by Amy DeMeritt
Their hands and lips start gently gliding over my face, neck, and arms, making me smile really big. I open my eyes and they smile down at me.
“I love my babies. You are all so beautiful and amazing. I’m the richest person alive.”
They smile really big and bend down to pepper me with kisses. When they sit up, Madison pulls her phone out and starts scrolling through it. She shows Shannon the screen and Shannon smiles and nods. They clear their throats and Madison pushes play.
They start singing and my eyes close in pleasure from their beautiful voices. Each of them is either holding one of my hands or gently stroking my arms or both. It feels so wonderful.
The song ends and I startle a little, hearing my mom say, “That was beautiful. You both have lovely voices.” Madison and Shannon smile at her and my mom kneels down in front of me. “Sit up and drink this.”
Madison and Shannon help support me so I can get into a sitting position and I take the large mug of steaming dark reddish brown brew. I inhale its steam and smile.
“I miss these magical elixirs you make.” My mom smiles and runs her fingers through my hair. “You could make them too, Kayla. But you’ve never given me the chance to teach you the art of natural medicine.”
“Can you teach me?” My mom smiles at Shannon and nods. “That would make me very happy. I’ll teach any of you that want to learn. Drink that up and rest. I’ll let you know when the food’s here.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
Chapter Ten
I wake up before my girls and feel stiff and need medicine, so I carefully crawl out of bed, holding my breath to keep my groans of pain inside. It’s still a little dark outside and the house is still and quiet. I’m the first one awake, which almost never happens. I quietly fill a glass of water and take my pills. Our kitchen window faces east so I can see the sky is turning that pale dolphin gray that signals the sunrise is soon approaching. I sneak back into my room to grab my hoodie, being careful not to wake up my girls. The backdoor always makes a squishing sound when its opened and closed and as I open the door, that squishing seems much louder than typical as it cuts through the silent morning air.
It’s very cold with a little frost on the grass, but it feels oddly refreshing on my bare feet as I walk across the back lawn towards the shed. It takes some effort, and it makes me groan in pain, but I climb up the pallet resting against its side and pull myself up onto the roof of the shed and sit down facing east.
It’s a beautiful morning. The sky is lightly streaked with light gray clouds, the woods are sparsely adorned with some remaining autumn kissed leaves, and the air feels and smells crisp and clean.
Yesterday, we went back to Madison’s and talked to her family. It was tense and awkward, but we had some good moments too. Mrs. Carter is still trying to fight it a little, but I can tell she likes us, despite wanting to hate us. It was actually hard for me to face her with the kindness that I did, because of what she did to me, and more especially what she had said to Madison. It took an enormous amount of effort to maintain a good attitude, especially when hers slipped up a few times. I was completely exhausted when we came back home and I pretty much slept the entire night after we had dinner with my family.
I felt like we were strong together before, but something happened to us in that house when I was facing off with Madison’s parents. I feel like the four of us can get through anything now. I was scared that the first real test to our trust and love would reveal weaknesses or make us crumble, but that didn’t happen. We only grew stronger.
“Kayla, what are you doing up there? Its freezing out here.”
I look down and smile. All three of my girls are standing below me in their pajamas, jackets, and shoes.
“You’re just in time. The suns coming up.”
They smile and look across the yard a moment to where the sky and treetops meet. Sam starts to climb up the pallet first and struggles a bit, but Madison and Shannon give her a boost up. I take her hand to help steady her as she stands up on the roof.
“Scoot back, baby. I want to sit with you.”
I scoot back a couple feet and Sam sits down between my legs and pulls my arm around herself. I nuzzle into her neck and give her soft kisses, making her smile and lean back into me more. Madison and Shannon join us with Madison sitting between Shannon’s legs and Shannon’s arms wrapped around her.
Sam places a hand on my foot and gasps.
“Kayla, your foot is frozen. Why are you out here barefoot?” I smile and kiss her cheek. “I’m ok. Watch, baby. It’s going to be pretty.”
