by Harper West
“No,” I said. “I ended up having sex with both Ronan and Liam. At the same time.”
Baron's eyes widened, and he pressed his back against a bookcase, causing it to wobble a little bit.
“Okay,” he said, trying to catch his breathing. “Before you give me all of the details, and I mean every single one, what does Ronan look like?”
I told him all about Ronan and his rugged, good looks. The way his dark, curly hair clung firmly to his head and gave way to a trimmed beard. Liam’s hair was a deep auburn and spiky. Ronan also had an incredibly muscular physique.
“Would you say he’s another Mr. Eight Pack?”
I nodded, smiling ear to ear. Baron let out one of his high-pitched screeches, then immediately covered his mouth.
At that point, the older men were looking at us suspiciously.
“You have got to get a hold of yourself,” I whispered. “Besides, I’m not even sure I’d do it again.”
“Didn’t you enjoy it, though?”
“Of course! It was quite possibly the best sex I’d ever had.” I stretched my legs a little bit since they were still sore. “But you know me. That’s not who I am. I’m not, you know…"
He lifted a brow. “Sexual? Honey, you’re a grown-ass adult. There’s nothing wrong with experimenting, especially with two hot guys!”
I was thankful that he was at least back to whispering, although he didn’t have to wave his hands so much. I was starting to worry the older men wouldn’t come back after the craziness.
“I guess I just feel a bit self-conscious." The wildest thing I’d ever done was getting on top of Conner. “Guess I’m a bit of a prude. But first, with Liam, I was all about it, and then with the two of them…”
Baron took my hand and walked me over to one of the dark brown leather sofas. I sat down and looked up at him, preparing myself for the speech he was about to give.
“I’m not going to stand here and say that life is short, because it’s said far too often. What I am going to do, however, is tell you that the older you get, the more boring life gets. You’d be a fool not to keep seeing those two lads. And if you don’t, then I’ll take it upon myself to try and make them switch teams!”
I laughed and cradled my coffee mug, realizing that Baron was right. Of course, all of it depended upon Ronan and Liam wanting to see me again. One of the few things I knew about men was they were pros at ghosting women.
“I’m also a bit torn, Baron. I mean, we’re talking about two guys. I’ve never played the field before. Whenever I’ve been in a relationship, it’s always been with just one guy. And these two are best friends!”
“So,” he said. “What’s the problem?”
I set my coffee mug down on an end table. “The problem is that it could ruin their friendship. What if I become exclusive with Ronan, and Liam gets jealous? Or I fall for Liam and break Baron’s heart? Although I have to admit, I’ve never felt so free before.”
“You’re in control,” Baron said. “Stop worrying so much and enjoy it. Being with both of the guys could be the best relationship you’ve ever been in! Who knows what it could lead to.”
“You’re right,” I sighed. “Worrying doesn’t do much good anyway.”
My phone rang on the counter, and I glanced over at the older men still shopping. Baron gave me a knowing nod and scurried off. He was killer at customer service, and I hoped he could smooth over the slight giggle-fest disturbance they had just witnessed. I stood up from the couch and grabbed my phone, lowering my voice as I answered.
“Hey girl,” Cecilia said into the phone.
I walked into the office quickly, and shut the door, plopping down in my chair. "Hey, girl."
"Soooo," she said dramatically. "How's everything going?"
“Pretty well,” I said. “How are things back home?”
“They’re okay. Same stuff, different day. What about you? Find any Irish hotties?”
I bit my lip, scared to tell her about my threesome weekend. Cecilia was a bit more reserved than I was, even though she rebelled a little bit once she went off to college.
“Nope,” I lied. “Just busy with the shop and new apartment. You’d love it, by the way.”
"I'm sure I would," she chuckled. "But work here is great. I've started to get new patients and everything. Getting my certifications done, and my advanced degree was definitely the way to go."
I stood up, only half-listening to Cecilia. I cracked the door and watched as Baron scanned a couple of books for a customer. He always put on a straight face and a strong tone of voice when he dealt with the older men. It was like he was trying to act "straight." It was almost comical to watch. I could tell it hurt.
"Alexia," Cecelia said.
"Huh? Oh, sorry, there are customers," I replied. "What did you ask?"
She sighed. "Are you going to start dating again out there?"
I bit my lip and turned away from the door. I hated lying to my best friend, but I wasn't even sure what to say. "I don't know. I'm really just taking things one day at a time right now."
“Conner is holding you back,” she said matter-of-factly into the phone.
I knew she’d say something along those lines. I wanted to tell her everything about Liam and Ronan, and how it all started because I needed to scare away a creepy older man, but I also didn’t want to give out too much information. If she believed that I wasn't over Conner, and that would buy me some time, then I would continue to let her think it.
“I’ll get over him eventually."
You are such a liar, Alexia. Shame on you.
I hadn’t thought about Conner since the second Liam asked me back to his apartment.
Cecilia's voice softened. “What I’m about to say might scare you, but bear with me. On average, it takes half the time you were with someone just to get over that relationship. You might have a long road ahead of you, but I promise you, one day you’ll wake up and not even think about him.”
