My 5 Bosses

by Penny Wylder

  “You’re doing good, really?” she asks, snatching the phone before I can shut it off. She squints at the grade, frowning. “This isn’t like you, Cass. Are you really okay?”

  “What’s not like her?” Anthony asks, leaning in, and Nita turns the phone around to show him the grade.

  My cheeks flare red-hot, and I snatch it back. Not fast enough to hide the C- on the screen, though. “It’s just one test,” I mumble. “I can make up for it with some extra credit work.”

  “Just one test, in your favorite class,” Nita counters, shaking her head. “You definitely need some friend love. I’ll stick around for a while.” She nudges me with a hip, grinning. “Study session tonight? You’re invited too if you want,” she adds to Anthony with a wink, and my cheeks flare for a completely different reason.

  He smiles at her, and there’s an unpleasant curl of jealousy in my stomach. But is that even fair? What am I to the guys, just a hook-up? I’m not their girlfriend, am I? So could I be jealous if they wanted to flirt with someone else?

  Nita catches my expression and frowns, and I shake my head with a sigh. “Sure. Study session later. But I’ve got to shower real quick, can I meet you downstairs?”

  The moment she leaves, Anthony frowns at me. “What’s going on?” he asks gently. “Your friend is worried about you?”

  “It’s just school stuff—”

  “She didn’t see your grades until just now,” he points out. The door opens again and we both freeze, thinking it’s Nita returning. But it’s only Vin. He crosses the room to kiss my cheek, but I flinch, and now he’s frowning at me too.

  “What’s up?” he asks, looking between Anthony and me, picking up on the tension in the room.

  “Nita doesn’t know about us, does she?” Anthony asks. But the way he says it, it sounds like he’s upset, almost offended.

  Vin tilts his head, eyebrows knitting together. “Nita, the one you mentioned before?” he says, eyes boring into mine. “Your best friend?”

  “She showed up for a visit unexpectedly.” I wince, avoiding Anthony’s question.

  He isn’t willing to let it drop. “You didn’t tell your best friend that you’re seeing us?”

  “I…” I shake my head. Seeing them? Dating them? Is that what we’re doing? I can’t quite bring myself to ask, though, because I’m afraid of what their answer might be. “Nita’s pretty straight-laced. And she knows I’m a virgin. She’d freak out if she learned that my first time… That I’m seeing two guys at once right now. It’s strange, okay, you have to admit that much.” I bite my lip.

  But the guys’ frowns only deepen. “Are you embarrassed by us?” Anthony scowls.

  Vin, for his part, just watches us silently, processing. The pained look on his face sends an arrow straight to my heart. But what can I do? The situation isn’t normal. And Nita would freak out if she knew…

  “It’s not that,” I protest. “I just… I need to give her some time. Before I spring something like this.”

  “Give her some time,” Vin repeats. “Right.”

  I grimace, closing my eyes so I don’t need to watch their faces anymore. “Is that okay?”

  “For now,” Vin replies.

  When I open my eyes again, both guys are gone, and I wonder with a sinking sensation in my chest if I’ve lost them both.

  “Okay, what’s going on?”

  “What do you mean?” I ask innocently. Nita sits across from me in the dimly-lit library, brow furrowed as she studies my face rather than the textbook open between us.

  “You’re drifting. Did you even hear the last question I asked you?”

  “Um… Something about cell structure?” I force a wide smile.

  She rolls her eyes. “Cass, this isn’t like you. Normally you’re totally focused. Normally you’re the one making me pay attention. What’s really going on?”

  “Nothing,” I reply, too fast and too nervously.

  Those wide brown eyes of hers narrow. “Is it the guy you told me about?”

  My face flushes. Nita saw Anthony in my room—hell, Anthony let her in. Plus, she’s observant—she probably noticed the photos Vin hung around his bed, of him in lacrosse gear or the picture of him and his little sister posing for the camera. Has she guessed that my complaints about the guy who wouldn’t bang a virgin were about Anthony or Vin? Or that the two guys I was choosing between are my roommates?

