“Oh my God.” Jesse gasped as she swung her apartment door open, jumping back into Devon’s chest as she tried to avoid the bottom of her dress getting wet. His arm curled around her waist as she stared in front of her in horror.
Her apartment was completely underwater.
Water flooded into the lounge and kitchen in heavy streams from the passage. Soaking the carpets and ruining her leather sofas. Small items floated along with the small current running throughout the place.
“You two wait here. I’ll go look inside and see where all this is coming from.” Devon said and motioned for Jax to take his place behind Jesse before walking into her apartment. Uncaring that the water was splashing onto his pants and filling up his shoes.
“All my things . . . “Jesse whispered in dismay as she watched him head towards the passage bathroom.
After years of carefully picking items for her home, she knew that she was now going to lose most of it. Her mind ran through all the things she was possibly going to have to throw away and everything she might be able to salvage.
She almost started crying when she realized how many things she was going to lose.
“It’s okay. Dev and I will help you replace everything that’s been damaged.” Jax told her, his breath ruffling her hair while his arms tightened around her in comfort.
Jesse frowned and turned her face towards his.
“You don’t have to do that. I can take care of it myself.”
Jax just shook his head and smiled at her.
“You are now mine and Dev’s responsibility. Whatever you want and whatever you need, we’ll make sure you get it.” He told her with a certain look in his eyes that had her stomach tighten in anticipation.
Her body knew before her mind did that he meant more than just material things.
Much, much more.
Jesse opened her mouth to tell him that she wasn’t moving in with them to use their money but two awfully familiar voices distracted her. She leaned to the side to look behind Jax just in time to see Sasha and Lou coming around the corner. Both of them were covered completely black and wore the biggest smiles Jesse had ever seen on them.
“-you that I’m amazing!” Lou finished saying to Sasha who just shook her head and laughed. Her laughter quickly died, however, when she looked up and saw Jesse standing in front of her apartment with her boss’s brother.
“Jesse!” She squeaked as she came to a complete stop.
Lou squealed and jumped behind her friend, looking around her red hair and over her shoulder to see a very unhappy Jesse looking at them suspiciously.
“What are you guys doing here?” She asked and Jax turned his body so that he could still hold her while she spoke to her friends.
“We, uhm, you see the thing is, uhm-“Lou stuttered looking uncomfortable
“We came to see you!” Sasha said with an easy smile as she started walking again. The only reason Jesse knew that she was lying was because her left eye twitched ever so slightly.
“Oh really?” She asked with a raised brow.
“Why else would we come here?” Sasha asked, tilting her head to the side in faked curiosity.
Jesse’s eyes narrowed as she looked from Sasha to Lou, who kept her eyes carefully averted. Her facial expression was guilty enough that she knew that these two had been up to something.
Something they knew Jesse wouldn’t be all too happy about.
Jesse stepped out of Jax’s arms and approached her friends, both who froze where they stood as she got closer to them. They wiped their faces of all expression and left but a small innocent smile in place.
Jesse circled them slowly.
Jax suppressed a laugh as he watched Jesse walk around her friends, keeping her face close to theirs as she tried to get one of them to break.
Her short, blond friend was starting to fidget so much that he knew she was going to go first.
Jesse must have also realized it because she stopped right in front of her, tilting her head to the side and slowly leaned down.
“Lou . . . “She said slowly and so softly that he almost didn’t catch it.
“We were spying on your hot neighbour, alright?!” Lou all but shouted as she gave into pressure being put upon her, throwing her hands in the air in defeat.
Sasha stared at her friend in absolute horror while Jesse gasped.
“Lou! How many times must I tell you to leave Mr. Braxton alone?” Jesse said, hitting her friend on the arm. Lou pursed her lips in a pout and rubbed the area over and over again to make the slight sting go away.
“It’s not my fault! He’s just so damned sexy and you know how I have a weakness for a man in a shower!” She whined, realizing too late that she shouldn’t have added that last bit when Jesse’s eyes widened.
“You were watching him shower?!” Jesse hissed softly.
Lou dropped her eyes to her feet and shuffled her feet together, refusing to answer the question since she knew it was only going to make things worse.
“And you actually joined her in her perverse ways?!” Jesse asked as she swung towards a wide-eyed Sasha, ignoring Lou’s “Hey!” of protest.
“Well, I, uhm-“Sasha stuttered, not at all sure what the hell it was that they were talking about or even who Mr. Braxton was.
