Party of Three

by Daire St. Denis

  I stood there with my shirt half off. What the hell was I doing? I turned, thinking maybe I should just call a cab and get the hell out of there, when I saw Vixen from across the room. She wore a huge smile and nodded toward the hall. I guess she’d found a friend.

  Without even thinking, I moved in the direction of the purple room, where Vixen stood at the entrance, waiting for me.

  “Door open or closed?” she asked.

  “C-closed.”

  She pulled me inside and closed the door firmly behind her. The room glowed with a purple light that threw everything into soft shadows, including the plush chair against the wall. I sat, rubbing my ass slowly against the cushion.

  Vixen laughed and that’s when I noticed the other woman lying on the bed, waiting.

  I crossed my legs and leaned forward.

  Vixen crawled up onto the bed, moving slowly between the other woman’s open legs before leaning down and kissing her.

  God. It was everything I wanted but told myself I couldn’t have. The kissing, the licking, the moaning. I’d seen two women together before. One of my exes was big into porn and we watched it sometimes to get off together, but this was different. Here were two naturally beautiful women. Both of them had the hard-toned bodies I was beginning to realize I favored in a woman’s physique.

  When they kissed and writhed together on the bed I could tell their moans were real. Their passion was real. When Vixen made the woman come with her mouth, I knew she was coming for real because I could see her toes curl and her hands fist the satin bedspread.

  At one point Vixen looked over her shoulder and with a heavy-lidded “fuck-me” look, said, “You want to join us?”

  I shook my head no, though my brain was screaming yes.

  I slid down in the chair and started fondling myself through my capris, about to explode. Watching these two…holy hell, it was so hot. I’d never really considered being with a woman before, but now, after all the shit that had happened with Des and Josh, it was all I could think about.

  Except there was only one woman I wanted. And when I had her, Josh would be there to witness it. I pictured him sitting on the side as I was, stroking himself while he watched until he couldn’t stand it one minute more, until he had to have one of us or both us at once. Yes, that’s what I wanted.

  What the hell was I doing there at Kenton’s? Why wasn’t I home, living out my fantasy with Josh and Des?

  Suddenly the woman on the bed flipped around so she was on her back with her head at my end of the bed. For the first time I got a glimpse of her face; her eyes were closed and her mouth was parted as she panted hard and fast.

  My stomach twisted in my gut and my heart threw itself up all over the floor.

  It was Des lying there on the bed with Vixen. Des, who was letting Vixen have her wicked way with her. Des, who was moaning and coming and coming and moaning. Josh’s Des. My Des.

  Chapter Seven

  I jumped to my feet and fumbled blindly for the doorknob. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I pushed my way toward the foyer. Once outside, a sob ripped my chest apart. I stumbled down the path and onto the dark road, running, staggering toward my car.

  I shouldn’t have driven home. I know that. Not only was I distraught, but I could still feel the effects of the drug Kenton had forced on me. Driving was a stupid thing to do but in light of everything that happened that night, it was just one more stupid thing to add to the long list.

  What I didn’t expect to come home to was Josh, just back from his trip, showered and waiting for his supposed girlfriend. While I shoved clothes from my dresser into my duffel bag, he came and stood in my open doorway, wearing nothing but loose cotton trousers and looking wholly and unacceptably delicious.

  “Tina? What’s going on? What’s wrong?” The concern in his voice was genuine, which only made matters worse. He came toward me but I backed away from him with my hands out in front of me to ward him off.

  “Leave me alone, Josh.” My voice cracked.

  “C’mon, Teen. Tell me what’s going on.” He glanced at the open duffel on the bed and how I was shoving stuff in without thought. “What happened? Where are you going?”

  I shook my head. How the hell was I supposed to explain? I didn’t know what was going on myself. All I knew was I had to get the hell out of there. I couldn’t see him or my ex-roommate—ex-friend—ever again.

  Despite my protests, Josh sat down on my bed. “Whatever it was, at least wait until Des gets home. She always knows—”

  I rounded on him before he could finish. “Des is a fucking whore!”