  “It’s not exactly that…”

  She rolls her eyes. “Cass, I told you, he’s an asshole, whoever he is. Get over him. And hey, weren’t there two guys chasing you for a while? Who’s the other one?”

  “The virgin thing was a misunderstanding—” I start to say, but then Nita’s eyes flash over my head, and I pause mid-sentence.

  “Anthony!” Nita’s smile widens and she pats the seat beside her. “Come join us. We’re just discussing Cass’s love life having her in a tizzy.”

  “Is that so?” he asks, eyes boring into me as he accepts the chair beside Nita.

  My face was already hot; now it burns so bright I’m surprised the fire alarm doesn’t start going off. “It does not,” I mumble.

  “Right, you’re just distracted by all this biology homework.” Nita nudges Anthony, grinning sideways at him, expecting him to share in the joke.

  Something unpleasant curls in my stomach. But that’s not fair. She doesn’t know Anthony is one of the guys—or even that there are two guys I’m seeing at once. And I have no one to blame for that but myself.

  Anthony smiles at Nita, polite, restrained, but she leaves her elbow nudged against his and carries on, joking about my distracted state, my inability to concentrate.

  I can’t reply. My throat is too tight at the sight of her and Anthony touching. I push back my chair suddenly and surge to my feet. “Sorry. I need… bathroom,” I stammer, before bolting out of the library.

  I should’ve known that move wouldn’t work. Before I even make it to the hallway, Nita is on me, tugging my arm to her side. “What’s wrong?” she asks, her eyes wide and sincere as she trails me into the bathroom.

  “Nothing is wrong!” I snap so loud that Nita blinks in shock.

  “Cass.” She’s smart, my best friend. Her eyes dart from me to the library and back again. “Oh, crap. Wait. Is Anthony… Was he one of the guys?” Nita lowers her voice to a whisper and I grimace. Nita scowls then. “Did he stop liking you when he found out you’re a virgin? Because I’ll go punch him right now—”

  “No, that was a misunderstanding. He only wanted… He wanted my first time to be special, so he didn’t want to just hook up.”

  Her eyes widen. “Did you guys already hook up?”

  I can’t lie well enough to dodge this one. I stare at the floor, embarrassed as hell.

  But Nita, for her part, is whooping and jumping, clapping my shoulder. “Finally! And damn, nice catch, he’s hot as hell too.” She nudges my elbow and winks.

  I groan again. “It’s not that big a deal—”

  “I’m just happy for you, Cass.” She wraps her arm around my shoulders and squeezes me in a hug. “No wonder you’re distracted, huh? Hooking up with the hottest guy in school and your roomie. It all makes sense now.” Her smirk widens. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to hit on your man. But he totally wasn’t into it anyway.”

  I snort. “It’s fine. Sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”

  “All good. I’ll just take your guys’ other roomie—he’s pretty hot too, in his own way,” she adds, already turning away from me toward the mirror, flipping her hair over one shoulder.

  My emotions are already too all over the place. Plastered across my face. I can’t stop the fire that erupts at the thought of Nita turning her attention on Vin next. “No fucking way,” I snap before I can think better of it.

  Nita’s eyes widen again in shock. “Cass?”

  I can’t do this. I can’t deal with her finding out, not yet. Not when I still don’t even know what’s going on. I storm out of the bathroom, sp
eeding up when tears start to sting my eyes. I walk blind, stumbling through the library, the halls, not stopping until I’m outside in fresh air, and even then, the campus feels too big. Brightly lit and full of curious bystanders casting sideways glances at me, wondering why I’m tearing up in the middle of the quad.

  I storm behind the nearest building and press my back to the stone. Take deep, slow breaths until my breathing steadies. Sink slowly down, sitting against the stone, letting my head drop to my lap.

  I don’t know how long I sit like that before I feel a warm hand gently touch my shoulder. I glance up to find Anthony sitting beside me, and Vin on his other side. Both are watching me carefully like they’re afraid I’ll break.

  “Are you okay?” Vin asks softly, and the way he says it makes my whole body flare with heat. He doesn’t just want me, he cares about me. They both do—it’s written all over their faces now.

