by Jenna Payne
Somehow, that option seemed preferable, so with a burst of bravery, I finally dialed the number that I’d been staring at for days.
“Hello?” came Abe’s masculine, commanding voice, instantly sending lightning bolts of desire racing right through me.
“Hi?” I replied, breathily but also a little shy. “Erm, it’s Betty…”
“Betty!” he responded warmly. “It’s so good to hear from you.” He sounded like he genuinely meant it, which made me feel all warm and gooey inside, putting me at ease.
“It’s good to hear your voice too.” My entire body felt like it was experiencing an electric shock; every one of my nerves was on edge. I only wished that he was here, to help me reach the potential of my desire once more. But I didn’t want him alone, I wanted Charlie here too.
“I didn’t know if you would call,” he admitted. “Me and Charlie both hoped that you would.”
“Both of you?” I gasped, feeling my hand tentatively rub the skin at the waistband of my underwear.
“Of course. We’ve spoke about you a lot since the weekend.”
I imagined them huddled together; discussing our fun and my fingers found themselves exploring my body as if it was the next natural step.
“I can’t stop thinking about it either.” I panted, wondering if he could tell from my voice what I was doing. I didn’t know if I wanted him to realize, or if I wanted to keep it my own little secret.
“I don’t know where your head is at Betty, but Charlie and I would like to take you on a date?”
“How do you mean?” Every word he spoke was bringing me closer to the edge. I wondered if he could sense what he was doing to my body, how turned on he was making me. “Separately?” Sex was one thing, but they couldn’t mean all of us go out together in public, on a date, could they? Especially when they had to think about their reputations. As professional football players, surely that was the sort of thing that they needed to consider?
“No, together,” he paused thoughtfully. “Would that be okay?”
“Um…” I was distracted by the thoughts of being with them again, which were sending me wild, but the logical side of me knew that this was going to be complicated. Dating was going to be taking it to a whole new level. I might have been more than ready for that, but was the rest of the world?
“Of course we know it’s going to be difficult to navigate, but we both like you so much, and we enjoyed what happened, that we want to give it a try. Only if you’re comfortable with it of course.”
I could hear him backtracking, which was the last thing that I wanted.
“Oh no, I love the plan.” I gasped, feeling the bliss begin to work its way up my body. “I’m just worried about what people will say to you.”
“Oh pfft,” he laughed loudly. “We’re all adults and this is the twenty first century. If people can’t accept a relationship that’s a little different, then that’s their problem, not ours.”
“Really?” I couldn’t believe how relaxed he was being about the whole thing.
“Yes, so are you in?”
“I’m in.” I announced, before squeezing my mouth shut trying to keep my orgasm a secret.
As soon as Abe was gone, I immediately called Charlie, desperate to hear his voice too. It was almost as if I couldn’t deal with one without the other.
“Betty?” he asked, instantly knowing who it was. “How are you?”
“Hi Charlie,” I was still breathless from the orgasm I’d given myself, but he was making me feel horny all over again. “I just spoke to Abe.” I wanted to be honest – this would only work if we all knew exactly where we stood. “He told me about the date.”
“He did?” he sounded pleased that I might be on board with the plan. “You’re in right?”
“Of course.” I couldn’t help but smile to myself. He was so sweet, so kind. I could see myself really falling for someone like him.
“I can’t wait,” he replied quickly. “I’ve been thinking about you nonstop.”
“Me too,” I couldn’t believe how comfortable I felt around him, how truthful he made me want to be. “That was the best night of my life.”
“Well, by the looks of things, we’re going to get to experience it all over again this weekend…” he finished, and that thought got me going throughout the rest of the week.
Chapter 8
I found the guys seated at a small table in a sports bar the following Saturday night. The way their faces lit up as they saw me had me feeling all warm and romantic inside – an odd sensation for a date with two men, but one that felt right all the same. There was something about all of this that felt more right than anything I’d ever been through before – particularly my relationship with Simon. That was “normal”, traditional, and yet that had been so, so wrong.
“Hello.” I blushed as I smiled at them, and they both stood up to hug me. The way that they were behaving had me feeling much more confident about the prospect of “us” than I had before. If they didn’t care what the world thought, then neither should I.
With that thought in mind, I planted light kisses on each of their mouths in turn.
“So…” Abe started as Charlie handed me a drink. “Have you had any more time to think about what I said?”
Straight to the point, as usual. I would have to get used to that trait in Abe if this was really going to happen. Luckily, Charlie sent me a warm grin to show me that he understood whatever my decision was, either way. Again their contrast in personalities worked perfectly for me.
“I haven’t thought about anything else.” I answered honestly. I’d been considering the possibility, wondering how on Earth we were going to make it work for days, and I’d finally reached the conclusion that it didn’t really matter. We weren’t going to get married or anything, we were going to have some fun, to explore each other further, and I really wanted that. If the rest of the world had a problem with it, then there wasn’t anything I could do about that. I hadn’t wanted to even think about commitment since I broke up with Simon, but this casual arrangement with two amazing guys that I liked for their personalities as well as looks, was something that I really needed. Something that I knew I would regret forever if I turned it down.
