Chapter 19

Brock played the dutiful host for a little while, showing the girls where to find everything, before retiring for the night. The girls were relatively quiet but Brock was so tired it wouldn’t have mattered.

He could never figure out when the conspiracy started. The when didn’t so much bother him as the who. Whoever and whenever it was, Brock wasn’t alone when he woke in the middle of the night. He was nowhere near alone.

Despite the fact he had shown the girls the spare bedrooms all four were nestled next to him--or as next to him as possible.

Merie lay on his left side and Suzy was on his right. He had to lift his head a little but he saw Mel next to Suzy and Jen behind Merie. All four girls appeared to be sound asleep--and fully clothed--so he figured it was something that didn’t need his immediate attention. What did need his attention at that point was his bladder.

Merie groaned when he untangled himself but she didn’t wake. But Suzy’s eyes popped open at his first movement.

“Don’t be mad,” she whispered with a plea in her still sleepy eyes.

Brock smiled.

“I’m not,” he whispered back. “I just gotta pee. I’ll be back so save my spot.”

Suzy positively beamed.

“I will,” she promised as she patted the bed next to her.

Brock was still groggy but he remembered to wash his hands and put the seat down before returning to his room. True to her word, Suzy was guarding the spot between her and Merie like a Doberman. Of course since Merie slept like the dead, it was little wonder the space was unoccupied but the thought was nice.

Brock crawled back between the girls and Suzy nestled up close to him.

“Is this OK?” she whispered. Brock nodded and slipped his arm beneath her neck so she could rest on his shoulder. Suzy let out a sigh of contentment. She couldn’t believe she was actually in bed with Jordan DeVoe and he was cuddling with her.

He felt a hand pull his arm off Suzy’s shoulder and felt Mel move closer to Suzy’s back. She wrapped as much of herself around Suzy as she could and then draped Brock’s arm on her shoulder.

Brock slipped his left arm under a still slumbering Merie--and amazingly she put her arm across his chest and her leg across his waist--and then managed to get rest his hand on Jen’s shoulder.

Brock had to admit that this was a pretty nice way to go to sleep.

Merie was awake and looking at him when Brock arose in the morning. She looked so cute he craned his neck as far as he could and kissed her on the nose.

“You’re not pissed,” she said and Brock couldn’t tell if it was a question or a statement. He shook his head slightly anyway so as to not awaken the rest of the group.

“How about you?” he asked. “Are you mad it’s not just us in here?”

Merie hugged him tightly.

“Like that was going to happen,” she said with a smile. “But no, I’m not angry. I think all of us wanted to be here last night so we all just came in. Now if I can get Jen’s tits off my back I need to head to the little girls’ room.”

“It’s the little boys’ room,” Brock whispered. “I’d offer to shift a little but I’m not sure I can without waking Suzy.”

“I’m awake,” his right side bed partner mumbled. “But I can’t move either.

“There’s a pair of tits in my back, too,” she giggled.

“Leave my boobies out of this,” Mel said. “I got stuck on the outside so you just have to deal with them.”

But she moved back so Brock and Suzy could give Merie enough space to get up. Brock saw she was wearing one of his T-shirts. It was adorable.

Suzy joined Merie in heading to the facilities and Brock saw she was wearing a shirt of his, too. She was as cute as Merie.

The two were no sooner out of the bed than Jen and Mel assumed their spots on Brock’s shoulder.

“Yuck,” Jen said. “Merie drool on your shirt. Gross. At least she doesn’t snore.”

“You’re one to talk about lousy bed manners,” Merie yelled from the bathroom. “Your hand was on my ass all night. Between Suzy pushing her hands between my girls and you playing with my tush, I felt like I was on a date with an octopus.”

Suzy turned red and stammered an apology.

“It’s OK,” she said. “I know you were trying to hold Brock tighter not feel me up. But you did pretty well for not trying.”

Suzy shook her head.

“Mel had a hold of my boobs a couple of times, too,” she said with a blush. “I think we’re going steady now.”

“Geez, and I didn’t get anything,” Jen huffed. “Not a grope, not a feel, not a fondle. How about you, sis?”

“Nada,” Mel said. “I guess it pays to be on the inside looking out. Brock, did you get felt up?”

“Not so much as a goose,” he said with a laugh. “I figured with four lecherous girls in bed with me I figured I’d get lucky. But nope, my virtue is still intact.”

