by B. B. Hamel
She walks over to the windows, not saying anything at first. I stand and watch her, wanting to give her a second to think about it.
“I can’t accept this,” she says finally.
“Yes, you can.”
“No, really.” She sighs. “I’m not staying here. I can’t take an apartment for, like, two months. Less than that, really.”
“I own this whole building,” I say. “You’re not exactly costing me much.”
She pauses. “Really?”
“Really,” I confirm. “Closed on the deal just a few days ago.”
She laughs nervously. “Did you buy an entire apartment building just to get me my own place?”
“Yes,” I say, walking over to her.
“Ryan,” she says softly. “I can’t.”
“You can.” I stop inches away from her. “Do you really want to live with your parents?”
“No,” she says.
“Do you want to have us over whenever you want, stay out as late as you want, no oversight, no worries?”
“Yes,” she says, this time almost a whisper.
“Then this is your apartment for the rest of the summer. And when you’re done with it, I’ll rent it out, no problem.”
She sighs, but she doesn’t say no. I tip her chin up toward me and kiss her softly. She kisses me back, a little hesitantly at first, but slowly gets more into it. She kisses me slow and deep and I press myself against her.
We break apart and she sighs, hugging me tight. “I don’t know how I can repay you,” she says, and I can feel a big smile on my face.
She doesn’t need to repay me at all. I’m just more than happy that she’s taking the place. I know she’ll be content here, at least until she moves into the city.
She looks up at me and kisses me again. I run my fingers through her hair, kissing her back.
We break apart after another minute. “Well,” I say, “we’d better get some furniture in here, yeah?”
She groans. “You’re not buying all that for me.”
“Consider it a signing bonus, for taking the new job.”
She groans again, but she doesn’t fight me. I know she’ll let me buy her whatever I want, because at the end of the day, everyone wants to be spoiled. As independent and smart as she is, she’s no different. She wants to be showered in gifts, and I want to give her everything.
There’s a voice in the back of my mind, a voice that I’ve been trying to ignore lately, but it’s getting harder and harder. It keeps telling me to get her to stay, to keep her around, to make sure she never leaves. I don’t want to get attached to London, because I know her heart and her future is in the big city, but I can’t help but give in to that feeling, at least a little bit. Part of giving her this apartment and furnishing it for her is to make her see that Leadwood isn’t so bad, at least if she has her own space. I can’t help but hope that’ll help to sway her, make her want to stay, as selfish as that is.
I’ve never wanted a woman for more than a night before, not a single time in my whole life. But now, I can see being with her… even if she’s also with my four best friends at the same time.
17
London
All five guys come over for my first night in my new apartment.
I can’t believe I took this place, but I couldn’t say no. Ryan was right, I needed to get out of my parents’ house, and this is just too perfect. The place is beautiful, so much nicer than anything I’ve ever lived in before, and even the view is fantastic. It’s pure forest as far as the eye can see.
And of course, it was fun as hell furnishing the place. The guys all chipped in, each of them taking me out, even the twins. It took a couple of weeks to get the place perfect, but finally it’s ready for me to move in. The twins stocked the refrigerator with food and booze, although I think the latter is more for them than for me, which is fine.
I want them to come over whenever they want. I want them to feel comfortable here. I know I’m starting to feel comfortable, at least with them.
“To your independence,” Henry says, raising a glass.
“Fuck, yeah,” Ryan says.
“Fuck, yes,” the twins echo.
James winks at me, and we all drink. It’s good champagne, really good champagne. Ryan puts some music on this nice sound system he had installed, and the twins move the coffee table over, turning our little welcome party into an impromptu dance party. I hope my downstairs neighbors don’t mind, although I doubt the owner will care if they complain.
James and Henry talk off to the side as I dance with Ryan and the twins. They spin me around, pass me back and forth, mostly just being silly and fun. I have a couple glasses of champagne and end up kissing each twin, one after the other, while Ryan laughs and pushes his way into the group.
“Don’t be greedy,” he says to them, kissing me next.
I love getting passed around like that, but I also know that I’m the one in charge. I kiss Ryan one more time before I extricate myself from the group, sweating a little bit from dancing. I head into the kitchen and get some water.
“Having fun?” James asks, joining me.
“I really am,” I say, laughing. “It’s weird, though.”
“What is? Living here?”
“All of it,” I admit. “I mean, all of you guys. You’re all… okay with this? It’s just so strange.”
He shrugs. “We’re not a normal group. I think we gave up on normal a long time ago. Normal doesn’t make any of us happy.”
“Still, you all want to just share me?”
He nods. “Why’s that so strange to you, London?”
“I mean… I was never popular at school.” I don’t know how else to describe it, to be honest. I was never the kind of girl that all the boys lusted after. There were plenty of other girls with bigger boobs, blonder hair, that sort of thing. I was never the girl that guys fought over.
“We don’t care about that,” he says, laughing.
“I mean, I’m not the most beautiful girl ever.”
He sighs. “London, we’ve had those girls before.”
