Three Times Lucky: Five Sizzling Tales of Three-Way Love

by Kim Carmichael

  She sidled beside Lila and before she settled in, felt an arm wrap around her naked waist.

  “He convinced you to stay, hm?”

  Ivanka turned to Lila, shifted so she could move the older woman’s hair out of her face, then placed a kiss on Lila’s cheek. “Yeah. I’m here for the night, sweetheart. Go back to sleep.”

  “I love you,” Lila murmured.

  “I love you too.” So very much, the both of you.

  Ivanka settled in against Lila, then felt Jesse’s weight on the bed. He stretched an arm over both women and pulled them to him before he nodded off.

  Yeah, this was what she wanted, Ivanka decided.

  * * * *

  The drive back into the City sucked. Tired, slightly sore, but the pain was good pain, Ivanka managed to make it through her work day without incident. Her dog was certainly glad to see her when she came in around seven in the evening. Donna had been walked by her neighbor, fed, but sure enough, his dopey grin never failed to make Ivanka smile.

  Her parents had both called, leaving voicemails she dreaded hearing. More complaints, more expectations that didn’t meet her goals, more bullshit.

  She’d listened to them on the drive home, feeling her blood pressure rise with each word her father punctuated when he said, “you have duty to your family and your childish behavior with regard to relationships in the adult world shows a complete lack of respect for that duty.”

  She wanted to call them back, yell at them and shut them out of her life. If they couldn’t be happy with how she chose to live, fuck them. Her parents had called a few weeks earlier, inviting her to some pompous political event, claiming they were making inroads with the local city officials.

  It turned out to be a disaster once the politicians in question saw Ivanka Buranich. She’d made the mistake in her earlier years of being an activist for some of the wrong causes. The one time she hadn’t done her research led her to a rally hosted by PETA, a known terrorist organization that continuously tried to undermine capitalistic principles under the guise of saving animals from cruelty.

  She’d learned a lesson at that rally and it was the force needed to give her animal rights organization a true mission.

  Of course, her parents were embarrassed once the mayor’s aide whispered in her father’s ear, hoping they were obviously joking.

  Her father moved to look at his daughter, a scowl on his face. “I told you this behavior of yours would come back to bite you.”

  Ivanka spun on her heels, stormed out with the grace of a pachyderm and vowed no more political functions without having checked out the guest list. Certain politicians were much more friendly to her cause than others.

  San Francisco had an image for being this open, tolerant city, but the bullshit meter broke when politics played into things.

  Of course her parents invited her to yet another function just the other day.

  Grudgingly, she went because it was a chance to connect with powerful money. Luckily, her parents had to bail, said they had to use the tickets though.

  Naturally, she invited Lila and Jesse. Both came and helped her schmooze with the best of them. Ivanka hated putting them in that position but she needed the money for her charity. And Jesse’s cool behavior had helped raise a few hundred thousand dollars. Lila’s persuasive, yet calm, Zen-like energy seemed to help rally a great deal of support for Ivanka’s charity, despite this being an event related to something completely different. Yeah, bad form, her parents would say.

  So what? It wasn’t her problem that her parents, particularly her father, were constantly disappointed. Naturally, after friends of both daughter and parent who donated had talked to her father, he had to call and lay into her over the rudeness in which she conducted herself.

  “Bite me,” she’d retorted and hung up. She’d done good with her life, had a steady, stable job and more love than she could want from Lila and Jesse.

  That’d been the last time she talked to her parents. But she wished badly for the love and support parents should give their only child.

  Ivanka sat down beside Donna and pet her head.

  He looked up at her with those big, beautiful puppy eyes, gave her a knowing nod and let his head fall in her lap.

  She curled up tight against him and stroked his fur, preferring the calming repetitive motion to the thing she had to do instead. Leaning back against the couch, she closed her eyes and let the soothing motion of petting her hound dog’s fur calm her.

  * * * *

  The buzzing of Ease of Disgust’s song “Interrupt the Collision” a favorite death metal band startled her awake. Ivanka looked to the source of the loud screaming and angsty guitars coming from somewhere…her purse?