  Josh’s eyes went so wide with shock it was like I’d slapped him. And as much as it felt good to get the sentiment off my chest, I instantly regretted it. Looking back now, I regret saying it even more. Who was I to call her a whore?

  But I was upset. Confused. Hurt. I didn’t know which way was up, and I didn’t understand yet the depth of my feelings for Des or for Josh.

  Josh stood up, leaning toward me to take my chin in his hand. He looked so wounded, so damn upset it made me sick. All I really wanted was to fall into his arms and cry. For him to soothe me until Des came home so we could confront her together. But my wants and needs were too confusing. So instead of finding comfort in his strong, solid form, I slapped his hands away, zipped my duffel and blew out of there.

  Once I was safely locked inside my car, I backed out of the driveway before Josh could come running after me or Des could show up.

  I drove and drove with no idea where I was supposed to go. I didn’t fucking know. It wasn’t like I could go to a friend’s place. They’d want to know what happened and that wasn’t a story I had any intention of repeating.

  A blinking neon light caught my eye. The Desertsands Motel. Vacancy. I pulled in and parked. I don’t know how long I sat there before I finally got up to get a room. My cell rang but I turned it off before I even looked at the caller ID. I already knew who it’d be.

  * * *

  The next few days sucked. I couldn’t go home. I just couldn’t. Even though I’d totally forgotten to pack any of my toiletries, I was at the point where I’d way rather buy new stuff than have to face Des. Saturday and Sunday I spent most of the time at the beach, just walking along the surf trying to figure shit out. The fresh air was better than sitting around in a dingy motel room, but I still didn’t feel any better.

  When I turned my phone on, there were fifteen messages—most from our home phone, a couple from Des’s cell and a couple from Josh’s. I was glad to go to work Monday, hoping would help me take my mind off of things. But I couldn’t concentrate. I’m a designer and I got my start working mostly with a developer who bought old mansions and fixed them up and modernized them. Now I mostly take private clients from Santa Monica, Brentwood and Westwood but I’ve had a couple clients from Bel Air and it’s my dream to break into the Platinum Triangle.

  But that week colors weren’t meshing, rooms weren’t coming together and I had no interest in the pile of private auction invitations my assistant Nancy had left on my desk. Screening my calls at work was harder than I thought and despite my request to Nancy to not accept any call from Des, somehow, by Wednesday, a call from her came through to my line.

  “Tina, we need to talk.”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose, hating the way my stomach dropped at the sound of her voice. “I have nothing to say to you.”

  “This isn’t fair. God, what’s wrong? Talk to me.”

  I hung up. I didn’t know what else to do.

  That night, as I was leaving work, Des was there, leaning up against the building next door, waiting. The minute I saw her I started walking in the opposite direction.

  I heard her run up behind me, and my instinct was to run away. But I knew Des was stronger and faster and she’d catch me no matter what I tried. Finally I stopped and spun around to face her. “Can’t you just leave me alone?”

  Her eyes flashed. “No. I can’t. You need to tell me what
the hell is going on. Right now.”

  “Fine,” I said. “Walk with me.”

  There was a park across the street from my building, one of those inner-city parks that takes up, like, one block with a sorry-assed play structure in the middle. I’ve never seen any kids ever play there. As soon as we were out of earshot of anyone on the street, I stopped walking and looked up at her. “I saw you with Vixen, okay?”

  Her eyes went wide and her face fell. “Oh, God. That was you? Dammit! I knew he had his eye on you.” She took a step toward me but I backed up. “Listen to me, it didn’t mean anything, I swear to God.”

  My jaw was clenched so hard and my chest and neck felt so constricted, I had to remind myself to breathe. “Really?” I cried. “Then you are one incredible actress. I saw your face. It sure as hell didn’t look like it was meaningless. It looked like you were in fucking heaven.”

  “Teen.” She held her hand out to me but I turned and started walking away.