“I think we should go for it.” I grinned, watching happiness break out on both of their faces. “I like you both, and I really want to be with the pair of you.”
“That’s amazing.” Abe grabbed my hands over the table. “I’m so pleased. This is going to be amazing…”
“But,” I jumped in, wanting to set some boundaries. “I think it would be wise to agree that if this starts feeling wrong for any of us, or it becomes complicated, then we should agree to end it.” I gulped as I spoke, really hoping that this wouldn’t happen, but I was also aware that it could, and I thought a big key to this being a success would be to have the ground rules all laid out in advance. “I don’t think we should make things even more complex than they need to be.”
“Okay.” I watched Abe and Charlie nod and agree in turn, before the conversation changed to more pressing matters. “Now, where shall we go to eat?”
Chapter 9
As we stepped into Abe’s car that was ready to take us on to a Thai restaurant nearby, I felt like my entire body was on fire with excitement. I couldn’t believe how well this experiment had gone! What had started off as a threesome on a whim, was now becoming the first relationship that I’d ever truly been excited about. I still wasn’t entirely sure how I was going to effectively cope with two boyfriends at once, but I was extra excited to find out.
My nerves were all on edge, my skin was tingling with desire, my hair was standing on end. I was beginning to wonder how the hell I was going to get through a damn meal before getting my hands on the pair of them again. Having them so near to me was an almost unbearable temptation.
And it seemed like the guys were having the same struggle, because it wasn’t long before Charlie had begun kissing me furiously, and had pushe
d me back into a lying position on the seat.
Now, as his hand travelled up my leg, I didn’t just have the prospect of Abe watching me to deal with – there was his driver too. Yes, there was a black out partition separating us, but I wasn’t certain that was enough. I knew that there was a chance that he could see too, and the idea of that was amazing. I loved every single second of it, just proving what I’d suspected – I was definitely an exhibitionist!
As Charlie’s tongue began to work its way into my underwear, driving me to the point of screaming, Abe began to kiss all over the top half of my body, tugging off my dress and bra in the process.
Again, I found myself in the midst of a million and one sensations, and again I found myself loving every single second of it. I was in a blissful, heavenly state – the kind that I knew could only come from these two men. They were absolutely perfect for me, and I didn’t think that there would ever come a time when I would want to let them go…
***
After such a session in the back of a limousine, things really could have been awkward between the three of us at a dining table. Yet somehow, they weren’t. Now, we were sitting in the restaurant, making small talk laced with sexual innuendo and I was on top of the world, happier than I ever thought possible.
I really enjoyed learning more about the guys, and being out in this public place forced us to keep our hands off of one another long enough to do that. They told me more about their football careers, Charlie told me how he loved to surf in his spare time and Abe talked about his lifelong dream to run a successful clothing business, which he intended to follow through on once his sports career was over.
I even opened up a little about myself – which was something I normally waited months to do! I just felt so confident and comfortable with the guys, like I could say anything and they would still accept me.
The more I discovered about Abe and Charlie, the deeper I fell, and I knew I was slowly teetering into the dangerous zone of never being able to come out of it, but at the same time I was addicted. I wanted to go along for the ride, even if it did end up in tears.
As we left the restaurant to go back to Abe’s home, all acutely aware of where the night was headed. We were on a high, all settled on what we’d decided to pursue, and I didn’t think anything could bring us down.
That was until we stepped from the building; all three of us holding hands, and a journalist from the local newspaper began snapping our photographs…
Chapter 10
“How long have they been outside?” Marisa asked me, panic lacing her tone.
“I don’t know.” Tears filled my eyes as I lifted up the curtain to see the press all camping outside my home. “Days. Ever since that photo was printed.”
Our local paper had run the story initially, but it had since been picked up by nationals because of the guy’s positions as football players, meaning that the entire country now knew about us. It had even been discussed on the television news! It was horrendous. I was such a private person, and it was killing me having my decisions discussed by people who didn’t even know me.
Everyone that I’d ever known had tried to get in touch with me, to find out the latest gossip, and it was driving me crazy! I couldn’t even go to work anymore because people would follow me to the office, causing issues with my bosses there. I desperately wanted to go back, to have a distraction from all of this madness, but there was just no way. Not until all of this calmed down.
I’d even had a shocking number of missed calls from Simon – not that I would have answered him – which pissed me off most of all. I didn’t want him to know a single thing about me, never mind my new partners. It was none of his business, it was no one’s business and I was frustrated that people were even interested. Okay, the guy’s might have been on their way to being famous, but I was just a normal, average person who had no idea how to negotiate this. It felt unbearably unfair.
