Common Areas, page 12
“Point made,” Chase grumbled.
Tyler went about making himself a burger as Patton spoke. He took a bite then leaned his hip against the island’s counter. “So, the real question here is can you control your jealousy?”
I gave Chase my full attention now, I wasn’t hungry enough to reach for dinner. I was too curious to see how this would play out. I just didn’t think I would be used to test the limits of his jealousy. Patton padded around the island to me, catching me off guard when he cupped my face. I didn’t pull away, but I tensed as he leaned down to kiss me. Whatever he had said about putting things on the back burner were obviously something he didn’t want to do.
Like before, Patton’s kisses were attentive and gentle. He measured my reaction and adapted to it, giving just as he was taking. It was enough to feed the want I had in me that started all of this. How long had it been since I’d been with the two of them? When he pulled away, it was an effort to not follow him for another kiss. But, we had an audience.
I bit my lip and steadied myself by putting a hand on the counter. Patton stepped away from me and went about making himself a plate. I didn’t want to see Chase’s reaction. The glance I’d given Tyler only showed me that he had a similar reaction that I did. Watching had ignited lust in him.
“I think…” Chase paused to clear his throat. “I think it's plausible. If we set some ground rules.” That got my attention. “Like none of that in the common areas. No fucking on the couch, shit like that.”
“Isn’t that already a house rule?” Tyler asked, his mouth full as he spoke. “I mean, if we’re not changing the actual house rules then do we really need to bring that up?”
“Maybe it's a good idea that I set some rules.” I hazarded a look to Chase. I expected to see him red-faced, but he just met my gaze with an intensity that made my mouth go dry. I had his full attention. A glance to Patton and Tyler showed me that the same rampant look. “During the week I can’t stay up late, as some of you can’t. So let’s keep the hours decent.” Tyler made a disgruntled noise. “Understand that sex every day is a great idea, but it's not practical. Give me a break, especially if you’re entertaining the idea of it being more than one of you at a time. I’m still not a hundred percent on the mechanics of that.”
“If you’re willing to experiment in it more,” Tyler grinned at me, “we’re more than willing to help you figure out how it’s to be done.”
I shook my head and forged ahead, “Also, protection. This is something that can get out of hand as we go along. If at any time you’re questioning whether or not putting a condom on, then we don’t need to do this. I don’t want to have an accident occur and not be sure whose fault it is. As long as we’re all being careful, there’s no reason that should happen.”
“That should go without saying,” Chase said. “Would it be easier to create some sort of schedule?” He looked at Tyler and looked notably helpless. “How do we keep this fair?”
“Well…” Tyler took his time to wipe his mouth with a napkin before going to make himself another burger. “We could just keep on as we have been. You’re just in on it and we might occasionally have sex,” he said to Chase. “Now, we could treat it like a real relationship and go out on dates. Say Chase gets Tuesdays, Patton gets Thursdays, and I get fuck…” he paused as he seemed to take into consideration what he was saying. “I get Thursday and one of you assholes get Saturday.”
“That one time it doesn’t pay to be a stripper?” Chase asked.
“Stripper?” That caught me off guard. “I thought you said you worked in a club.” I straightened up as I eyed him. He never elaborated what he did at the club. I had just assumed…
Tyler raised an eyebrow at me, looking only slightly put off by my tone. “I do work in a club. I also occasionally do parties if the price is right. I don’t whore myself out. I might be a little,” he made a face as he spoke, “promiscuous.” He rolled his shoulders and made a point to put all the fixings on his new burger. “But I wasn’t in a relationship before. I have respect for that.” To my surprise, he set it in front of me. “I have enough intelligence to not be fucking stupid when I want something bad enough.”
He took the time to pull a bottle of water from the fridge and set it in front of me. It seemed like he was trying to distract me with food. I grimaced and picked up the bottle of water, using it as a means to focus my thoughts. Did it bother me? I guess I overlooked some of the obvious tells from the moment we met.
“I thought you were a bouncer,” I explained, unable to help the small feeling I had.
