by Arizona Tape
Beet-red, Noel peered at his shoes. Unlike Sam and Louis, he'd never shared a girl with them. He thought about it, but had never been brave enough to make a move or ask his friends if it would work. But Mary seemed to have omitted the whole process and was actually making his dreams come true.
“Hey,” he whispered back, not able to hide the blush or the smug grin appearing on his face. Well, it wasn’t everyday that a beautiful woman kissed him.
“You come here often?” Mary flirted, emphasising on the word ‘come’.
“Uummm… I live here,” Noel added helplessly, not used to women so openly flirting with him. If she kept this up, he’d just be in a constant state of looking like a tomato.
The dark-haired brunette chuckled throatily. Noel was just too cute. He had that gentle quality to him. There was a warmth and depth in his eyes that made him look both younger and older than he probably was.
“So, you don’t mind sharing me either?” Mary inquired, tilting her head to the side.
“Errmmm… No, I don’t think so. Unless you mind. I mean…” Noel stuttered, not sure if he was hearing this correctly. Mary wanted him? Even if she could have Sam and Louis?
He glanced at Louis and Sam, hoping they genuinely were okay with it, but the two men had eyes only for each other.
"You're a dick," Louis spoke.
"No, you're a dick," Sam retaliated, poking his best friend in the shoulder.
"Pffff, you're the dick."
"No, you're the dick."
Confused, Noel turned his attention back to Mary.
“No, I don’t mind sharing. Not if it means I get to be with you,” he smiled, hoping he was shaking off the uncertainty
“I’m glad to hear that,” Mary flirted, part of her still wondering how she had gone from zero men to three men. She glanced at Louis and Sam, curious if they were really okay with her having a third man.
“I’ll run circles around you.”
“As if.”
Unimpressed, Noel loudly opened the window. His friends were awesome, but they could be so immature. And why the two of them were bickering instead of paying attention to Mary, he'd never understand.
"Save it for later. Nico will be here any moment," he announced, hoping to change the conversation to something more substantial than their dick argument. He knew how that ended and he doubted Mary wanted to see a sissy fight between the two of them.
Mary perked up at the mention of Nico. They kept talking about this him, but she hadn't actually met him yet.
"Ah, the infamous Nico you're always talking about. Can't wait to meet the fourth member of your gang," Mary grinned, imaging another handsome bloke. They spoke very fondly of their other friend, but so far, she hadn't managed to actually lock him down. Mary could only hope he looked just as handsome as his three other friends.
"Nico? Nico!" Noel shouted across the street, waving his hand in the air. Mary quickly ran towards the window, studying all the passersby, wondering which one would turn around. Maybe the handsome guy in the suit? Or the sexy hunk in his tight shirt? Oh, hopefully, it was the beautiful man in the midnight blue hoodie.
A short brunette with a pixie cut pushed the heavy kitchen door open. "Hello, guys!"
Mary stared in confusion at the woman, wondering if this was another roommate they hadn't mentioned before. But as far as she knew, they lived there with just the three of them. So who was...
"Mary, this is Nico," Noel introduced. Flabbergasted, Mary frowned. That couldn't be right?
"Huh?"
Louis pointed at the figure standing beside her. "Nico, this is Mary."
Mary narrowed her eyes, wondering if she understood this right. "But... Wait... Nico is a woman?"
Equally confused, the men scratched the back of their necks as they glanced at each other. "Yes?"
"Didn't we tell you?" Sam inquired.
Mary shook her head, her dark curls dancing around her face. "Umm... No? I just..." She glanced at the group, four pairs of confused eyes directed at her. Realising she was being rather impolite, she shook the thought away and extended her hand. "I'm sorry, I must've misunderstood. Hi, I'm Mary."
Nico pressed an incredibly soft hand into hers. "No worries, not your fault! The guys keep forgetting I'm a girl," she chuckled, little dimples appearing in the centre of her cheeks. Uncomfortable, Mary's eyes shifted from the guys to Nico, unsure if she was going to like this girl or fight her. If she was this close with her men, she must be interested in them somehow? Any girl just had to be. They were perfect. But if she was one of the guys, maybe she was already friendzoned. Maybe she'd make life shitty for her though.
