Up for a road trip? I need your help.
It only took a second for my friend to respond.
Where are we going?
How fast can you get to my parents’ house? I need you to run interference. My brothers are here.
OMG. On my way. Do I get to pick which one?
Gross. But, yes.
I leaned back in my chair. Nina would probably be here in about four hours. I hoped the boys enjoyed their male bonding. They had just started a new game of corn hole in the backyard. Tonight I was getting my alone time with Beau.
I jumped up and down when I saw Nina’s car roll into the driveway.
“You’re here!” I hugged her fiercely before she had a chance to put both feet on the ground.
“You bet. I wouldn’t miss a chance to spend the night with your brothers.” She smiled.
“Ewww, Nina. I can’t hear that.” I covered my ears with both hands.
She laughed. “Your plan. Not mine. Now where is the pack?”
I pointed to the bonus room over the garage. “Up there. After they played basketball for two hours, they ate lunch, started some kind of weight lifting competition in the wreck room, which I think Austin won, and now they are deep into a Bruce Willis movie. I’m drowning here. Beau doesn’t even know I’m here anymore. It’s like they initiated him into the brother bond.”
“Don’t worry. We can break them up. Who’s the leader?”
“Definitely Austin. But, Nina, he’s the oldest.” I thought about my twenty-eight-year-old brother and his reputation for dating. It was doubtful Nina could sidetrack him that much, no matter how flowy her blond hair was or how long her legs were.
“I brought a secret weapon.” Nina reached into the backseat of her car and pulled out a grocery bag. “Ta-da!”
“Cookie dough?” I shook my head. This definitely wasn’t going to work. “That’s it? The magic that will undo all things testosterone?”
“Come on. It’s worth a shot.” She dangled the bucket of dough in front of my face.
“Ok, but I don’t see how this is going to do anything.” I helped her with her overnight bag and a pillow.
The kitchen door closed behind us. Nina was already searching the cabinets for a cookie sheet before I even had her bag upstairs. In twenty minutes, the entire house smelled like chocolate chip cookies.
Nina and I were sitting at the kitchen table when we heard the low rumble of shuffling feet. Roman was the first to stick his head in the kitchen.
“Did you make cookies?” He ran over to the oven to peek inside.
Jackson, Nash, and Austin sauntered in after him. Nina winked at me.
“All right, guys, give me just a second.” Nina took her time walking to the oven before making the perfect bend at the waist to open the oven and check the cookies. My brothers were ogling every inch of her bottom, and Nina was fully aware of the attention her ass was getting. I had to turn away. Just as I did, I saw Beau enter the kitchen.
Nina shuffled the cookies around and placed the hot tin on the counter to cool. “Who wants the first one?” She smiled brightly at her captive audience.
Austin cut to the front of the line. “Are you Nina?”
“Yep. In the flesh.”
“Haven’t seen you since we moved London into the dorms her freshman year.” Austin was clearly flirting.
“Oh, were you there?” Nina toyed with him. Ok, she was good.
She reached for a spatula and began stacking the cookies on a plate. My other three brothers waited while she served them cookies. They cleared the kitchen and headed back up the stairs to Bruce Willis. Austin hesitated by the oven.