  Yeah, her purse. Donna lifted her head, shifted and stretched, opening his mouth for a big yawn she found cute, before she slid off the couch and retrieved her phone while it still rang.

  “Hello?” She ran a hand through her hair, straightened her blouse and groaned when she realized who had called.

  “Dear, it’s your mother. We would like to talk.”

  “I’m through mother. Been a rough day. If you’re calling to invite me out again—”

  “No,” her mother sighed slowly, a long, drawn out sound Ivanka recognized as her mother’s way of dealing with difficult questions or statements. “We understand…you’ve had a rough time. We want,” she sighed again, the sound of her releasing breath irritating Ivanka further, “to invite your lover—”

  “Lovers!”

  “Lovers,” she imagined her mother rolling her eyes at the correction, “over for dinner. To meet them.”

  Great. Just what she needed. A chance for her parents to judge her lovers in front of their faces, rather than behind their backs. She hadn’t even had a chance to tell them the worst of her troubles, let alone why she’d tried to put distance between them last night. Shit. What the hell was she to say?

  “Ivanka?”

  “Yes Mom, I’m here. But I don’t see how inviting my lovers to dinner is going to solve anything. You and Dad are still going to judge me, see how unfit I am since I don’t meet your standard of living and—”

  “Now you listen right now, young lady. I’m making a damn effort and your father…he’s beside himself.”

  “Let me guess, how could his only daughter, a formally educated woman, fall into the hands of bastardized love?”

  “No.” She sighed again.

  It grated on Ivanka’s nerves like sandpaper on a fresh grenade wound. “Spill it.”

  “Just listen, your father wants his only child to have a good life. We both do. It’s just…this arrangement isn’t common and will be looked down upon.”

  “As if the world has to know my personal business. Forget it, Mom.” She gritted her teeth and forced herself to stand her ground. “No way would I bring them around for the kind of scrutiny they’d get from both of you, or the servants, or any of your friends.”

  “Ivanka, please. Don’t make me beg.”

  She’d relish the thought of her haughty mother begging. The tone of her mother’s voice had begun to wear down her defenses because in the end, she wanted to be her mother’s little girl still.

  “Don’t you find it unfair to them by making the decision to deal with us?”

  Fuck. Logic.

  Ivanka didn’t reply.

  “I raised you better than that. You may have your father’s business sense but I raised you to think about being fair.”

  That indicated her father taught her to be cutthroat. Which, he had. It had been his biggest dream for her to take over the company and ditch out on the childish idea of saving some animals better left to nature, while burying her competition and providing for future generations.

  Their future generations, anyway.

  “Ivanka…”

  Fuck. “Fine Mom. When?”

  “How does Friday night work for you? I mean, do you have to sync up schedules or is that a…sex night?”

&n
bsp; Ivanka cringed at her mother’s elongated pause before she said sex. “First off, I’ll check. Yes, we may have to sync our schedules. Being in a triad is work, mother. Second, don’t ever say sex to me again. I don’t want to think about that. Eww.”

  “I’m your mother!”

  “Yeah, and that’s how it should stay.” She put a hand to her forehead, disbelief in her agreement with this setting in. “What time?”

  “Seven sounds good.”

  “I’ll try to get off work early. You know I don’t leave until six thirty. And with rush hour…”

  “Do try to be on time. If you can make it. Call me and let me know. Toodles.”

  “Goodbye mother.” Ivanka hung up the phone, stepped back to the couch and slumped beside her dog. “You think this is a good idea?”

  He lifted his large head, gave her those puppy dog eyes and let out a long breath.

  “Me either. But I have to give them a chance, if I love them.”

  Her dog groaned.

  “My thoughts exactly.”

  Before she could change her mind, she punched in Lila’s number and hoped neither she nor Jesse would answer. On the fourth ring, Lila’s voicemail picked up and greeted Ivanka with the usual cheery yogini inspired message that made Ivanka’s heart sink further. She didn’t want to throw her lovers to the sharks, but if the offer was on the table, they were all grown adults and could conduct themselves as such.

