Ronnie
We spend the next week getting to know the guys families. They are so nice and ask a lot of questions about our relationship. Since Frankie and my brothers have been in their relationship longer, they ask them a lot more questions. Frankie and the guys are very patient and answer all of them the best they can.
Our Grandfather's girlfriend flew out on the thirtieth to bring in the New Year's with them and us. Of course we had to give her the third degree before we were able to give our blessing to them. They laughed and said that it was only fair since they did the same thing to Frankie and my guys.
Manuel is still working on finding out where Griffin is located. He's been tracing where the checks come from, but haven't found a concrete address yet. I'm getting a little nervous about this. Our Grandfather's told me that my father is looking for him also. He's using every available resource to find him and wants to do it before Manuel, so he can prove to me that he cares. Sounds like my father, to try to make it a contest. What he doesn't realize is that the fact the he lied about it in the first place is what really matters. Also, the fact that he tried to insinuate that I would owe him something if he did it for me. He has a long way to go for forgiveness. They've tried to get ahold of Frankie to ask her to talk to me for them, but of course, no one will give them her telephone number. My brothers told them that they will back me up with whatever I decide.
Everyone comes over to my house to bring in the New Years. Tyler makes finger foods for everyone and we buy a couple of bottles of sparkling cider for the girls who are excited to stay up past their normal bedtime.
We talk, watch a movie and set up a bonfire on the beach to sit around while we wait for the New Year to arrive. I notice Frankie and my brothers staying close all evening, then about ten minutes to midnight, they quietly excuse themselves to bring in the New Year with their own private celebration. Frankie whispers to me that they will see us in the morning. I giggle, waving at her as they walk away with a bottle of champagne in their hands.
Tyler and his dad makes sure that the fire is low enough for us to have a little light and be able to see the fireworks brightly when they start. We fill everyone's glasses with champagne and give the girls champagne glasses full of sparkling apple cider. They're excited, but about to fall asleep. I let them hold on and when midnight hits, have them drink their apple juice. I give them both a hug and kiss my men, happy to bring in the new year with someone I love other than my baby.
"Where did Frankie and the guys go?" Solomon mumbles in my ear as his arms come around my waist from behind.
I turn in his arms, "They have their own private celebration, if you know what I mean."
He kisses me lightly on the tip of my nose, "Too bad we have two little ones that would be a great way to bring in the New Year. I'm a little jealous."
"All in good time man of mine," I smile as he lowers his lips to mine. We hug everyone and take the girls up to bed. I'm glad that we had them put on their pajamas earlier. All we have to do is a quick wash of their feet and put them straight to bed. They go out like a light.
We join everyone in the living room and talk for just a little while longer until their parents leave back to the house. Our grandfather's and their lady friend are staying with us since Frankie and the guys are having their own private celebration. We don't bother them because of what happened the first New Year's after they met. After locking the door, we retire to our room. I fall asleep surrounded by my guys in a nice cocoon.
Luckily and happily, no one has to return to work or school until the third since the first is on a Sunday this year. So, I stretch and cuddle with my men until the girls get up and ask for food. All of us get dressed and go downstairs to the wonderful brunch Tyler makes for us.
The guys parents arrive and we sit down to eat.
"Do you cook?" Louise asks.
"Not anymore," I respond, "Tyler has taken over my kitchen and I'm not allowed in it for anything other than to get something to drink."
"Sounds about right. I didn't get to use the kitchen from the time that he discovered cooking until he moved out of the house. I had to take a refresher course in cooking after he left," Victoria commiserates as everyone chuckles.
"Although I love your cooking, I sometimes miss his," Darren says, kissing his wife on the cheek. Another round of laughs circle around the table. We spend a very relaxed brunch eating and talking. Now this is the way it's supposed to be. Why does my parents have to cause such strife in our lives? I put them out of my mind and enjoy the rest of brunch.
When we finish, we adjourn to the living room and talk some more. Meg and Amy work their way around to all of the grandparents and talk to them. I love that they accept Amy and treat her like they treat Meg.
"Would you mind if we take Amy shopping with Meg tomorrow? We know that you and the guys have work and they don't go back to school until next week and we'll help by keeping them while we're here," Angela asks.
"I don't mind at all. We have promised Frankie that she can take them one day, so other than that, they are yours," I tell them. Solomon nods in agreement.
"Frankie takes them?" Victoria asks.