Mary put on a fake smile and decided to keep Nico close, just to find out what her true endgame was. If she was secretly after her men, she'd make sure to work very hard to make her disappear. Louis, Sam, and Noel were hers. And she wasn't looking to share. Not even with this "Nico".
She wondered why none of the guys told her Nico was a girl though. Was it because of shady reasons? As if they didn't want her to find out they were so close to another female? One that happened to be at their weekly gaming nights and slept over as well? Or did they genuinely not notice?
All the questions made Mary's head spin as she tried to dissect every interaction between Nico and her men. Yes, her men. She didn't care that Nico knew them longer and better, they were hers. And Mary would make sure it stayed that way.
"You're just in time, Nico! We were going to show Mary the basement," Noel smiled, waving at Mary to follow her.
* * *
"What's this place?" Mary asked, the dark room rather suspicious. Why did the guys bring her here? Was it to fool around? Dear God, she hoped it was. She wasn't really in the mood to be killed and stripped for parts. Or something else horrible.
"Just our little slice of heaven," Louis grinned, flicking on the lights.
"Welcome to our gaming cave!" Noel happily welcomed Mary, pulling a chair from underneath his desk.
Unsure, Mary glanced at the sight in front of her. Five neat desks, back to back, each with a rather expensive looking computer screens and rows of keyboards.
"Ummm..." she muttered, not entirely sure what to make of it all. None of her friends gamed. All they did was shop, drink coffee, and gossip. That was all she knew, really.
"Isn't it amazing," Sam added, looking rather proud of himself and their cave.
"Very much so?" Mary hesitantly replied, chewing on her lip. Gaming was a whole different world, one that Mary had never really explored. She always thought it was rather stupid and for nerds who had no friends. Yet, here they were. Three gorgeous men and a girl with annoyingly beautiful features, all together in a decent looking room, chatting away enthusiastically. As far as groups went, Mary had to admit she hadn't met a tighter knit group than this one.
"What kind of games do you play?" she asked, wondering if they would be playing something like... Runescape. Or World of Warcraft. Those were really the only games she had heard about.
"We play RIVER," Noel explained, pointing at a big poster hanging on the wall. Mary studied the five armoured figures posing for the picture and wondered what kind of game this was supposed to be.
"I'm sorry, that doesn't really mean anything to me," she muttered, feeling out of her depth. If it wasn't for them, she would never have touched a video game. Not even with a glove. Yet here she was, surrounded by gaming computers, tacky looking posters, and not to forget, four avid gamers herself.
"It's an open world MMORPG,” Louis grinned.
Mary frowned. “A what?”
“A massively multi online role-player game,” Noel added helpfully, except that that still didn’t mean a thing to Mary.
“A what?” she repeated herself, staring at the group. She didn’t speak nerd.
“It’s basically a massive game where everyone plays together and we all get to pick cool characters,” Nico explained, finally using regular words.
Hang on, let us start the game and
you can join us." A doubtful look flashed over Louis' face as he saw Mary's reluctance. Maybe he had gauged this wrong after all. Maybe she'd think they were all nerds and she'd run in the opposite direction. He glanced at the fifth desk, the one that had been gathering dust for a while now. Valerie certainly didn't stay.
Mary inspected the beaming faces of her new group, deciding that trying something new couldn't harm her. If they were this enthusiastic over this gaming thing, it had to be good, right?
"Sure, why not."
Sam and Louis glanced at each other, relieved Mary wasn't running. Yet. They had grown quite fond of the dark-haired woman. There was just something about her vibe that they liked a lot.
With a click and a low rumble, the computers booted to life.
"Here, let me help you," Noel smiled, beckoning for Mary to join him as he opened a new screen on the fifth computer. "We'll set you up with an avatar. Here, you can grab yourself a name and change your features."
"And clothes," Nico added with a wink, pointing at a set of buttons. "They're guys. They always forget you can wear badass armour and look pretty at the same time."
