Page 83 of Nailed

It was the same intentful stare I saw in Callum’s as he stood at the foot of the staircase and waited. The very same one that brought Rafe up behind me and pushed his body to mine, his hands resting on my hips.

“I have an idea if you want a private celebration,” Brock mumbled, slowly starting to backwalk the three of us toward the stairs.

“Oh yeah?” I asked and he nodded kissing my lips once. I closed my eyes.

“Hmm. I think that Merrick can warm you up.”

Another kiss. A hand on my ass.

“And then I’m going to break you.”

A hand slipping up my dress and a thigh pressed between my legs.

“And Cal can put you back together.”

I finally opened my eyes. We now joined Callum at the foot of the stairs. All three men were watching me eagerly, waiting for my permission the way they always did right before they turned my whole world upside down. I placed a hand on the side of Brock’s face and he turned into it, his lips pressed into my palm. My other hand was on Rafe’s chest and Cal wrapped his arms around my waist so that I was touching all of them.

Connected. Grounded. Part of something bigger than myself.

“I think that’s the best idea you’ve had, Lawson,” I answered.

His answering smile was both a warning and a beacon of affection. Rafe rubbed my hip and Cal kissed my ear softly.

“Welcome home, darlin’.”

Epilogue

Brock

Six Months Later

The venue for the community meeting was the same as last time, according to Lauren and Cal. The place was typical for a Chicago fieldhouse—red brick, limestone, smelling like fifty years’ worth of floor wax and gym rubber. There wasn’t a spare inch of floor space available, either. Everyone had showed up today to see Lauren.

The four of us had chosen to sit near the middle of the seating column and close to the end of the row. It was the perfect spot, really; close enough for Lauren to not feel like a thousand years away from the stage when she got up to get her award, but also close enough to the exit for us to make a quick duck without too much commotion.

She sat between me and Cal, with Rafe at the very end. She was quiet but I recognized the look on her face. She was spiraling into overthinking. Cal picked up on it too, and he quietly took her hand in his. He rubbed his thumb against the back of her palm, and I could feel her shoulder relax against my arm.

They shared a moment before turning their attention back to the Ward Alderman onstage.

It was funny.

If you told me a year ago that I’d be sharing the love of my life with two other men, I would’ve laughed in your face. If you’d told those men in question would be my best friend and an ex-con, I would’ve laughed in your face, and then punched it.

I had no damn idea how we got here.

The Alderman droned on with updates on local street repairs and parking funding and a bunch of other stuff that I doubt many people were genuinely interested in. He also took so many unnecessary pauses, like he was mentally combing over every possible word choice before he spoke. Rafe looked bored out of his mind and Lauren kept chewing her bottom lip anxiously.

But then he finally got to the part we'd been waiting for and the atmosphere across our entire row changed.

“Now, I'd like to call on a very special young woman whose recent contribution to the community stands out as one of the most impactful we've had in a long time. In the midst of much upheaval and erosion of local memory, she has chosen to not only help preserve our legacy, but to share its celebration with us,” he said.

I turned to Lauren. She still looked nervous, but there was a tiny hint of pride there too. She'd worked so hard for this moment, and it was the kind of determined work ethic I recognized well. Rafe squeezed her thigh quickly. Cal's hand was steady on hers. I just stared intently, memorizing this look on her face.

“Good job, Miss Honorable Citizen,” I whispered.

She turned to me and stuck her tongue out playfully. I smirked, logging that in to make her pay later.

“Now, before I call her up here, I'd like to share a little anecdote about my personal experience with the old Station 14, back in the day,” the Alderman said.