I was dangerously attracted to all four of them, but when I faced the notion of acting on it, I felt a bit weird. What kind of girl courted four guys at once? Especially four guys who were so close to each other? All living under the same roof? It sounded a little bit too much like beads and headbands and ty-dyed polygamy. But the bigger bummer was the idea of choosing just one of them. Who would be the best for me? That question felt impossible to answer. Brann’s cool wisdom, Orin’s fortitude, Weylyn’s flair, and Keegan’s sheer passion. Oh goodness, I ache for every one of them. I lusted for all four.
They would come as a set is how I saw it.
Orin a blonde versus Weylyn’s dark hair, Brann so even-tempered, while Keegan had an easily provoked hair trigger. But instead of creating friction, the quartet’s differences meshed together into a coherent whole, greater than the sum of its parts. I couldn’t bear to give up any one of them. The way these men connected with each other (and to me) gave me a good feeling. These men were the ones I could trust, just as the Morrigan had foreseen.
Eventually, the other three filtered in, salivating at the marvelous smell of bacon, syrup, pancakes, and eggs. Brann reached for my plate and piled on a little bit of everything. This man is perfect. “Eat up,” he smiled, “Ladies first.”
“Oh!” Keegan piped up, with his mouth still full of syrupy pancake. “Y’know, I almost forgot…” The other three fired reproachful ire at him for talking with his mouth full. He swallowed. “Anyway, Keira. Your phone kept going off. It started driving us nuts, so I turned it off.”
Um, why? “I wonder who kept calling?”
“I didn’t look,” Keegan said quickly. “I respect your privacy!”
The discussion went on and then derailed into poking fun at Brann being a nerd, Orin being a jock, Weylyn being a prep, and Keegan just being “weird.” I couldn’t stop smiling. It had been forever since I had such a lively breakfast conversation. This was companionship I could definitely get used to. I wondered... Is this what it’s like to have a real family?
“Keira, did you hear me?” Weylyn asked sweetly.
“Sorry, I spaced out for a moment.” He noticed me absently pushing a half-eaten piece of bacon around on my plate.
“Are you done?” he asked again.
“Yes, but first I would looooove another cup of coffee. It’ll help me be an adult today,” I said softly, batting my eyelashes at him. “Puhhllleaassseee.”
Suddenly, a thunderous pounding at the front door made me jump in my seat. The men tensed in hyper-vigilant readiness.
“Any of you expecting someone?” Orin asked.
The men all said no – but I remembered one thing. “What about Edward and the shadow box? Did he ever bring that over?”
“He did,” Weylyn said, glancing warily toward the door. They were really on high alert.
“It was while you were asleep,” added Brann. “We told him you had gone out for a bit.”
“Then who else...?” I didn’t bother to finish my sentence, as the pounding got more frantic.
“Edward wouldn’t be knocking like this,” Brann said. “Think about it.”
“That’s it. I’m investigating,” Keegan huffed. He grabbed the dirty cast iron frying pan and stomped off for the front door. The others followed, and despite a gut feeling I should stay behind, I trailed them.
Orin got ahead of Keegan and jerked open the door. Before either could protest, a blur shot in past the door, into the foyer. She was moving almost too fast to be seen by the human eye, and shouting at a volume no decent human would shout: “Keira Ashley Morrigan! Where the ever-loving fuck are you?! Get your ass over here right this instant!”
I had jumped back at first, to dodge whatever it was blowing past our front door. The noise had startled me so badly, I ended up falling on my ass.
Still, I wasn’t alarmed any more. I knew that voice.
“...Katie?”
I Do Believe In Fairies
- Keira -
“Get out of my way, Thor!” Katie hollered, shoving Orin aside. “I’m not here for you!” She had a cocky smile plastered on her face, as she pushed past Weylyn and Keegan. Brann was smart enough to step clear.
Katie... It never ceased to amaze me how put together she always was. Even after a ridiculously long flight, Katie’s curls were intact, her makeup was on point, and overall, she looked like a rock star. (God damn her to hell. After my flight, I looked like I fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.)
“Katie, what the fuck are you doing here?” I was so shocked, I was still sitting on the floor. “And you know that’s not my middle name.”
“Tomato, Potato,” she waved me off.
“You mean tomato tomahto,” I countered.
She shrugged, dropping her large leather Hermes bag to the ground. (replacement for that piece of pink shit she lent me, and she deserved it.) “I came to pick your ass up off the floor, again” she said, as she pulled my butt up off the floor. “But really? I was bummed to miss spending the summer with you. I tried and tried to call you, but you didn’t answer, not day or night. I got a little freaked, and I missed you Cupcake, so... I bought a ticket on the next flight out.”
Orin scratched at the stubble on his jaw. “Uh, I take it you know each other?”
“Yeah, we’re—”
Katie cut in. “Do you think I’d leave my BFF here to suffer?” Katie grabbed my arm, still paying zero attention to the guys. “C’mon, Cupcake. Let’s go... somewhere.” She dragged me in the direction of the sitting room.
Orin, with his typical concrete thinking, said “She’s suffering here?” Which earned a laugh from Keegan.
As Katie quick-stepped us away from
