3: GRETCHEN FOX

Four hours in a car with Megara Sutton?! Parts of me were screaming to take the gorgeous and famous artist up on her offer, but the thing holding me back was this niggling fear that I'd embarrass myself with that much time in her presence! Then again, I’ve already fainted in front of her…

I've crushed on this woman for years although only by reputation and appearance, shallow, I know but my goodness… I mean, I also had a thing for Kaliana once upon a time, but I was never tongue-tied or anything like this around her! Of course, Kaliana was not only a walking disaster at the time but also painfully straight. I heard she had a thing for blondes, but she’s never looked twice at me! But Megara Sutton had her shit together. She owned and operated three successful studios and was openly gay, so there was a small chance-- Dream on, girl! She is utterly and completely out of your league! And damned shame too, she was far more approachable than I ever would have imagined.

“Annie! I gosta pee!” Kit grabbed himself and fidgeted and I knew I had only seconds to act, his potty training days weren’t all that far in the past…

“Kali, where’s the bathroom?” I begged for direction and was promptly ignored. “Mellie?” Maybe she would take pity on us? “Thor?” I was getting desperate and I totally forgot his real name.

“Oh, shit Gretchen, I’m sorry, no one calls me Kali anymore… Down the hall on your left.” I scooped up my nephew and bolted, not willing to risk an accident in front of all these hot chicks!

“Think about it, Gretchen, think of all the fun we could have,” Megara’s voice followed me down the hall, but I had my own mission first and I also needed time to weigh the pros and cons of this potential situation.

We made it in time, but I was lost in thought while he took care of business. Megara Sutton! Of all people to run into here! Sure I was hoping to run into her at the con but I didn’t realize Tahlia and Kaliana were connected to her!

“I think she yikes you, Annie.” Kit climbed the step stool in front of the sink and washed his hands as he spoke to me. Why a stepstool? Josh and Kali are not short-- oh Mellie must stay with them a lot? Live with them? Is she his sister or his daughter? Why can’t I think clearly?

“What makes you say that Kit?” I refused to feel shame in getting Kit’s opinion on the matter. In my experiences toddlers are painfully honest.

“She keeps lookin’ at you like you’s ice cream or something.” Since ice cream was one of Kit’s favorite things, I took it as a high compliment indeed. Though who am I kidding? Megara Sutton could have anyone she wanted, she’d get real bored with a small town charge nurse from some obscure little town she’s probably never heard of… But the con’s only for a week, I reminded myself that this couldn’t go anywhere anyway. I might feel a little repressed in Blues Meadow, but it was home!

But Megara’s cyber bites are sooooo hot, just like the rest of her! “Kit, do you mind if I fix my nose ring before we go back out?” Doc A isn’t here to make me feel bad about embracing my jewelry and as Kit mentioned, the population out there was heavily pierced.

“I gets to watch you pick your nose!” It wasn’t actually a question, as far as he was concerned, that’s what I was doing.

Blessing my ambidexterity, I used my right hand to fish the retainer out from its current hiding space while my left went for the shiny new clicker in my pocket. I had intended to switch it as soon as we left Anders, but I sincerely doubted that anyone out there would try to give me shit over mine. If anything, I was under pierced in this crowd! Same as I would be at the convention.

“Ewww, why you stick a staple up your nose?” Kit giggled maniacally as he did every single time he saw the retainer.

“To keep my brains in, duh! Hope they don’t drip all over you!” I made my patented monster hands at him, getting him to squeal. Once my jewelry was in place and/or put away, I chased him from the bathroom. I didn’t follow immediately, instead, I returned to wash my hands. As Kit said, for all intents and purposes, I had kinda been picking my nose…

“You’re good with him,” Megara was leaning into the open doorway, watching me. “He reminds me of my Kitty Cat at that age…” Her…? At my puzzled expression, she elaborated. “Amalia Catriona, my baby sister out there. I was fifteen when she was born, so my memories are still pretty strong. However, seeing her all grown up and in love is new and weird.” Megara shook her head and took a step back.

“Show her my tattoo!” the girl under discussion called from the other room, making Megara laugh again.

“I’m guessing your Kit is as obsessed with your jewelry as my Kitty Cat was/is with my tattoos?” I shrugged helplessly in agreement. “My adoptive parents let me get my first one at sixteen--”

“You didn’t live together growing up?”

“According to our parents, I was a high school mistake. I was better off with the Sutton’s, believe me! Here…” Megara turned her back to me and pulled her curly red mane off to one side. She tapped on a black, red, and orange panther cub just over her shoulder blade, without the aid of a mirror she pinpointed it precisely with her short, but perfectly manicured fingernail. I want to touch it, touch her! Should I? Is this an invitation?