I nod, "They love her. She is good with everyone."
"What do they do?" Louise asks.
I look at Amy and Meg who are perched on Paul's lap, playing with his tie, trying to tie it. I get their attention, "What do you all do when you're with Frankie?"
"She takes us to the library so we can find a book and then she helps us read it," Amy says.
"One time, she took us to the museum to look at all of the pretty pictures. Not all of them were pretty though. Some of them were mixed up and we didn't know what they were. We asked her and she said that they were, ab-..." she scrunches her forehead as she thinks of the word, "ab-...ab-something. And she told us that meant that they don't look like what they actually are." Meg adds.
"Abstract?" Victoria asks.
"Yea. That's it," Amy confirms looking at Meg who nods her head. I look around the room and everyone is looking at them lovingly. This is wonderful.
"What else do you do?" Grandfather A sits up suddenly interested.
"She helps us with our writing. I can write my whole name now," Amy brags.
"And I don't have trouble tying my shoes anymore," Meg says and then her eyes light up, "She plays dolls with us and we've been to the Science center a few times. We have so much fun with her!"
"Does Frankie have any children?" Paul asks.
"She doesn't," Grandfather R straightens out his tie, "She's had a rather unfortunate childhood, but she is the most loving, giving person you'll ever meet. She loves spending time with them and I think that she gives them what she didn't get as a child. It's not a bad thing at all."
"I know that they just got married a few months ago, but I hope that they have children soon," Grandfather A adds, putting his arm around their girlfriend. It's so sweet that they found June.
I study her as everyone talks around me. She has white hair that's styled into a bob with a part on the side. She has one side pinned and tucked behind her ear. She glances at me with her clear blue eyes and smiles at me with her straight, white teeth. There are small wrinkles around her eyes, but other than that, her skin is smooth. Grandfather R whispers something in her ear and a look of pure elation comes across her face. I'm sure this is love for them.
Frankie and my brother's arrive just in time for dinner. Tyler was sure that they would show up, so he made enough for them. Frankie scoots in beside me, "How was last night?"
"Not as nice as yours, I'm sure," I tease and she blushes. "I'm really happy for you and my brothers. It's wonderful that you have your own traditions and I plan on making some with my men also." She and I giggle together.
"What are you talking about over there?" Tyler makes his way to us from the kitchen and sits by me, kissing me on the cheek.
"Traditions," Frankie and I continue to giggle.
He looks at both of us and decides, "This isn't something that we want to have in depth discussion about here is it?" Both of us shake our heads giggling. His arm comes around me, pulling me closer to him.
Frankie smiles at us, "I'm so glad that you all found each other."
"We are too," Tyler says before standing up again, "Time to eat everyone!" We follow him and congregate into the dining room to get food. While we're eating, my guy's parents ask Frankie about her upbringing and Frankie answers their questions. When they ask a question that is too hard for her or she doesn't want to go into it, she politely declines to talk about it. They also ask about the time that she spent with the girls. She invites them to go with her on the day that she has them this week. They were respectful of her and it ends up being a very pleasant evening.
Being back to work isn't pleasant, but it isn't bad either. I don't have the work load that I thought I would after being off for the past couple of weeks. I guess the way that Manuel had us work before the holiday, combined with the holiday, made it easier on us. I would guess if our father's had been running the show, I would have been swamped today.
Since I run out of work, I take a half day. There's no reason for me to be logged on if I'm not doing anything. They can call me if I'm needed. I look at the time and notice that Grey will be here any minute for lunch. I love that they take turns coming to have lunch with me every day. It brightens my day since I'm at home all day working.
Right when I finish heating our food, I hear him come through the door. A couple of seconds later, he appears in the kitchen as I set our plates on the counter. His hands slide around me from behind and he pulls me to him, "Hey babe." I feel him nuzzle my neck and I shiver.
"Hi," I turn around in his arms and reach up, pulling his face down to mine and placing my lips on his. He immediately deepens the kiss and pulls me closer to him as my arms wind around his neck. He lifts me and my legs automatically go around his waist, locking together behind him.
Our tongues are at war, stroking, licking and curling around each other in our need. I feel us moving, but don't look up to see where he's taking me. I run my fingers through the back of his hair, massaging his scalp and I hear a low moan from him. I feel his hand under my behind holding me up while he carries me.
