by Vivian Lux
Harper looked at me quizzically. "I don't think I've ever seen that before," she deadpanned.
I laughed. "Well played," I told her. "You actually have, though. Remember when I needed to hide out at your old place when my dad was being a shit head? You guys let me live with you for three weeks and I promise you, I was on my best behavior."
Harper's eyes softened as she remembered.
But Cal, of course, interjected smoothly. "I remember there being a tragedy involving a piece of stained glass and a hockey puck," he reminded me. "Is that your best behavior?"
I opened my mouth to protest, but Harper raised her hand guiltily. "No, that was actually me," she said, wincing. "Gray took the fall for me, though."
I nodded. "I figured your mother would get less mad at the guest," I said.
Harper turned to face me full on. "Thank you for that by the way. Did I ever actually thank you for doing that?"
Mentally I marked the scoreboard, Grayson - 1, Callum - 0. I shrugged. "Nah, but you were just a little kid back then."
"Kid sister," she's said, sighing. "I know. Seems to be my lot in life." She leaned back and stretched and as her hands lowered back down again, they came to rest in two different places.
One of those places was on my thigh, and that place still burned from her touch on Christmas.
The other one came to rest on Cal's upper arm.
I didn't even have time to be jealous, because the way her fingers sank into my skin, it was like her touch was connected right to my dick. "When are you leaving?" I blurted.
"Day after New Year's," she said, and I swear her fingers twitched, holding on to my thigh just a little bit tighter.
Two days, that's all I had. And I had to have her, before she left again. There was no way I could let her go without getting her into my bed. No matter what.
Chapter Sixteen
Harper
I'd downed three whiskeys, neat, before they arrived, but didn't feel a thing. Now, with my hands on each of them, I felt drunker then I ever thought possible.
I took a deep breath. "Guys," I breathed, closing my eyes. "I've had a little too much to drink. Can we go out onto the deck?"
I thought it would be easier once we were all on our feet and our bodies were no longer touching, but they stayed pressed against me — Grayson with his hand on the small of my back, Callum with his arm linked with mine — as we made our way to the vast back deck that overlooked the snow-covered lawn. My dizziness only increased having them so close to my body.
Cal pushed the French doors open, but the blast of chilly air did nothing to cool the heat in my body. All at once I was back on my parents' guest bed, screaming out another frustrated orgasm with my head buried in the pillow. They needed to stop touching me. I didn't want them to stop touching me.
I stalked out onto the deck and leaned against the railing, and for a moment, I just looked out into the black. There were a few faint lights twinkling like far-off stars through the trees. The inky black of the woods surrounding my parents' new place formed a humped, black silhouette against the indigo of the sky. A close to full moon was as white as the snow on the ground and gave everything around us an ethereal blue glow.
I took a deep breath of the cold, silent air, hoping it would quiet the storm inside of me, but it only raged harder as Cal and Gray moved to either side of me.
"Well look at that," Cal murmured. "Good timing, Harper."
I looked in the direction he was looking. Off in the distance, in the bowl of the valley, right where the dark reflection of the water met the lighter gray of the shoreline, a single firework rose upward.
It burst into an explosion of color. Red flowers bloomed in the night sky, quickly followed by a jagged green streak, and then a yellow flash just as bright as the sunflowers in the farm below us.
I gasped. "Oh my God, of course! I had no idea that you'd be able to see the town fireworks from up here, but you totally can!"
Just then we all ducked as an explosion lit up right over our heads.
"Oh shit!" Cal laughed. "The neighbors are joining in!"
"That's awesome," Gray said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the railing.
Without realizing it, I shifted my toes, moving slightly closer to him. His body was so warm, so incredibly warm, that the heat seemed to melt right through me, suffusing me right down to my very core. Then Cal leaned forward, and his forearm brushed up against mine. I felt a brush of something electric, and looked down to see that the fine, crisp hairs of his forearm were tickling me, sending goose bumps in a parade right up to the nape of my neck.
I looked out, trying like hell to concentrate on the magical sparkles in the sky all around us, but when the last color drained from the sky, Cal leaned into my sight. "Happy New Year, Harp," he murmured.
I kissed him.
I expected it to be a light kiss, playful, a kiss that just defused the tension, something joking and happy, and fuck it, friendly.
But it was nothing like that.
As soon as my lips touched his, he made a sound and suddenly I knew this wasn't a game anymore. Cal's lips were rough against mine, insistent, and demanding. He kissed me like he wanted to take control, sweeping his tongue into my mouth and prodding away my inhibitions. I felt my breath catch in my throat as a swirling tornado of confusion whirled around me, I pulled back, startled, then looked over to Gray who was staring at both of us, stricken.
Then I kissed him.
Who was I? What kind of girl did this? Kissing one man, and then another as the echo of fireworks rolled around the Valley. I had no idea. I had no idea who I was or what I was doing. As the neighbors let off another volley of thunder, I paid no mind. All I knew was that Grayson's lips were soft against mine, his kiss much more gentle and sweet than Cal's. He cupped my chin in his hand, tilting my head to the side so that he could deepen the kiss, and as I melted against him, I didn't want there to be anything wrong with this because it felt so, so right.
