Page 77 of A is for Aftercare

“Board?”

“Yeah. With four of us under one roof, we need to know where everyone is.”

“Very organised,” I say with an amused chuckle.

“It’s important,” he insists. “Normally, Blake picks Lexi up from school, but if he’s got a job and can’t, Corey needs to know so he can arrange alternative child care for Lexi. Similarly, if we all want to go out on the same night, we need to know so we can decide who’s staying home or if Corey is going to ask Mum and Dad to babysit for him.”

“You’re close to your parents?”

"Fairly. Corey and I get on better with them than Blake—they're pretty hard on him at times. But they dote on Lexi, so they're generally up for babysitting with enough notice."

“What about Lexi’s mum?” I ask, regretting the words as soon as they’re out.

Archie sighs. “She left when Lexi was a few months old. Corey hasn’t heard from her since. Her parents are involved in Lexi’s life when they want to be. They send presents and cards at Christmas and on her birthday, and they’ll occasionally swoop in to take her away for a weekend or out for a meal. They can’t be relied on to babysit on Corey’s timetable, though.”

“That must be tough on Corey and Lexi.”

“It is, but what can Corey do? He doesn’t want to cut her grandparents out of her life.”

“No, I suppose not.” I twirl my finger over Archie’s shoulder. “It’s good of you and Blake to help Corey as much as you do.”

He shrugs. “We all love Lexi, and the three of us are pretty close. The only time we didn’t live together was for a couple of years when we went to different universities.”

I frown. “Degrees normally take three years.”

"Yes. Corey had to quit to raise Lexi, so he switched his credits to a distance-learning university, which he could do part time. Blake failed his first year and decided not to repeat."

“And you?”

“I stayed local for uni, so I was still living with our parents. It wasn’t a big deal for me to move out of their house and in with Blake, Corey, and Lexi.”

“What was your degree in?”

“Business. I got an upper second-class honours, ” he says proudly.

“Congratulations.”

He beams at me. “Enough about my brothers. Kiss me?”

I chuckle as I press my lips to his. “With pleasure.”

“We should probably get up and have that shower.”

“Soon,” I promise. “I’m enjoying being close to you.”

Archie snuggles against me and strokes my chest fur. “I’m not going to complain about that.” He sucks one of my nipple piercings into his mouth, making me gasp with pleasure. “Not now.” He swipes his tongue around the piercing. “Not ever.”

I grab his upper arms and push him onto his back, straddling him. “Keep doing that, and I’m going to want to fuck you again.”

“Maybe that’s the idea, Sir.”

I kiss his neck. “If I do, we might never get out of bed today.”

“True. We need to take that long lunch, and you have that phone meeting with Kevin.” He runs his nails over my shoulders. “Shower time?”

“Shower time,” I agree. And then I need to write.

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