Falling For Them Volume 2: Reverse Harem Collection

by Nikki Bolvair

  “Why didn’t you ask me before? I rarely use my name, might as well throw it around for you two.”

  I freshened my lipstick on the long ride to the fiftieth floor. My hair still looked amazing. I was sure by the end of the night it wouldn’t be perfect, but it would be proof of a night of fun.

  We stepped off of the elevator to a gorgeous view of the rotating restaurant. Even from our vantage point in the entryway, we could see the phenomenal view. The city lit up as twilight fell. I’d lived here all my life and still loved to watch it come alive at night.

  Todd gave my last name to the hostess, and she took us to a large table on the edge of the rotunda, closest to the window. We settled in to wait for my sort-of dates. They walked in as the waitress filled our water glasses.

  “That didn’t take long,” I said by way of greeting.

  “We caught all green lights going around the building,” said Arch. I smiled at him, glad to be back in their company.

  We perused the menu and put in our orders. I settled on the calamari. Gray bought a bottle of wine for the table, and by the time we all poured a glass, it was gone. Wes bought the next bottle. Conversation was stilted and awkward, and the guys gulped their wine.

  “What’s going on, guys? You’re acting strangely.” They’d never seemed so uncomfortable around me.

  “We want to talk to you,” said Wes.

  “Rick, darling,” Todd cut in, “why don’t we go to the bar and enjoy the view from there for a moment.” Rick didn’t question, and they excused themselves, leaving me alone to my apparently serious conversation.

  “Okay, guys. Let me have it,” I said, miserable. They didn’t want to be around me anymore, I knew it.

  “We’re all three beginning to care for you,” Arch blurted out. “We’ve allowed becoming friends with you to grow to something more, which we didn’t mean to do.”

  I didn’t understand. He meant they never wanted to flirt with me? Why did they, then?

  “You intrigued all three of us. We figured out we all wanted to get to know you and decided we’d like to become friends with you. We agreed to try to keep it platonic, at least until you gave some indication of which one, if any of us, you’d like to date,” Gray’s voice pleaded with me. He wanted me to understand. “I know I, at least, have failed miserably at the friendship-only thing.”

  “How do I respond to that? I care about you, too, but I care about all three of you. I don’t know what to do.” Misery flooded my heart. Learning more about each of them was supposed to make it easier to choose, but it was getting harder.

  “Don’t worry about it for now,” Wes urged and grabbed my hand. “We’re with you through the trial. Until you’ve gotten that worry off of your mind, we’re your friends who care about you and happen to be attracted to you. We’ll figure out the rest when your life isn’t in such turmoil.”

  “We’ll worry about it tomorrow,” I mulled. “Several tomorrows from now, actually.”

  “That’s the grand plan we’ve come up with thus far,” Arch’s said in a dry voice.

  “Okay. If my friendship is important to you, and you’re willing to wait until I win my case, then I’m in. Your friendships have become important to me, also.” One thing I knew for sure was I didn’t want to lose them. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t ignore the agony of the upcoming choice, but I also couldn’t face the three of them walking out of my life. The idea of it made me want to hyperventilate and cry.

  Our food began to arrive, carried by waiters dressed to the nines. Todd and Rick returned to the table and soon we dug into the delectable cuisine instead of brooding on the conversation. Todd flashed me a questioning look at one point, and I shook my head. I’d fill him in later. He accepted it and returned to his conversation with Gray.

  Dinner passed in a blur of city views and friendly banter. Before I knew it, we headed down to the waiting limo. We decided to exit the restaurant together. “If we’re going to be your friends, we aren’t going to hide it,” said Wes as we walked toward the doors.

  I took Gray and Arch’s arms as we faced the society reporters. This time, I sent them a triumphant smile, instead of forced. I knew my stepmother would see the pictures of me with what she assumed were my lawyers on the front society page in the morning. And she couldn’t do a single thing about it.

  Chapter Twelve

  To my surprise, the limo pulled up to a ballroom dance studio. The guys never ran the evening plans by Todd and didn’t know we were practically professional dancers.