He leans down with me our mouths still connected, tongues swirling around each other. I feel my back touch the mattress and he follows, positioning himself above me between my legs. One of his hands reaches under my shirt and touches my bare skin and I'm on fire.
His other hand works its way up my thigh and under my skirt. The light touch eventually reaches my center, touching me. My back arches into his hands and he pulls back his head and leans down into my ear, "Are you ready?"
"Mmmm! Yes!" I whimper. The hand under my shirt raises it as he pulls it off of my body. My hands are reaching down and pulling his shirt up and off of his muscular torso. My hands immediately return to his six pack and chest running back and forth over them. I reach into his pants and grab ahold of him, stroking. He moans flexing into my hands.
The rest of my clothes have magically disappeared and I start working on his. He makes his way down my chest, giving my whole body his attention. When his tongue hits its intended target, I moan and arch my body into his mouth. I can't concentrate on anything but the sensations running through my body.
I stretch contentedly, "I'm so happy that I took the afternoon off."
"I am too," I feel the vibration of his voice in the top of my head. His arm tightens around me pulling me on top of him, "How are you?"
I smile into his eyes, "Amazing! You?"
"More than amazing. Thank you so much," he kisses the tip of my nose.
"Have I kept you from work?"
"No. I actually took the afternoon off too. Not because I thought that we would make love, but because I want to spend the whole afternoon with you. With the holidays, we haven't gotten much alone time. This was definitely a bonus," he runs his hand down my back and cups my behind.
"It most definitely was," I move to get up and his arms tighten around me again, "We have to go, I have to get up and go get Amy and Meg from school."
He pouts as he lets me go, "I have to go over and talk to Frankie anyway. I've found a solution to her problem."
"Really?" I knew he could do it.
"Yep," he explains the idea to me as we take a shower and get dressed. I'm sure that she'll love it.
"Have you called her to let her know that you're coming over?" I ask.
"No. I thought I would drop in after I left here," he pulls his shirt over his head.
"You don't want to do that," I tell him.
He looks at me curiously, "Why?"
"You see what we did just now?"
He nods.
"I've walked in on them a couple of times. They don't have kids, so sex isn't just for the bedroom with them. I learned to call before going over there every single time," I hint.
A look of understanding comes over his face, "Ohhh. I'll call her right now."
I smile and finish getting dressed while he calls Frankie. She gives him the okay and we finish getting ready to leave.
"You have time. Want to come over with me. I don't want to let you out of my sight yet," his arms fold around me pulling me to him. I lift my face and get up on my tip toes, giving him a quick kiss and look at the clock. I have some time so I agree.
We walk over and inside of their house. Frankie and Cameron are sitting on the couch waiting for us, pulling back from a kiss when we walk inside. I smile at Grey, "I told you so." He smirks and we sit down.
"I don't know if you know or not, but Ronnie asked me if I could help you out with your business. She told me that you were having problems finding help," he leans forward on the couch and she nods.
"Well, I have a solution for you if you agree. I have an area in my office that is never used. It's yours if you want it. We can discuss rental, but I can let you have it for free. I also have a couple of employees who asked for another assignment and agreed to help you part time. I told them that you would talk to them about salary and told them that with their help, your business will grow and you'll eventually be able to make them full-time with you. How does that sound?" He leans back on the couch and puts his arm around me.
She looks at Cameron and he nods, "Thank you so much! When can I see the space and meet the people?"
"If you have time, this afternoon. If not, tomorrow. It's up to you. You'll want to bring in a couple of samples of your work so they can see it also." I look at my man, proud of him.
"I have time this afternoon, we can go now," she says looking at Cameron who nods in agreement.
"Great. I'm ready now. You can follow me over there," he tells her. We all stand up and I give Frankie and Cameron a hug and when we separate at the driveway, I give Grey a kiss.
"You are an amazing man. I'll love you forever," I say against his lips and feel his smile.
"I love you too. Be careful and see you at dinner." I get into my car and they watch me pull away before pulling away themselves.
I'm almost to the school when my phone rings. I answer on the car's blue-tooth, "Hello?"
"It's me," Grey's smooth deep voice fills the car, "I just want to let you know that I would really have loved to spend the rest of the day with you in my arms. I miss you already."
Tears well up in my eyes at his sweet words, "I miss you too! This afternoon was one of the best of my life. I know there will be many more. I love you."
"Love you too. We're at the warehouse. I'll talk to you later."
