Sixes & Sevens (Seven Hearts Book 1) (22 page)

“Yes, I’m sure. Without his cell phone, there’s no way to contact Sean. We’ll just have to hope he’s okay.” Jaycee pulled back her lips in a strained smile.

“All right, I’ll get ready in here.” Marc didn’t like wearing pajamas, but he’d at least wear the pants for Jaycee. She might have already made out with Garrett—and who knows what happened with Lee—but he wasn’t going to seduce her. Hopefully, she’d turn to him in time, when she got more comfortable with being with them. Marc could wait, he’d more than proven his patience was sincere. He’d waited years to see Jaycee again. Patience paid off in the long run. He was thrilled just to hold her close all night. He wasn’t going to jeopardize that by sleeping nude like he usually did, or even just in boxers. She was an innocent, and he wanted to treat her with respect.

Respect was hard at 1:00 a.m. when Jaycee was wrapped around his body like a boa constrictor. She’d finally fallen asleep after hearing Sean arrive home at midnight. Being as tired as she was, she promised to let explanations wait until after breakfast. They needed sleep—he needed sleep—but instead, he was wide awake. Awake and in need…of a cold shower. Jaycee mumbled Sean’s name in her dreams, pulling him tighter. Now, that was just harsh, she held him tight but dreamed of Sean. Marc chuckled in a self-deprecating manner. He wondered if she ever dreamed of him…

January 9, 2016

Marc chose to spend his day pampering Jaycee. With classes beginning soon, and Jaycee determined to help her father, the school year would be stressful. He wanted to make sure Jaycee had time to simply relax and unwind, before the chaos started. After prying Jaycee’s sleeping person off himself, he was able to wake her safely. Without the risk of losing himself in her embrace. Jaycee finally cooked breakfast, which delighted Jonathan in more ways than one. Her cooking was delicious, and he got to sleep in a few minutes longer. Jaycee kept throwing concerned glances at Sean. She didn’t ask him questions, or rail at him for making her worry, but her feelings were clear despite her silence.

“I’m sorry, Jaycee. I had meant to call, but the dean of my department asked me to look at something for him, and I got so wrapped up in it…well, I forgot what time it was. By the time I thought to look, my phone was dead, and it was rather late to call the house. I didn’t want to wake you.”

“I understand.” Jaycee sniffed and sighed as she spoke. Sean hung his head as he approached her. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pressed her head to his chest. “I was just so worried.” Her voice was muffled by his shirt.

“I promise from now on I’ll bring a phone charger with me wherever I go. Will that make you feel better?” Sean tilted her chin up to look into his eyes.

“Yes, that would help.” Jaycee said, kissing his cheek shyly.

“All right, it’s my day. I call dibs on hugs,” Marc teased Sean, but still grabbed Jaycee’s hand to gently tug her to his side.

“Okay, sorry.” Sean laughed.

“There’s enough of me to go around…wait that’s not what I meant!” The guys laughed as Jaycee turned red. “You know what I meant,” she said with a pout.

“No one misunderstood you, sweetheart. You can stop giving us the pouty lip.” Marc leaned his head down, and spoke into her ear, “It’s too tempting to kiss that pout off your adorable face.”

She had thought she couldn’t turn any redder, but Marc had proven her wrong. “Um, is it time for us to go to the spa?” she asked in an attempt to redirect their attention.

Marc looked at his watch. “Yes, we actually do need to get a move on.”

“Before you go,” Jonathan interrupted, “I was wondering if I could ask to switch my day? I know we chose to put it off so I wouldn’t have to sacrifice my time to classes, but something came up. It might be better if I just take Monday after all.”

“Oh, well that’s okay with me, as long as you don’t mind. But what’s the something that came up?” she asked.

“Our parents are coming to town. As much as I’d like to ignore them, Sean and I only see them a couple of days a year, and they chose Saturday to spend with us,” Jonathan explained.

“This is the first I’ve heard of this,” Sean protested.

“Well, your phone was off most of the night,” Jonathan reminded him.

“Right.” Sean looked sheepish.

“I’d take you with us, but they are rather particular about their visits. I don’t want you to be subjected to their nonsense,” Jonathan said.

“I get it, it’s okay. I can spend the morning with you and walk you to work. I can even come visit you for lunch. Maybe since you work on your day, the guys wouldn’t mind if we spent more of the evening with each other…”

“No one here will object,” Lee answered for them all.

“Thanks,” Jonathan said to Lee.

“Well, if that’s settled, it’s time to go, beautiful.” Marc tugged gently on Jaycee’s hand, leading her to the garage.

