Page 99 of Gamble
“Personally, I’d rather have her experimenting at our club where we know things will be safe, sane, and consensual. Would you rather she go out and try to meet some random guy who may or may not know what he’s doing? And let’s not forget how much she’s sacrificed to help us raise our family for the last four years. She hasn’t had the opportunities to go out with friends or meet men the normal way. Do you expect her to live a celibate life here, listening to us having fun through too-thin walls, wondering what it would be like to have a Dom of her own?”
Kelsey wanted to kiss Emma. She held her breath as both men in the room silently thought through everything Emma had said.
It was Chase who finally answered. “You bring up good points, but I’m with Jaxson.” Glancing up at Kelsey, he finished. “I love you like a sister and like my real-life sister, I really don’twant to go to Black Light with you there. It would just be too… incestuous.” Chase shivered with aversion.
Kelsey couldn’t help but chuckle at his reaction. Jaxson had cut her off earlier before she’d had the chance to make her suggestion.
“I thought you guys might feel that way which is why I have a favor to ask.”
When neither man answered, she barged ahead with her request. “You guys go back and forth between the east and west coast clubs. Couldn’t you go to the D.C. club this year and then I could sign up for roulette here in California? That way we won’t accidentally cross paths.”
Chase found his next objection. “We don’t have a babysitter in D.C. If we all go to roulette, we’d need my mom to watch the twins.”
Her emotions were on a rollercoaster between hope and dejection. She had been so sure her idea would solve the problem.
“But there’s nothing stopping Kelsey from participating in the East coast roulette. She could fly out the day before and sleep in our loft above Runway,” Emma suggested.
Jaxson didn’t look too happy with Emma’s continued pressing, but to his credit he also didn’t say no. At least not yet.
Long seconds ticked by as Kelsey held her breath, waiting for his answer.
“I guess that might work,” he finally answered hesitantly.
Kelsey’s pulse spiked with excitement. She couldn’t contain her whoop of excitement as she jumped up and down like the four-year-olds that lived under the same roof. Before she could contemplate her actions, she rushed to the still hugging Jaxson and Emma and threw her arms around both of them.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you! I appreciate this so much,” she gushed, hugging them both for a few long seconds before stepping back.
Clearing his throat as she pulled away, Jaxson tacked on, “But I’m still going to make sure Spencer keeps an eye on her.” Pinning Kelsey with a glare he added, “I don’t want you to get paired up with some asshole like… “
He paused, unable to come up with an answer. It was Chase who filled in the blank.
“Like Helms. I still can’t believe Khloe didn’t run screaming from the building that night when the wheel matched them up.”
Kelsey shivered just thinking about the possibility of being paired with a man as scary as Ryder Helms. She’d spent enough time around the power couple to know just how intense he was, yet the thought of having a man look at her with even a fraction of the love that Ryder looked at Khloe with made it all worth it.
“You guys are proving my point,” Emma added. “The wheel knows what it’s doing.”
“Not this again. You act like the roulette wheel is magical,” Chase complained.
“Isn’t it? It’s our own version of a sorting hat,” Emma teased.
All four of them broke out in laughter at that one.
“What are you all laughing at?” the ever-inquisitive Alicia asked from the doorway.
All four of them glanced around conspiratorially before Kelsey finally answered, “We thought it would be fun to have you and Andrew cook us dinner tonight. What do you say? Want to help me whip up supper?”
“Sure! Can we have chicken nuggets again?”
The adults all groaned. If they never ate another chicken nugget again it would be too soon.
As Kelsey headed into the kitchen, she couldn’t hold back her grin.
I’m participating in Valentine Roulette. I hope I know what the hell I’m doing.
***
