Page 36 of Hartley

Ava and I kept trudging along. When her presentation was done, she asked me to read it over and let her know if there were any typos. I found a couple and pointed them out. Shediligently corrected them. By the time I was through with it, Ava waited with a hesitant look.

“You did an excellent job,” I told her. “Your teacher will be happy with the work you put into this. It wasn’t hastily done at the last minute. This is full of thought.”

She let out a breath. “That’s good. I don’t want to get a bad grade. Thank you for your help.”

A thought occurred to me. “Ava, you know we don’t expect you to get A’s in every subject, correct?”

“I know, it’s just… My mama always wanted me to do my best. I want to make you three happy, and her too.”

“She’d be very proud of you, just like Vail, Hartley, and I are.”

A genuine smile lit her face.

“Dinner’s almost ready,” Irene told us.

Ava put her laptop and papers away, taking them to the backpack.

Irene started setting the table. “You did a good thing by helping her. She should bond with all of you, not just Vail. This was a big step.”

“You don’t have to tell me.”

“No, but I should say I’m proud of you, Jordan. You were calm and patient with her. Not everyone has that in them.”

“Yes, well…” I stood and pushed the chair to the table. “I should get changed for dinner.” I left before she could say more. I never got changed for dinner. Now I had to because I thought up the excuse to get away from the praise I didn’t deserve.

Vail was toweling off his hair, his jeans resting low on his hips when I entered the room. I wasn’t about to fuck Vail, but I could lean in for a taste of his skin.

I didn’t stop moving until Vail was within reachingdistance. My hands went to his hips, my face tucked against his neck, and my tongue licked along his freshly cleaned skin.

“Not that I’m complaining,” he said. “But are you okay?”

“Fine. Just needed to breathe you in.”

“It was sweet seeing you with Ava.”

I growled low, causing Vail to chuckle.

“I mean it.” He dropped the towel onto the floor so he could wrap his arms around me, surrounding me with his scent. “And while it was sweet, it was also a huge turn-on seeing you that way. Caring, fatherly…”

“Is this a kink you haven’t told me about?”

“No, just another layer of you being exposed that I can’t resist.”

“What aren’t we resisting?” Hartley asked, entering the room.

“Jordan helped Ava with her homework this afternoon. They both sat at the dining table and worked on it together.”

“Okay, I get the not resisting him then.” Hartley came up to my back, his body against mine as he put his arms around my waist. He hummed and put his cheek on my shoulder. “Do I get to call you Daddy Jordan now?”

Before I could tell him no, Vail started chuckling. His body vibrated against mine.

“Laugh it up,” I said. I didn’t knock anyone who was into it. It wasn’t my thing.

“I’m only teasing, Jordan,” Hartley murmured, content to be close to us.

“How was your day, Hart?” Vail asked.

“Forest annoyed me all afternoon, asking questions about Pop. Weird shit, like I would know more than he did. Neither of us were living with him when he got sick. It was almost like Forest thought I was keeping stuff from him. I told him to gothe hell home and leave me be. But then I worried he might be drinking again, so I went upstairs and found him lying on the couch watching TV. Not drunk. Just stressed for some reason. Moody fucker. I left, figuring he’d talk to me about whatever’s bothering him when he’s ready.”

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