Page 114 of What About Us
I lean back into him, wondering how I ever had him against me before without jumping him.
“Hi,” Hayley says, extending her hand to Ginger. “I’m Hayley and these are my sisters, Natalie and Norah.” Then, she turns and hollers over her shoulder, “Hutch, get your ass over here!”
Nat and Norah exchange pleasantries with Ginger, and when Hutch gets within arm’s length of us, Hudson reaches out and titty twists him. Hutch flips out the towel in his hand, catching Hudson in the calf.
“Motherfucker,” Hudson laughs, rubbing his calf and then pulling me back against his chest.
“Pansy ass,” Hutch quips.
Wren smacks his arm with an exasperated roll of her eyes, drawing his attention. “Hutch, this is Ginger, my friend from California.”
Hutch leans across the space and extends a long arm to snag the last beer out of the ice bucket on the table, crowding close to Ginger. When he straightens back up, he’s standing so close that she has to tip her head back to stare up at him. Judging by her reaction to him when we first arrived and the way her throat works to swallow, she’s slightly affected by his proximity. But it only lasts a second and it’s replaced with a bit of a smirk as she looks up at him.
“Ginger, huh?” he says, his gaze sweeping down her body appreciatively. He lifts a hand and fingers one of the bright, auburn curls hanging over her shoulder, like it's the most natural thing in the world. His eyes roam over her freckled face before he drops her hair with a smirk. “Bit on the nose, ain’t it?”
Ginger crosses her arms over her chest, drawing Hutch’s gaze to her cleavage. She notices and drops her head to the side, cocking a brow at him. “Not as on the nose as your remedial choice of vernacular for a guy named Hutch,” she snipes. “And my eyes are up here, Bigfoot.”
Seven sets of eyes watch the exchange. A few of us look at each other and snicker.
“Oh, shit, here we go,” Hudson says against my ear, and I elbow him lightly, stifling a giggle.
The corner of Hutch’s mouth twitches in a hint of a smile, and he huffs out a chuckle. “Good to meet you,California,” he says before turning his giant body away from her and walking away.
“Don’t mind our brother,” Hayley pipes up, addressing Ginger. “He’s a bit of a whore.”
“A bit?” Nat throws out sardonically, inspecting her nails.
“I can hear you,” Hutch calls out, his voice tinged with laughter. He’s heading up the small hill, away from the group and back toward the fire pit.
Ginger watches him walk away, her expression blank, seemingly unaffected. Then, she flips her red hair over her shoulder and turns her head to check on her boys, who have moved from playing in the dirt with Paige to the edge of the water.
With the introductions over, we all start to break apart, and Hank helps Wren settle into a chair, propping her feet up on a log. He kisses her, then leaves to help Hutch start the grill and get the hamburgers going. Hayley heads for the kids and the water. Hudson pulls up a few other chairs from around the rocky dirt beach for the rest of us. Then, he stands at the edge, about 100 yards away, watching the kids giggle and splash each other.
I settle in next to Wren, with Ginger on my left. Nat and Norah follow shortly after.
“So,” Nat says, leaning across Ginger to speak to me. “How’s my brother?”
Her question pulls my eyes from the water, where Paige is trying to get onto a giant floaty shaped like a pizza slice.
“He’s good,” I say with a shrug. “Busy.” Suddenly, my face heats with just howbusyhe’s been.
“He seems better being back here. He wasn’t really himself the last time I talked to him. Seemed stressed.”
I nod, shielding my eyes from the sun, and watch Hayley hoist both boys up onto their own floaties. “Yeah, selling the bar was hard for him, but I think the move did him good. Paige, too. They’re both a lot happier, I think.” I don’t say what I really want to: I’m happier with them here, too.
From their respective floaties, the kids all squeal, while Hayley bobs in the water in the middle of all three. Her head tips back on a laugh.
“How you feeling, mama?” I ask, turning my attention to Wren. I reach over to rub her belly.
“Horny as hell and as big as a house,” she says lightly, settling her sunglasses over her eyes. “No one told me I’d want sex, like, three times a day while pregnant.”
Ginger laughs. “I remember those days.”
“Hank is exhausted, and the babies aren’t even here yet.” Wren sighs. “I swear, he fell asleep halfway through the other night. Says his cock is gonna fall off if I don’t let up.”
Nat makes a gagging sound. “That’s my cue to leave,” she says, and Norah gets up, too.
Wren laughs. “Sorry, guys. I sometimes forget he’s your brother.”