“Oh, you got lucky,” Merie said as she jumped on the bed and draped herself across Mel to kiss Brock.

“You’re lucky we didn’t kick your butt out and make you sleep on the floor,” she added with another kiss.

“Hey, no PDAs,” Jen said. “Have a little decorum.”

“Jealous?” Merie asked with a smirk and gave Brock another kiss.

“A little,” Jen admitted. Merie leaned over and gave a startled Jen a pretty thorough kiss on the lips.

“Better now?” she asked playfully.

Jen was too stunned to speak.

“Come on,” Merie said. “My nickname was The Fairy. You know some rumors have a basis in truth. Don’t you want to find out?”

Jen blushed while Brock tried to swallow his Adam’s apple he gulped so hard.

But Suzy saved Jen from answering.

“Come on, you four,” she said. “It’s almost 8. Dollar to a doughnut says Mrs. Miles is at the door in 15 minutes or less.”

The group grumbled but Mel gave Merie a pretty solid swat on the butt. “That’s for teasing my sister,” she said with a smile. “We could have fried bacon on her cheeks. She was so embarrassed.”

“Speaking of bare assed,” Merie said as she jumped out of bed and lifted her shirt to show her panty-covered butt. “Oh, that’s not what you meant, huh? Sorry.”

“Uh, you guys go ahead,” Brock said. “I’ll be down in a minute. I need to hit the restroom again.”

He wanted a minute for his erection to flag before he got out of bed.

But Merie folded her arms and stood by the door.

“Uh-uh,” she said firmly. “Suzy got to look at you in your skivvies last night. We want a turn, too.”

Brock pulled the sheet to his chin.

“You had your chance last night when you sneaked in here,” he said. “There are no free shows. Now scoot. Harem girls are supposed to serve the sultan’s every whim.”

Jen and Mel each slapped an arm, Merie stuck her tongue out and Suzy shot him the bird.

“Sultan, my butt,” Merie said as she flipped her T-shirt up again. But she hustled out of the room and the others followed.

Merie’s cell phone was ringing as Brock headed down the steps.

“Ha!” Jen exclaimed. “Your dad beat my mom. So there, Miss Overprotected.”

It seems that any animosity from the day before had evaporated. He was thankful for that but he wondered how the girls could be so chummy.

Brock wasn’t given to overconfidence but he was pretty sure that at least three of the girls--and maybe all four--wouldn’t mind a more permanent spot in his life. He hoped his harem joke wasn’t taken in the wrong manner because he also had a feeling that if he pissed off one of the girls they all would be angry at him.

“It was awesome, Daddy,” her heard Merie say into her phone. “We had a slumber party. No, Dad. Well, he was here but he left us alone. It was me, his neighbors Jen--she’s in his grade--and Mel--she’s in college--and a friend of Brock’s from Wilkins named Susan. We sat up and talked and ate Pop Tarts. It was really great.

“Yes, he’s here. In fact, he just came down the stairs. He’s a lazy butt.”

Merie flipped the back of her T-shirt up again. Brock had to admit he was enjoying her frequent offerings.

“No, things are OK,” she said. “He didn’t get home until after midnight and he was tired. So we didn’t talk much. But the rest of us talked about him, if that counts. It was fun to get Susan’s perspective about what he was like before, well, you know.

“I’d like to spend the day with my friends, if you’re OK with that. I’m not sure if they have plans. If they do, I’ll ask Brock to drive me home. If he can’t, I’ll give you a call. I can’t wait. Ten more days until my chauffeured life comes to an end.

“Maybe we’ll all go look at cars today. I can pick out which one you’re going to buy me.

“I’m kidding, Daddy. I’ll ask him. Brock, Daddy wants to know how the gas mileage is on your car.”

Brock told her his estimated MPG and she relayed the information with a roll of her eyes.

“Why don’t you just talk to him yourself,” she said into the phone. “The sultan has ordered his harem to make him breakfast since I think we ate all the breakfast food he had in the house last night. I need to come over once a week to take him shopping.”

She handed the phone to Brock and bounced into the kitchen before he could reply.

“Hi, Mr. Van Landingham,” Brock said. “What’s up?”

“What the hell happened to her?” Sam asked. “When I dropped her off there she was a moping, whining mess. Now she’s cheerful. And it’s only 8:15. She’s usually a royal pain of the mornings.”

