Playing Favorites: A Reverse Harem Romance

by Scarlet West

  Greer laughed, her spicy warmth reaching me even down the telephone line. “I’m fine,” she said. “How’re you? Ready for the dinner soon?”

  “The golf dinner! Hell! That’s Friday, right?”

  “Yeah!” she chuckled. “See you then.”

  “You will,” I said, relieved beyond measure that she’d reminded me. “You’re going to wear the blue dress, yeah?”

  “You bet I am,” she laughed. “You wanna get together later?”

  “I’d like that,” I admitted. “Let me just see what’s for dinner here?”

  She laughed. “Sure, Kelsey. I’ll see you after dinner? We can have dessert, and plan our outfits—I am stuck on what to do with my hair.”

  “Great,” I said. “See you then.”

  I had supper quickly and quietly, relieved that dad didn’t seem to be in much of a mood for talking either—he was busy exchanging messages with a colleague in Tokyo—an exceptional case that allowed the temporary lifting of the phone-at-the-table ban.

  I slipped out, dropped a kiss on his head on the way out and headed to my car.

  “Kelsey!” Greer embraced me, a fragrant ball of enthusiasm, as I walked into her home. “So great to see you! Come in.”

  I felt my spirits lift—after the incident on the weekend, it was nice to feel welcomed. “It’s great to be here,” I said. I followed her through to her kitchen.

  As she usually had, she’d lit candles and we sat at her kitchen table, bowls of ice cream between us. I braced myself for Greer’s taste in unusual desserts.

  “It’s ginger and lime,” she said.

  “It’s good.”

  It was.

  We finished the ice cream and chatted about the dinner and what we would do with our hairstyles. I made some suggestions and she looked pleased. We went to her bedroom to try them out, giggling like girls.

  While we sat there, considering her hair, I cleared my throat.

  “Um, Greer? I wanted to ask you something.”

  “Yeah?” she asked, frowning. “I like it with the curls behind my ear,” she added, moving a lock of her thickly abundant curls. “What is it?”

  “Um,” I paused, gathering my thoughts. “There’s a guy. And, well, we like each other.”

  “Oh!” she sounded rapturous and I held up my hand, inviting caution. “Well? What’s up?”

  “I…you see, he thinks I like his brother.”

  “Do you?”

  I laughed, trusting Greer to be so frank.

  “I did,” I admitted. “And now, well, he‘s jealous.”

  It wasn‘t the whole story, but it carried the important bits without actually shocking anyone to the quick.

  “Well, that‘s a bit tricky,” Greer admitted. “You know, why don‘t you sell him a ticket?”

  “You mean, for the golf dinner?” I laughed aloud. It was such a wild idea! One I would never have even considered. I blushed, considering it.

  “Sure…why not?” she shrugged.

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. “There isn’t any reason why not now, is there?”

  “No!”

  We both laughed.

  “Okay,” I said. “So, if we’re going on Friday, and I’m inviting…him…how should I do my hair?”

  “Well,” Greer considered me as if she was studying for a test. “I think I like your hair best when you do that thing, you know, with the loose bits down the side.”

  “Oh?” I was surprised. It was a fairly simple hairstyle, with a plait down one side, the rest left loose.

  “Yeah,” she nodded. “With that dress it’ll really match.”

  “Thanks,” I said. I glanced at her elegant chignon. She would look so stunning it would be breathtaking. “You’re going to look so elegant.”

  “And you’re going to glow,” she stated. “Now, I guess we should probably get you home? It’s getting late.”

  I looked at the clock, noting it was almost eleven thirty.

  “Heck,” I nodded. “You’re right. We’d better do that.”

  I drove home with a strange tingling feeling in the pit of my belly. I couldn’t quite believe we’d come up with this idea. But now that we had I was really excited. We were going to invite Grayson to the golf dinner. It would be amazing.

  I fell asleep that night with a smile on my face.

  The next morning I sent the text.