She turns to look at me with a happy smile and kisses my lips, before turning around and leaning against me again. I smile and kiss her neck and shoulder as she tucks my feet under her legs to warm them up.
The skyline above the treetops turns a bright reddish pink, and as the color climbs, it slowly fades to lighter pinks, purples, and light blue. As the bright yellow white of the sun peeks above the trees, the sky erupts in fire. The clouds and sky are a streaked palette of pink, orange, yellow, and red. It’s gorgeous.
Sam quietly says, “I love this.” I smile and kiss her neck. “I think I might be able to turn into a morning person like my babies just to be in moments like this with all of you.” They laugh a little and look at me with adorable grins. Shannon reaches over and caresses my cheek for a moment. “You’d have to actually wake us up next time, brat. You were going to have this moment all to yourself if Sam didn’t realize you were missing.” I smile and laugh a little. “That’s true. I’m sorry. I don’t like disturbing your sleep.”
“We sleep better with each other, so you getting up already disturbs the balance. I can’t wait till I move out there with all of you. My sleep is amazing when we’re all together.”
“Yeah, I haven’t been sleeping very well since we went back to the dorms.”
“I guess I’ll have to start packing when we get back home so we’re ready to move into the two-bedroom apartment at the first of the year.”
“We’ll help. Will you please let me get a job to help with expenses?” Shannon looks at me and shakes her head. “No, not till the summer. I want all of you to be able to focus on school and I want to see all of you in the evenings when I come home from work. If you’re in classes all day and then work at night, I’ll never see you.”
“Maybe we can do one of those channels that girl at the concert told us about.”
“What channels?” Sam looks at me confused. “Oh, so you didn’t know you’re famous either, huh?”
She laughs and looks at me like I’m crazy, so I tell her about our dance videos going “viral” and that apparently, we can make money on posting videos online. Sam smiles really big and nods once.
“I like it.”
“I had a dream last night that was pretty intense with some really good choreography. I don’t know if I’d ever want to post it online because of its meaning, but I want to record it. We’d have to do it soon though, while I’m busted up.” Madison frowns and reaches her hand out to me. “Kayla, should you be dancing yet?” I smile and kiss her hand. “I’ll be careful and we’ll take breaks if I need to.”
“Are you ready to do it today, or do you need to plan it out more?” I shake my head. “I think I have it set. I want to do a dry run with Sara and see what she thinks and then we can record it. We’ll have to scope out a spot in the woods.”
“The woods?”
I smile and nod. It takes me several minutes to explain to them what I want to do and when I’m finished, I can see that they’re filled with a mixture of excitement and worry. Some of the stunts I want to do may end up being very painful for me.
I squeeze Sam and kiss her lips.
“Ok, we should get down so we can eat and so I can talk to Sara and my dad about making this happen.”
Sam and Shannon help Madison get down first and then Sam follows her. I motion for Shannon to go next so I can help her, but she shakes her head.
“
You shouldn’t be supporting any weight bent over with your broken rib. It might dislocate again.”
I smile and wrap my arms around her. She runs her fingers through my hair and presses her lips to mine. A huge gust of wind suddenly slams into us, getting us slightly off balance. We cling tighter to each other to steady ourselves with a laugh. Shannon closes her eyes with her face into the wind with a big happy smile on her face. I turn her to face the wind completely and lift her arms like she’s going to fly off the roof and I wrap my arms around her waist.
Madison suddenly starts singing, My Heart Will Go On, from the Titanic movie, making both of us laugh, but we stay in position till Madison finishes the song. When she stops singing, Shannon turns in my arms laughing and pulls me into a kiss.
“You knew I was seeing myself on my grandfather’s boat and feeling the wind on my face, didn’t you?”
“Yes. I’m sorry you didn’t get to go home and experience that this Thanksgiving.”