  I couldn’t do this. I didn’t even know what “this” was. Why the hell did it bother me so much? Why did I care who Des slept with? It’s not like we were an item or anything.

  “Tina, stop. Let me try to explain. Okay? It’s complicated. It wasn’t what it looked like.”

  “Wasn’t what it looked like? Do you think I’m stupid? Seriously, all this shit that happened between us and all the shit at Kenton’s? It’s not me, okay? I don’t do this. It doesn’t work for me.”

  A tear crept down her cheek. “What does work for you?”

  “The way things were. You know? The way you and I were.” I shook my head, suddenly overwhelmed by misery. “We’ve ruined that now. We can’t go back.”

  “But the way things were, that wasn’t real,” Des insisted. “It wasn’t honest. There were too many secrets between us.”

  “And this is honest?” I shouted, suddenly way too hot. Anyway, what secrets was Des talking about? Did she know what I’d done? Was this her warped way of making me pay for Curtis? I didn’t know what to think so I lashed out with the only ammunition I had. “So you let Vixen tongue-fuck you? That’s honest?” I was going to walk away, but there was one more thing I had to say. “What I don’t get is why Josh isn’t enough.” I tried to breathe but the air hitched in my throat. “Shit, Des, if I had a man like him, I wouldn’t go around fucking everything else that moves.”

  Des gasped and it sounded like someone had just stepped on a kitten. Hell, I felt like I’d just kicked a kitten. But I couldn’t stop myself from intentionally hurting her. I was determined she should feel as bad as I did.

  I turned to walk away but she called after me, “Tina, wait! Please.”

  I kept walking.

  “At least tell me where you’re staying?”

  “None of your goddamn business,” I shouted over my shoulder.

  “Come home. You don’t need to stay away. It’s your house.”

  So now the house was mine. I thought it was ours. “As long as you’re living there, I can’t come home,” I called.

  Her voice was defeated when she answered. “Fine. I’ll move in with Josh. Just come home, okay?”

  * * *

  By the next weekend I was back home. Des was gone. So was Josh. The house had never felt emptier. All weekend long, I walked around the place like a zombie, my heart breaking with every memory that every square inch of the house evoked.

  On Monday I was in for a surprise. Just after lunch, I came back to the office to find a woman sitting at my desk with her back to me. At first glance I thought it was Des, and my heart skipped a beat. Then she turned and I saw her face.

  It was Vixen. She had on more clothes than the last time I’d seen her. When she stood I saw she was wearing a smart-looking gray wrap dress that clung to her tall, lean body.

  I shut my office door and glared at her. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  She smiled nice and slow. “Kenton sent me. He said you’re the best designer around and he has some work on the house he wants done.”

  “Kenton?” I frowned because as far as I could remember, it looked like his place had just been redone. My first instinct was one of suspicion. “Why’d he send you?”

  She looked at her short fingernails and said, “I do a little work for him every now and then.”

  “What kind of work is he looking for?”

  She looked up and smiled. “The bedrooms.”

  “The bedrooms?” I frowned.

  She kept her gaze steady on me. “He had the main rooms in the house redone last year, but he didn’t know the designer well enough to tackle the bedrooms. He said he’s looking for something that says comfort, elegance and style.” Vixen stood up and approached me, never taking her eyes off me. “All the while saying ‘let’s fuck.’” She grinned and reached out to touch my arm.

  Strangely, I didn’t move away.

  “Do you have time to come and take a look?”

  I licked my lips. “Yeah, sure,” I said. “Why not?”

  * * *

  What possessed me to go back over there? To revisit the scene of the crime? I don’t know. Seriously, I have no friggin’ clue what I was thinking. I suppose there was some twisted part of my brain that knew where it all was leading and hoped somehow it’d get back to Des. It was my perverse way to pay her back, I guess. I don’t know.

  All I know is when we got to Kenton’s place and I followed Vixen back down the now-deserted hallway to the purple room, I wasn’t even shocked when she shut the door behind me, untied her dress and let it fall onto the floor at her feet.

  “We’ve got some unfinished business, doll.”

