Page 15 of Ginger

“I don’t know.” A frown marred her lovely face. “I’ve never been given the chance to find out. I do like books, and watching movies. I sometimes would draw when I wanted to escape my life for a while.”

“Then we’ll make sure you have everything you need. Being ours means you have certain freedoms.” I lightly touched the tip of her nose. “But it also comes with some conditions. You can’t be with other men. If we tell you to do something, you need to do it without question. Don’t leave the clubhouse without asking one of us first, especially right now while you’re in danger. Anything we do will be for your safety. It’s not to make you feel confined.”

She took my hand and smiled, her eyes lighting up. “I understand, Bronx, and I’m okay with it. This is more than I’ve ever had before. I don’t know what’s expected of me, and I’ll probably make some mistakes along the way, but I won’t break the rules on purpose.”

“If you do, I promise you’ll enjoy your punishment,” Reno said.

Ginger’s cheeks turned pink, but I saw the flare of interest in her eyes. Great. Now that he’d planted the idea in her head, I had a feeling she’d break the rules just to see what her punishment would be. Things certainly wouldn’t be dull with her in our lives.

Reno

I understood why Bronx felt humbled by our club. Neither of us expected them to accept our relationship with Ginger, much less think of ways to ensure the transition happened smoothly. Giving us a small apartment was going above and beyond. I liked the idea of Ginger having an area where she could relax and feel at home.

We’d finished our breakfast and now lounged in bed. We’d put Ginger between us, but Bronx controlled the laptop. He’d angled the screen so we could all see it, and we scrolled through the website for one of the big box stores. They had everything, which meant we could get some furniture as well as more clothes for Ginger. Then we’d get a Prospect to pick it up.

“Looks like they don’t have couches, but some of those futons look nice,” I said, pointing to one in particular. It was a little pricier than the others. I liked the arms on it, and the fact it was fabric and not faux-leather.

“Do you like that one, Ginger?” Bronx asked.

She nodded, but seemed fretful. I placed my hand on her thigh and gave it a light squeeze. We’d already learned she didn’t like spending money. Or more accurately, her asshole uncle had trained her to believe she wasn’t worth anything. So every item we added to the cart sent her anxiety even higher.

“What about some of those throw pillow things?” I asked. “It would add some color to the room, since the futon is gray.”

“What colors do you like?” Bronx asked, looking down at Ginger.

“And don’t say anything is fine,” I said. She’d already tried that multiple times. It was like she felt her opinion didn’t matter. Of course, it could also be that she had no idea what she liked, kind of like with the food. They had deprived her for so long, she hadn’t developed many likes or dislikes.

Bronx pulled up the page of pillows, and she pointed to teal and purple. “I like those two colors.”

Bronx added two of each. I had no idea what they’d look like together, but it didn’t matter. If Ginger was happy, that was all that counted. We added the only coffee table and end tables they had in stock, as well as a small bookshelf. I knew we’d use Bronx’s bed, since it was the large of the two, and made sure he let Ginger pick out new bedding. Although, we’d need a closet in addition to the living room and kitchen.

I got up and let Bronx finish shopping with Ginger. I went to my room and got my stud finder and a pencil, then started marking the wall to get an idea of where we could cut. Since it was just the three of us, we didn’t need to close off the bedroom. Leaving a wider doorway would make the space seem larger.

My bathroom was on the opposite wall, just like Bronx’s. In fact, our rooms were identical. I measured my bathroom wall to get an idea of where the kitchen would end and marked that as well. Studying the space, I realized we’d lose a little of the bedroom if we added a closet, but it wouldn’t hurt to put in one that was two feet deep. I could add shelves to one side for blankets and towels, then let Ginger have the rest to hang any dresses.

I went back to Bronx’s room to run my ideas by him. Since he hadn’t checked out yet, I knew we’d need to add a little more furniture for my plan to work.

“What would you think of getting matching five-drawer chests instead of the two long dressers?” I asked. “I think I can add a closet to the backside of the kitchen. Nothing huge, but enough space to store towels and blankets, as well as give Ginger room for some clothes and shoes.”

“How big is that bathroom? Six by eight?” Bronx asked.

I pulled a measuring tape from my pocket and went to check. He was close. “Seven by five. Which is going to be the same as mine. I don’t think we need to expand the bathroom. Do you?”

“No. Just thinking. If that back wall is seven feet, the closet should work fine. And I agree about the taller chests instead of long dressers. I’ll add them. Anything else?”

“I’ll do a custom shoe rack in the closet for her, so we don’t need to buy one.” I folded my arms and tipped my head back, trying to picture everything in my head. “I’ll make a list of supplies and head to the hardware store as soon as we’re done. I want to start on this today. Even if we don’t have the closet yet, I’d like to at least get the furniture in place and open up that wall.”

“Think we can do it in a day?” Bronx asked.

“The doorway? Sure. Everything else? No. I doubt the furniture will take long to put together. But gutting the bathroom and building the closet will take a little extra time.”

“Can I help?” Ginger asked.

I knew she wouldn’t be of much help with the construction, and I wanted to get the wall done immediately. But I could teach her a few things when it came time to do the closet and kitchen. For now… “Want to paint while we open the wall?”

“Paint?” she asked.

“Thought we could repaint the living room and bedroom. Any colors you want. You couldn’t work on that wall,” I said, pointing to the one we’d be cutting open, “but you could do the others.”

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