  I pulled Todd and Rick aside as we walked in. “I guess when I told them we were impressive on the dance floor, they assumed I meant we could bump and grind.”

  Todd snickered. “Don’t tell them what we can do. Start the lesson, then when I cut in on you with them, we’ll show them how it’s done.”

  “How long has it been since you two ballroom danced? It’s not like riding a bike,” said Rick.

  “It’s exactly like riding a bike, darling. You don’t forget.” Todd brushed his lips to Rick’s to ease the sting of contradiction.

  Rick rolled his eyes, but wasn’t mad. “Let’s get this over with. At the club, you’re mine for the first hour, Todd.”

  “Absolutely. Let’s go.”

  The instructor paired me with Arch. Gray and Wes awkwardly took each other’s hands. The instructor placed their arms appropriately. They both kept trying to lead, bumbling and stumbling over each other. Laughing at the two of them kept my focus off of my debonair partner, to his disappointment.

  I pulled it together and played the part of the dutiful student. Todd whispered to Rick as we passed them, “Not like that, my love. I always lead.”

  Rick replied, “Don’t I know it.” I stifled a giggle.

  We were shown how to hold our hands and the basic box step. We walked through it several times. Once our simple steps satisfied the instructor, a waltz floated over the PA system, and we struck off on our own, boxing our way around the room. “I told Ms. Callie, the instructor, that this was only one lesson for novelty. She isn’t trying to lay a foundation for learning,” Arch whispered in my ear. “She’s making sure we have fun.”

  “This is the best. And it’s about to get better,” I said slyly. A confused expression crossed Arch’s face as Todd tapped him on the shoulder.

  Todd affected a deep tone of voice. “May I cut in?”

  Arch turned to me for an answer. I nodded eagerly, and he stepped aside.

  “Shall we?” asked Todd.

  “Absolutely!” I responded, delighted.

  I arched my back and threw my arms out gracefully. Head tilted, body frozen, I waited for Todd to walk around me and put his right hand under my left shoulder blade to lead me around the room. The familiarity of our holds took me back to our teenage years when we danced every weekend. I closed my eyes and pictured my dad in the audience cheering us on. Serenity flowed over me, and I felt like I was home.

  Once he touched my back, he slid his left hand down my right arm and took my hand. Our abdomens pressed tightly together, my back still arched. Todd started twirling us around the room, slowly at first, counting under his breath to get us in the rhythm. The press of his hand told me which way to go and how to move my feet.

  With a low dip, Todd kicked it up a notch. I took a deep breath as he started to twirl me. “One, two-three.” We began to fall into a faster rhythm. “One, two-three. One, two-three.” My blue skirt twirled around me as he spun me across the room, faster and faster. We were born to dance with one another. Todd’s feet mirrored mine, and my hold matched his. The years of hard work paid off as I caught glimpses of three shocked faces and one proud Rick.

  As the song ended, I spotted Gray out of the corner of my eye, whispering in Ms. Callie’s ear. Todd and I threw out our arms, and he bowed while I curtsied. Applause, whistles, and hoots met our final movements.

  Gray walked up and gave me a formal bow, one hand out. “May I have this dance?”

  “I sup
pose I have room for one more on my dance card,” I replied.

  He clasped my hands and brought them to our sides as the distinctive sounds of salsa came over the loudspeakers. “Cha cha cha,” he whispered in my ear, his breath hot on my neck. The music, thankfully, drowned out my moan as his breath on my skin consumed my emotions.

  I didn’t need to make myself arch my back with Gray. I craved the press of my pelvis against his as he directed our movements on the dance floor. He pulled away from me with a smirk, absolutely aware of his effect on my libido. If this was what friendship meant to them, I was definitely okay with it.

  We started several feet from each other. My body knew the way, and I swayed to the beat of the dance, the music moving my feet automatically, my hips falling into the one-two-cha cha cha like an old friend.

  Gray was glorious. He danced well enough to have had lessons. After a few circuits, he took me in his arms and pulled me to and fro, our hips in sync to the music and each other. He swayed and thrust, and my hips moved with his as if attached by a short string. He pulled away; I followed. He advanced; I retreated.