Mary gratefully smiled at the brunette, suddenly quite happy she wasn't the only female in this company. As great as Louis, Sam, and Noel were, they were guys. Maybe having Nico around wasn't such a bad thing, after all.
"What class do I pick?" Mary asked, as she studied the box in front of her. There were a couple of different races and classes, but none of them rang a bell.
"What's a... Kelpie?"
Nico smiled as she leant down to help Mary out. A whiff of lavender filled Mary's nose as Nico revealed another box with the descriptions for every race.
"You can pick what kind of role you want to play. Judging from... Hmmm..." A mischievous twinkle flashed through her eyes. "Your role in our group, I'd go for healer."
"Healer?" Mary muttered, not sure what that meant. "Why a healer?"
Nico chuckled. "You'll be the one person we all have to protect. I thought it was fitting."
Mary narrowed her eyes, unsure if Nico was making fun of her or just friendly goofing around. She pushed her hair behind her ears, her pink lips curling up in a smirk. Maybe just some friendly fun.
"If you think it fits?" she hesitantly asked, glancing at the rest of the men.
Nico chuckled, her laugh cutting through the men's chatter. "I think it'll fit you just fine," she smiled, winking at Mary.
After some debate and a long list of pros and cons, Mary finally pushed her avatar into the world. It was weird to watch herself walk around in a fictional world, especially since she modeled her character after herself.
"So what do we do now?"
Nico pointed at a couple of the buttons and with a simple click, Mary was suddenly holding a weird looking wand in her hand.
"We'll take it easy so you can get into it. But basically, you just have to make sure we don't die. You have a couple of potions here that you can use to enchant us. But I'll stick close to you and help you out."
Mary nodded, only half listening to what Nico was explaining. The brunette's scent was distracting. And her voice mesmerising. So calm, yet so vibrant at the same time.
"Mary, you still with me?"
A chill ran down her spine. The way Nico said her name, now that was something she could get used to. Maybe in a different context she could be moa...
Wait...
Mary paused her train of thought, wondering where those thoughts came from. She'd never looked at a girl before, yet here she was, thinking about Nico's voice and how soft her skin looked. If only she could trail her fingers over it, just so she could find out if she was right.
Maybe all the sex was making her extra horny? Yeah, that must've been it.
Mary tore her eyes away from the brunette and tried to keep up with all the buttons and numbers dancing on the screen.
"Umm..."
"I'll teach you as we go," Nico promised, a sly smirk dancing around her lips.
"Ooh, it's been awhile since we had a fifth member. It'll be fun!" Noel cheered, whooping excitedly with a big set of headphones over his ears.
"You better not drag us down or I'll leave you dead in a ditch," Louis teased, sticking out his tongue at Mary from behind his own screen.
Sam winked. "See you on the field!"
"Alright, let's gear up, guys. Ladies," Nico smiled, making Mary blush under her gaze.
What was happening?
"Ready to clear this dungeon?" Nico added, a determined look on her previously soft face. With authority in her voice, she added some other commands that the rest followed to the teeth. Mary frowned at the sudden change in her demeanour, but couldn't help note that she found it rather attractive. This was not at all what she expected from the soft-spoken young woman. But here she was, seated in front of her screen, rather dominant and fierce.
Interesting, Mary thought, suddenly realising why none of the guys ever mentioned Nico was female. They simply hadn't noticed.
"Mary, stick close to me. I'll protect you," Nico added, sending a shiver down Mary's back. Wow. Now that was something every girl wanted to hear.
Usually, Mary would want those sentences coming from a guy. Not just a guy, preferably Louis, Sam, or Noel. But the way Nico said it and was intensely staring at her? Mary couldn't deny it was far more alluring and seductive than she'd anticipated. She glanced at her three men and smiled. Maybe three wasn't enough.
“You comfortable there?” Nico smiled, brushing her hand over Mary’s thigh. Whether that was purposely or accidental, she didn’t know. But it sure as hell felt nice. Unfamiliar nice. But definitely nice.