  When it’s just us, just Vin and Anthony and me, alone in our room, this thing between us feels so right. But how could anyone else understand? How could I admit these feelings in public if I can’t even handle explaining the situation to my best friend in the world?

  “Not really,” I murmur in response. Anthony tightens his grip on my shoulder, and Vin slides around to my other side so I’m caught between their warm bodies, their arms holding me upright. I lean back and sink into their familiar embrace, letting myself forget for a moment everything else I’m worried about. Vin rests his forehead against mine, and Anthony tilts his head to rest on my shoulder.

  “You can talk to us, you know,” Anthony says softly.

  “I know.” I close my eyes. Swallow thickly. “It’s just… What are we doing? What is this between us? Will anyone else…”

  “Who cares what anyone else thinks?” Vin interrupts, with such fire in his voice that I turn to look at him. His dark eyes sear into mine before he dips his head and presses a gentle kiss to my lips. “All that matters is how we feel.”

  “How do we feel?” I ask, my voice soft. Weak.

  “Speaking for myself?” Anthony cups my chin gently in his fingers. Tilts my face to his and brushes his lips against mine, a feather-light kiss. “I want to be with you.”

  “But…”

  Vin interrupts, running his fingers through my hair. “And so do I. This isn’t just sex, Cassidy. Not for us.”

  “It isn’t for me, either,” I admit, biting my lip as I look back and forth between the guys. “But it’s… I’ve never felt like this for anyone, and now…”

  “Does it matter that there’s two of us?” Anthony asks, lifting an eyebrow. “If we both love you?”

  My breath catches in my throat. I can’t have heard that right.

  But Vin is smiling now, twining his fingers through mine as Anthony takes my other hand. “We love you, Cassidy,” Vin says, and my heart feels like it could burst in my chest, this feels so right. So perfect.

  “Cass?”

  Shit.

  All three of us freeze in place. I lift my head to find Nita striding around the corner of the building. Her mouth actually falls open as she takes us in, all three of us sitting against the building, the guys pressed against either side of me, our hands entangled.

  And here it is. The moment I dreaded. The real world finding us out. Stopping us. I steel myself for the anger, the accusations, the freaking out at how strange this situation is.

  Instead, I feel my own mouth dropping open as my best friend starts to laugh.

  “Nita?” I ask, but she’s shaking her head, beaming at me, and I’m so confused.

  “Cass.” She heaves a huge sigh and sinks to a crouch in front of us. “I get it now. Why didn’t you tell me sooner you liked both guys?”

  Anthony and Vin tighten their grips on my hands, and when I glance between them, they’re both smirking now, relieved that we don’t have to hide anymore.

  Nita tilts her head, a spark in her eyes. “If you explained the whole situation sooner, I could’ve given better advice, you know.”

  Vin nudges me with an elbow. “We did try to convince her to tell you.”

  “But you know what she’s like,” Anthony adds.

  Nita laughs again and rolls her eyes. “Stubborn as ever. That’s what we all love about her though, right?”

  “Definitely.” Vin stands beside me, pulls me to my feet, and Anthony stands beside us.

  “Now,” Nita says, one hand on her hip as she surveys us. “Can we please get back to quizzing our girl here, before she flunks out of bio?”

  I laugh, relieved and still blown away by the guys’ revelations, my heart pounding triple-time in my chest as the three of us follow Nita around the building, into the middle of the quad, our hands still clasped. Vin is right. Who cares what anyone else thinks? As long as we’re happy.

  “Okay,” I agree. “I’m ready to actually focus again.”

  “That’s my girl.” Anthony plants a kiss on my cheek and I swear I could melt right here.

  Maybe I was wrong. Maybe the guys don’t need to be a distraction—they can be my biggest support as I tackle this whole college life.

  Seven

  This is it. Moment of truth. My final exam results.

  I hold my breath. Nita is back on her campus but we quiz each other over Skype as often as possible, and the guys have done their fair share of pep-talking me—not to mention coming up with some pretty creative rewards for when I do well on the practice tests. My personal favorite game was the one where the guys would remove one item of clothing for every question I answered right. And then, after I got all those answers down, they would remove one item of my clothing for every subsequent answer… And then I earned a long, slow taste of their tongues against my bare skin, for every full test I scored high on…

  I shiver and shake my head. We’re in our dorm room, Anthony and Vin seated on the bed behind me as I crouch on the floor, both watching me as I hold my breath and stare at the laptop.