  He began to twirl me before moving himself around me. I glued my gaze to his. As a student, you learned to watch your partner’s face as you danced. I had no issue staring at Gray, looking away was the difficulty. His fluid body led me all over the room, and his whiskey eyes flamed. His hips moved seductively. I couldn’t help imagining what else they could do.

  The song ended before I was ready to stop dancing. “I could dance like that forever,” he said under his breath, his words meant for me only.

  “My thoughts exactly,” I breathed.

  He pulled back and kissed my knuckles as he bowed. My knees went wobbly. I turned to our audience, but we got no applause. Every awestruck eye in the room glued to us.

  “If I didn’t know how much training you’ve had, I’d have sworn you and Gray practiced beforehand.” Rick broke the silence.

  Arch began a slow clap accompanied by a wolf whistle. Wes turned to the instructor. “I want to learn how to do that.”

  “Do what? The dance, I can teach. The chemistry, you’ll figure out on your own,” she replied. She turned to me. “I’m inspired. If you two ever want to help teach one of my advanced classes, let me know. I’d love to have you.”

  Todd chuffed. “We could’ve cha-chaed like that, too,” he whined.

  “Of course you could, my love. When we get to the club you can make some chemistry with me, and we’ll show these amateurs how it’s done.” Rick placated him, bringing a smile to his face.

  We thanked the lovely Ms. Callie profusely. On the way out, I spotted Gray taking some bills out of his wallet. He murmured a few words to her and attempted to hand her the money. I stopped to wait for him. “I couldn’t accept this,” she protested.

  “I insist. I had the time of my life tonight. You deserve it.” He turned and joined me, taking my elbow. “Let’s go party.”

  “Why the big tip?” I had fun, too, but I was sure Arch already paid for her time and tipped when he organized the night.

  “I’d pay three times over to dance with you again and feel the desire in your body as you move your hips with mine.” Gray gazed deep into my eyes, and the same desire reflected at me.

  Friends, you’re friends right now, I repeated to myself. Yeah, that’s totally what this is, I answered myself. Friends. I sighed. It didn’t matter if we’d decided to declare ourselves friends, enemies, or fairy pirate princesses. We were not acting like friends in any way, shape, or form.

  “Umm. Wow,” I whispered. Words as meaningful as his wouldn’t come to my mind. My tongue weighed two tons. “Let’s go,” I got out. As many romance novels as I’d read in my life, I expected myself to come up with more suave replies.

  Gray chuckled as he walked me out to the waiting limo. I slid in and stayed on the bench seat beside Wes. Gray sat beside me.

  “You want to learn how to ballroom dance, huh?” I asked Wes.

  He nodded the affirmative and grinned at me. “If I get to dance with you, like that, the answer is hell yes.”

  “Let me teach you. There can be a lot of fun in the teaching.” The words blurted out of my mouth before I could reel them in. A blush made its way over my cheeks, even as I was suddenly emboldened. I decided to go whole hog and followed my statement with a suggestive waggle of my eyebrows at him.

  “I look forward to being an obedient student.” His voice was deep, serious, sexy. He was laying it on thick. I couldn’t bring myself to mind.

  Gray leaned over me. “I could teach you, too, Wesssssly.” He drew out Wes’s name flirtatiously and batted his eyelashes.

  “Sit back, you nut. I don’t want your ugly mug teaching me.”

  Gray clasped his chest. “I’m wounded.”

  I intervened before the testosterone got too ridiculous in the limo. “I’m the only dance instructor you three need. Calm yourselves.”

  Arch mock saluted from across the limo. “Yes, ma’am!”

  We pulled up in front of a black building with a long line of people in various states of fancy dress. A man in a dark suit exited the building and opened the limo door for us. “Asche, party of six?”

  “That’s us,” replied Arch. He handed the man an envelope pulled from a pocket inside his jacket. “Is our table ready?” He leaned over to whisper in my ear. “Your name is handy for making reservations. I hope you don’t mind.” I winked to let him know it was okay.

  “Yes, sir. Please follow me.”

