn’t consider that. You’d be in deep trouble then.” She planted a kiss on their cheeks as they got up to leave.

“Don’t stress about getting home at a specific time, guys,” I said, giving them a friendly grin. “We don’t have a meeting until tomorrow afternoon, so you’re free until at least dawn.”

“Sure thing, Boss. Catch you later.”

As they left, Shay climbed onto the bed, settling down on my chest. I gently rubbed her back for a few minutes until her soft snores filled the room. Carefully, I lifted her up, slipped off her dress, and tucked her into bed for the night.