  22

  Grayson

  I woke up the next morning with a strange feeling of resignation in the pit of my belly. I didn’t know exactly why, all I knew was that I felt good.

  I was going to change my life.

  I got ready, dressed and had breakfast, then headed out the door. I was just sitting down at the wheel of the car when I recalled I hadn’t even glanced at my phone. I looked. I stared.

  “Kelsey?”

  I had really thought I wouldn’t hear from her again. I entered my pass code and stared at the text there. I read it over.

  Thought you might like to come to the golf dinner with me Friday? Six thirty. The LaGrange club, Kelsey.

  I stared at the message.

  She had just invited me to the charity golf dinner? I swallowed hard.

  Sure, I wrote. I’d love that. See you soon. Bye.

  I drove to work in a state of elation.

  When I got there, I settled down to work at once, feeling energy surge through me. I was really excited. I couldn’t believe the change that had come over me from just hearing from her. It was ridiculous, but I was so happy.

  I worked until lunch, then headed out. On the way, I saw Heath.

  “Grayson?” he said. He looked strained. “We need to talk.”

  “Sure,” I said gently. Weirdly, all my rage against him had disappeared. I felt completely at peace with him, possibly for the first time in my remembered life.

  We went into my office and he shut the door. Turned to look at me.

  “Listen, Grayson,” he said seriously. “I know what I did was hurtful. And I understand that…well…stuff between us has been a bit off, for a long time. I’m sorry. I should have talked to you about this way earlier. But, better late than never, right?”

  I nodded. “It is.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said heavily. “I never thought about, well, how things were. I understand how you felt when we were growing up. I should have told you this years ago, but, well, Dad loved you.”

  I felt my throat harden. “I know,” I managed to say. I coughed.

  “No,” he said with a gentle smile. “You don’t. You see, I always felt like you were his favorite. I mean, I know he relied on me for some stuff, but, well…I was the eldest and I saw it as my responsibility. A responsibility he emphasized a lot. I guess…” he paused. An odd smile lit his eyes.

  “What?”

  “I guess I felt envious sometimes too,” he said. “Like, I felt that, well, he loved you but he needed me. Like I was only important because I could help him with the family. But you guys—you and Donnell especially—were the ones he really loved.”

  I stared at him. I had no way to say anything to that. It was astonishing.

  “You felt that?”

  He smiled. “I know. Stupid, isn’t it? But I couldn’t help it. Yes, I felt like that.”

  I sat quietly. It felt as if my whole world had just been lit. Like everything was in the same place, in exactly the same way, only everything had changed. It all looked different. My whole life was different.

  “Hell, Heath,” I said. “That’s heavy.”

  He chuckled. “I guess.”

  We sat quietly for a long time, not saying anything. At length I stretched and stood.

  “Thanks for telling me,” I said.

  That changed everything. My plans for leaving were still in the back of my head, but I felt like I should address that later. This was a space of healing. I felt like my whole lift had changed.

  He smiled. “I’m glad I did.”

  “I hope you know that isn’t true, now,�
�� I added as he turned to leave.

  “What, Grayson?”

  “That Dad didn’t love you. You must know now how much he did.”

  He smiled, a smile that did nothing to warm the raw pain in his eyes, or the tenderness of them. “I guess I know, now,” he said. “Better that I found out now, eh?”

  “Yeah,” I said gently. “That’s true.”

  We smiled at each other and there was a new understanding between us. When he went out I just sat, looking out of the window. I had brought lunch with me, luckily—something I bought on the way into work earlier—so I ate my lunch and stayed where I was, contemplating the sky beyond my window.

  I felt completely different. And I was going out.

  Friday eventually arrived. I had no idea what to wear, so I called Clarke.

  “The gray slacks and the white shirt.”

  He laughed. “Is that a code for, detonate the device?”

  I laughed too. “I hope so,” I said, though I was thinking of rather a different sort of explosion. “Well? Would it work? For dinner?”