“What would you have done if he had caught you?” Jesse asked, placing her hands on her hips.
“Ran?” Lou asked making Jesse frown,” Oh, stop worrying so much. That man hasn’t caught me in the year and a half I’ve been spying on him and I doubt he’ll catch me now.”
Sasha’s mouth dropped open and Jesse looked at Lou as if she had gone completely mad. Lou just looked about her as if she hadn’t just blurted out one of her most well kept secrets.
Jax walked up behind Jesse and put his hands over hers, pulling her closer to him as he tried to distract her. He sensed she was this close to exploding.
“Ladies.” He greeted the two women with a grin.
Sasha dragged her eyes away from her crazy, perverted friend to look up the man standing behind Jesse, holding her close to him which, strangely enough, Jesse didn’t seem to mind as she continued to glare at Lou.
“Mr. Monroe.” She greeted with a smile and a slight tilt of the head.
“Sasha, am I correct?” He asked holding his one hand out long enough to shake hers.
“Yes sir.” She said.
“Please, call me Jax. ‘Mr’ has only ever suited my brother.”
Sasha smiled and nodded her head at his request.
“And you are?” He asked, turning towards Lou who was staring at him with wide eyes.
Sasha kicked her in the shin, jerking her out of her shock induced stare. It seemed unfair to her that the hunk in front of her looked so much better in the light than the dark.
Not as good as her Mr. Braxton but it was close.
“Lou.” She stated as she shook his hand.
“It’s wonderful to meet you both.” He said as he once again wrapped his arm around a blushing Jesse.
“Likewise.” Lou said in a breathless whisper and scowled at Sasha as she smacked her over the head.
“Behave!” Sasha hissed softly before smiling sweetly up at Jax who just chuckled. Jesse groaned in embarrassment and shook her head.
“So what are you guys doing out in the hall?” Sasha asked.
“My apartment somehow got flooded. Devon has gone in to check what caused it.” Jesse said.
“Oh, no! What are you going to do now?” Lou asked, her hand over her heart as she sympathised with her friend.
Sasha almost rolled her eyes at Lou’s pathetic attempt at acting.
Jesse blushed and looked away from them. Not really wanting to give her two nosey friends an answer. She, herself, still hadn’t gotten over the fact that she had actually agreed to move in with them.
It was complete madness!
“She’s going to be staying with my brother and I.” Jax informed them, catching the movement of Jesse’s friends as they gave each other high-fives behind their backs even as they continued to look sympathetic.
He tried not to frown.
These two were definitely up to something.
“Jax, I need your help here quickly.” Devon called from Jesse’s apartment door.
“I’ll be right back.” He said, dropping a kiss on Jesse head and turning towards his brother.
“What?” Jesse asked defensively when she looked up to find both her friends giving her wide grins and knowing looks.
“Nothing, nothing!” Sasha said, still smiling.
“It’s just that you two seem rather comfortable with each other.” Lou said, wiggling her brows suggestively.
“Very comfortable.” Sasha added, making Lou giggle.
Jesse scowled at her friends and crossed her arms under her breasts even as she fought not to blush.
“Oh, don’t be like that Jess. You know it’s not worth staying mad at us.” Lou said batting her lashes and cupping her hands together in front of her as she leaned towards her friend. Giving Jesse her best baby face, big innocent eyes and all.
Jesse sighed and dropped her arms making Lou and Sasha smile triumphantly.
“I hate that face.” Jesse said but smiled making both her friends blinked in surprise. During the time they had befriended Jesse; neither of them had ever seen her smile. They’d seen her fake one, the one that never seemed to reach her eyes, more times than they could count but never one like this. Where her eyes seemed to lighten and shine. Obviously those two men were doing something right, which made them feel less guilty for what they had done to force Jesse to move in with Devon and Jax.
“So . . . Jesse . . . “Lou said slowly with another suggestive eyebrow wiggle.
“What?” Jesse asked even though she knew what her friend wanted to know. She wasn’t going to tell them anything, no matter how much they begged and pleaded.
Not just yet.
She knew them well enough to know that they’ll never shut up about it and then they’ll constantly hound her to loosen up some more. To take what the two men in her apartment were offering her and to hell with the consequences.
She had already caught herself thinking about doing just that during dinner and if they were to joining the side of her libido, she was fucked.
Figuratively and literally.
“Tell us everything!” Sasha said encouragingly.