He took a deep breath. "Okay," Gray said, pulling back.
"Okay," Cal said behind me, echoing Gray's tone.
I looked over at Cal. His hands were shoved in his pockets, his shoulders hunched. I could almost see the steam rising from his head as he rolled what had just happened over and over in his brain. "I'm going to go get us all drinks," he said, carefully, tightly.
"Okay," I echoed.
No sooner had he disappeared and I turned to look at Gray, partly opening my mouth to explain, to try to put into words what the hell it was that I was feeling, but he gave me no chance. He moved to me, his hands at the nape of my neck, brushing upward to twine into my hair as he moved to cover my mouth was his and I almost yielded. I almost tilted my lips up to his, but something made me stop.
I froze in his hands and he looked at me, confused.
I heard the door open and I stepped back, feeling like I'd been caught cheating.
There was no sharp breath, no stunned silence. Cal came right up, shoving his way between us and getting right in Gray's space. Gray stood his ground, nose to nose with his best friend.
"Back off," Cal rumbled.
Gray shook his head slowly. "You back off."
"Are you two actually fighting over me?" I half laughed, half gasped.
Neither one of them acknowledged what I just said. "She's not going to want you," Cal told him.
Gray grinned. "Well she clearly doesn't want you!"
A firework exploded in the sky above us, dangerously close to the house, and I found myself looking up at it instead of paying attention to what Cal was doing, because the sight of him shoving Gray backwards was too hard to process.
Gray made a sound like a wounded animal and came charging back, ready to swing. Another firework exploded overhead and seemed to knock some sense back into me, because it threw myself between them.
"Stop it!" I shouted.
Gray drew up short and let his fist fall to his side. I turned to look at both of them. "You are bes
t friends," I said, and there was tremor in my voice I didn't expect. "Stop it, I don't want to come between you."
There was a moment of silence, punctuated by another deafening firework just above us. All three of us looked at each other. And I couldn't hold it back any longer. "I want you, both of you," I sighed, burying my face in my hands. "I have, since forever okay? But please, please don't make me choose. Okay? I can't possibly choose."
The ringing in my ears from the explosion above us was the only sound for several moments. I hid my face in my hands, unable and unwilling to look at either one of them, feeling like my heart was breaking in two. I could leave, right now. I could pack my bags and head straight back to New York. I wouldn't even need to fly, just borrow my parents' car. I'd get it back to them, somehow, it didn't matter. All that mattered was getting the hell out of here, right now before the world exploded even further.
I heard a sound. Like feet, shifting position. I could tell without looking that one, or both, of them was changing positions, and I felt for all the world like something was passing between them. Like they were having a conversation without ever opening their mouths.
Slowly I let my hands fall away from my face and looked up at them.
"You don't want to choose," Cal echoed.
Gray stepped forward. "What if you didn't have to?" he said, cupping his hand against my face.
Chapter Seventeen
Callum
Once we realized, it was suddenly all so clear. I looked at Gray, he nodded back and suddenly this was happening.
I had to have her. And if the only way I got to have her was sharing her...
Then so fucking be it.
All at once, there seemed to be a million people spilling out through the doors and on to the balcony to watch the fireworks explode over our heads. It seemed like the whole house was emptying at once, and I felt a coil of heat nestle at the base of my spine, realizing that this meant only one thing.
The house was empty. The house was quiet.
The house was ours.
I slid my hand onto Harper's back and was startled to feel that Gray's hand was already there. A little match of jealousy flared inside my chest, but I quickly snuffed it out. Because if ever there was anyone that I could see myself sharing with, it would be Gray.
I'd never thought about it, but suddenly it seemed... Okay.
We both led her towards the doors, wending our way through the throngs of exiting partygoers like salmon swimming upstream. Harper's head was ducked down, and she was hiding her face, afraid to see if anyone was going to look her in the eyes. There was this fragile, tenuous understanding between the three of us that the slightest disruption could shatter in a second. I ducked my own head when I spotted Rett standing tall above the crowd. He was looking for us, I could tell. Probably wanted to hang out with his best friends and his little sister.
I pressed Harper's back a little harder and we made it through the door.
The house was echoingly, achingly quiet, so quiet that I could hear the thud of my own heartbeat in my throat. Was this really going to happen? Was I okay with it?
I looked down to see the flush across Harper's cheek and that little, excited smile on her face. That smile was in anticipation of being with me... Me...
And I realized, yeah, I was fucking doing this.
The second we were away from the prying eyes of the crowd, Harper straightened up. Without looking backward, she strode up the winding stairs. Gray and I jostled for position, each one of us eager to be the one to stand directly behind her and fully appreciate the way her ass swayed in that dress. She climbed the stairs and turned to look behind her, checking to make sure that we were unobserved before she slipped into her bedroom.
Gray and I both slipped in behind her. I pressed the door closed, wincing at the loud click. It sounded as loud as thunder. Harper froze for a second.