Abe and Charlie had quickly gone from up and coming football players, to notorious celebrities, and unfortunately I couldn’t get hold of either of them to ask how they were doing – their phone lines were constantly jammed up! I had no idea what was going on, and that was almost the most upsetting part of it all.
That night, in a panic, Abe’s driver had dropped me home after we’d been blinded by the camera flashes. They’d both been on the phone to people linked to their careers at the time, so I hadn’t even had the chance to say goodbye to them, and now I had no idea when we would be able to talk again. It was safe to say that it was tearing my heart to pieces.
“Have you spoken to your mom?” Marisa asked, sounding concerned.
My mother was the only family I had left, and we weren’t overly close. However, her opinion meant a lot to me, and my best friend knew that.
“Yes, surprisingly she’s been really kind. She told me what goes on behind closed doors is private, so I shouldn’t worry about it.” It had been the one redeeming quality in our relationship, and I hoped that it would lead to a closer bond in the future.
“Good, good.” If I hadn’t had Marisa, I would have gone insane during all of this. Again, she’d been such a great friend, doing all that she could to make me as happy as she possibly could. I knew that I owed her a whole lot, and I vowed to myself that I would repay her someday. “I’ll be over tonight, okay?”
“See you then.” There was a lot of long, lonely hours that stretched before me until she arrived, but I knew that I was lucky that she was coming at all.
As we hung up the phone, I started to pace my home in a thoughtful rage. I was so upset that people were so damn interested in our relationship – what the hell did it have to do with anyone else? The more I pondered upon it, the angrier I became.
And some of the stuff that had been written about me in the newspapers was so unnecessary. I felt like those words would haunt me for the rest of my life.
Tramp.
Attention Seeker.
Gold Digger.
Harlot.
Floozy.
It was ridiculous – none of those people knew a damn thing about me and my relationship, what gave them the right to judge?
Suddenly, my phone bleeped out with a text message, making me jump about ten feet into the air. I tentatively picked up the phone, praying that it wasn’t going to be someone from the media. So far they hadn’t managed to find out my cell phone number, and I wanted it to stay that way. I dreaded the harassment that I would get when they eventually did…
Instead, the name I saw made my heart leap into my throat.
Abe.
I opened it quickly, so desperate to see what he had to say. It had felt like forever since we’d last spoke, and I was desperate to know what was going on at his end.
‘Put on the TV. Watch SportsCenter’
“What?!” I yelled out to myself. Days of no communication, and now this? It said nothing important, meant nothing to me. What the hell was going on? Why couldn’t he just speak to me properly?
I flicked the television on, feeling incredibly pissed off, but then Abe and Charlie’s faces appeared on the screen and all the negative emotion flooded away. I’d missed them too damn much to remain furious. Now that I’d seen them, I just wanted to hold them all over again, but of course I couldn’t.
It looked like they were holding a press conference, which stunned me. I had no idea where this was going to go, but by the determined look on both of their faces; it was going to be hugely important.
I slumped down onto my sofa, watching, waiting, terrified for all that could be about to happen.
“Thank you everyone for coming.” Abe spoke out over the microphone in front of him. “We want to clarify a few things.”
My heart pounded heavily in my chest and panic flowed through me. I wanted to call up Marisa, to have her go through this with me, but it was as if I was frozen to the spot, iciness filling my limbs. Clarify, what the hell were they going to clarify? It had to be about me – there was nothing else they cou
ld be talking about – but what were they going to say?
“We’ve had plenty of advice from publicists.” Charlie chipped in. “But we want to be honest with you all, let you know what’s happening.”
“The reports are true.” Abe announced, causing me to almost faint. Was he serious?! I’d expected him to deny everything; I thought they wanted to protect themselves and their careers. Were they crazy? “We are both in love with the same woman, and we are together in a polyamorous relationship…”
In love?!
Did he mean that? Did their feelings run that deep? Did mine? Why were they announcing this to the world first? It was all so insane!
“Now,” Charlie continued, “we know you must all have many questions – it’s an interesting situation, we’re aware of that – but we want to keep our private life private. It’s separate from our career, and that’s how we want it to stay. There are three people involved who all have their own lives, and that needs to be respected.”
“That’s all we want to say on the matter.” Abe jumped in once more. “That’s our official statement, now we please ask that you leave us all alone. Thank you.”
As I watched them leave the screen, I knew one thing for sure – nothing was ever going to be the same again.
Epilogue
“Who got the touchdown?” Marisa asked me, forcing her way back through the crowd.
“Charlie.” I smiled, feeling really proud of him for that one. The boys were going from strength to strength in their career, and I couldn’t be happier for them. I was even beginning to actually understand the football rules – something I never thought I’d get! It helped that Marisa worked in sports PR – she’d been a great help to me.
“So, I forgot to ask you…” She continued, sitting down beside me. “How is it? All of you living together?”
