Ben was sitting in his chair working out a new floor plan for extending his house out over the foundation of his basement workshop. When he’d built the large room he’d excavated the back yard to extend the building eastward an additional twenty-eight feet. The foundation had been poured and to eliminate the need for support posts he’d welded in ten cross connected I-beams spanning the width of the room like ribs to support the poured concrete ceiling. The building permit office told him he didn’t need so many but Ben felt more comfortable with over engineering for maximum strength and durability. Then he’d covered the entire extension with a waterproof membrane to direct water to the weeping tile and buried it under the back yard once more.
He was designing the extension for the ground floor that would be built out over his office. The current design had the master bedroom occupying the space at the far end with a new walk-in closet and master ensuite. He was going to have to upgrade the water heater, furnace, and air conditioning.
He heard the thump of a car door closing and laughter outside. He looked out the window and saw the ladies collecting their bags from the trunk of a taxi. Then the laughter approached his front door. He got up and opened the front door to see three happy ladies carrying a large number of shopping bags. He ushered them inside.
“So I see you were successful!” Ben said with a smile.
“Yes! Gretchen is very easy to find clothes for as everything looks amazing on her!” Lori gushed.
The woman in question was absolutely glowing with happiness. She was also exhausted. She tried to hide a massive yawn but this just caused the twins to yawn as well and giggling ensued.
“Shopping wore you out?” Ben said with a grin.
“Power shopping, Ben! Totally different level of effort!” Lisa scolded him playfully.
“Ah! Well, I’ll let you recharge as you’ll need that energy for tomorrow night.” Ben said with a coy smile.
The twins grinned widely and squeezed themselves against his chest to get good night kisses. Ben’s head was spinning when they finally stepped back and sorted through the bags to ensure they had their own. Lisa and Lori had picked up a few items for themselves as well.
“Good night Ben! Good night Gretchen! We had so much fun tonight! Thanks!”
Once the twins were on their way home Ben locked up and turned to see Gretchen leaning up against the wall with a blissful smile on her face. “So you had fun?”
“Yes, Ben! I love Lisa and Lori! They are so much fun and such good shoppers!” she gushed then yawned widely once more.
“Did you eat dinner?” he asked.
“We grabbed something light with a drink then we hit the shops. So many clothing stores!” She yawned again.
“Come on sleepy head! Let’s put you to bed!” He picked up the bulk of her shopping bags and led her down the hall to her room. He put all the bags on the floor at the end of the bed and turned to see her flopped down across it. He smiled and turned her on the bed until her head was on the pillow. Then he threw the blanket over her and she was out. He kissed her cheek and she smiled in her sleep. He moved the bags she’d dropped beside the bed to the end with the others then shut off the light as he slipped out of the room, closing her door.
Ben went back to his laptop, saved his floor plan, and shut the machine down to pack it away.
He went to his bedroom and heard the gentle breathing of Tina and Lucy. He got undressed and slipped under the covers between his two lovers.
His two pregnant lovers.
That thought kept him awake for a while.
Ben got a good workout in first thing and Tina made a wonderful breakfast with Lucy’s help. The latter was feeling a little shaky but now they knew what it was and she knew she would feel better later.
Gretchen was struggling with her jet lag and Ben sent her back to bed with a kiss and a pat on the bum which earned him a smile and a hot look over her shoulder.
After breakfast Ben tidied up and Lucy got prepared for school. Ben gave her a kiss and followed her outside with Christopher in his arms. He waved to Madison and Savannah who were waiting by the open van and met Ashley halfway to the daycare as she rushed back to her house. She stopped to get a hug and a quick kiss.
“My goodness! Look at that mop of hair!” she exclaimed with a coy smile.
Ben chuckled. “Yes, I’ve been meaning to get that looked after.”
Karen and Penny rushed up and Ben gave them hugs too. Blushing furiously, Ashley mouthed ‘Call me’ as she hustled off after the girls. Ben nodded and she treated him to a dazzling smile before she turned away.