“I mean,” he shrugged, “I guess I can see that.”
“We’re lucky we can keep clothes on him,” Patton said in something of a complaint. “When he first started he tried this nudist thing that was…” he visibly shuddered. “Having group sex with him is one thing, but coming home to see him sprawled out naked on the couch is another.”
“Is it gonna be a problem?” Tyler asked, his bottom lip slightly poked out.
I looked at the plate that was set before me, the burger had lettuce poking out from under the bun. Curiosity had me picking up the top to see a tomato tucked under two pickles. I’d already slept with him once, so if I had a problem with the fact that he took his clothes off for a living, it was a little too late to voice it.
“It might have been a good idea to tell her before,” Chase rumbled from beside me. “You got into her pants without her knowing something important, and now you’re trying to initiate a less than normal relationship.”
“You’re one to talk,” Tyler grunted, and he looked visibly disappointed.
I put the bottle of water down and glanced at Chase. There was a lot I didn’t know about the three men surrounding me.
“Construction?” I asked him pointedly. He stood to get his own dinner, giving me a nod. There was tension in his shoulders and I didn’t know how to take that.
“Definitely a nurse,” Patton offered me with a smile. “But I figured the scrubs and long hours made that obvious.”
“Glorified secretary,” I said without a thought.
“Is it going to be a deal breaker?” Tyler asked, looking down but inching closer to me. He was bothered by the fact that I had an aversion to his career choice.
“It’s just clear,” I said carefully, “that this is going to be more than just sex. I don’t know any of you and it's probably in the best interest of all of us that we get to know one another.” I dug my fingers into my hair, scratching at my scalp as I eyed each of them. “So, maybe we prioritize friendship between the three of us.” I bit my lip as I started to reconsider my words, friends was good and all but I knew that having more was something they all wanted. If I was honest with myself I wasn’t opposed to it either. “I’m not saying no sex. Just… it is not just about sex.”
“That’s what a relationship is,” Chase said simply before taking a bite of his dinner. “Compromise is what we’ll have to do from here then.”
“I think that’s something we all can agree on,” Patton looked relieved.
21
The night ended easily enough, and I went to bed alone. I was curious how this would work out, but I wasn’t opposed the idea of having my choice between the three of them. And if Tyler ever had his way, there’d be plenty of occasions where I’d be in bed with two of them at a time. I doubted it would be all three with as off-put as Chase looked at the idea of it. Which, should be a relief to me since I was overwhelmed by two men at once.
It was overwhelming in a good way to be specific.
In the morning, I had Tyler’s company as I made my way to the bus stop. It seemed like the perfect time to prod him, even with the tired look he wore. Tyler wasn’t a morning person.
“So,” I hooked my arm around his and tugged him a little closer despite his grumpy disposition this morning. Out of the three of them, Tyler’s carefree style made him the least intimidating. “You take your clothes off for money?”
He chuckled a little and leaned against me. “I’d be more than willing to give you a free sample of my work.”
I could feel the heat creeping up my collar at the idea of what that would include. “I might consider that another time.” I took a breath. “But I wanted to ask you a question.”
“Shoot,” he encouraged as he seemed to enjoy just being close to me.
“Did a Jeffrey Reynolds ever work at the club you do?” I watched his face and let him direct where we walked. I trusted him enough to not let me walk into anything or anyone.
“Chase asked the same thing.” He looked ahead, seeming more interested in where we were going versus looking at me. “The name is familiar, but I can’t say I’ve met the guy. What does he look like?”
“He keeps his hair cut short, he’s muscular.” I struggled to figure out a good way to describe him. “He looks like a bouncer,” I floundered helplessly.
He made a noise, not sounding patronizing. “Is he big?” He used his free hand as if to emphasize larger muscles on his chest. “You think he was into ‘roids or something?”
