Chapter 20
Cassius
“No. Not happening.”Axel shakes his head, pacing back and forth. We're back at the house after the little dance party, and Harlow gave us the rundown on how they came about getting the duck, Daisy Duck. Why am I not surprised?
“Oh, but it is,” Neo grins. “Rosie is already in love with that duck, and there's no way you would break that little girl's heart, would you?” Neo makes his eyes go wide as he pouts, sticking his hands under his chin, mocking Axel.
“We already have two fucking farm animals; we don’t need any more. Hell, we don’t even need the two stupid ones we have!” Axel shouts, pointing in the direction of the backyard.
“Hey!” Neo steps into Axel. “Don't you talk about Susie and Bob like that,” he growls.
Axel shakes his head, knowing better than to argue with Neo about his pets. He loves those two almost as much as he loves Rosie.
“The thing doesn’t even like men,” Dean points out. “How do we care for a pet that will only let Rosie and Harlow near it? One of us has to interact with it when Harlow isn't here.”
“Not it!” Axel says. “I get bit enough by the two freaks out there. I'm not gonna willingly get attacked by the duck.”
“I’ll do it; I'm sure after some time around me, it will love me, just like the others do,” Neo says, puffing out his chest, sounding sure of himself.
“Bath time!” Rosie shouts from down the hall. We all turn to look out of the office door to see Rosie in her panties running past, her feet slapping against the floor, followed by Daisy waddling after her, quacking like she's just as excited.
“I’m gonna give them a bath and put Rosie to bed before heading out,” Harlow says, grinning wide as she looks back at the two making a run for the bathtub.
“Thanks for everything,” I tell her. She shrugs.
“We had fun. I’m here to help with her any time you need me. It’s surprisingly nice to get away from reality,” she says, looking down at the ground like she's thinking about something. She shakes her head and smiles.
She goes to leave but turns back. “Oh, and the one rule I’ll make sure to stick to next time is no sweets.” She bites her lip.
My eyes widen, and I burst out laughing, and the other guys follow.
“He tried to warn you. Rosie is very... interesting when she gets some sugar in her,” Dean grins.
“You mean like a bat out of hell?” she giggles.
“Yeah, pretty much,” Neo grins.
AS MUCH AS GETTINGanother animal, that we really should not have, annoyed me at first, seeing Rosie with Daisy is kind of adorable. While Harlow was giving Rosie a bath, I checked on them and stayed a while just to watch. Seeing Rosie giggle as Daisy ducked her head in the water and ruffled her feathers, splashing Rosie in the process, warmed my heart. I mean, it's not a dog, but it's pretty close. Something tells me she won't be staying in the backyard with the other two.
Now they are both snuggled up with Harlow, reading a book. When they are done, I go in, give her a kiss, and almost get my face bitten off by the damn duck.
Harlow giggles while Rosie gives Daisy a firm talking to, saying that bites are for butts, not for faces; four-year-old logic.
I let Harlow say goodnight and tell her that I’ll be in the game room. Axel is already there, having a rematch with Neo. Dean is probably being forced to be their referee.
Taking a seat next to Dean on the couch, I sigh and close my eyes, reliving the past few days of crazy. Tonight, I need to just relax and unwind because knowing our lives, there's not much time for it.
“Hey, so tomorrow, we’re gonna do things a little different,” Harlow says, walking into the room. We all turn to look at her. “There's a club I’ve had my eye on for a while. I’m putting my feelers out to see if it's a fit for my cause.” Her cause refers to her turning strip clubs that treat their dancers like objects, not people, into one of her clubs. Harlow told me she's all for strip clubs. Women are welcome to do what they want with their bodies, as long as it's completely their decision.
“Anyways. You four will come with me. Evie will watch Rosie. Something tells me it’s not gonna be an easy job, and I’ll need back up... maybe... either way, you get a night out.”
Axel laughs mockingly. “Yeah, a night out where we can't enjoy ourselves the way we want. We can’t dance, touch, or fuck women. So, we just have to follow you around like a pack of lost mutts while you get to fuck Neo like a damn slut.”
The room goes quiet. It’s too late to tell Axel to shut the fuck up. He’s drunk, pissed, and already crossed that line.
“We are forced to do what you want, when you want us to, while you prance around in your slutty clothes, call it burlesque when really it’s just your excuse to be a glorified whore,” Axel spits. His chest is heaving as he gets in Harlow's face.
The rest of us hold our breath as we wait for Harlow to kill Axel. Because I know for a fact, she's not leaving this house without causing him some damage. He's disrespected her too many times at this point, and she's not the kind of person to be walked over, not anymore anyways. He should be lucky he's still breathing.