by Bianca Vix
Dex gave her a lazy smile. “How’re you doing, Jen?”
The emotions swirling over her were almost too much for her to handle. There was one thing she was sure of though.
“I’m good. Better than good. Why didn’t we do this sooner?”
“We have all the time in the world now.” Kade’s dazzling smile made an appearance. “If you want.”
Dex turned to face her, waiting for her answer.
“I want.”
They kissed her at the same time.
“That’s so great.” Kade wrapped an arm around her.
“I’m not exactly sure how it’s going to work,” she said, shivering as both men stroked her skin. “But I’m up for trying.”
“We’ll figure it out as we go along. As long as we’re together, it’ll all work out just fine,” Dex said.
“He’s right,” Kade added. “Dex is a great boyfriend.”
“So’s Kade.”
Jen settled between Dex and Kade. Her two boyfriends.
That sounded like the best thing in the world.
A Summer Dream
Chapter 1
“Do you have any sunscreen?” Lillah asked Kat, annoyed that she hadn’t remembered herself. Richard had always packed for the two of them whenever they went to the beach. Her habit of relying on her husband wasn’t quite broken, even though her marriage was.
She had received the final divorce judgement yesterday, a Friday evening surprise waiting for her when she got home from work. And now it was done. She and Richard were finally, officially over.
Lillah hadn’t thought it was possible to feel any worse about the situation, expecting to be relieved at least, if not downright happy.
But she was wrong. The way her emotions were churning was overwhelming, and she couldn’t stop her mind looping around a brand new set of what-ifs that hadn’t even occurred to her before.
“You brought everything but the kitchen sink, and that’s what you forgot?” Kat teased her gently with a mock scowl, tossing her a small white bottle.
If it wasn’t for her best friend, Lillah would have spent her entire day the same way as she had last night. Endlessly going over her failed relationship, analyzing every detail, trying to figure out where everything had gone wrong.
Lillah smoothed the lotion over her bare skin, wishing there was a man doing it for her, strong fingers tracing their way lightly all over her body, working underneath her straps. Maybe someday.
Kat was determined take Lillah with her when she showed up at her place this morning. And when Kat set her mind to something, she always got the job done.
Lillah didn’t put up much resistance. She didn’t want to waste a gorgeous day in mourning for what could have been, she just needed some help to get herself out of her own head.
“Grab your stuff, we’re going to the beach,” she told Lillah, bursting into her living room, bikini straps peeking out from under her dress.
“I can’t,” Lillah had protested.
“Of course you can. Come on, if we don’t get going we won’t get a good spot.”
“I can’t go to Venice. Not yet. It’s too soon,” Lillah said. She and Richard had gone there all the time, it was their favorite. It held too many good memories. If she didn’t hold tightly onto the bad ones, regrets would come flooding back. It had taken all of her strength not to pick up the phone to call him last night.
“No, not Venice. I’ve got something else in mind.” Kat took her by the arm and led her to her bedroom. “Let’s get going. Bikini. On. Now.”
“Where?” Lillah asked, reluctantly rummaging through her dresser.
“It’s a surprise. Trust me, you’ll like it.”
If there was anyone she would have wanted to spend the day with, it was Kat. Her best friend for most of her life wouldn’t judge her for being upset over the arrival of the papers.
Even though they had been separated for two years now, it was still a big deal to Lillah. Kat got that.
With a flash of gratitude that she hadn’t driven Kat away, even after all the time she had spent analyzing Richard and her marriage, over and over again, Lillah went to her dresser to find a decent swim suit.
Anyway, it might be fun. Kat had already found her new beach bag in the closet and was off to grab a towel.
Kat pulled her convertible off the highway at an exit Lillah wasn’t expecting, but it wasn’t until they parked that she realized where they going.
Jewel Beach. She hadn’t been there since high school. But when they reached the sand, Kat turned left, away from the most popular part.
“This way,” Kat told her.
“Where are we going?” Lillah asked.
“The west side.”
“Really? Why?” It was the unofficial but well-known gay side of the beach.
“It’s time for you to be surrounded by some hot men,” Kat said, searching for a free spot as they picked their way across the crowded sand.
“But they’ll all be gay!” Lillah protested.
“So what?” Kat said, peering over the top of her sunglasses. “We’re here strictly for the eye candy. There’ll be lots of it, and we won’t get hassled. Don’t you think this view is worth it?”
Lillah scanned over the bodies dotting the sand. Kat was right. It was like a model bomb had dropped, leaving hot bodies everywhere.
“There’s a spot,” Kat said, hurrying over to a tiny sliver of sand Lillah hadn’t even noticed.
Spreading their brightly-colored beach towels out to stake their claim, they dropped their bags.
Kat gazed at the men surrounding them.
“The eye candy’s out in full force today,” she said, her voice at its full, booming volume.
“Kat,” Lillah said, barely putting any effort into her half-hearted reprimand. She was used to her friend not caring who overheard her, but Lillah felt compelled to try and tone her down sometimes.
A guy on the next towel over looked up when he heard her. Kat waved at him, a huge grin on her face.