  “Not if you don’t boil it.”

  I couldn’t help laughing. “You know what I mean. To wear. For a dinner event.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “You put a good blazer with that? It’ll rock.”

  “Thanks.”

  I dressed and brushed my hair, noting with satisfaction that the dark color of it brought out a pale golden color in my eyes. I was wearing what Clarke had approved, with a charcoal coat. I thought it looked good. Paired with dark shoes, it worked well.

  I headed out to the car.

  By the time I reached the golf club, it was six thirty exactly. I slid my BM through the gates, feeling my heart clench as I noticed how stylish the place was. I felt out of place.

  The genteel lilt and lift of voices coming from the terrace got louder, mixed with the scent of cologne and flowers in arrangements on the tables. I walked briskly up the stairs to where the doorman stood.

  “Ticket, sir?”

  I felt my heart twist. “Uh, I’m invited…”

  “He’s with me, Halston,” a voice said that I knew. I felt myself relax.

  “Oh,” the guy said, turning around and giving a radiant smile to her. I stared as she stepped forward into the doorway.

  “Kelsey,” I said.

  Dressed in white, with a sort of floaty, draping gold bodice, high heels on and her hair loose, she looked incredible. My whole body kind of melted. I stared.

  She giggled. “Grayson,” she said. “Glad you’re here.”

  We didn’t move. Nobody seemed to move. It felt like everything had gone quiet as I stared at her. The whole world receded and it was just us.

  “Well,” she said, “I’m glad you made it.”

  I smiled. “I’m glad I made it.”

  We both laughed. I felt as if my heart had melted—she looked so beautiful.

  “Well,” she said. “I guess you should come in. Join us—we’re over by the entranceway there.”

  I nodded, letting my eyes follow the direction of her gesture to where the vast terrace met a doorway, flanked with conifers, the roof jutting out overhead.

  “Great,” I said.

  We walked together onto the terrace. We were silent.

  “Did you think…”

  She stopped talking as I cleared my throat, about to start. We looked at each other and I blushed.

  “Sorry,” I said. “You start first.”

  She laughed. “Sorry,” she said. “I was just going to ask if you think it’s too sunny to go down to the garden?”

  I looked down to where some couples had spilled out onto the lawn. There was a speaker-system set up there, and genteel music wafted out, mixing with the fresh, grass-crisp air. I nodded.

  “Let’s go.”

  We went down to the less-crowded reaches of the garden.

  “You play golf?” she asked.

  I smiled. I looked into her eyes and forgot everything.

  “You look so beautiful,” I breathed.

  She giggled. “Well, thanks. That wasn’t quite what I expected as an answer, but thanks. You look nice too.”

  I laughed, and we both laughed. Her face was tilted back and it would have been so easy to lean in and kiss her lips. Here, now, with more privacy, the response of my body started to get more urgent.

  I looked around. Gently, I took her hand.

  “Shall we go over that way?”

  “Yes,” she said. “Why not.”

  We kissed.

  I looked at Grayson, my heart flooding with surprise. He was so stunning and it seemed like all the anger that had been between us had disappeared. I walked beside him into the tree line, aware of his proximity to me.

  We stopped in the shade of a vast, shady oak tree. He kissed me.

  My body caught fire.

  The rest of the dinner passed as a blur. We ate and drank and danced. Then, on the gravel of the drive, under the stars, we kissed. I could feel my body tingle with longing.

  “Should we go back?” he whispered.

  “Wait,” I said. “I just need to tell someone I’m going.”

  I tiptoed in and tapped my father on the shoulder.

  “Daddy,” I said, “I’m going back with friends. Okay?”

  He nodded. “See you tomorrow, sweetheart.”

  I kissed his head and left.

  Then I went to join Grayson in the car park.

  I turned to him and he enfolded me in his arms, holding me to his chest. I wrapped my arms around him and we stood there below the darkened sky. I could feel the excitement thrill through me and something else, an intensity of feeling that tugged my heart, as we kissed.