Mary glanced at Nico as she coordinated the guys. Her nose bridge creased when she smiled and every once in awhile, her tongue wetted her pink lips. Her voice was smooth, silky, soft. The timbre sent a set of shivers down her spine, and for the life of her, Mary couldn’t tear her eyes away from the pixie blonde.
“Ready to go, Mary?”
Flushed, she gaped at Nico.
“Ummm…”
“Don’t worry, I’ll guide you through. I’ll show you everything,” Nico whispered, winking just as sexily as Sam.
A twinge ran down to Mary’s core. How unusual. But not unwelcome. Didn’t the guys say they shared everything in their squad? And if Nico was a part of that, maybe she could get in on the new arrangement.
Mary bit her lip, a whole new list of possibilities playing out in her head. Images of Sam, of his piercing blue eyes and his raw magnetism. Louis, who kept challenging her and was steadily driving her crazy. Noel, gentle and shy, a welcome change. And Nico. Definitely Nico. Brunette, curved, and breathtakingly beautiful.
Masked with a cough, Mary hid a grin behind her hand. No matter how things would play out, one thing was certain. This holiday season was turning out much better than expected.
Chapter 8: Go With The Gay
Relieved, Mary splashed a handful of water in her face. It was good being on her own in the bathroom so she could cool herself down. Even if it was just a game, the four had gotten very intense about it and the atmosphere changed from the moment Nico commanded the group. It had gotten… Hot.
Happy to steal a moment for herself, the image of the brunette popped back into her head. The way her pink lips curled and her nose scrunched as she happened to slaughter a whole horde of goblins. Not exactly the sexiest of activities, and yet… She looked so sexy when concentrated. Mary wondered if she’d still have that intense look on her face when she was being distracted by—
“Why am I thinking those kind of thoughts?” Mary asked her reflection, staring at the dark-haired image of herself. She never really felt that way about women, but then again, both Sam and Louis had taken her off guard. Maybe it was the cold. Or she’d drank a spiked cocoa. Whatever it was, Mary couldn’t remember the last time she felt as drawn to someone as she felt to this group. She wasn’t even sure if she’d ever felt this flushed.
She inspected her cheeks, wond
ering if she was visibly blushing. If they picked up on that, surely, she wouldn’t live down all the teasing they did.
“Are you okay?”
Startled, Mary jumped up to find Nico in the door opening.
“Uum…” she stuttered, confused why the door wasn’t locked. Hadn’t she done that when she got in? Or did she just forget? Had she been that flustered?
“I’m sorry if we scared you off. It can get a bit… Intense.” Nico smiled, leaning against the frame as she studied Mary.
“No, no. I’m just not used to being around a lot of people,” Mary half-confessed, half-lied. Nico was right, it was intense, but probably not in the way she meant it.
“So it’s not me?”
Mary frowned. Why would she possibly have an issue with Nico?
“What do you mean?” she voiced her question, studying the petite brunette. Nico chuckled softly, running a hand through her pixie cut.
“The guys and I are just friends. We’ve always been, so you don’t need to worry about me,” she smiled, winking at the other woman to put her at ease. Mary’s cheeks heat up and she hid the blush by turning away from Nico.
“Oh, yes, I figured,” she replied, hoping she wasn’t revealing the effect Nico had on her.
A jolt sparked through Mary’s body as Nico placed her hand on her upper arm. Startled, she turned to meet the brunette’s eyes.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Nico asked softly, concern flicking through her eyes. Surprised, Mary noted they were a deep emerald green. That was unusual. And enchantingly beautiful too.
“Yes, it’s just a lot to take in. And I’m not talking about the guys cocks,” she joked, immediately regretting her choice of words. Why was she always so blunt? Nico said she wasn’t interested, but did she really mean it? Maybe this was just the trigger of jealousy she needed.
Nico laughed out loud, her green eyes brimming with amusement. “They sure try and stick their dick in any pretty girl they see. Horny men.”
“In you too?” Mary inquired, double checking whether she was dealing with just a friend or an ex.