Then she turned to look at us. I swear I could see her pulse at the base of her throat, fluttering madly like a hummingbird and I wanted desperately to press my lips there and feel the blood rush under her skin. Her shoulders straightened, causing her breasts to press up high in that dress, straining to spill over the top. My fingers itched to hold them, to cup them in my hands and brush my thumb over her pearly pink nipples. I wanted to see how wide her green eyes would get when I pinched it, just a little. I wondered what kind of noises she'd make. Would she scream? Would she moan? Or would she just shudder silently with her eyes squeezed shut?
Actually, it didn't matter, I would make sure that she screamed.
She looked up from Gray to me and back to Gray again. "Are we really doing this?" she panted. Her voice was a breathy gasp.
I looked over at Gray. He was staring at her, and his mouth hung open like he was in some kind of trance. There was no going back from where we were right now.
Harper's hand fluttered at her side. Gray cleared his throat. I shifted from side to side.
But all three of us were frozen to the spot.
Someone needed to start it, we were off hanging at the edge, terrified of plunging over the precipice and making this something more than it was.
But that's all I'd wanted for practically forever so I took the lead. Someone had to.
"Yeah, I think we are."
With that, it was like Gray came unstuck and suddenly we both descended on her.
Chapter Eighteen
Grayson
Right up until that moment, when my hands slid around her waist, I still thought it was all going to fall apart. Sharing the girl I loved with my best friend... never once had I considered that this was an option.
But the second Cal spoke, I started moving.
I felt a little burst of triumph when I reached Harper's lips first, kissing her as I twined my fingers in her hair. She moaned into my mouth, a long, shuddering sound that I recognized because it was the same one that was coming from my own throat.
Fuck, how long had I been dreaming about kissing her? In my mind, it had been perfect, composed, a fucking sonnet in kiss-form, but the reality was desperate, anxious and full of aching need. I'd waited — what a decade now? — to kiss this woman and I crammed all that pent-up longing into it like I'd never have the chance again. I growled into her mouth, needing more, but at the same time needing to hold back because more than anything, I needed this to last
Cal was already kissing down her neck, brushing away the strap to her sparkling dress and letting it fall down so that the round, creamy top of her breast was exposed. I pulled back and looked down to see that he already had her nipple in his mouth and I sucked in the air through my teeth. "Is it as good as I thought it would be?" I asked.
Cal pulled back and licked his lips, looking up at Harper who was open mouthed, her eyes heavy-lidded. "Oh, it's even better," Cal said.
I wrinkled my nose, then pulled down the strap of her dress to expose her other breast. "My turn," I growled greedily.
God her breasts were just...perfect. High and sweet, with these little rosy nipples the same shade as her pretty pink lips. "These are just the prettiest shade of pink," I told Harper, who bit her lip. I caught her gaze. "In fact, I think they're the same pink as your lips. Do you have any other parts of you that are pink like this?"
Her lips curled into a sideways grin. "I...might..."
"Well I'm going to conduct a very thorough examination, just to make sure."
"You're such a goofball."
I bent and tweaked her nipple between my teeth, the lightest little nip, just enough to make her gasp. Then I grabbed a fistful of her ass and pulled her close to me, letting her feel how hard I was. "I assure you, I am not goofing around right now. I've never been so serious in my life." She bit her lip, eyes shining, and gave a slight nod. I fucking came undone again, kissing her hard before bending my lips to that perfect breast again.
As I brushed my lips up to that pearly tip, curling my tongue around it before taking it in my mouth, Cal moved around back of her. I heard the slip
of metal teeth, and she shimmied a little to let her dress fall down over her hips. I stepped back and groaned to finally be able to brush my hand over her smooth, flat stomach. Cal was already on his knees, sliding her dress all the way down, but I'm a greedy motherfucker, so I put my hand between her legs first.
She yelped as a slid my finger against those soft folds, and rocked back on her heels. Cal stood up, catching her against his body as she sagged into my touch, already arching her hips against my hand in a frantic rhythm. I looked up and saw Cal watching as my fingers danced along her slit, which incidentally was a slightly darker shade of pink after all. "Is that as good as I thought it would be?" Cal growled, echoing me.
I grinned and looked up at Harper. "It's even better," I told her.
She sagged forward and I caught her with my other hand, cradling her head as I worked my fingers in and out of her. "How good?" Cal suddenly asked, his voice heavy and tight.
I kept my eyes on Harper. With every word I spoke, she shuddered slightly. "She's already so wet," I told Cal, watching her watch me.
"She wants this, she wants this so bad," Cal hissed against her neck.
"She's trembling in my hand, Cal. I can feel her, quivering from the inside out." I pulled my fingers away. "You have to feel this."
Harper whined, but I covered her mouth with mine, devouring her soft sounds.
"I do," Cal growled, and suddenly his mouth was where my fingers had just been and for some reason, instead of being jealous, I just found it really fucking hot to know what he was tasting. I brought my fingers up to my lips to taste it on my own, then brushed those fingers against Harper's lips.
"You taste yourself?" I asked her. "This is the most delicious thing I've ever eaten," I told her.
"Me too," Cal mumbled, his voice indistinct. She was arching upward, already on her toes, and I could feel her quivering. I needed to feel that, from the inside out. I moved around back of her and she sagged against me once my fingers found her center again.