I raise an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“Models, actresses, hookers, strippers, beautiful fucking women that basically just fuck rich dudes for a living, that sort of woman. We’ve had them all, all shapes and sizes. And none of them kept our attention.”
I sigh a little. “I just don’t get why I do.”
“You just… do,” he says, shaking his head. “I can’t explain it. You’re beautiful, but it’s not just that… it’s your youth, or not your age, but the way you hold yourself… how smart you are…” He trails off, shaking his head. “I’m not very articulate tonight.”
“I think I understand,” I say, smiling. I pull him closer and kiss him nice and slow. The other guys hoot and it makes me laugh.
“Looks like James is getting some pussy tonight,” Henry says loudly.
“I think we all might be getting some,” Ryan counters.
“We definitely are,” Caleb says, grinning, and Wyatt nods.
I roll my eyes at them and kiss James one more time. He tastes so good, and he makes me feel so good, and suddenly I don’t want to leave. Not just this party specifically, but this group of guys. I’ve never met people that cared about me so deeply, that would do all of these nice things for me, that would give me so much and make me feel so happy. I can’t imagine walking away from that, it would be insane to pass it up. And yet it would be insane not to follow my dream in the city, just for a group of guys.
This isn’t just any group of guys. These are older men, handsome and strong and rugged and incredible. They’ll take care of me, my five mountain men, but I’m afraid to really give myself over to them.
I get another drink and we keep dancing. James gets a call from Club Sheets and has to go deal with some problem there. Henry goes with him, leaving me alone with Ryan and the twins.
As soon as we’re alone, the vibe changes. I can feel it instan
tly, and my heart starts beating so fast. Caleb pulls me into his lap and Wyatt sits next to us. Caleb kisses me slow and deep while Wyatt slowly undresses me. Ryan watches from a chair, and I glance back at him, topless, Caleb’s hands covering my breasts.
“You’re just going to watch?” I say to him as Caleb and Wyatt touch my skin.
“For now,” he says. “I like what I see.”
I groan as Wyatt pulls me into a kiss and Caleb teases my breasts. I end up on my back on the couch, Caleb pulling my jeans down as Wyatt slowly pulls his pants and underwear off. Ryan already has his cock out and I keep looking at him, loving that he’s watching this.
It drives me insane. Ryan’s hard cock is in his hand and he’s watching the twins go down on me, Caleb between my legs, Wyatt undressing to my side. I take Wyatt’s cock in my mouth as Caleb sucks my pussy and I feel so dirty, like such a filthy girl, as Ryan watches me. I’m tasting twins at the same time, and if that weren’t dirty enough, someone’s using me like his own personal movie.
I’m so wet and it feels so fucking good. The twins keep switching, one sucking my pussy and clit, the other fucking my mouth, and soon I lose track of them. I don’t know which one is which as they turn me around, get me on all fours, and one of them slides his thick cock deep in my pussy.
I groan and gasp as he starts to fuck me. The other twin’s cock is in my mouth, and I suck him fast as the other fucks me from behind. It’s like having one man fucking me in two holes, sending pleasure moving through me. I keep looking over at Ryan as he watches, slowly stroking himself.
I’m full of cock, my mouth stuffed, my pussy stuffed, and I’m getting fucked so rough. I move back, working my hips along the big cock, but I let them fuck me the way they want, their thick size ripping me to pieces.
I get moved again, straddling one of them, riding him fast as the other stands next to me, his cock in my mouth. I bob up and down along his thickness as I ride the other faster, letting him slap my ass, pull my hair, fuck me hard and rough and deep. I ride him around and around, rolling my hips, sweating, moaning loud with pleasure although it’s stifled from the cock in my mouth.
I start to orgasm as soon as I feel one of the twin’s coming in my mouth. The feeling of his pleasure, and the big cock between my legs, it’s all just too much for me. It pushes me over the edge and I orgasm with his seed dripping down my throat. I swallow it the best I can, moaning at the same time, the other twin not stopping as he fucks me.
The one twins steps away, and I’m still getting fucked by the other. I grip onto his shoulders and bear down on him, riding him hard, getting swept up in my passion and desire. And just as he comes, thick spurts filling me, I notice Ryan stands up.
He pulls me off the twin, just as he’s finishing. I don’t complain as Ryan pulls me roughly over to the kitchen and bends me over the counter, sliding his fat cock deep inside of me. I gasp, surprised at how good it feels, especially so soon after just coming.
He fucks me rough. He pulls my hair, slaps my ass, takes me hard from behind while one of the twins takes a shower and the other sips some champagne, waiting for his turn. I let Ryan take me, pleasure rocking through me, his fat cock pushing deep between my legs.
“This is what you can have every single night,” he whispers in my ear. “Get passed between us, get fucked by all five of us, whatever you want.” I can feel a chill and a seductive desire run through me.
“All I want is this pussy,” he whispers. “This tight fucking cunt. God damn, London, you drive all of us insane.”
I come again as he whispers in my ear, telling me how badly he wants me. When I finish, he puts me on my knees and comes in my mouth, making sure I swallow every drop.