She still didn’t know what spa Marc was taking her to and she didn’t want to admit her ignorance. After doing an Internet search on her iPhone in the car, Jaycee learned what services could be offered at a spa, but it seemed to her like it varied so greatly from place to place that it wasn’t much help.

The spa Marc took her to was the first Jaycee had ever seen, so she wasn’t the best one to judge its facilities, but it looked superb to her. The place was done up in whites and creams, it projected a very clean, calm feeling. The chairs around the rooms and halls were a very soft spongy material. Marc led her to the front desk, where he checked them in. Without telling Jaycee what he’d signed them up for, Marc whispered conspiratorially with the receptionist. Jaycee used the time to further examine the room. There wasn’t much to see. A few magazines sat around on tables bracketed by rows of chairs. Opposite the front desk, there were was a set of double doors that led to the rest of the facility. Sitting down in one of the chairs, Jaycee only waited a moment before Marc sat beside her.

“We’re a little bit early, so we’ll have to wait here until they come to fetch us. I booked a couples package, so we wouldn’t be separated,” Marc explained.

“Will I have to be naked?” Jaycee’s voice trembled on the word
naked
.

“Not really, for massages you typically get undressed as far as you feel comfortable, and then they drape a towel over your body, only removing the towel to massage each body part. You can ask them to ignore certain areas,” he said.

“Well, that doesn’t sound so bad,” Jaycee responded with a smile.

“No,” Marc said with a laugh, “it’s not bad at all. In fact, you may start begging me to bring you back after today.”

“Hmm. We shall see. I promise I’ll give it my best try,” Jaycee said.

“It’s a spa, you really shouldn’t have to
try
to do anything. Simply follow their instructions, and let them know if anything makes, or will make, you uncomfortable.” Marc’s instructions were followed by the arrival of an assistant appearing to fetch them for their first appointment.

“Mr. Wallner, Ms. Monroe, right this way please,” the assistant said. The woman led them down a wide corridor, until they stopped at a door that looked exactly the same as every other door on this floor. Inside the room were two privacy screens, two massage tables, and a set of nimfadoro males. Marc simply nodded at the men before heading behind the screen, on the left side of the room, to change into a towel. Jaycee was escorted into the screen on the right and shown where to store her clothes, as well as where the towels were hidden. She could hear the rustle of fabric coming from Marc’s screen as he stripped down and wrapped a towel around his waist. Jaycee’s ears turned pink, but she managed to pull herself together and remember to undress herself. She left her panties on.

Jaycee wasn’t mentally prepared for the sight of Marc standing before her in only a towel. While the towel was long and hung low on his waist to down just past his knees, it revealed more skin than it covered. His chest was lightly muscular and hair-free. His waist was lean and toned. Marc didn’t have any tan lines, not that she’d been looking…much. The lure of his bare body was simply too much for a good—previously sheltered—girl to resist. Especially when she was so attracted to him, and it wasn’t just the kindness he’d shown her since they’d met all those years ago. He simply was extremely attractive, on top of being a caring, affectionate guy.

Shaking her head, Jaycee realized one of the masseuses had been trying to get her attention. How embarrassing, she’d been caught gawking! Jaycee casually slid her gaze to Marc to see if he’d noticed. Oh, he’d noticed all right. He was watching her back with a wide smile on his face. Noticing her return to the real world, Marc smirked, crinkling his eyes in amusement.

“Sorry,” Jaycee said to the masseuse.

“No problem, please follow me. Climb up on the table and lie facedown. You can leave the towel arranged over your waist,” he said in a low tone.

“Okay,” she said, but she sounded unsure. Her breasts would be exposed on the sides, wouldn’t they? It didn’t really matter, she supposed. The only one who would care was Marc, and he would be busy getting his own massage.

Events didn’t exactly go as she’d envisioned. She almost fell off the table, twice. Once when she got on, and the second time when she had to turn over. It was a disgraceful display that left Marc trying hard not to laugh as he assured she wasn’t hurt. Her body was fine, but her pride took a hit. She supposed she must have looked funny with her limbs flailing and her towel practically ready to fall off.

The massage itself was lovely. Marc had chosen Swedish for her first massage. While she felt a bit uncomfortable with a strange man touching her, she was almost 100 percent sure he was gay, so at least he wasn’t hoping to cop a feel. It surprised Jaycee that Marc was okay with a man giving him a massage, but then maybe as a model he was used to male designers and tailors touching him for work. Either way, she was grateful. The man had magic fingers, he knew just how to dig out those knots she’d been developing on her upper back, shoulders, and neck. It was where she tensed when she was stressed, which she’d had plenty of time to do lately. Jaycee wondered if any of the guys were good at giving massages…it would be much better with someone she was more comfortable with. Besides, she’d rather not show the side of her breasts to just anyone.