I smiled, remembering how caring she could be. “Oh yeah, I’ve heard that too. I know. It’s all good. Did I tell you my grandfather used actual paper receipts, nothing digital?”
As I veered her off the track of Irish guys by discussing the bookstore, I heard the bell above the door go off. I nearly dropped my phone when I saw it was Ronan. Based on how I had described him, Baron immediately shot me a look and widened his eyes.
“Sounds like you’re settling in,” she said. "But good lord, the paper receipt thing…Didn't anyone ever show him how a computer worked?"
At that point, Ronan was at the front counter, saying something to Baron that I couldn’t make out. It looked like he was asking for me.
“You would think,” I said with a fake chuckle. “Listen, can I call you back tonight? We’re just really busy at the store right now.”
"Yes, go," she replied. "I've got a ton to do right now anyway. Call me later."
After I hung up with Cecilia, I walked out to the desk and shooed Baron away. He gave me a dirty look and went into the bookcases, although I saw him peeking out from between some books.
“Ronan,” I said as my face blushed. “It’s so good to see you again.”
I felt butterflies in my stomach as he smiled at me, and suddenly all I could think about was our threesome from Saturday night. I had never been with two guys at once before, let alone had both inside of me at the same time.
“It’s good to see you too,” he said in his thick, sexy Irish accent. “I’ve been thinking about you a lot since, well, you know.”
I blushed and ran my hands through my hair, trying my best not to reference anything specific. “Yes, yes, I do know.”
He smiled, and our eyes met.
“This is a lovely bookshop,” he said, clearing his throat and breaking the contact. “I admit, Liam and I just stick to the deli sandwiches next door.”
I nodded, wondering what his actual reason was for visiting me was.
“Thank you,” I replied. “Trying to kee
p it just as my grandfather did.”
He smiled, and all I wanted to do was melt into his arms. “So listen, I stopped by for two reasons. First of all, to say hello. And second of all, do you have any plans for dinner tonight?”
I couldn’t help but wonder if ‘dinner’ was another word for ‘threesome.’ “Tonight? Oh, um, probably just having grilled cheese and some soup. Why?”
He laughed a little bit, finding my naïveté a bit cute. “I was wondering if you’d like to go out.”
I glanced over at Baron, whose full face was now sticking out between the books. Surely he could hear every word Ronan was saying. I blinked wildly and turned back to Ronan. “Oh wow, I wasn’t expecting that. But what about Liam?”
I didn’t want to ruin the moment, but I also didn’t want to do anything behind Liam’s back.
“Don’t worry about him,” he said, understanding what I meant. “He thinks it’d be a good idea. Thinks that you and I should get to know each other a bit more.”
Baron nodded his head between the books, sensing my hesitation.
“I’d love to,” I said, narrowing my eyes at Baron and then forcing a smile at Ronan.
“Great. There’s a restaurant I think you'll enjoy. It’s pretty hard to get into, but I pulled some strings.” He took my hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed it.
I had to use my other hand to steady myself.
Baron rolled his eyes at me, and it took all I had not to chastise him back.
“That sounds wonderful,” I said as he let my hand go.
“I’ll pick you up at 7 pm,” he declared with a flicker of excitement in his eyes.
“I’ll be ready.” I watched him walk out, and then immediately plopped down onto my seat.
My mind started racing. What would I wear? Would I end up at his place? Would Liam be waiting for us afterward?
As soon as Ronan left, Baron came scurrying over, nearly falling straight into the front counter. “Girrrllll, I knew he’d want to see more of you! He didn’t say which restaurant, but he did say that it was hard to get reservations. That means it’s one of three places.”
As I listened to Baron discuss which eateries it could be, along with what I should wear and how I should do my hair, I realized that I was in control. For the first time in my life, I had control over what and who I wanted. So I had a threesome, big deal. I certainly wasn’t the first one to do it.
“Are you listening to me? If he’s taking you to the House of Mac Cuarta, then we have to do something better with your hair! Do you have hair clips? Tell me you have hair clips! And I’m sorry, but that lipstick doesn’t go with your complexion.”
Baron started describing a look that would do well in any of the three restaurants, and I was suddenly very thankful that he’d come into my life. Although a part of me was a bit nervous about being all alone with Ronan later that night. I believed him when he said that Liam didn’t mind, but what would the future bring to that relationship? Would it always be a worry in my mind that the other guy would be hurt?
Chapter 11
Ronan
I checked myself out in the mirror one last time before heading out to my town car. My driver was waiting for me, and it was time to pick up Alexia.
I’d sent over a dress for her to wear that night. It was black, short, but not too short, and I knew it’d look amazing on her. She had the perfect body type for it.
As I looked out the window, I felt myself getting more and more excited about seeing Alexia. I was also surprised by the feelings I was having. After all, it had been years since I’d been with a woman.
I smoothed my black Gucci suit and thought about how far I’d come. The last thing I’d expected was to end up having a threesome with my business partner and best friend, Liam. Judging by the way he was talking about her Saturday morning, I thought for sure he’d tell me to back off and get ready to be the best man at his wedding.