Kicking her sandals off, Lillah tucked her legs underneath her, taking a good look around for the first time. They were surrounded by handsome, super-sculpted male bodies of all sorts. A shiver of excitement ran through her.
Just about all of the men were totally absorbed in checking each other out, blatantly accepting and rejecting invitations without a word exchanged between them.
“Yeah. The gay beach is a great place to meet men,” Lillah murmured.
“It’s not about finding a guy here. I’m trying to inspire you. You need to get out there, for real now. The time for meeting half-assed guys online and going on a couple of half-assed dates with them every now and then is over.”
Kat was right. As usual. The last man she had gone out with spent most of the evening talking about his ex, even though he claimed he had been divorced for five years already.
“How do you meet men now if not online?” she pointed out to Kat. “Besides, that’s how my cousin met her husband.”
Kat turned over onto her stomach, wriggling her body around to get comfortable.
“The last thing you need right now is another husband. Why not just have a hot summer fling? When was the last time you had great sex? Did anything happen with Mr. Venture Capitalist?”
“Nah,” Lillah shrugged. The man she had gone out with before the divorced guy had been promising. Really romantic at the beginning. On paper, he looked great: attractive, great job, nice car. But she hadn’t felt any chemistry with him. Since he hadn’t called her since their second date, she could only assume he felt the same way.
At least their one kiss had broken her streak of not having a man touch her for longer than she cared to admit. During their last year of marriage, Richard wasn’t exactly setting the bedroom on fire. He got into the habit of going to bed ridiculously early, even though he didn’t need to, and falling asleep before she joined him.
Every time she tried to initiate sex, he brushed her off. “What’
s the rush? We have the rest of our lives to do that,” he started saying towards the end, right before she realized that spending the rest of her life with him was the last thing she wanted to do.
What life? Lillah had wanted to ask him. All you ever do sit in front of the computer. They used to go out most nights, always eager to try a new restaurant, a new show, a new bar. Now he couldn’t even be persuaded to go out for dinner once a month.
Kat had encouraged Lillah to leave him, but it took her a long time to work up her nerve. Embarrassingly long, to have wasted so much time with a man who didn’t really seem to notice if she was there with him or not.
“You’re free now,” Kat continued, once again rescuing her from her thoughts of Richard. “It’s time to start living again.”
Easy for her to say. Kat was great at being single. She dated when she liked and enjoyed herself no matter who she was with. Lillah envied her uncanny ability to see right past first impressions and determine whether or not someone was a jerk or a great guy almost within minutes of meeting them.
And these days she was dating a man who was so great that for the first time, Lillah envied her.
“How’s Dan?” she asked, trying to pull her mind from the endless pit of memories of her past life.
“Fab. We’re going out for dinner tonight,” Kat said, opening up the latest issue of her favorite fashion magazine. Lillah closed her eyes, already drowsy from the heat.
They lazed around all afternoon, chatting and enjoying themselves in between mini-naps and flipping through magazines. After tossing the last one aside, Kat sat up.
“Did you bring any juice?” she asked Lillah.
Lillah dug around in her bag, finding a bottle for Kat, when someone walking down the beach caught her eye.
Lillah stared at him, her mouth going dry. He might have been the sexiest man she’d ever seen. His tanned skin had a slight sheen to it, his muscles flexing with every move.
He looked to be about twenty eight, his windswept blond waves of hair falling just above his shoulders, bare chest leading down past taut abs to a trim waist. Even his back was sculpted, and she followed it right down to his tight, round ass.
But it wasn’t just his body that got her rapt attention. He was strikingly handsome, with a strong jaw and sinful lips curving into a smile before he called out to someone behind him.
“Wow,” Kat muttered. “Those two stand out even among this crowd.”
His blue board shorts hung below his hip bones and Lillah had to wonder how they didn’t slip down.
“Maybe his huge cock is keeping them up,” Kat said into her ear, following her gaze and reading her mind.
Lillah burst out laughing before she could stop herself. He turned his head to look her way, catching her staring. Blushing furiously, she tore her eyes away. Too late.
At the same time, the guy spotted the newly-vacant piece of sand that had opened up next to Lillah. He changed course, turning to head towards her and Kat, waving at someone else they still couldn’t see.
“Kat!” Lillah hissed, but she just laughed, checking him out shamelessly as he got closer.
“I bet you want to follow his treasure trail,” Kat said, her voice loud enough for him to hear her. Lillah’s gaze fell involuntarily to his crotch for a split second before she caught herself.
Just before he reached them, he was joined by another equally hot guy who slid his arm around his friend’s waist, squeezing his ass possessively.
“Damn,” Kat said, shielding her eyes against the sun as Lillah sat back, trying to check out his friend discreetly.
The two men were pretty different from each other. The first one had a very casual, surfer-dude vibe going on while his friend was more subdued. A couple inches taller, his very firm body was a tower of solid strength, his glossy black hair short and tidy.
Everything about him was in order. All in his control. He was definitely on the same looks level as his friend. Boyfriend? They weren’t really acting like any of the other couples nearby.