“This is better. I wouldn’t trade being here with all of you for anything.”
“Well, if you need to go shed sailing again while we’re here, you just let me know. I’ll even wear a silly pirate hat for you.” She laughs and shakes her head. “Come on. Your toes are turning blue.”
My mom is already in the kitchen making breakfast and Sara is sitting at the dining room table on her laptop drinking tea. My mom looks up from her cutting board and smiles.
“Catching the sunrise?”
“Yeah. It was amazing. It looked like a giant bonfire in the sky.” We sit down at the table and Sara looks up from her computer. “So, how do you feel about dancing today?” She smiles and closes her computer. “You have my attention.”
She has an amused smirk on her face the whole time I’m talking and explaining everything I want to do. She runs her hand through her short hair and laughs.
“Biologist my ass. Kayla, you’re a fucking dancer. I don’t know why you’re wasting your time with this science shit.” My girls laugh and look at me like they want to agree, but they don’t say anything. My mom, however, doesn’t hold her tongue. “There’s no reason she can’t do both if she’s passionate about science.”
“Kayla’s not passionate about science. She just wants the world to smell better.” Sara looks at Sam and then at me with a look of disbelief. “Is that seriously why you’re going into biology instead of perusing dance?”
“Yes, I think it’s a pretty damn good reason. Wouldn’t you like to be able to put the windows down and let the wind blow through your hair while you drive in the summer? I would, but I can’t, because cars are too damn stinky.”
“You’re ridiculous. But I like the idea. Come on, let’s go work out the choreography with some music.”
Working with Sara on dance choreography is one of my favorite things to do. We work really well together and seem to know what the other is thinking. If I come up with one sequence that requires a counter sequence from her, she’s able to create that sequence almost at the same time that I’m showing her my half. I really love doing dance battles with Sara.
Blending in parts of dance with each of my girls in between the dance battles with Sara is really thrilling on an even higher level. I love watching the look of excitement on their faces while we instruct them and show them their parts. And the look of amazement while they watch Sara and I dance really helps boost my own excitement.
It takes us over an hour, but we have it down pretty well by the time Mom is calling us up from the basement to come eat breakfast. While we eat, we talk to my dad about using his camera for recording the dance. My dad has always made sure he’s had the top of the line video cameras for recording Sara’s dance performances and he bought a really nice one just before I left for college.
“You’ve been dancing a lot more lately. Is this something you’ll be doing often? Making videos, I mean.”
“Yeah, I think so. We’re thinking about starting our own channel online. We like dancing together and apparently, we can make a decent income off the channel.”
“You’ll need equipment and video software for that. I have a good camera you can have, and I have a good video editing program that I use for your sister’s videos that we can buy you a license for.”
“Seriously? That would be awesome.” Sara looks at me with a smirk and shakes her head. “What?”
“I give it maybe four videos before you decide to bail on biology and fully embrace that burning itch you have to be a dancer.”
“I don’t quit anything.” Shannon smiles and take my hand. “It’s not quitting, sweetie. If your heart’s not in biology and you want to be a dancer, all you’re doing is turning your sail to catch the wind at a different angle to change course for a new destination.”
“Well said.”
Shannon smiles at my mom and blushes a little.
“I don’t have the credentials like Sara.” Sara laughs hard. “Half the dancers I meet never received formal training. They learned it on their own and from friends. Being able to say you trained at such and such school helps, but being able to show you can dance matters the most. You know that dance you did with Sam at the airport?”
“Yeah, what about it?”
“If you want more proof that you have skills; every single dancer on that project I just finished in New York was watching it on repeat trying to learn it. It was very entertaining because they just couldn’t master it. You definitely are the best I’ve seen at the puppet dancing.”
“Puppet dancing isn’t just me. My partner has to be skilled too for it to work. They have to feel me and trust me.” Sara smiles in a challenging way and stands up. “Sam, come here.”