  “Just open it,” Vin urges.

  “It’s like a band-aid. One quick rip and it’s done,” Anthony agrees.

  I close my eyes.

  “You did great,” Vin adds. “I’m sure of it. You worked so hard.”

  “Go on, one click.” Anthony reaches across my lap for the mouse, but I shake him off and hit the refresh button.

  And there it is. My final score for the last test of my first semester, in the class I care the most about.

  Perfect 100.

  “Ha!” I cry out, half in relief, half in sheer joy.

  “Fuck yes!” Anthony pumps the air, and Vin slaps my shoulder, shouting along with him.

  “You know what this means,” Vin adds, prying the laptop from my lap and sliding down onto the floor next to me.

  “I don’t have to drop out of college?” I reply, still laughing with relief.

  Anthony laughs and drops to the ground beside us, caressing my shoulder. “Well, yes. But also…”

  “Time to celebrate,” Vin finishes, his hands already on the clasp of my jeans, and a fiery spark in his eyes.

  I spread my legs and let him pull my jeans down, though as he does, I grab the hem of his shirt and draw it over his head. “My favorite kind of celebration,” I reply, running my hands over his cut muscles. Beside me, Anthony tugs my shirt off, and I turn to pull off his as well, savoring the feeling of their smooth, strong skin against mine as they pull me up to my knees between them.

  I will never get tired of this sensation, feeling both guys kiss their way down my chest as I run my hands along their bodies. Before long, all three of us are naked, and I close my eyes, giving myself over to the guys.

  “We can’t get enough of you, Cass,” Vin whispers into the crook of my shoulder as Anthony traces his tongue along the outline of my hip.

  I thought we’d done everything, explored each other’s bodies in every way possible, Anthony going down on me as I sucked Vin’s cock, or Vin fucking me while Anthony swirled his tongue over my nipples and fingered my clit, ma
king me come again and again as they worked over my body.

  But I should know by now that my guys always have something new in mind.

  “We want to try something different tonight.” Anthony sits up to kiss my neck, at the spot where my neck meets my jawline, while he grips my hips tightly.

  “We want to fuck you.” Vin swirls his tongue over my already-hard nipple, and slides a finger between my thighs, trailing it up, up, closer and closer to my pussy, but not quite touching me yet. “Both of us.”

  “At once,” Anthony finishes, and his hand drops to grip my ass tightly as I realize what they’re suggesting.

  Double penetration. My heartbeat pounds in my ears, and even though I can already feel myself getting wet from their touches, my breath catches with nerves, too.

  But everything they’ve done to me so far has been amazing. I trust them. And I want them, too. Both of them. At once.

  I turn to cup Anthony’s face, enjoying the feeling of his stubble against my palms as I pull him into a deep, slow kiss. “Yes. I want you both inside me,” I breathe against his mouth.

  Vin is already on his knees in front of me, spreading my thighs with his strong hands and running his tongue up my legs where his finger had been before. He licks across my mound, traces his tongue along the line where my thighs meet my hips. Teasing, slow. He always knows how to get me going.

  Anthony, on the other hand, slides away from me. For a moment, I let out a gasp of protest, missing his warm skin against my back.

  “I’m right here,” he says, anticipating why I gasped, and then he’s back, and I feel the cool sensation of liquid against my ass, then sliding between my cheeks. It’s only cold for a second before it warms between my skin and the sensation of Anthony’s fingers parting and rubbing my ass. “I told you, didn’t I, Cass?” I can feel his grin against my ear as he nips at my earlobe. “I want to claim your ass.”

  His fingers circle my tight entrance, getting warmer every moment.

  Oh. Warming lube.

  I swallow, still tense, but he knows me too well by now.

  “Relax.” He kisses my neck, my shoulder, nips at my arm lightly. “Do you trust me?”