Page 59 of Mistress Mayhem

She makes a face before shrugging. “Fine. I will sit in the car like a helpless damsel until you can open the door and help me out. But you will stop jumping out of moving cars.”

I smirk, glad she’s finally giving in to me. What can I say? I really like taking care of my girl.

We head for the house, and the door flies open to reveal Cooper when we’re halfway up the walkway. “You’re home!”

“You act as if I was gone forever and not just for a few hours.” Sage rolls her eyes, acting like she’s annoyed with him, but we all know she secretly loves the way we hate being away from her.

Cooper pulls her into his arms, and Sage wraps her legs around his waist as his lips descend on hers. The love they share is so clear from the kiss. My cock hardens as I watch them because that’s something I’ve found out about myself. I love seeing my two best friends pleasuring our girl—a lot.

When Sage whimpers, I’m not quite fast enough to bite back a groan. The two of them break their kiss, turning to me with knowing looks. I roll my eyes and push past them.

“Shut up.”

Their laughter follows me into the house, a smile sliding across my lips. I head for the couch and drop onto it as they follow me inside.

“There’s no reason to be embarrassed, Fox. I’m hot.” Cooper smirks, winking at Sage before coming to sit across from me.

I shake my head. “You’re an asshole.”

“But you still love me.”

I ignore him, gesturing for Sage to come sit with me. She lets me draw her down beside me, cuddling up to my side. “Where’s Austin?”

“He’s at the gym. They’re delivering the last of the equipment today, and he wants to make sure everything is ready for the grand opening this weekend.”

Sage grins. “I know he’s been a little anal about all of it, but I love seeing him so excited about this.”

“We all do, princess.”

And they’re right. I’m so fucking proud of my friend. Ever since leaving Lockwood, the three of us have been living off our trust funds and haven’t held a job a day in our lives. Once Sage decided that she wanted to start the victim center, we knew that it was time for us to grow up and figure out what we want to do with our lives as well.

Austin decided he wanted to open a gym that specializes in various types of fighting. There wasn’t much of a demand for that here in Oak Vale, so he decided he’d open it in Fairview. It’s quite a commute, but he doesn’t plan to go in every day. He’s already hired an ex-MMA fighter to run the place five days of the week, so Austin only has to be there two days a week. He’s likely to be there more than that, especially in the beginning, but he wanted to be able to be home with Sage when he could. Once Sage gets the victim center up and running, he’ll also offer free self-defense classes to the victims at the center.

When the mechanic in Oak Vale put his shop up for sale, Cooper was all over it. The sign was up in the window for all of an hour before the sale was finalized. He’s been running the place for two and a half months, and people from surrounding towns and cities have been flocking here to have their motorcycles customized by him. The shop works on both cars and bikes, but Cooper doesn’t deal with that part. He’s doing what he loves.

I’m happy for both of my friends now that they’re doing what they love, but I still haven’t been able to decide what I want to do with my life. Right now, I’m flitting around between helping Austin, Cooper, and Sage with their plans. I just can’t figure out what I want, and I know I need to. I won’t be the asshole who does nothing. I don’t want to disappoint Sage.

I startle when Sage’s hand closes over mine. “It’s okay, babe. You’ll figure out what you want, eventually. Don’t dwell on it. You’ve been indispensable in helping all of us getting things up and running.”

“Thanks, angel.” I press a kiss to the top of her head as she snuggles more firmly into my side. I both love and hate that she can read me so easily. It means I can’t hide anything from her, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“In the meantime, you make a hell of a househusband.” Cooper grins at me, but there’s no bite to his words. They’ve all been supportive of my journey, even if it’s just finding out the things Idon’twant. He’s also not wrong. I’ve been taking cooking lessons so I can feel like I’m at least doing something productive. It’s often hit or miss on what I’m making, but I’m getting better. I also love providing for the four of us. I also do my best to keep the house clean since there are four of us.

Sage hums her agreement. “I agree. You’ve definitely got French toast down to a science.”

“Only because he knows it’s your favorite.” Cooper leans back in the chair, watching the two of us for a moment. “Oh! I almost forgot. Princess, your mom texted me earlier. The movers have packed up the house and will be heading here. She wasn’t sure how long it would take, but she said they’d be here in three days. If the movers make it before then, we’ll have to let them in.”

That’s another thing that’s changed. Sage’s parents came to visit us about two months ago, and like their daughter, they fell in love with Oak Vale. They somehow managed to get a house built in that time about forty minutes from us. They’re going to be living in the middle of nowhere, but they seem happy about it. It’s still close enough that they can see us and Sage any time they’d like, but also gives us space.

Laura is helping Sage work on getting the center set up, seeing as she has the experience that we don’t. I can tell how happy that makes both our girl and her mom. Having her this close will make the process much easier. For now, they’re planning to open the center in Fairview, but if it’s a success, then they’ll look at opening other branches. I have no doubts that it’ll be a success because Sage is running it. I know she’ll never fail at anything she sets her mind to.

Sage yawns, and when I glance down at her, I see that her eyes have fallen shut. “Time for a nap?”

“Yes, please.” Sage hums as I scoop her into my arms and head for the stairs.

I glance back at Cooper with a raised eyebrow. “Are you coming, bro?”

“A nap does sound good,” he says as he climbs to his feet. “Plus, I think we can come up with a good way to wake her up in a few hours.”

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