Brock laughed out loud.

“I really have no idea,” he said. “We each apologized when I got home and then she went off with her friends and that’s the last I heard from her until this morning. I guess any change in her mood is a result of them, not me.”

“Whatever did it, I’m glad,” Sam said. “I know I don’t need to but I’d like to apologize for the way she treated you last week. It was wrong and I should have stopped it.”

“Actually, I’m the one who should apologize to you,” Brock replied. “I took the information you gave me and used it to hurt Merie. I lost my temper and it was wrong of me to say what I said.”

“Well, it’s done with,” Sam said. “And it is the truth. Leah’s life isn’t going to get better as long as she lets that portion define her. You’re a prime testament to that. I know you have a lot of bitterness and you should. But you have moved forward, too. What happened is a part of your life but you don’t build your whole life around that. I tried to get that through to my daughters yesterday. I guess one for two isn’t bad.

“Anyway, I guess you heard that Meredith’s 16th birthday is coming up week after next,” Sam said. “When I heard how excited she sounded this morning, the first thing I thought of was a party for her. Do you think you could convince everyone there to come over next Saturday? She doesn’t have many friends. Who am I kidding? She doesn’t have any friends that aren’t at your house right now. We haven’t been able to throw a party for her in three or four years.”

Brock smiled.

“I think I could help you with that,” he said as he walked out on his porch. “How about a surprise party? I’m sure she won’t expect it. She spends time with a couple of kids at school. I’ll talk to them or have Jen do it. If you and Mrs. Van Landingham set the time, I’ll take care of the details. Will that work?”

“That would be excellent,” Sam said with heartfelt enthusiasm. “Jean will be beside herself. If she keeps hanging around you Meredith might actually start to act like a normal kid. And if you see her looking at particular cars, take a mental note for me. She was kidding, but I am planning to buy her a car for her birthday.”

“I have all the Consumer Reports info from last year’s models,” Brock told him. “I just bought my car in June. If you want, I can e-mail it over. Merie doesn’t seem like the type to want a sports car, but you never know. I thought about that route but changed my mind when I looked into insurance and safety ratings and all that. You’ll save a ton if you buy a leftover from last year. I wish I could have waited but, well...”

Sam was impressed.

“I’d like that information,” he said. “If the girls drive you crazy today, why don’t you pop over and maybe you and I can hit some of the lots.”

The pair made plans to meet about 1 p.m.

“I’m sure I can convince the Quarrelsome Quartet to hit the mall for an afternoon,” Brock said. “They all claimed a T-shirt as sleepwear last night so I’m either going to have get more or do laundry. Guess which way I’m leaning.”

Sam laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes.

“I was a little worried when she called and asked to stay over,” Sam confessed. “She told me you hadn’t made it home yet but she and Jen and Susan were having fun and your neighbor said she could stay there. I guess it worked out OK.”

“Yeah, me too,” Brock said. “But I think any opportunity I had to make decisions for myself has gone by the wayside. Leslie Miles, my neighbor, already thinks she’s my mother. Now I think I have four more females riding herd over me.”

“So, what are the plans for today?” Jen asked as they sat down to a meager breakfast of toast and fresh fruit. “Besides taking Brock to the grocery store. You have nothing that’s not in a can or box. Do you know that?”

Brock shrugged.

“I can’t cook anything,” he said. “I can heat up and reheat and microwave. Why do you think I ate at your house all summer? It wasn’t the grace and charm of the Miles family. It was free food.”

Mel rewarded Brock by tossing a grape at him.

“I’m going to spend the afternoon with Merie’s dad,” Brock announced. “He needs some help with a project and, apparently, I’m in the target demographic.”

Merie looked at him with raised eyebrows.

“I’m not so sure I like that idea,” she said with mock sincerity. “He’ll be showing you baby pictures of my naked butt. I’m not sure you should be seeing things like that.”

Of course she stood up and lifted her T-shirt again.

“Exhibitionist,” Suzy laughed. “I’ve heard of showing your ass, but Merie, that’s a little ridiculous. Do you drop your pants if you’re wearing them or is this just something with the T-shirt?”

“Well, I for one am not going to question her motives,” Brock said. “That goes for the rest of you, too. Anyone who wants to show me their butt most certainly may.”