He made his way into the daycare and slipped Christopher’s coat and boots off. Lisa took them from Ben and the boy raced into the back room. They heard a squeak then Daphne came rushing out to the front. She pulled Ben into a tight hug.
When she finally let go Ben smiled at her. “So you had fun last night?”
Daphne’s smile said it all and Lisa looked at her suspiciously.
“What were you up to last night?” she asked her mother.
“I… was on a date!” Daphne said with great satisfaction and Lisa’s eyebrows went up.
“A date? With a man?” Lisa gasped.
“No, with an iguana. Yes, a man!” Daphne exclaimed, scowling at her daughter who had the good grace to look embarrassed for her question. The excited mother looked at Ben. “Walter is such a lovely man! We talked for hours and it felt so good to talk with an adult about adult things!”
“That’s wonderful!” Ben said with a grin.
“He’s taking me out to dinner tonight! Oh! What will I wear?!?” Daphne gasped.
“Consult with your fashion experts!” Ben said nodding towards Lisa.
“Thank you so much Ben!” Daphne gushed.
“Hey, I just let you answer my phone. You made the rest happen on your own. Enjoy!” he said.
Daphne smiled and went back into the playroom. Lori came out to stand next to her sister.
“Any ideas where you’d like to go tonight?” he asked.
“Could we go back to Asylum? Karen and Penny want to join us with their boyfriends this time,” Lisa asked.
“Sure! Are we having dinner first?”
Lori pressed herself against Ben’s chest and looked up at him. “Could we go to that Thai-Asian fusion place, Golden Sun once more?”
“Of course,” he smiled and she popped up on her toes to kiss him quickly. She stepped back and Lisa gave him one too. “What time do I pick you up?”
“Eight,” Lisa said.
“See you then!”
Ben left the daycare and looked down the street. He saw Dominic’s guys parked in front of 11 Ashburn Court and wondered how the bedroom reno was coming along. He walked over to the house and met Hector.
“Ben! How you doing?”
“Good! How’s it going with you?”
“Really good! We’re almost finished with this place. The trim is going in today. You have to see the backsplash we added to the kitchen! It was Jayden’s idea and the ladies loved it!”
Ben smiled and followed him inside. He took his boots off and they made their way to the kitchen first.
“Is that slate tile?” Ben said checking out the floor.
Hector smiled and nodded.
“Very nice,” Ben said then noticed the slate inlays in the backsplash. “Oh that’s really nice!”
“I know, right? Very classy and like I said it really impressed the clients,” Hector said with a grin.
“It was a tricky pain in the ass to do!” Jayden said as he walked in the kitchen behind them.
Ben grinned with a nod and shook his hand. “Yeah I can imagine but it looks spectacular! Nicely done!”
Real pride shone in Jayden’s eyes as he surveyed his work. “I had no idea how satisfying it would feel to customize a kitchen. Dominic told me he’s going to let me do some more. Build my skills and maybe build a rep for the work. We took a bunch of pictures of this one and he’s setting up a portfolio for me.”
Ben smiled at Jayden. “It’s gorgeous!”
“Thanks! Hey! I heard we’re going to Asylum tonight!” Jayden said excitedly.
“Yeah, it’s a pretty amazing club!” Ben agreed.
“Shit! My lady wants me to take her there but we couldn’t get in last time. It’s always so busy!” Hector complained.
“Why don’t you join us? One of the only good things that comes out of my damn fame is the ability to jump a queue,” Ben grumbled.
“Really?” Hector asked with wide eyes.
“Of course,” Ben said.
“Take a cab and meet us there at…” he looked at Jayden.
“10PM. I’ll text you,” Jayden said.
“That’s awesome! I’ll earn some major points with my lady for this!” Hector grinned.
“That’s what it’s all about,” Ben said with a serious expression which became a grin when the men nodded thoughtfully. “I’d like to see the work on the mother-in-law suite.”
The room was just down a short hall off the kitchen and Ben grinned widely when he saw the lovely new closet which had replaced the built-ins. The organizer made the space so much more efficient and useful. “Brilliant! What did Rita think of the room?”