I take a shower with Ryan and the other twin, Caleb, it turns out. We end up in bed together, arms and legs tangled around me, holding me, and I don’t know who is who and I don’t care. I feel safe, satisfied in a way I’ve never felt before, and incredible, like I’m floating on air.
Except something keeps nagging me in the back of my mind. It’s an awareness of something that’s growing deep inside me, something I never thought I’d feel again. I don’t know what it is, and I’m not ready to look at it, but it’s there, and it’s all because of these men.
18
Henry
London looks at me over her glass of water, barely touching her salad, and sighs.
I just smile at her. I know what she’s thinking right now, and I don’t blame her.
“Are you sure?” she asks, almost pained. “Are you really sure?”
“I’m sure,” I say softly. “I know it’s going to hurt. But you just have to let me do it.”
She groans. “I don’t want to. Please, Henry. Don’t make me.”
“Do it,” he whispers, eye wide with glee.
She gasps, pained and despairing. “You sank my battleship.”
I cheer with victory. She hangs her head in defeat, and I can’t help but laugh. We’ve been playing Battleship for the last half hour, and it came down to these last few moves. I got lucky, and found her last ship before she found mine, and that’s all she wrote.
“I am the champion!” I say, pumping my fists in the air.
She grins at me and sips her water. “Relax,” she says. “Rematch?”
“Rack ‘em up,” I say, and we set up the board again.
We play while eating lunch in the break room, laughing and flirting. Ryan and James are out at the club dealing with a fucking water leak in the pipes which flooded a bathroom, and the twins are fishing like usual, which just leaves me all alone with London.
Which is exactly what I wanted.
“You know, the guys are all getting really fond of you,” I say casually.
She raises an eyebrow. “How can you tell?” she asks sarcastically.
I grin at her. “I’m just saying. It’s a shame you have to leave at the end of the summer.”
It’s the one subject we pretty much never talk about. I found that I can bring up anything with London, any stupid, boring thing, and she’ll gladly have a conversation about it. She just likes to chat, make dumb jokes, laugh and tease me. But we never talk about her leaving at the end of the summer. It’s like an unspoken rule.
And I just decided to shatter that rule, because fuck rules. I never fucking liked rules, never had much use for them. I’ve always lived my life the way that I felt was right, and this is something that I need to bring up. I need her to understand what she might be giving up by leaving.
“Yeah,” she says. “Summer’s ending soon.”
“It’s an internship?” I ask her.
“At the MoMA,” she says pointedly. “Which is basically like my dream job.”
“It’s amazing,” I agree. “An impressive opportunity.” I hesitate a second. “But who do you know in New York?”
She stares at me. “I know what you’re doing.”
I smile innocently. “I’m just asking a question.”
She sighs. “I don’t know anybody, Henry, but that’s not the point.”
“What’s the point?”
“To get experience,” she says. “To get out of this town.”
“You still hate it, huh?”
“Of course,” she says, but she doesn’t sound so sure all of a sudden.
I smile a little and look down at the game. I call out my move, and we lapse into the game for a few minutes.
“Seems to me that you’ll be giving up a lot now if you leave,” I say.
She sighs, exasperated. “I thought we were done with this.”
“We’re not.”
“Henry, I have to go. Can you really ask me not to?”
“I’m not,” I say. “But I am trying to get you to think about what you’d be giving up if you did.”
“I’d be giving up this shitty town,” she snaps, a little annoyed.
“No,” I say softly. “You’d be giving up this.” I gesture at the break room around me.
“Oh damn, I w
on’t get to work at a steel fabrication company in the middle of a backwards town in Maine,” she says. “What a huge loss.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “It’s not about that,” I say.
“Yes, it is.” She grimaces, setting her jaw. “It’s definitely about that. I’ve always dreamed about leaving Leadwood for good, and this feels like my chance to actually become a part of the world.”
“The world is right here,” I say.
“No, it’s not. The world is out there. This is just a little piece of it.”
I sigh, but I don’t think I can get her to see my point. She’s getting upset, and I don’t want to push her, but I’m afraid that if I let this go then she’ll just leave and I’ll always regret not trying harder.
“We’re building something here,” I say softly. “You have to see that. Ryan bought those apartments, James opened the club, I have a project in the works, and I know the twins are on to something.” I give her a long look, hoping she understands. “We’re building something here,” I say again.
That gets her attention. “I know you guys want to improve this place,” she says.
“More than that, we want to build it into something completely different.”
“How?” She stares at me. “The people here don’t want change.”
I wave my hand dismissively. “The people here don’t know what they want. We’re going to show them.”
She takes a deep breath and lets it out. “What’s your project?” she asks.
I grin. “Glad you asked. It’s a museum.”
She perks up a little bit, almost despite herself. I know she hates talking about how Leadwood isn’t such a bad place, but I think she’s getting more used to the idea that the five of us are slowly making this town amazing. And if she wants, she can be a part of that. She can be our sixth.
“What kind of museum?”
“Art museum,” I say. “I’ve been collecting pieces for a long time, and Ryan needs a place to show, so…” I shrug a little.