On the contrary, he wanted to share her with me.
Not once since Erin and I broke up had I gone on a date. What she did to me shattered my heart, and I swore off dating forever. Women only wanted my money, not me.
Yet there was something so natural about the chemistry between Alexia and me.
As Saturday streamed by, I felt myself getting a bit jealous of Liam. She and I just clicked so well. Even when he proposed a threesome, I had my reservations. What if I got a taste of her, and that was it?
I didn’t want to be hurt again.
Liam came through for me, though. Maybe it was his wild, outgoing, throw caution to the wind nature, but he wanted to share Alexia with me. I didn’t even want to share my pens with him, much less my girl. What if it turned into a relationship? How long could both of us date her at the same time?
Stop Worrying!
I realized that when it came to my personal life, I needed to relax and be a little more like Liam.
Even as my town car pulled up to Alexia's apartment over the bookstore, I realized that I wasn’t at all jealous about her seeing Liam as well.
It kind of excited me.
Alexia walked outside in the dress I’d sent for her, and my mouth fell open. She was even more breathtaking than before. Her long, auburn hair cascaded over her shoulders, and she was wearing a pair of emerald earrings that brought out her eyes. As she walked toward the open door, her floral perfume wafted into my car.
She slid inside and sat next to me, her delicate body pressing against mine.
“Thank you so much for the dress,” she said, looking up at me.
I kissed her hand and held on to it. “I was hoping you’d like it."
“Very much so. Baron approves of it, too. He was going to help me pick something out, and I admit, this is much better than his ideas.”
Both of us laughed a bit.
“He seems like quite a character,” I said.
"He is," she grinned. "But he's been a savior since I've arrived. I didn't have to go far to find a friend. Not to mention that while my grandfather was taking care of me, he was taking care of the bookstore. We're not that far off in age, but while I was going to dances and hanging with friends, he was keeping my grandfather's dream running."
"That's really fantastic," I replied. "It's not often you find people like that in life. People that have your back no matter what."
My mind went to Liam, and I smiled.
We pulled up to the local playhouse, which I decided to surprise her with after asking her to dinner.
“Oh, I didn’t know we’d be going to a play too. That’s wonderful!”
I loved how excited she was.
“Well, you mentioned that your grandfather used to take you to the opera a lot, and since there isn’t anything playing tonight, I thought this would be the next best thing.” I showed her our tickets. “How do you feel about ‘Death Of A Salesman’?”
"I love the book, so yes!” She was almost giggly.
As we walked into the theatre and took our seats, I remembered how nice it was to see a play. It had been a long time since I had done anything like that. And having Alexia next to me made it even better. She held my hand the whole time, and I couldn't help but smile every time I looked over at her. She was so bright-eyed and excited, watching the actors on the stage. Even though we weren't verbally interacting, it was an intimate event for me.
After seeing the play, I took her to a local, upscale restaurant. The host ushered us to a private table in the back. The restaurant had a soundproof set of VIP rooms, intimate and quiet.
I pulled out her chair and then took a seat across from her. “How did you enjoy the play?”
“Well, I must admit that I’d never seen a play before. Growing up, my father and I used to act out some of my favorite scenes from books.”
I thought about how adorable she must have been doing that, saying her lines along with her dad as a young child.
“That must have meant a lot to you,” I said as the server poured us champagne.
I di
dn’t want to conjure up any bad memories, remembering that he had died when she was younger.
“It did,” she said in a softer tone. “And after my father died, I often looked back at those memories with fondness. But my grandfather made up for it as best he could.”
Alexia was a quality woman, not one who cared about money. She was all about family.
“Maybe it’s not my place to ask,” I said. “But were you close with your mother?”
She paused for a few moments before answering me, and I quickly regretted posing the question. “I’m sorry."
“No, no. I figured you’d ask about my mother. She was always so standoffish with me,” she said while swirling her wine glass. “When you’re a child, it’s natural to have a lot of questions. But she always made me feel like I was a nuisance.”
I could see the pain in her face as she spoke of her mother, and I instantly wanted to protect her.
“I’m so sorry,” I said and placed my hand on top of hers.
“Eventually, she couldn’t take me anymore. So, she left, and my grandfather had to step in. As a young girl, up until that point, I never had any faith in adults. I just assumed that every adult that came into my life would leave me. But not my grandfather.”
“Your grandfather would be so proud of you right now,” I replied with a smile. “What happened to you during your childhood was wrong, but I know he’s looking down at you and smiling. You’re an amazing woman, Alexia.”
She smiled back at me with pride, and I could feel the ice melting around my heart.
She took a deep breath. "So, what about you? Tell me about yourself.”
I was hesitant to talk about my last relationship, but I also wanted to get everything out in the open. Let Alexia know about my past. “Well, I walked in on my last girlfriend having sex with another man.”
Alexia’s mouth fell open.
I chuckled. “Yeah, that was my reaction too. Since then, I haven’t dated anyone.”
“I can see why! That must have been gut-wrenching.” She rubbed her fingers back and forth across my hand, and I could see the sincerity in her eyes.
