by Ava Moreau
She had to let herself go. To lose all control, and trust herself to these two men who were willing to fight over her, who were willing to come to blows…who were willing to do anything for her.
She had to close her eyes as the intensity built inside her, like a coiled spring ready to be released. She whimpered, and tossed her head from side to side.
“I can’t…I can’t take it…I’m about to…I’m going to…”
“I know, me too,” whispered Trent, his thrusts up into her pussy growing faster.
As Jack’s tongue made one more pass over her clit, she hit the point of no return. It was like fire from the sky. She screamed in pleasure, thrashing, forcing herself down onto Trent’s cock, grabbing the back of Jack’s head to push him further onto her pussy. The whole world had been eclipsed by this moment. And she heard Trent groan in pleasure underneath her, as the rhythmic climax taking over her pussy squeezed him to his own hard orgasm. She was swept away, out to sea, out of mind and body, nothing remaining of her but this center of pure bliss, throbbing outward, no sounds in the world but the sound her of own fast breathing, panting, holding on to this moment as long as she possibly could.
17
How long did it take to come back down? Becca wasn’t sure. Hours. Days. Maybe she’d been here a thousand years, the sweat cooling on her until she got chill-bumps.
They lay together in a tangled heap on the bed, all legs and arms and soft kisses. Trent’s cock was still inside her for a while, then it wasn’t anymore.
She sighed, and it was a sigh full of satisfied pleasure. Her fingers traced a path through the hair on Trent’s chest, then over to Jack’s.
“We really are going to have to talk,” she said eventually.
“Nope,” said Jack. “We really don’t have to.”
“Yeah, I agree with Jack,” said Trent. “Let’s never talk again.”
“Nothing good can come from it,” said Jack.
She scrunched up her face and flicked her fingernail against Trent’s nipple.
“Ow!” he said, laughing.
“I’m serious! Don’t you think we ought to figure this out? This is the second time this has happened!”
“I mean, it didn’t just happen,” said Trent. “It wasn’t an accident.”
Jack lifted himself up on one arm and stared down at her. “I know what she’s saying,” he told his friend. “If it happened to her, then she doesn’t have to take responsibility for it. It’s like the weather or something. It blows in, it blows out.”
She looked away. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Isn’t it? You were about to explain to us why this can’t happen again. Even though you want it.”
Maybe the boys had been right not to want to talk, because now that she’d brought it up, it made her feel sad inside. But she had to figure out what was going on here.
She slid off the bed, to their dismay; she enjoying hearing their little sounds of disappointment, feeling their hands reaching out to touch her hips and ass. Picking up her shirt, she said, “So what if I want it to happen again?”
“You’re gonna have to give me about ten more minutes to recover,” said Jack.
She threw her shirt at his head. “You know what I mean, smart guy. Do I need to point out all the obstacles to you? Not least of which is, I’m supposed to be leaving today.”
Trent shrugged. “Then don’t leave. At least not yet. Hell, you’ve gotten nothing done in this room so far, so you have to stay at least one more day.”
She took in the room; the crates, the boxes, the stacks. Then her eyes moved back over to the bed, the two naked, gorgeous men staring up at her.
They were so comfortable in their bodies. She’d never been with anyone like this before. Well, she’d never done a lot of the things she’d done today. But she’d certainly never been around guys who could just exist like this, naked, unashamed of their beauty.
Maybe she should use the word beauty at them, just to see them squirm.
No. What she should do was just get everything out in the open.
“You have to know, I don’t intend on coming back to Myers Lake after this,” she said. “I spent most of my life here. It has no hold on me.”
Jack glanced at Trent. “That’s what he says, too. He’s going to get some fancy job in one of those skyscrapers in Corinth, then I’ll never see him again.”
“I didn’t take the damn job!” said Trent. He rolled off the bed and reached for his jeans.
“Not yet,” said Jack. He turned back to Becca. “But you see, everything’s got a time limit anyway. You’re going to leave. He’s going to leave. I don’t see why we have to talk about it. Couldn’t we just enjoy things as they are for a little while?”
She took her shirt back and pulled it on. She began to button it up, as though to protect herself from the truth. “People in my position,” she said, “don’t have a lot of chance to enjoy things. Not big things, not like this. I don’t know how to explain it. Everyone laughs when I tell them about my five-year plan, and how it excludes boyfriends and binging on shows and hobbies and everything like that. But I feel like I’ve only got one shot to make it in life. Trent, if you do come to Corinth, you’ll see what I mean. The only way to succeed is to focus. There are a million distractions, and only one way forward. I want to be CEO of my own company…and that means I have to keep my eye on the prize.”
Trent was staring at her like she was a favorite professor giving a lesson. Jack just stared at her in dismay.
“But rule one of the plan,” she said, “is no boyfriend.”
She sat on the edge of the bed. They knew better than to reach for her now. They could sense that she needed a little space.
Could they sense that the reason she needed that space, was that she had opened up to them more than she’d ever opened up to anyone? Become more vulnerable with them than she’d been willing to become with anyone else? They alone, of anyone in the world, knew how much her five-year plan was costing her. They could hear the pain in her voice when she talked about it.