“I like the red and orange highlights, are those because of her hair?” I allowed the pad of one finger to lightly trace the cat’s spine, Megara dropped her hair and turned to face me abruptly.

“And I like this…” her nail tapped my septum ring. “But I can’t help but wonder if it will get caught on my medusa when I kiss you…”

“When?” I gulped, there was definitely no room to misinterpret her intent any longer.

“When,” she repeated aggressively. “Because you’re coming with me to the convention after we detour to your brother’s house, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” I breathed out the word, powerless to stop myself. “Yes ma’am, I absolutely am.”

“I love the sound of that,” she whispered near my ear.

“I can’t imagine turning you down and not immediately regretting it, so yes, I am definitely going with you.”

“No regrets, Gretchen.” She held the back of my head with one hand and kissed the opposite side of my mouth briefly, too briefly! Whyyyy? “I can’t kiss you now, not the way I want to with the peanut gallery just down the hall, but it’ll happen and soon. I promise you that.” Oh my God! “I just needed a tiny taste of you until I can make that happen.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“I think it’s only fair that I get a taste of you in exchange.” I couldn’t believe such brazen words actually left my mouth! I don’t know what came over me or who I was becoming, but I loved it. Maybe it was knowing that she wasn’t going to turn me down…?

“Take what you want of me, just remember a varied audience awaits us when you’re done…”

“I’d rather not think of them at all,” I admitted candidly. “But you’re right.”

“I usually am, but will you let that hold you back from me?”

“If they’re going to give us a hard time, should we have earned it first?” I reasoned my way into taking what I wanted as I closed the tiny space between us. Her grin made me falter and feel unsure of my next step. Kiss her lips? Play with her jewelry? Her long, pale, uninked neck? Tick-tock Gretchen, Kit might come back any minute! Since the medusa piercing was both fascinating and a potential problem, I brought it into consideration. My lips parted and gently closed over her upper lip along with the warm metal as I kissed her softly.

“Mm, more,” her moaned demand had my tongue darting out and tracing the underside of her lip as I took my promised taste of her and little bit more. I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her tight against me as I explored her lips and jewelry. My hands wandered lower, I didn't realize they were on her ass until she laughingly called me out on it.

“Better than Cagey’s?” I released her abruptly and took a half of a step away. “Oh don’t be like that. She’s lovely. I get it, it’s fine,” she insisted.

“Nothing ever happened there!” Meg arched her double-pierced eyebrow at me, silently calling me out this time. “I might have taken extra liberties with a hug once, but that was all,” I mumbled the confession.

“I probably would have done the same, tried my luck with her had she not been promised to Josh by my meddlesome friends.” Megara laughed as she delivered the interesting news, I’d had no idea! “But with Josh she is and happily so, which leaves us… available and interested in one another, yes?”

Is that a genuine question?! “Yes, definitely yes.”

“Then I can’t wait to get you alone, but it’s not going to be tonight or even tomorrow, unfortunately.” Meg's lower lip pulled down into an unbelievably hot pout. “But after we leave your brother’s house, this…” she turned my favorite hobby around on me and I found I enjoyed being on the receiving end of a firm ass grabbing! “And every other part of you,” her gaze raked me over from my scarlet painted toenails up to my eyes while lingering on choice bits in between. “Is going to be mine and thoroughly spoiled.” Her husky promise was followed with a graze of her lips on my neck and I nearly lost control over myself then and there.

“And I’ll get to return the favor?”

“I’m counting on it, but for now, we should probably rejoin the others.”

“I hate to agree, but I don’t think we have much choice. I’m a little surprised that no one has sent one of the littles after us yet,” I sighed in defeat.

“I’m sure they thought of it, but I’m beginning to wonder if they brought you to me on purpose, knowing I'd want you from the moment I laid eyes on you…”

“Th-that’s crazy,” I stuttered the denial I didn’t actually feel. I should though, shouldn’t I?

“Is it? Because I did and this group has a knack for coupling people up, sometimes sight unseen.” Couple? “Eva brought our Cagey here expressly for Josh. Cari schemed for years to get Skye and Eva to meet. My sweet sister and her roommates…”

“Kali came here for college and to get away from the whole Gage scandal after what he did to her and Tahlia,” I insisted on setting the record straight, but it didn't seem to matter.

“Their great-aunt also had a role to play in getting Cagey here. Siggy too. There’s just something about this town. Whatever your reason is for coming here, you always find something deeper that you needed even more. Eva was coming here for years to escape her hometown and her abuser, but she didn’t meet my friend Skye until she officially moved here. They weren’t ready for each other and now I can’t see them with anyone else.”