We say bye and I disconnect the phone as I pull into my parking spot at the school. I walk into the waiting area and stand in my normal spot, playing with my cellphone. I look around wondering where Sol is when the bell rings. I text him and don't get an answer. I look around until the girls come out and he still hasn't arrived. I try to call him real quick and it goes straight to voicemail. I gather the girls and get them buckled in the car. They chatter all the way to the guy's house where the grandparents are.
Louise and Angela rush over to us as soon as we walk inside. Angela distracts the girls leading them into the kitchen to get them a snack while Louise pulls me into the living room with the other adults.
Something's wrong. I can feel it shiver down my spine as everyone looks at me while Louise urges me to sit down.
"What happened?" I know my voice is shaky, but I can't help it.
"Um, Sol got hurt," Paul clears his throat.
"What happened?" My voice echo's my last question, "And why aren't we at the hospital? Does Tyler and Grey know about this yet?" I pick up my phone to call them.
Adam puts his hand over mine stopping me, "We don't know what happened exactly. We just received a call that he's hurt. We don't know which hospital that he's been taken to. We didn't call Tyler and Grey because we don't want them to leave work for this if it's not serious."
I pull my hand and my phone from under his and send them both a quick text letting them know what's going on. I immediately get a text back from Grey asking about the hospital. I call him and tell him what their parents told me. He tells me that he's on his way.
Since I haven't received a text or call from Tyler, I call the restaurant and he answers the phone. I fill him in on what's going on and he tells me that he's on his way also. I call Grandfather A and tell him what happened and he tells me that he'll call back in five minutes with Solomon's whereabouts.
I hang up with him and lean back on the couch with my eyes closed. A deep sigh leaves my lungs working its way out of my mouth. I try to control the tears that prick at my eyes. What happened to him and where is he? I hope that he's okay.
"Why did you call them? They don't need to worry about him while they are working," Victoria accuses.
"Because, they are the people closest to him other than us and they need to know. I'm not going to hold back just because we don't know exactly what happened. I won't do that to them." I will my phone to ring just a little faster.
"You didn't tell Tyler what happened on Christmas," Louise says.
"That was different, it wasn't life or death. This situation," I point at my phone, "is life or death. We don't know where he's at or what happened. I call this an emergency." I lean back on the couch again and close my eyes, willing the phone to ring.
No one says anything else and the time that it takes my phone to ring again seems like forever. Finally, I feel it vibrate in my hands before the ringing starts. I immediately answer it, "Grandfather?"
"We found him. He's at the Medical Center. We're waiting for a call back on what happened to him and his condition, but I know that you would want to go to him. I'll make sure that you have full access when you get there." His voice is consoling.
"Thanks Grandfather. We're on our way there." I hang up the phone just as Grey and Tyler come running in the door.
"Have you found out where he's located?" Tyler asks.
I explain to them that I just found out. We leave Louise with the girls and rush to the hospital. As we walk into the hospital, Sol is coming out. There's a cast starting from his foot, reaching all of the way up to the bottom of his knee. The nurse pushing the wheelchair that he's in, is struggling to push his large body to the entrance, but that doesn't stop her from trying to flirt with him. I roll my eyes and hurry over to him, giving him a hug.
"What happened?" I touch his face and notice that there are couple of scratches on it. I quickly kiss his lips before he can answer.
He opens his mouth to tell me, but the nurse interrupts, "I'm giving him a ride home since he has no one here."
I look up at her, "As you can see, I'm here and I'm his girlfriend." After all that's happened, this bitch better not push me.
I feel Sol's arm come around my waist and hold me in place, "Pay her no mind baby. I wasn't going to let her take me home. I was going to take a cab."
Tyler moves around and takes the wheelchair from the nurse. She starts to bat her eyes at him and he stops her, "You just hit on my brother and you saw his girlfriend right there. Why would I want someone like you with no scruples?" She huffs and walks away, leaving us alone.
"Why didn't you tell us what happened?" I demand as I look down at him.
"I thought I would be out of the hospital before you found out. Come to find out, it took a little longer than I thought," he looks ashamed.
"Your mom got a call telling her you were hurt and nothing else. We didn't know where you were or how bad you were hurt. If there is a next time, call us immediately please," I feel tears come to my eyes and his arms tighten around my waist. He tries to pull me down on his lap, but I won't let him because of the cast.