“Besides,” she said finally, “all this sex is distracting me from getting this room finished.”
As the boys got dressed, she pulled her phone out of her pants pocket and gave Sarah a call.
“Hey, look, it’s me. I’m just going to stay another day. Is that all right? There’s no way I can finish all this today. No, no, the boys have been a lot of help.” She glanced over at them and winked. “It’s just, there’s a ton of stuff, and I need more time. Yeah, lots of sentimental things. Sure, absolutely, dinner tonight. See you later.”
She put the phone down and sighed.
“I’m glad you’re staying a little while,” said Trent.
“Hell yeah,” said Jack. “Hey, why don’t you stay at my house?”
“I was just about to offer my place,” said Trent.
“You live in a matchbox,” said Jack. “Nobody wants to sleep on your fucking futon.”
“At least I have books,” said Trent, “all you have on your shelves is a bunch of trophies from high school.”
“Boys, boys,” Becca said. “I have a place to stay. Right here. Remember how this is my room? My bed? Yup, I’m gonna be right here. Now look, I think it’s obvious I’m not going to get anything done with you around here. So why don’t you let me go through this stuff for a while, then we’ll meet back up later…maybe tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow?” the guys said in disappointed unison.
“Fine, maybe tonight, after I have dinner with Sarah. But don’t be thinking you’re going to sleep over here or anything. There’s work to be done. All sex and no work make Becca a dull girl.”
“I brought you some spare clothes,” said Sarah, handing Becca a shopping bag.
“Thank god,” she said. “It took five minutes for my clothes to go from fresh-from-the-laundry to covered-in-dust.”
“It’s probably not in your style or anything,” Sarah said, almost apologetically. She
was such a different person when she was getting her way. Becca was doing the packing she’d asked for, so here she was with gifts and deference.
Becca changed down here in the foyer. Sarah gave her a skeptical look, but it occurred to Becca that she hadn’t made the bed upstairs yet, and there was just so much evidence of what had been going on up there…yeah. No need for Sarah to go upstairs.
She looked down at herself. The coral-colored scoop neck top came down further than she was used to, and her cleavage was in plain sight. Good thing the boys weren’t here. It hung over her curves as well, accentuating her hips. The pants were form-fitting, white capris. Totally different than what she was used to. At home in Corinth, she had two speeds: Business wear, and slouchy. “I look like you,” she said laughing.
“Hey, that’s not such a bad thing!” said her big sister. “You look like you’re ready for a night on the town.”
“A night on the small town.”
Sarah rolled her eyes.
There was really only one restaurant in Myers Lake, if you didn’t want to eat at the diner and weren’t in the mood to sit at a bench eating barbecue at that place with the big pig on the sign. Modine’s was a quiet little restaurant that had been here forever, the kind of place nervous boys would take you on a first date, spending all their paper-route money to impress you. Sarah ordered them a couple of white wines.
Becca looked over the menu, but her mind was elsewhere.
I’ve got to do something about Trent and Jack.
Of course she did, but what? She couldn’t pack them in the car with her and take them up to Corinth.
The idea that Trent might come to Corinth for work did interest her greatly…but the thought of Jack being here all alone made her sad.
But what was she supposed to do? Give up her job and move back down here to be with Jack…while Trent left town?
She shook her head in confusion.
“If you’re having trouble deciding, the Cobb salad is always good,” said Sarah.
“I think I’m getting the steak.”
“Ooh, big spender.”
She set her menu down. “Sarah, let me ask you something. How do you make it down here?”
Sarah blinked at her. “What do you mean?”
“Whenever we talk about our family, it’s about why I left. Why I had to move out of town, had to make my way to Corinth. But we never talk about why you stayed. What do you get out of life here?”
Her sister laughed. “That’s a big question! But Myers Lake makes sense to me. I know all the people. Harold has the hardware store, I’ve got the florist. This is where our roots are.”
“But where do you see yourself?”
“That’s the difference between you and me. I see myself right here, enjoying my family and friends. I want to be a little old lady with my grandkids playing in the yard. I want to nag Harold about his cholesterol and want to give my kids nosy advice. I’m happy, Becca. The one thing you’ve never been.”
“What? I’m plenty happy. I’m not sitting up there in Corinth crying my eyes out!”
Sarah shook her head. “Okay, maybe happy is the wrong word. Content? Is that closer? I don’t need everything to change. I like my life. But you never have. You always wanted more, or at least different. Do you remember when you were five, and wanted to be an airline pilot?”
Becca laughed, remembering the little wings she’d pinned on to her overalls. “I mean, I was five, so I’m not sure that counts as being discontent. Everybody wanted to be a movie star or a model or a dinosaur.”
“Right, everybody wanted to be a typical thing. All the boys wanted to be cowboys, all the girls wanted to be famous. And you…were busy talking about jet engines and altimeters or whatever. I don’t think you’ve really changed all that much. Whatever life offers you, you want more.”