  I schooled my features for the paparazzi, but inside, I was giddy. I exited the limo as gracefully as I could and allowed Wes and Gray to take my arms and escort me into the club. Arch followed behind me like an ultra-sexy body guard, and Todd and Rick brought up the rear, arm-in-arm. I heard a few murmurs from the crowd, wondering who I was. From the flashbulbs, I knew reporters hid nearby. What a sight I’d be in the papers. I didn’t act trashy, and I’d done nothing scandalous, besides act like a normal twenty-one year old for once. I hoped it would bring good press to the company to show me more visible in society.

  Once inside the club, the manager walked us to a roped-off alcove marked VIP. Even after we entered the relative privacy of the VIP section, the booming club made conversation impossible. Instead of trying to communicate with some weird, inaccurate sign language, I grabbed Arch and Gray’s hands and pulled them to the dance floor, motioning Wes to come with us. We spent the next hour dancing—Gray and I danced, anyway. Wes and Arch flailed about with abandon. I would’ve been embarrassed for them if they weren’t so happy in their oblivion.

  When our thirst overpowered our desire to dance, we waved at Todd and Rick, dancing nearby, and headed for the table. Once the server delivered our drinks, I motioned for the bouncer guarding our section to close the velvet curtains. The privacy panels provided a break from the volume of the music.

  “Now that we are… friends,” I stumbled a bit over the word friends. “I wanted to ask a favor from you three.” I took a big swig of my potent, pink drink to give me backbone.

  “Anything for you. Ask,” said Arch.

  “The Asche Publishing Christmas party is a week from tonight. I’d like it if you’d go with me.”

  “All of us?” Wes’s eyes widened. He smiled like I handed him a gift.

  “You said there’s no reason to make decisions now. And we’re all friends, right?” I looked to the three of them to reassure me.

  “Right,” replied Arch.

  Gray leaned in and touched my shoulder. “We are all friends, and we’d love to go with you to the Christmas party.”

  “Great! It’s a date. A not-date. A nate.”

  They laughed at my silliness. “How many of those have you had?” Arch pointed to my pink drink.

  “One before dancing and this one. I’m pretty sure I burned the first one off on the dance floor.” I laughed and downed the rest of the sweet drink.

  We chatted about what to wear for the company party, and our
upcoming plans for the week as I drank one more yummy cocktail. Then I jumped up. “I came here to dance. Here I go.”

  Time passed in a blur. I had no idea how long I danced, except, true to his prediction, soon Todd and I danced alone in the middle of a crush of bodies. We weren’t your typical bump and grind dancers, though. We alternated between swing, tango, jive, salsa, and some intricate freestyle. We stopped to take quick shots of high-end liquors brought to the dancers by the servers trying to pad the bills with expensive drinks.

  Eventually, we headed to the table for a short respite, and four stern faces greeted us. “It’s time to go.” Rick had his ‘I have to talk like a dad or they’ll ignore me’ voice on.

  Todd rolled his eyes. “It’s not even late.”

  Arch checked his phone. “Try again Drunky Dancer. It’s midnight.”

  “Since when is midnight late?” I snarked.

  “Since I have to be at the office at nine tomorrow morning.” Rick handed Todd the rest of his drink. “Finish your drink, and let’s head out.” He leaned close to Todd’s ear and whispered something.

  Todd grinned, threw the rest of his whiskey back and downed it. “I’m ready to go!” He and Rick led the way out of the club to the waiting limo.

  I was less willing to leave and kept trying to pull Gray out for one more dance. “C’mon,” I shouted in his ear. “We can take a cab! Dance with me!”

  He shouted in my ear, but the music drowned his voice. “What?” I asked, tugging on his shirt.

  He tried one more time to get me to understand. When I shrugged my shoulders and tried to pull him again, he took matters into his own hands. He bent over, picked me up at the waist, and slung me over his shoulder. I screamed at him to put me down, but of course, he couldn’t hear me. I eventually gave up my protests and enjoyed the sexy ride. He put me down before we walked out the door to keep me from being scandalized in the press. I was grateful, but also, disappointed to lose my upside down view of his rump.