When they had sex, was he the top, making surfer guy beg for it? Or did he let go of his tight control in bed, let himself be taken and fucked good and hard? Lillah gave her head a shake, trying to clear it of her unexpectedly dirty thoughts. The guys settled down beside them without a word.
Pulling out her phone, Kat checked the time. “I have to go. I’m going to be late to meet Dan. Are you ready?”
Lillah sat up, looking around her. It was too nice of a day to leave now.
“I think I want to stay,” she said. “I’m good.”
Kat pulled her dress on and looked around for her sandals. Folding her towel up and tucking it into her bag, she stood up. Instead of saying goodbye to Lillah, she turned to the two guys beside them. Oh, no.
Lillah reached out for Kat, trying to grab hold of her leg in a vain attempt to stop her.
“Kat,” she hissed, not wanting to attract their attention but needing to try to save herself from Kat either embarrassing her, or getting her into trouble. Or both. Of course, Kat ignored her.
“Hey, guys,” she said, her loud voice getting their attention as she neatly dodged Lillah’s grasp. “I’m Kat, this is my friend Lillah. How about having her join you so she doesn’t have to hang out here alone?”
Chapter 2
Lillah must have blushed twenty shades of red when both men turned their heads her way.
“Sure,” the blond guy said.
“Take good care of her,” Kat said, turning back to smirk at Lillah before she left. “Bye.”
“Sorry about that,” Lillah stammered, not thrown off by Kat so much as by having the attention of the two hotties all on her.
“It’s cool,” he said, reaching out to take her hand. “I’m Ty, this is Carson. And we’d be happy to have you join us.” His long, warm fingers curled around hers, brushing against her palm when he let go, making her skin tingle with longing. His boyfriend was a lucky, lucky man.
“Don’t mind my friend,” Lillah managed, still tongue-tied from the unexpected shiver his touch sent through her. “Lillah. And I’m fine on my own.”
Before Ty replied, Carson stood up, stretching and picking up a t-shirt. “I’m sure you are, but Ty here could use some company since I have to get going myself. Here, I’ll help you move your stuff over.”
“You don’t need to do that,” Lillah said, scrambling around to collect her things, but he leaned down and dragged her towel right up beside Ty.
“See you later,” Carson said to Ty, leaning down, gripping his hair and tilting his head up for a kiss.
“So, Ty. Are you from L.A?” Lillah asked when Carson was gone, swallowing down her natural impulse towards shyness. Kat was right. What would it hurt to spend some time with a good-looking man?
Ty was even more eye-catching up close. It was probably a good thing that he wasn’t available. She wouldn’t be nervous about whether or not he was into her, as if they were on an awkward first date. Lillah could handle her physical attraction to him, even though it was a little hard to concentrate on what he was saying with her heart pounding the way it was.
“SF. But I’ve been here a few years now.”
Ty was easy to talk to, and she relaxed into an easy conversation with him.
He picked up an open bag of chips, offering it to her. “Want some?”
“Thanks.” She scooped up a handful, hunger hitting her hard as she ate. Licking her fingers without thinking, she caught Ty watching her, a flare of interest in his eyes. No. She had to be imagining that.
“Either those are really good, or I’m starving,” she said.
“Maybe both,” he replied, brushing a stray piece of hair out of his eyes. “You want to get some dinner later?”
“Carson and I live together. But we have an open relationship,” Ty told her. They were out on the patio at Vill’s, sipping margaritas and people-watching.
“Really? How does that work?” Lillah asked, genuinely curious. “Don’t either
of you get jealous?”
“Not really. We stick to our rules and everything works out. We only sleep with other women, not men,” he said, setting his glass down.
“Women?” Lillah almost choked on her drink. “You sleep with women?”
He leaned back in his chair, his face amused. “Sure. What did you think?”
“Oh, I just thought…you know, on that part of the beach…”
Ty gave her a killer smile that came close to setting her on fire. “Carson and I are bi, so it works out perfectly. When one of us starts to crave sex with a woman, well, we can both have some fun. Usually together, but sometimes apart. Then we tell each other all about it after. Every detail. And that always leads to a great time. It’s the best of both worlds.”
“I can imagine,” Lillah said, swallowing a mouthful of her icy drink that failed to cool her down. Together? She had never really given a threesome any thought. Until now. The idea of being sandwiched between Ty and Carson made her mouth go dry.
“That sounds…fun,” she said, hoping he wouldn’t notice her reddening cheeks. What would it be like to have a regular partner with the possibility of hot sex outside the main relationship? Everybody on board, no secrets, no lies. No cheating.
“Oh, it is,” Ty said as the waiter set down their food.
Richard had cheated on her, but not just by sleeping around. He had actually been involved with someone else behind her back. Lillah only found out after months of him accusing her of all the things he was doing himself.
Lillah glanced up, catching Ty gazing intently at her. Their eyes locked and Lillah couldn’t look away. Excitement twisted her stomach.
“If you want to come over to my place after we eat, we can have another drink by the pool,” Ty said, his voice low, inviting.
This gorgeous man was trouble, no doubt about it. Lillah still wasn’t entirely convinced of what he had told her. Would Carson really be okay with him sleeping with someone else? The last thing she wanted to do was come between a happy couple.