  “Hey baby, listen. Call me when you get this. I…Mom invited all of us to dinner and I really don’t want to go but I have to at least offer you and Jesse the choice so call me. Love you. Bye.”

  She hit end and tossed her phone on the chair beside the couch before looking back at her dog.

  He still wore the same expression.

  Chapter Four

  Not one to normally have a drink during her work day, Ivanka practically guzzled her glass of wine and ordered a second while she ate her roast beef sandwich and sat across from her two lovers.

  Jesse looked sharp as ever. In a full business suit, dark hair tied back in a ponytail, he looked like the proverbial bad ass of business. Only his heart was made of gold and instead of the evil that men were capable of as accountants, Jesse chose to work with small businesses and help them by consulting—for a fee of course, to help their bottom lines. The dark blue suit brought out the color of his eyes, added good contrast for his tanned skin and fit him to a T. He took bites periodically from his chicken salad while listening to Ivanka rant.

  Lila sat on her other side, the sun beaming down on light skin and adding shine to her hair. Her sweater hid her features but it had been cold outside. Of course, blank pants covered her assets nicely.

  Ivanka would rather be in bed biting that well rounded ass, rather than outside having lunch and talking about her parents.

  “So, what’s the deal?” Lila frowned. “You leave this voicemail, it’s rushed and I get it. But tell us what we need to know.”

  Jesse took another bite of his salad before stabbing the lettuce with his fork. “Yeah,” he wiped his mouth, “what’s the big deal? They can’t be too terrible.”

  “Oh fuck,” Ivanka rolled her eyes. “You’re thinking of the better side of humanity again Jesse, and it’s adorable but my parents are ravenous vultures who dislike anything outside the status quo. The wealthy don’t behave in this manner.”

  Lila reached for Ivanka’s hand. “What if they’re trying to understand you from an honest perspective? Can’t they be open new things?”

  “You can’t teach old dogs new tricks, dear.” Ivanka snorted, thinking back on how her parents chose to live with unrealistic ambitions for their only daughter. “My parents are set in their ways.”

  Lila frowned.

  “I’m serious! My mother is convinced I’m living a life in sin and going to hell because I chose to be with a woman and a man, both of whom are unmarried, by the way.”

  Lila rolled her eyes. “Look, it’s ultimately your call. I think we can handle anything, and Jesse will back me up on this when he stops shoveling food into his gullet.”

  He grinned, swallowed and took a huge gulp of water before meeting Ivanka’s eyes. “This is a test, darling. It’s not just for you, it’s for the three of us. If we were to remain in this triad, we’re going to have to meet our parents and deal with them. It’s part of life. Lila’s parents have already met me and have,” he blinked, “not the most favorable opinion of me. But that’s because I’m not what they expected. They will warm up. And if not, we only have to see them a few times a year as far as she’s concerned.”

  Lila nodded. “Jesse’s parents however, adore me. But you can’t have everything the way you want it all the time, darling. It just isn’t how the world works.”

  “But I want you. And I want my charity and I want…fuck I don’t know.”

  Lila gave Ivanka’s hand a squeeze. “You do. Your heart knows and it can have what it needs if you’ll let it.”

  “But…” Ivanka reached for her glass but Jesse snatched it away.

  “Hey! I thought you weren’t supposed to drink during your lunch hour. Something about carbs?” Jesse offered her that boyish grin she fell in love with.

  “I can have one during lunch once in a while. And this is more important.”

  He set the glass in front of him and took Ivanka’s other hand instead. Giving it a good squeeze, he met Lila’s stare, then Ivanka’s. Both of them tugged her forward slightly and smiled.

  “We can do this if you’ll let us help you through it, baby.” Lila’s words echoed in Ivanka’s head. She wanted to believe them, but her parents had been boorish, unbearable to her last boyfriend and he was normal compared to her being in a loving triad.

