Gypsy - Book 3 of The Academy Kids Series

Mchottie...Oops!

Amanda

"Dad, could we maybe talk about this later? I'm really tired." I tried putting an expression of exhaustion on my face. My acting skills had never been great. How on earth did I explain the Henshaw boys? I love my father. He's raised me on his own since my mom died. However, he's a bit overprotective when it comes to boys, and my big brother learned well at his knee. I hated it, but I knew it was borne of love.

His sigh told me I failed. "No, Amanda, we can't." His shoulders slumped a bit and he ran a hand through his thinning, brown hair. "Baby girl, I just need to know you're being treated right."

I couldn't help it, I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him tight. "I love you, Daddy. and I promise, soon, just give me a few days? It's still really new. Let him start to like me before you and Johnny scare him."

His broad chest rumbled as he laughed. "Alright, I'll give you a few days, but soon, M'kay?" I nodded, A wide grin splitting my face before I pecked his cheek and ran up the stairs to text Chase.

Amanda: You'll never believe what happened.

Chase: You found out Micah is gay?

Amanda: Lol. No, you dork. My dad saw Micah kiss me tonight and now he wants to meet him. How on earth do i explain things? He's going to lose his mind.

Chase: Fuck. I think you should talk to the guys, Manda. Maybe they'll have some idea on how to approach things.

Amanda: You're right. I managed to buy a few days. I'll stop by their place tomorrow. Join me?

Chase: Moral support and the ability to ogle hotness? I'm so totally in. Now, back to the part where Micah kissed you...

I laughed and we texted back and forth about my date for a while before signing off. As butterflies flew in my stomach, I wondered if the feeling would fade the longer I dated the guys, or if they'd always make me feel like this.
~~*~~

The next day we piled into Chase's borrowed car and headed toward the guys house. The sounds of acoustic guitar floated through the air and I slipped my sandals off to prop my bare feet on the dash. We sang along to our favorite bands and before long we'd pulled into the drive.

I bit my thumbnail as Chase shut the car off. Maybe I should have called first? Probably, but I was here now, so no backing out. I don't think Ive ever gotten out of a car so slowly in my life. The moment my bare feet hit the driveway, I froze. I don't know why. I'd been here before, the house didn't intimidate me but I stared at it with my fingers gripping the door so tightly my knuckles were white.

Chase's face suddenly blocked my view of the house, but the wall of noise assaulting my ears couldn't be blocked out. Were they having a party?

"Breathe, Manda. Deep breath." Chase spoke in slow, measured tones, his hand gripping my chin to force me to meet his gaze. "In, out. In, out" I matched his breaths and could feel the calm washing over me. "Better. Now, why are you freaking out?"

"I don't...know."

"Yes, you do." His emerald gaze bore into mine, daring me to tell me another lie. I couldn't. Lying to Chase was something I just couldn't do. At least not well. I usually had to resort to withholding the info.

"If I go in there, they're going to want to solve things. It's what they do. Which means meeting my dad and then what? How the hell do I explain this to my dad? And what if they hate my dad and my brother and –"

A hand slapped over my mouth, quieting the flow of worry. "Honey, we can't know what's going to happen, but you only need the answer to one question." He paused, ensuring my complete attention. "Are they worth it?"

The moment the words left his mouth, the panic flowed out of me. It was so simple because the answer was a resounding yes. I was still convinced it couldn't last, me dating all three of them, but they were worth the eventual heartache and any of the bumps along the way. A shudder went through me and I grinned at Chase.

"There's my BFF." He patted my knee and stood, brushing imaginary dirt off his pants. "Now, let's go see why we weren't invited to the party."

I worried my knock wouldn't be heard, but within moments, the door swung open and I stood staring at what had to be the poster girl for bad attitude. Everything from her shiny, black combat boots to her intense, heavily lined brown eyes and her perfect tumble of near black hair screamed "don't give a fuck". She lifted a perfectly arched brow as she took me in.

"Yeah?"

"Um, hi. I'm here to see the Henshaw boys." Please don't kill me.

"All three of them?" Her tone held a note of disbelief.

I needed to show strength, right? "Yes." I made my tone as firm as I could.

She snorted. "Fuckin figures. Lost that bet." She swung the door open further and stepped to the side. "Come on in while I fetch the numbskulls. You can chill in there." She pointed to the living room. I hadn't actually spent any time in it the last time I was here but we'd gone through it to get to the kitchen, so I knew where it was.

Chase and I made it all of four steps into the living room before I was too stunned to move.

A movie was playing on the large screen hanging on the wall, some kind of superhero thing that had been all the rage a few months ago. Two men who looked exactly like the guys were focused on the screen. One of them was curled up with a man with rich brown hair and two different colored eyes, while a woman lay with her head in his lap, her brown hair spilling over the side of his leg. The woman's fingers ran through the long, black hair of the man sitting on the floor in front of them. My brain was having trouble making sense of what I was seeing.

"Hey, mom!"

I turned around in time to see a boy a couple years younger come to a screeching halt. His brown hair and dual colored eyes told me his dad was the one cuddling on the couch. A quick rush of air next to me and the nearly inaudible gasp drew my gaze to Chase. His wide eyes were firmly fixed on the boy who'd just barreled in, mouth hanging open slightly. His tongue flicked out momentarily. His stance was stiff, but as I watched he relaxed and his eyes shone with interest as they raked up and down the guy still staring at Chase.

"Hi." He stepped forward and held out his hand. "I'm Chase and you are?"

The guy squeaked, turned on his heel and ran, right past a large, tattooed guy who walked right past Chase and I without blinking.

"Little Thief, why is Galen running like cats of hell are after him?" He crossed the room in just a few strides and dropped a kiss on the woman.

"Hounds of hell, Raven." One of the guys said absently, like it was a habit. When the guy on the floor turned and rose up enough to kiss the woman, a light bulb went off.

"Gypsy!" Isaiah's voice rang out with surprise. "What are you doing here?"

I turned slowly to find the guys all waiting for an answer. I wasn't stupid, and I'd just been given a huge clue, kind of like being smacked with a 2x4. I wasn't prone to anger, but annoyance, frustration, upset? Yeah, those were running amok in me right now.

"Apparently finding out you've been keeping secrets." I kept my voice as even as I could, but even I could hear the hurt spilling out. The rest of the room, the house, the whole world, faded away. Micah swallowed hard, Isaiah looked like he might hyperventilate, and my sweet Wes just looked confused. "Those are your parents, aren't they?" I waved a hand in the direction of the woman I assumed to be their mother and her husbands.

"Yes." Wes answered. "Pretty girl, I don't understand. You're hurt and upset, but why?"

I laughed. They didn't understand why? "I was freaking out trying to figure out how to tell you I wanted to date you all and then when I did, just a few days ago, you all just agreed." I could feel my eyes burning and my chest ached. "You don't think that might have been a good time to reassure me, to tell me you had a little experience in how it might work. All I've thought about is how long will it last? how long until you three start fighting amongst yourselves about me? How long till we fracture? Because that was the inevitable end in my eyes. And it didn't occur to any of you to maybe give me this little reassurance." Dammit. I was babbling. I needed to get out of here. I hurt too much to talk to them right now. I needed to calm down first.

I knew they had to be used to hiding this. Not everyone would just accept it. Actually most would condemn it. But after we'd agreed to try this thing would have been a good time to mention their parents. I shook my head as the tears spilled over.

"I have to go. I'm sorry. I can't be here. Chase!" I ran out the door, hollering for my friend and ride.