The waiter came and took their orders, which gave Becca a much-needed moment to think.
You want more.
What if the same thing were going on inside her heart? What if the force that pushed her to work harder, to make her business succeed, to want to conquer the world…also made her dissatisfied with the idea of the typical relationship?
What if the more she wanted…was more than one man?
Without thinking, her hand went to her heart, which was beating faster.
What if this wasn’t just casual sex with two guys? She knew it wasn’t, she knew it was more than that, but had dismissed any thought of what else it could be.
What if she was falling in love…with both of them?
She drained her glass of wine, then motioned to the waiter to bring her another.
Sarah was staring at her. “You look awfully thoughtful, sis.”
Becca nodded. “You’ve given me a lot to think about.”
When the guys came back to the house that night, she rushed at them, wrapping her arms around them, quick kisses for first one then the other.
“Hey, she’s happy to see us,” said Jack.
“Stay here with me,” she said.
“What?”
“Tonight. Spend the night, right here.”
“In that tiny bed?” asked Jack.
“You too, Trent. You have to stay too,” she said.
“What’s going on?” Trent said with a hesitant smile. “Something’s…different. Aside from the clothes.”
“Which look good on you, by the way,” said Jack, unable to tear his eyes away from her breasts.
“Something’s going on between us, right? It’s true, right? Do you feel it too?” she asked them, her words coming out in an emotional rush.
“Oh no, she wants to talk again,” Jack said.
“I’m serious. Do you feel it, or not?”
Jack nodded. “Of course I do. I’ve never been with anyone like you before.”
“Same here,” said Trent, “but that doesn’t change the fact that only one of us can be with you…so maybe we shouldn’t torture ourselves with it.”
“What if you’re wrong?” she said. “What if the three of us… What if it’s not just sex? What if I told you I’m falling for you…for both of you?”
The boys glanced at each other. “Seriously?” said Jack.
“I don’t know how else to put it,” she said. “I don’t know how else to explain how I feel. I want you both. It was confusing at first, but you know what? All my life I’ve wanted more. More than Myers Lake could offer. When I got to Corinth, I didn’t just want a job, I wanted a company. And now that I’ve met you two? I don’t want just one of you. I want you both.”
“But your five-year plan—” started Trent.
“My plan says no boyfriend. It doesn’t say anything about boyfriends, plural.”
“That’s some fancy cogitatin’ you’ve been doing,” said Jack.
“I don’t know how it works,” she said. “And god knows how I’ll ever explain it to Sarah. So we have to keep it between us for now.”
“If I could remind you of one thing,” said Trent, “you’re leaving tomorrow.”
“I know. I know. I just…”
Her eyes were unexpectedly full of tears. She knew all the reasons it wasn’t possible. She knew why it couldn’t work between them. The reasons marched themselves out like a parade in her mind, on and on and on.
But all her life, whenever Becca had wanted something, she set her mind to it, she focused, she couldn’t stop until she figured it out. She and Sarah were a lot alike, in that way. Neither ever wanted to be told no.
“I don’t know how it works, like I said. I don’t have any answers. All I know is, I have feelings for you both. And I think you both like me, right?”
“God yes,” said Trent.
“You’re the best thing that ever walked into our lives,” said Jack.
“So can we be together? Just for tonight, can we pretend that everything’s okay, and that we’re boyfriend and boyfriend and girlfriend, and nobody’s leaving for anywhere, and nothing sad is ever going to happen?”
Their arms around her were so strong. When they wrapped her up in their hug, she felt more protected and loved than she had ever felt. Nothing could penetrate this barrier they formed around her. Real life couldn’t get in. They would keep the world at bay.
She wished she wasn’t crying…but after a while, she didn’t mind that, either. Laying her head on their broad chests, taking comfort from them, it was the safest she had felt in her whole life.
18
The diner, oh my. You two boys know how to make a girl feel special.” Becca beamed at them from her side of the vinyl booth.
“It’s much better than Modine’s,” said Jack, tapping the thickly laminated menu. “See, the menu has pictures of the food, so you know what you’re ordering.”
Becca raised an eyebrow at the menu. “Goodness, everything’s so…fatty. Chicken-fried steak. Chicken-friend chicken. Chicken-fried waffles.”
“You’re making that last one up,” said Trent. “But I’m sure they’d deep-fry one for you if you asked nicely.”
“Maybe I’ll just get the salad. Unless they fry that too?”
Jack groaned. “Salad? You’ll never keep your strength up that way.”
His arms bulged in the trim shirt he’d pulled on this morning. She couldn’t keep her eyes off them. “I guess you know all about keeping your strength up.”
“Oh god, don’t say that,” said Trent, “you’re going to make him flex.”
“You didn’t mind me doing some flexing when I was—”
The table went utterly silent as they all realized what Jack had almost said. In public. About the three of them.
Becca was the first to burst out laughing, followed quickly by the boys. “I guess I’m not used to that facet of our little relationship yet,” she said. “The whole not admitting what you’re up to part.”