  We went to his home together.

  At the door, we looked at each other. His eyes were very dark and somber.

  “Kelsey,” he whispered. “You’re sure, right?”

  I smiled at him. “Grayson,” I replied. “I am. So sure.”

  We went into his bedroom.

  He undressed me with a tenderness that amazed me. His hands were strong and gentle and he removed my clothes with a slow sweetness, as if unwrapping the best gift ever. I felt cherished as he pushed me gently onto my back. He stared at me, his eyes full of tenderness.

  “You’re so beautiful.”

  He leaned over and kissed me. I held him and gently ran my hands down his strong, full-muscled back. I tugged at his shirt.

  He laughed and sat up.

  “Your turn.” I started to undress him.

  He shook his head. “Let me.”

  I waited while he undressed himself, watching through partly closed eyes as his stunning body was revealed. By the time he was finished, turning to me with that muscled body and that hard erection, I was shivering.

  He embraced me, drawing me against his lean hardness.

  “Yes?” he whispered.

  “Yes,” I said. “Oh yes.”

  He slipped in and I gasped as he filled me, a feeling so indescribable coursing through me that I wanted to cry. It felt so right.

  He moved inside me, and I heard him gasp and knew that he was feeling it too. We moved together, slowly and sweetly and it felt as if my body was blossoming, as if all my senses were awakening, like my whole self was melting in the sweetness as we coupled in a way I’d never felt before.

  Later, he lay beside me, I looked into his eyes.

  “Grayson,” I whispered.

  “My sweetheart.”

  We kissed.

  I felt myself melting into his arms and I knew that I had found someone who meant more to me than anyone I had ever experienced before.

  I rolled over and smiled into his eyes and he smiled and we lay side by side. The next thing I knew was the soft sweetness of light leaking in at the window and onto my eyelids. It was morning.

  23

  Grayson

  I woke up and looked down at Kelsey with a sense of shyness. She was so lovely that I felt as if she couldn’t really exist, a
s if I’d just conjured her up out of a dream.

  “Hello,” she said.

  We kissed.

  My whole body tingled and throbbed as I got aroused again. I looked down at her, those pale breasts with their pink nipples, that pale stomach and those perfect curves.

  I leaned over and kissed her again.

  “Good morning,” I said.

  She smiled. She drew me into her embrace and I found that, after all, I was ready for more. She pressed her body to mine and looked at me with twinkling eyes.

  “So?” she said.

  “Yes?” I asked. Already my insides were heating up to boiling point. I stroked a hand down her side and felt myself ignite.

  “So,” she said. “How about something different?”

  “Different?”

  “Yeah.”

  She rolled onto her tummy, her perfectly rounded butt skyward. I sighed, feeling my insides ache as she gently knelt up. I groaned as I saw her legs open hesitantly.

  I went behind her and pushed in, amazed by how ready I was and how ready she was. I thrust into her, already feeling my body starting to jerk and move as I pushed into her again and again.

  She cried out and her cries added fuel to my own need and soon I was pushing into her and pushing in and pushing in…

  She screamed aloud as she came, rocking back into me, her butt pressing me. I cried out and gripped her waist, my hands tight on her as we moved together.

  I was blind to everything, deaf to everything. All I felt was the slow, sweet, ecstatic build of my own come as it rose and rose and rose…

  I collapsed on her, sighing.

  She lay down and we lay like that, our skin cooling in the morning brightness.

  I rolled off her seemingly much later. Went to get a paper towel or tissue to clean up. She smiled at me.

  “Good morning.”

  “Yes,” I said.

  We both laughed.

  It was a Saturday, which was a pleasure. I waited for her to shower, then went in myself, already running through the list of possible things to cook for breakfast. When I came out, she was in the kitchen, a towel around her hair, in my nightgown. I laughed.

  “That’s where it is.”