“There’s not much to tell. We just went to dinner, we came here and my apartment was flooded.” Jesse said with a shrug. Feeling bad for keeping so much from her only two friends.
“Really?” Lou asked looking slightly disappointed when Jesse nodded but Sasha wasn’t that easily fooled.
“Well, if you just went to dinner, why are you wearing something I know would have killed not to wear with a very fine man unable to keep his hands off you?” She asked with a raised brow, crossing her arms. Lou quickly copied her posture and looked at Jesse suspiciously.
Jesse’s heart flip in her chest as she thought of how Devon and Jax constantly seemed to find a way touch her, even if it was just a fleeting caress.
It made her feel as if they couldn’t keep their hands off of her.
“”Because your looking for something that isn’t there.” Jesse managed to say.
Sasha opened her mouth to challenge what she had just said but Devon’s voice behind Jesse interrupted her.
“We managed to close the pipe that seemed to have come loose but you’re going to have to tell your landlord what’s happened so that he can take a look at it and dry the up the water.” He informed Jesse, nodding in greeting at her friends before turning to Jesse.
Jesse sighed and rubbed her eyes tiredly.
Tonight had just too much drama for her.
Devon saw Jesse’s friends flinch and look at each other guiltily when they saw Jesse’s shoulders droop in defeat.
“It’s alright, Lou and I got this. You go on home and get some sleep in.” The Sasha finally said.
“What? No, it’s alright. I won’t take that long anyways.” Jesse said, straightening up once again, sparing Devon a quick look when he took her hand in his. Ignoring her friends pointed looks as he did so.
“Exactly, it won’t take long. So you can leave this to us. We honestly don’t mind helping you.” Sasha said with a shrug. Lou nodded in agreement.
Before Jesse could argue Devon pulled her to him and slipped his arm around her shoulder to whisper in her ear.
“Stop being so stubborn and let your friends help you. They want to. Besides, if we leave now you’ll be in a nice warm bed within the next 15 minutes.” He said and Jesse shivered as his breath ran down her back. Almost like silk sliding against her skin.
Jesse hesitated before nodding.
The thought of curling up in bed was just too much for her to resist.
She looked at her friends just in time to see Sasha smacking Lou’s hand away from reaching Devon’s ass. Cradling her hand to her chest, Lou pouted and glared at the red-head who just hissed something softly to her.
Jesse rolled her eyes.
They were like two little kids.
“You know where the landlord lives at right?” She asked and both of them turned their attention to her. Lou nodded.
Of course she would know where he lived since she spent so much time her.
“Good, I’ll leave my keys with you and get them tomorrow. Is that alright with you two?” Once again both of her friends nodded and Jesse sighed.
She couldn’t believe that she was giving these two free reign to her place.
“Okay, I just need to grab a few thing-“
“I already packed some of your clothes in here for you.” Jax said as he joined them, carrying a sports bag in his one hand. “If you need anything else we can either come back for it tomorrow after work or we can just stop at the mall for you.”
“Oh, well, thank you.” She said and made to take the bag from him but he held it out of her reach with a grin.
“I’ll carry it.” He said and took the hand she held out in his own.
Sasha and Lou watched them with wide grins which had Jesse blushing slightly.
Damned nosey friends.
“We’ll handle everything here. Go home.” Sasha said sweeping both her hands in front of her in a shooing motion.
“Thanks you guys.” Jesse said as Devon turned her around after muttering a quick goodbye to the two women. Jax did the same bit added a grin which had the woman sighing to themselves.
“No problem sweetie. Just remember, you owe us.” Sasha said giving her a meaningful look and Jesse knew that she meant all the juicy tidbits about her relationship with the two men.
“You spy on her neighbour?!” Sasha hissed at Lou as soon as Jesse disappeared around the corner with Devon and Jax.
Lou just shrugged and headed towards Jesse’s apartment they had broken into an hour earlier.
“He’s sexy.” She said in a way of explanation.
“Well, thanks to you Jesse now thinks that I’m just as perverted as you.”
“Hey, no judgement alright? It was either that or blurt out the real reason we were here.”
Sasha closed her mouth and nodded reluctantly.
Neither of them wanted to be there when Jesse found out that it had been them that had caused her place to become flooded.
“Anyways you would be spying on him too if you had seen him . . . “ Lou said as they entered Jesse apartment and closed the door behind them.
Happily describing to her friend how she had first seen Mr. Braxton.
In the nude, in his backyard with company.