  “You’re going to have to trust us and want this relationship bad enough for us all to weather the storm, Ivanka. It’s tough. Being poly isn’t easy all the time, any more than being in a traditional relationship is. No one said this would be easy.”

  “This is my first one.”

  “I know, and we’d like to hope this works out for all of us. But if we don’t face hardships together, we won’t be as strong. Shutting either one of us out, whatever the reason, isn’t the best for any of us.” Lila nodded.

  Ivanka relaxed her shoulders just a little. “You’re both right. I need to face this and if I truly loved you both the way I say I do, I’d go ahead and accept my parents’ invitation. Friday at seven. Pick you up at your place?”

  Both Lila and Jesse nodded.

  “Great. It’s a date.” She groaned when they both nodded in acknowledgement.

  Famous last words.

  * * * *

  Tapping the steering wheel nervously, Ivanka waited in the driveway for Jesse and Lila to come down the long staircase and into the mouth of hell. Her parents lived in Nob Hill, the rich part of town compared to the Sunset and much of San Francisco. They’d chosen to buy one of the mansions remaining there, renovate it and make it their home. Ivanka spent much of her childhood raised in that part of town and had grown accustomed to stepping outside the boundaries when her parents weren’t watching—something that often happened. Staff helped keep an eye out for her but when she grew too old for their shadowing, her parents eventually took to teaching her street smarts from the wealthy point of view.

  But now, she dreaded going home. Yes, she lived in the Bay, wasn’t that far away and while her job kept her close to her parents; she’d preferred to avoid Nob Hill and its snobbery.

  Of course that snobbery was the exact reason butterflies danced wildly in her stomach until she heard the familiar click of a door shutting and saw both Jesse and Lila coming down the narrow steps of their house.

  Her mouth dropped open.

  Lila emerged first, wearing a black skirt and cute long sleeved top, and from what Ivanka could tell, lipstick to emphasize her full lips. Her hair had been done up so it rested in a bun atop her head, an easy task considering it barely hung past her shoulders. Heels completed the out
fit, making her look stunning compared to her normal yoga pants and oversized t-shirt look

  Or lingerie.

  Ivanka licked her lips at the mental image.

  Jesse followed close behind, dressed to kill. Black suit, hair slicked back into a ponytail, was that a vest he wore? And with the windows rolled down, she could hear the click of his dress shoes on the marble steps. The suit he wore fit him perfectly, emphasizing his slender figure and long legs. He walked down the steps with confidence and poise, mimicking Lila’s graceful motions.

  The two really were a fitting pair.

  Swallowing the lump in her throat, Ivanka wondered how she fit with this pair again.

  Finally, Lila made it to the driveway with Jesse behind her. She stood, he stopped behind her, set an arm around her waist. They looked in Ivanka’s direction.

  Ivanka blinked and looked again.

  Both of them approached the car. Jesse opened the door for Lila, let her slide in, then closed it before joining her in the back of Ivanka’s Mercedes.

  Ivanka had chosen to wear a simple black pantsuit and pumps while clipping her hair behind her and letting it hang down for the most part.

  “Hey.” Lila put her hand on Ivanka’s.

  Turning her head, Ivanka reminded herself to pick her jaw up off the floorboard of her car. She stretched to see Jesse buckle himself in. “Are we ready?”

  Ivanka swallowed the growing lump in her throat. “If you guys don’t want to do this…”

  “Relax, baby. It’ll be fine. They can’t be animals, can they?”

  She met Jesse’s stare. “You don’t know my father and how overbearing he can truly be. The man’s a…”

  Lila leaned over, touched Ivanka’s shoulder and pressed a light kiss on her cheek “Relax. We’re both grown adults, as are they. You’re not just their little girl. It’ll be fine.”

  “I hope so. Things won’t get started until after dinner. A quiet one at that. No one talks at the table, not really, anyway. It’s…their way of doing things.” She sighed. “It’s their version of sophisticated. Food should be eaten as it’s served, not talked about until it gets cold.” She groaned, quoting her father.