Jaycee rolled her face to the side. Since she was lying on her back, she could see the room. Instead of enjoying his massage, she found that Marc was watching her. He seemed to be deep in thought. Staring back, she hoped he’d tell her what was on his mind.

“You’re so beautiful. Are you enjoying the Swedish?” Okay, that wasn’t what she’d hoped he’d say, but at least he was blinking normally, and speaking to her now.

“Yes. You?” she replied hoping he’d divulge what he was really thinking about.

“Mmm.” Then again, maybe he wasn’t having deep thoughts. Men were so confusing.

After the massage, they’d been given body scrubs, mud baths, and an assortment of other treatments whose benefits Jaycee wasn’t sure about. While she didn’t enjoy them as much as the massage, she was glad to spend the time with Marc. Before she knew it, the day had gone by, and it was time to head home for dinner. Jaycee’s skin felt smooth and soft. Her muscles were loose and limp and her mind was calm. Maybe Marc had the right idea. She could get used to feeling like this.

Jaycee and Marc were rather quiet on the way home, while they’d talked about their favorite things during the day, they were both too mellow to talk now. Staring out the window, Jaycee watched the city roll by. She had learned a few new things about Marc. His birthday was May 17. He was three years older than her, though not the oldest of the guys. Lee was the oldest, turning twenty-three this year, then Marc, Jonathan, Alec, Garrett, and finally Sean. The last three being the same age. Jaycee was secretly glad they were older than her. She’d never thought of herself with a younger man. The idea just didn’t appeal to her.

Black was Marc’s favorite color, though he liked most colors just fine. His favorite snack was any kind of spicy chips, while his favorite food was lasagna. Marc wasn’t a big sports fan, but he liked playing soccer with Sean—though Sean’s favorite was baseball. It felt juvenile, but Jaycee wanted—but probably wouldn’t ask—each of the guys to fill out a survey about their likes and dislikes, their birthdays and such. Sure, she knew she’d learn those things eventually, but it would be nice to know them now. Especially when she wanted to do something nice for them in return. They’d been so good to her, but she didn’t know what they did and didn’t like, and she’d be rather upset at herself if she chose the wrong thing.

Dinner was a family affair like always. The menu tonight was baked chicken with roasted potatoes and green beans. Jaycee was glad the food was soft, as her throat was starting to hurt. She’d felt fine all day long, but now at dinner she’d discovered it hurt to swallow. Jonathan noticed first, of course, but she’d encouraged him to finish dinner before trying to diagnose her.

“All right, open wide and say ‘ah.’” Jonathan had pulled out a medical bag after dinner, and directed Jaycee to a chair in the dining room under the light. Using a tongue depressor, Jonathan got a good look at her throat. He took her blood pressure and temperature too. “Well, I’ll need to get a swab of the back of your throat, but it’s looking like strep,” he said

“Strep?” Jaycee wasn’t familiar with the ailment, but she knew it wasn’t good.

“It’s a rather contagious bacteria that is very common in young adults, especially in a college environment. We’ll put you on a round of antibiotics for ten days, twice a day. Are you allergic to penicillin? No? Good, then let’s try amoxicillin. It’s the most commonly used antibiotic for this sort of thing.” Jonathan pulled a long cotton swab out of his bag. “I just need to swipe the back of your throat, and then I’ll run it over to campus and get it checked out. I’m pretty sure it’s strep, but since there are other ailments with the same symptoms, we need to be sure. Antibiotics won’t help you if it’s actually a virus.”

“What do I need to do?” Jaycee asked.

“Open your mouth, and stick out your tongue. It might be better if you close your eyes. Usually patients find it easier if they can’t see it coming,” he answered.

“Okay…ahhh!” Jaycee did as he asked. “Gwack!” Jaycee coughed, followed by a round of gags as the swab hit the back of her throat.

“You did great, sweetie. Marc, will you keep an eye on her while I head over to the health center?” He asked.

“Sure…should we be worried about catching it? You said it was very contagious.” Marc replied.

“Well, since the incubation period can be two days to around a week, it’s likely we’ve already been exposed to the germs. There isn’t much to do now but wait, and make sure she’s comfortable. Jaycee, you should drink plenty of fluids, but warm drinks can help soothe the ache.” Marc sighed at Jonathan’s answer. While Marc wasn’t mad, he wasn’t looking forward to everyone getting strep. Alec was a terrible baby when sick. If Jonathan had taught him correctly, Jaycee would still be contagious for another twenty-four hours after she took the first dose of antibiotics. Marc just wanted her well.