Grey pulls me away from him, "Let's get you home and we can talk about it there." He guides us all out the door to our cars. He puts me in the car with him and Tyler helps Solomon get into the back seat.
"Do you have any prescriptions that we need to get before we go home?" he asks.
Sol nods and hands him a small stack of papers from the hospital. Tyler scans them and takes the ones he needs. The rest he hands to me. He kisses me and closes the door behind me after telling me he'll see me at home. I send a quick text to Manuel telling him that I won't be online for the rest of this week so if he needs me, they need to call me. I tell him what happened and he immediately texts back to take all of the time I need. I thank him and text our grandfather's to thank them again and tell them we'll talk later. Then I start going through the papers that are sitting on my lap about his care. Grey drives with one hand on the steering wheel and the fingers of his other hand are tangled in my hair at the nape of my neck and he's lightly rubbing my scalp and neck. It relaxes me some.
"Baby, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you." Sol starts.
"When we get home, you can tell me what happened. Just don't do it again," I reach my hand behind the seat and he grabs it.
We stay that way until we get home. Grey and I help him into the house and up the stairs. We get to my room and I forgot that Grey and I didn't make the bed. Grey gets him settled on the couch while we pull the sheets from earlier off and put on a new set of sheets and covers.
Sol has a sleepy smirk on his face, "So what happened here today?" His eyes are knowing and Grey smirks back.
"I would tell you, but you would be in pain in more ways than one," he wags his eyebrows at him. I throw a pillow at him, barely missing his head. "I want to shout it from the rooftops that it finally happened. I can't wait until it happens again."
"Horndog," I growl, but I'm laughing and shaking my head.
We finish getting the fresh sheets and covers on the bed and get Solomon undressed and into the bed right when everyone else walks through the door. Grey and I hurriedly put the old sheets into the closet as we hear all of them come up the stairs and head towards my room.
Tyler appears first and he has some pill bottles and a bottle of water with him. He hands the pills to Sol and opens the water bottle, handing it to him after he puts the pills in his mouth. Sol takes the bottle swallowing half of it and the pills down. All of the parents follow him into the room and look around. I take a quick look at the closet to make sure the door is closed.
"This is a nice bedroom, but I thought we would take him back to the house so we can take care of him." Angela states, "We know that you have to work, so we can take care of him."
"I've taken off from work for the next week, so I'll be able to take care of him until they release him back to work," I step closer to Sol who takes my hand.
"But-" Angela starts to argue.
"Mom, I'm here where I need to be. I'm not going anywhere else today. What you can do to help is to take care of the girls for us tonight and get them to school in the morning. Can you help us with that?" Sol's hands tightens in mine.
She reluctantly agrees. I invite them to stay here with us for the next few days. I definitely have the room and they agree, looking a little relieved. Sol starts to yawn, so Tyler shuffles everyone out of the room and gives them the keys to his car to go back to the house to get my vehicle, the girls and their things. They leave and I sit down on the bed with a sigh. Tyler orders food from his restaurant to be delivered for dinner tonight. I look over at Sol and he's asleep. I smooth his soft, thick hair out of his eyes and kiss him on the forehead.
Solomon
My eyes pop open and I know that I'm in Ronnie's bed. I look around and see Tyler and Grey on the couch. "Hey guys."
They both look up at me. "How are you feeling?"
"Still in pain. Where's Ronnie?" I look around for her.
"We talked her into a long hot shower. She's been hovering around you all evening. We could barely get her to eat," Tyler says.
"We'll find out what happened tomorrow. I gave her something for her nerves and as soon as she comes out of the shower, she'll probably fall asleep. So we'll all definitely be in a better state of mind to talk about it," Grey tells us.
The bathroom door opens and I watch my heart walk inside in only a towel. I'm in pain and drugged up, but another part of my anatomy wakes up. I start to think about other things like baseball and look at my brothers who are looking at her the same way and I'm able to calm myself with my amusement.
She doesn't speak. She gazes at all of us with sleepy eyes. She walks over to the bed, losing the towel along the way. She climbs into bed and scoots in close to me, putting her arms around me and falling asleep right away. Tyler gives me my medicine and some water and I snuggle into her, falling back asleep with a smile on my face.
*****
Check out the newest Awesome cover that ChocolateTickles made for me! I love it! I'll be making a story for this cover and it'll be coming soon!