I’m flailing and shrieking in fits of giggles.
“Say ‘flubberjizz.’” Ryder laughs down at me.
“What does that even mean?” I snort because I’m laughing so hard, but he and Jayson don’t stop tickling me. I shriek again just as Jayson finds the place under my knee where I’m most sensitive.
“So cute,” he says and attacks the other knee.
“Julien, save me from your brother!” I screech while trying to squirm away from Jayson’s fingers, but Ryder’s hold on me is too strong.
“Julien’s not going to save you, princess.”
Ryder bends down and nips my neck under my jaw. “Say ‘flubberjizz’ and we’ll let you up.” He nips me again and Jayson does a dual attack on the soles of both of my feet.
“Flubberjizz! Flubberjizz!”
I’m breathless and a little sweaty. I roll to my stomach and poke my head over the side of the bed. Elijah and Julien are no longer wrestling; they’re making out.
Jayson smacks my butt and I look over my shoulder and stick my tongue out at him. He pops up from the bed. “Who wants pancakes?”
Four voices yell “me,” but two of them are muffled. The guys bought a ton of gluten-free stuff from the grocery store the other day. Even though Jayson says he can’t cook, he makes a mean gluten-free waffle. I had the pleasure of eating two of them yesterday morning. I can’t wait to try his pancakes.
I roll over the side of the bed and fall on top of Julien and Elijah. “Good morning, Elijah,” I say cheerily. He’s on the bottom of our people sandwich. Elijah shifts his head to the side so he can see me. “Good morning, Liz.”
I pinch Julien’s ass cheek and he jumps causing Elijah to cry out, “Shit! Watch the balls.”
Ryder lifts me off Julien’s back and throws me down on the bed. Jayson’s already left the room to start making pancakes.
Two heads peek up from the edge of the bed. “Get a room,” Julien tells Ryder.
Ryder is hovering over me, elbows on either side of my face. “We already have a room,” he quips then kisses me.
“Wait,” Elijah says. “You guys are hooking up?”
“They are,” Julien replies to his boyfriend.
“When the hell did this happen?” Elijah looks from us to Julien, his expression almost comical. “Does Jayson know?”
“He does,” Julien says. “Come on. Let’s go help Jay. I’ll explain everything later.”
“Well, fuck. Where the hell have I been lately?”
Ryder and I watch Julien drag a reluctant Elijah out of the room. Ryder looks back down at me when they’re gone, and I smile up at him.
“Poor Elijah. He’s got a lot to catch up on.”
“He’ll live,” Ryder says and drops down so our bodies are touching. He kisses the tip of my nose. “I know Jay’s being cool about everything, but I have a feeling if I try anything more than hugging you or giving you a quick kiss, he’s going to rip my head off. Then again, I had to sit by for years and watch him with you, so…”
“I love you, Ryder. You are such a wonderful man. I’ll never be able to repay all that you’re doing for me, and for Jayson.”
“Anything for you, sweet Elizabeth. You know that.”
I take a lock of his hair that has fallen over his brow and push it back into place. “I do know that.” I lift up and kiss his stubbled chin. “I’m going to take a quick shower, eat pancakes, do some work, and will call Meredith before nine. In that order.”
“Wish I could join you.” Ryder lifts up my tank top and touches his lips to the scar on my abdomen. The one I now know is from the emergency C-section I had while in a coma. I tear up.
“I hope she knows how much I love her. That must sound so stupid.”
Ryder kisses the scar again. “No, it doesn’t.”