Sam stands up and Sara puts some music on her phone before setting it on the kitchen counter. All of us turn in our chairs to watch. Sara pulls Sam into herself and starts puppet dancing with her. I watch their bodies move and I can see they’re not in sync, not perfectly. I watch Sara’s body and hands. I can see her silent subtle instructions in her movements, but even I have a hard time knowing what she wants and I’ve been dancing with Sara since we were kids.
I stand up and Sara smiles as she spins Sam into my hands. Sam smiles and closes her eyes. I smile and close mine as well. A slow song comes on and I immediately slow us down. When the song ends, I press my hands against her hips in a way I know she’ll understand that I want to stop, and she immediately stops with me. We open our eyes and everyone claps for us. Sara does a rolling motion with her hand in front of herself as she bows to me with a grin.
“I believe my point was made. You are the master of the puppet dance.” I smile and laugh a little. “Whatever. I still have an advantage with Sam because we’ve been dancing together for so long. She knows how I move and what my instructions are.”
“Fine. We’ll pull in a neutral partner.” She grabs her phone and starts swiping and taping her fingers on it. “What are you doing?” She smiles in a proud way and sets her phone down. “I sent a text to a girl that neither of us have ever partner danced with before. We’ll both dance with her and then the family will judge.” I roll my eyes. “Whatever. I thought we were making a video?”
“We are. Go figure out what you’re going to wear. I’m going to do my makeup.”
“Makeup? You don’t wear makeup.”
“It goes with your dance.”
I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion, but I just follow my girls to my bedroom to get ready. My girls decide to dress me in a pair of black pants and a white button up collar shirt with my black Vans. I button up my shirt, but Sam laughs and starts unbuttoning my shirt.
“What are you doing?” She just smiles and finishes unbuttoning all but the center three buttons. “There. Now, when you’re dancing, your shirt will just slightly part enough to give teasing glances of your sexy abs.” I quirk an eyebrow at her and she grins. “And you want people seeing my body?” She nods and wraps her arms around me under my shirt. “I want all of those hoes that commented on our last two video
s to see how fucking sexy you are and see that you are all ours and they will never have you.”
My clit pulses hard, making me inhale deeply and lean into her. She smiles really big and pulls me into a kiss. Holy shit. My girls are way too good at turning me into a panting hot mess with their kisses. It doesn’t help that she’s standing in front of me in only her panties and bra. My hands move off of her hips and slowly glide up her sides and then back down her back and over her small round butt. She moans and presses tightly against me. My hands slide under her panties and grip her bare cheeks, making her moan louder and longer, sending an arousing hum down my throat.
Sam pulls my hands off of her ass and moves them out to the sides, while still holding me in a kiss. My hands soon find Madison’s and Shannon’s hips, making me smile against Sam’s mouth. I slip below their panties and grip their asses. Both of them start sucking and kissing my neck and collarbone, while all of them grope my body. After a few minutes, I pull back breathing hard.
“Drop them.”
They smile and push their panties off. I drop to my knees in front of Sam and glide my hands up the inside of Madison’s and Shannon’s thighs, encouraging them to spread their legs wider. As my fingers slip inside their slits and glide over their slick tender folds, I press my mouth and tongue into Sam.
Making love to all three of them at once is one of the most exhilarating things I’ve ever experienced. To feel each of their most sacred spaces at once and experiencing the ecstasy they’re feeling against my own flesh makes me feel like I’m doing something incredible. The sounds of their moans and breathing is some of the best music I’ve ever heard. And the heat I feel coming off of their bodies is mind numbing.
Sam cums first and immediately drops to her knees and starts unbuttoning and unzipping my pants. As she pulls me into a kiss and slips her hand inside my pants, Madison and Shannon start to cum together. Having them orgasm at the same time that Sam is pinching my clit makes me cum fast and hard. I fall forward into Sam and she wraps an arm around me while she continues to rub slow gentle circles around my clit, making me spasm and laugh.
