Chapter 36

                                    

                                          
I reveled in the feeling of being held close to Preston and his warm lips on mine. I tiptoed up so that he wouldn't have to lean down so much to reach me. His hand went down to my butt again and squeezed a little. He pulled back his head and then gave a quick little kiss and then said, "Sorry, I just had to get that out of my system since we were interrupted earlier." 

                          
"It's no problem, I like being kissed by you." I answered him shyly. 
                          
Letting go of me slowly, he said, "We should get the rest of the plates out before they come storming in here."

                          
"Sure." I replied grabbing a few plates and headed out the kitchen. My inner vixen decided to come out just then.
"By the way, your accent gets stronger when we make out and I think it's hot!" I threw that last remark over my shoulder. His eyes widened and a huge grin came over his face. 
                          
He still had the silly grin when he reached the table carrying plates of food. The rest of the guys looked at him and then each other knowingly. We sat down eating and the guys loved the food as usual. I kept sneaking little glances at Preston and the rest of the guys. They were all so good looking. Obviously they were really close with each other, yet with different personalities and talents. It made me wonder how they all met. Probably in college...maybe a fraternity? 
                          
I woke up out of my musings as I realized that the guys were looking at me expectantly. 
                          
"Did I miss something?" I asked.
                          
"Yes, Brady was asking you about the Preschool. I think that we should all take turns giving you rides to work and taking Lexine to preschool." Jake told me.
                          
"Are you guys really going to be giving me a ride to work every day? I can drive you know.."
                          
"Well, this is just until I can get your car checked out. We really hate the idea of something happening to the car and you and Lexine being stranded somewhere."
                          
"Alright then. Should I call the mechanic that you were talking about Preston?"
                          
"No, I'll call him. He can be a little difficult sometimes, so it's best that I arrange it." Preston said.
                          
"I just realized that Lexine's preschool starts at 9:30 and I start work at 9! So I would need somebody to take her...."
                          
"Relax Delphine, remember that we are a family. We all help each other." The guys all nodded and Lexine copied them. It made me smile. 
                          
After dinner we hung out in the living room and watched a little television as Lexine played around with her toys. Soon it was her bedtime so I took her upstairs to take a bath. We chatted away about her starting preschool and she was nervous about being away from me and making friends. I assured her that no matter what, if anything happened in school that I would be there right away. She looked a little less worried. I reminded her that the guys would come too and that Chase would be right next door. That made her smile. 
                          
After putting her in bed, I turned on the iPad and switched on Netflix for her. With a kids show playing she settled down in bed and watched it. I went to my closet and decided to change into leggings and a soft comfortable shirt. Looking through my sock drawer, I found my favorite pair of fuzzy socks and put those on. When I finished changing, I checked on my girl and found her fast asleep. 
                          
I headed back down to the living room to the guys. As soon as I stepped into the room, they quit talking and were eyeballing my legs and chest. I raised my eyebrows and their eyes snapped back to my face. I think that my cheeks were a little pink and my slight embarrassment showed. Brady patted the seat in between him and Preston so I walked over and sat there. Preston put his arm around my shoulders and I leaned into him. The rest of the guys just smiled at us. Brady had the remote and pushed on the buttons and the new Star Trek reboot came on. I smiled and snuggled in to watch. 
                          
With all the guys around me, I felt so comfortable and complete. Preston's shoulder was perfect to lean against. His thumb was rubbing my upper arm. Sometime towards the end of the movie, my eyes slowly closed and I fell asleep. 
                          
I slowly came awake feeling myself being lifted in strong arms. Feeling a kiss on my forehead, I opened my eyes to see that I was being carried by Preston. 
                          
"I can walk, you don't have to carry me." I said quietly.
                          
"I know you can, but I want to carry you." His accent was strong again. 
                          
"Okay." I smiled and put my arms around his neck. 
                          
Up the stairs we went and I was impressed by his strength. He wasn't even out of breath! When we reached my room, he set me down gently and kept his arms around me. Preston gave me a sweet slow kiss. I just about melted in his arms. Breaking off the kiss, he whispered, "Goodnight Delphine."
                          
"Goodnight Preston." I whispered back and let go of him. Reaching behind me I turned the door handle and opened it. I backed into the room and watched Preston turn and walk down the hall. I missed being with him already. I realized that eventually I wouldn't be able to share a room with Lexine anymore. I wondered how to bring the subject up to them. Despite considering us family, they had already given so much to us that I felt bad about asking them to do any more. To take my mind off of that I turned Netflix on. I fell asleep watching reruns of an old tv show. 
                          
I woke up in the morning feeling rested and looking forward to the day. I could get used to feeling like this every morning! I wondered who was going to be with me today. I looked through my small collection of bubble baths trying to pick one to use today. I decided on the one that smelled like Pears. After washing, I picked out my outfit for today. A light grey three quarter sleeved short skirted dress with dark grey leggings and ankle boots in burgundy. I felt good, so I even made the extra effort with grey eye shadow and some lipgloss. 
                          
I woke up Lexine and put her in a similar outfit. A purple dress with grey leggings and sneakers. She picked out a silver headband to wear with it. We went downstairs to the kitchen and saw that Jake, Wyatt and Brady were drinking coffee and chatting with each other at the table. They greeted us and admired Lexine's shoes that lit up with every step that she took. She took great delight in that. Jake got up from the table and gave me a kiss on my forehead. 
                          
"You girls have the great honor of spending the day with me!" He proclaimed proudly while gesturing at himself. Lexine giggled at his outlandish behavior and even I had to smile. He looked great wearing a turquoise blue polo shirt that made his bright blue eyes pop even more. I was going to have to beat the women off with a stick today! 
                          
Shaking my head, I went into the kitchen and started the breakfast sausage cooking while I also made waffle batter. Pulling out the waffle iron and turning it on to heat up, I felt someone behind me. I whirled around to find Jake standing there. 
                          
"Are you trying to sneak up behind me?" I asked him suspiciously. 
                          
He put up his hands in mock surrender. "No, I just came to help. I swear!"
                          
"Hmmm..." I gave him my best "mom" look. 
                          
"Really! Can I help with anything? Need something chopped? Stirred? Perhaps a mouth that needs kissing?" he asked playfully. 
                          
I pointed a finger at him. "So that's the real reason you came in here! You want a kiss."
                          
"Maybe I just wanted to remind you of the preview that I gave you yesterday!" he said and he came closer to me. 
                          
"You get one kiss! Then I have to finish cooking and you need to..." my words were stopped by his lips on mine.