  “Is that so?” I tried to sound flippant, but my heart clamored in my chest as she slowly walked toward me wearing nothing but lacy black underwear. “So this was all a ploy?”

  She shook her head. “No, Kenton really wants you to work on the room. I just figured we could mix business with a bit of pleasure.”

  She was close enough now that I could smell her perfume. It was the same kind Desi wore. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. Why not mix business with pleasure? Why not give in to my secret desires? Things were over between Des and Josh and me. I didn’t owe anyone anything.

  Besides, my skin was already flushed with want, my pussy pulsing with desire. Vixen probably took one look at me in my office and knew exactly what I’d do once she got me here alone.

  With no resistance from me, she pulled me into her arms and started kissing me. Her lips were so soft and sweet I could hardly stand it. They felt different from any other lips I’d encountered. Juicier. I liked it.

  “You look just like a little doll, you know that?” she whispered in my ear while she slid her hands down to my breasts. It was strange to feel both hands and breasts pressed against me. Strange, but wonderful too. “Let’s get some of these clothes off, huh?” Gently, she undid the buttons on my blouse and slipped it off my shoulders. She unclasped my bra while I started to work on the fly of my pants. But soon her hands were covering mine and she took over for me. “No. Let me.”

  Kneeling in front of me, Vixen pulled down my pants. I could feel her hot breath on my mound through the lace of my panties. I stepped out of the linen and wished I had something to lean against. Vixen slid her hands up my legs, letting her fingers slip ever so lightly beneath the bands of my panties.

  “So pretty.” She sighed, pressing a kiss to my abdomen. She stood and extended her hand and said, “Come.”

  It was only a couple of steps to the bed, yet I didn’t think I was going to make it. My legs felt like limp noodles as my body pulsed with the effects of the dark, smoldering look Vixen had fixed on me.

  Somehow I made it to the bed, and she gently pushed me down on one of the many satin pillows. She propped herself above me, her black lace bra pulled down beneath her breasts. She hovered there, her hard nipples mere millimeters from mine, her lips and tongue flicking at mine but never touching. I strained toward her but she backed off with a wicked gleam
in her eye, and pushed herself up so her nipples hovered above my mouth. Those large, dusky areoles were delightfully puckered and begging for a suck. But when I lifted my head to take her in my mouth, she slipped swiftly out of reach.

  I groaned in frustration, and she laughed. “It’s called foreplay. I think you’ve been playing with men too long.”

  I don’t know if that was what my problem was, that I’d only ever been with men. I suspect it was more that it had been too long since I’d been with anyone, besides Des and Josh of course, and now I wanted to make up for lost time. But Vixen’s little game of teasing did the trick. She continued to just barely touch me with the tips of her breasts and her hot breath and tongue until I was writhing beneath her.

  “Tell me what you want.”

  “K-kiss me.” Oh, God. Please, kiss me.

  She continued to hold her body aloft, but her impossibly soft lips descended on mine until she had me groaning in her mouth. Slowly, so slowly, she lowered her body on top of mine until the lushness of her breasts pressed against my own. It felt good. So, so good, and I was overcome by the need to suck her.

  Using my hands to cup the underside of her tits, I slithered down beneath her so I could lick her rock-hard nipples. It was lovely, those two breasts on either side of my face. I squeezed them together, moving my head back and forth and licking one and then the other.

  When I finally heard Vixen groan, it was like I’d passed some kind of test.

  “You sure you’ve never been with a girl?” she asked breathlessly.

  No. But, I’ve thought long and hard about it. I had no chance to say it, however, because Vixen distracted me. She didn’t seem to like to be the submissive one and gently took my hands and made me cup my own tits. She did the same to hers and kneeled above me so just our nipples touched.

  With thumb and forefinger, she pinched our nipples together, at the same time. There was something about the way it looked, two magnificent sets of breasts pinched together, that made me want to climax right then.

  Except Vixen let me go, trailing her breasts down my body until she was poised between my legs. “So, you’ve never had your pussy licked by a girl?”