“That’s sweet Meg,” Eva herself interrupted. “I’ve been designated to hose you two down or whatever and bring you back so we can figure out who is staying where tonight.”

“You’re no fun,” Meg teased the shorter redhead.

“My husband disagrees,” she didn’t seem the least bit fazed. Instead, Eva held her infant closer to her chest and I caught sight of the roses and vines covering one arm.

“Is this your work?” I asked Meg.

“Of course!” Eva laughed, answering herself. “Meg created my habit and now she has to feed it.” Eva turned to one side and looked to Megara. “Go ahead and show her the fan-favorite.” She moved the baby to the opposite hip as Meg lifted her shirt with what looked like practiced ease. Before I could break down the jealousy I was feeling, I found myself awed by the beautiful flaming bird covering her torso before disappearing into her pants.

“Gorgeous!” I breathed out the compliment.

“My protegee designed it, I inked it, same with the arm, her other hip and anything else she wants in the future.”

“This is an Adriana Suzu design?” The young artist was making a name for herself, being one of the few Megara Sutton had publicly claimed to mentor.

“Awwh, my little girl is growing up if you’ve heard of her!” Meg clapped her hands excitedly. I’m not sure how much I would have heard of Adriana Suzu had I not been following Megara’s career.

“Aren’t you from Blues Meadow like the twins?” For reasons unknown to me, Megara’s brow furrowed over Eva’s words, but I have no chance to ask about it.

“No! He can’t stay here wif us!” Mellie screeched and my first thought was: please don’t be about Kit!

“Seconded, Miss Trent. I just came to pick up my wife and son.”

“You can’t take my baby!” The horror in Mellie’s voice would have had me concerned had I not recognized the man she was speaking down to. I skidded into the room to see tiny Mellie clutching the baby with her body turned away from Nikolai Lennox and it was one of the most precious things I have ever witnessed.

“Alex has to stay with his parents, sweetpea, His mommy is the only one who can feed him.” Kaliana tried to delicately explain.

“That’s stupid, we have tons of milk here!”

“Darling,” she warned the hellion with a surprising amount of patience.

“Fine! You may stay, Nicky-Lies,” she begrudgingly agreed to allow him to exist alongside her.

I’ve never actually seen Kaliana around children, didn’t think she cared for them to be honest. Clearly I was wrong because that was incredible.

“Much appreciated, can I hold my son now?” Nick tried to reach for Alex again.

“Pfffft,” Mellie blew raspberries at him as she turned her back on the guy. “Go slobber on your wifey like Joshy does to Ana when he hasn’t seen her for like five whole minutes! You hasn’t seen yours for a week, right? That’s a lot of slobberin’ you gotta make up for. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of mines Alexsy.”

Impressive, Kaliana’s influence?

“Don’t even think about it,” Kali pointed to Tahlia across the way. “Yours is over there.” I laughed at this, identical or not, Nick has always been able to tell the twins apart, even without Kali’s fabulous jewelry.

“You're far from home,” Nick told me as my laugh must have alerted him to my presence.

“Nice to see you too… Nicky-Lies?” I couldn't help it, I burst into laughter over the nickname.

“Nick!” Kit screeched upon realizing who had arrived. Nick dropped to his haunches and held his arms open widely to my nephew. They've become close over the past couple of months, I didn’t even think about how much they might miss each other! Kit bounded over into Nick’s arms which closed as he picked up my little man. “Dat girl is meeeeeeean,” he whispered dramatically in Nick’s ear as he pointed to Mellie.

Nodding sympathetically, “She can be, my man, she can be.” Kaliana looked ready to punch him, but to be fair that was how she usually looked at her sister’s husband.

“And dees babies are boring. She stoled Alex and Aaron s jus’ sleepin’. He really needs to grow some hairs…” Kit whispered loudly.

“Erin isn’t--”

“Declan Fox!”I interrupted, calling my nephew out on his poor manners.

“Uh oh, sowwy babies… can we go now Annie Gretch?”

Nick’s face fell, “It’s time already for him to go to Maddox?”

“In the morning. Do you guys want--”

“Oh, you’s sleepin' here wif da babies and da meanie?” Kit asked Nick.

“I’m actually on my way out with Erin. Skye just got off work and--”

“And you heed your slobbers, we know,” Mellie filled in the blanks with an eye roll.

“If Nick and Tahlia are staying here, do you and Kit need a place to crash tonight?” Megara’s generous offer sucked all of the breath from my body.