“He wasn’t absurdly buff like some guys can be on steroids.” I couldn’t recall whether I’d ever seen needle marks on Jeff. He worked out, and he even had the spare room of the apartment as a personal gym with all of his equipment. It was one of the reasons why I had to get rid of the majority of my stuff when I moved in. “I don’t think his bouts of rage were drug-induced.” I bit my lip as I took my time studying the sidewalk. “I think they may have been more along the lines of me not doing what he wanted me to do.”
“Can’t control a person if they have a mind of their own,” Tyler quipped.
Was that it? I couldn’t help but squeeze the bicep I had my arm wrapped around. Even if that was the case, I’d gotten out.
“I met him at a club with friends. But, he changed jobs often. He always said he went where the money was. Because I wasn’t cheap to care for.” I glanced at Tyler from the corner of my eye. “But I don’t know that he would go to a strip club for work. I could be wrong though.”
Tyler hummed lightly, giving me a look before we came to the bus stop. “Well. I’ll ask around at the club if you want. The guys that work the door are there for pretty much one thing. But the audience is a mixture of both men and women. So some of the guys working the door play for the other team, if you know what I mean.”
“But you're straight?” I shouldn’t have asked, it should be obvious.
“I…” he paused for a moment, his eyes narrowing at me. “I’m curious. I won’t lie. Patton and I grew up together. We screwed around, without really screwing around.”
I flushed again, suddenly not wanting to have this conversation—in public at least—but not able to stop him. “Really?”
“I don’t think I could talk Patton into bending over,” his cheeks darkened. “And I get why you are a little nervous about both of us being in you at the same time. It's an intimidating thought. That’s why I asked. I’ve never had anything more than a finger in me and that was…” He swallowed. “Intense. Patty’s got kind of a monster on him. That idea of him shoving his python into me makes me clench a little.”
I couldn’t help the surprised noise that I made at his bluntness. I gave a cursory glance at the other people at the bus stop. No one looked at us, there were only a few people and the majority had earbuds in, the universal symbol that they didn’t want to talk. I coughed and looked back at him. “I certainly understand being apprehensive about it. He’s definitely well…” I had the mad urge to giggle, I barely managed to swallow it. “Well endowed.”
“This,” he turned towards me as the rumble of the bus grew closer, “is just between you and me, Puddin’.” His eyes were alight with his embarrassment. “I know secrets don’t make friends. But I’m not really sure about that shit myself so I don’t want to air out my dirty laundry to everybody. Besides, Patty’d be pissed if I made him look like anything but an interesting straight guy to you.”
“Secrets don’t make friends,” I agreed, unable to fight the smile I felt bubbling up. “But, this is a secret that I’ll be happy to take to the grave.”
“And this is why you bring all the boys to your yard.” He cupped my chin in his hands. “So easy to talk to. This Jeff guy was an idiot to not appreciate you for what you are. I’m going to take advantage of his idiocy though. Just so you know.”
I pursed my lips and didn’t resist the pull he gave me, closing the distance. Tyler brushed his lips teasingly against mine. It was like a breath that I couldn’t quite catch but I needed to have. It made my heart flutter, and I was suddenly glad we had that discussion the night before. Him holding onto me, kissing me, wasn’t something friends did. But, I wasn’t going to pull away.
“Bus is here.” He released me. “Have a good day at work,” his tone immediately went upbeat, making me think of a mom sending off her kids to school. “I’ll see you later.” He gave my butt a pat before turning me to the city bus.
I laughed and let the mood carry me to an empty seat. A glance out the window and I saw him waving at me, I covered my face to smother the urge to show any sort of embarrassment. I didn’t think I could object to this being a morning routine. Tyler’s spontaneity was something I was clearly going to enjoy.
Of course, it was all short lived.
I felt my purse vibrate, and I went into it; I didn’t expect a call this early. Unless Tyler was that intent on making sure my day went well. Instead of seeing a silly message that I anticipated with was a text from an unfamiliar number.
‘Who the fuck was that?’
A quick glance and I could see the number matched the one that called me the other day. I groaned and the old woman across from me gave me a curious look. I shifted over my phone as I consider a reply. I should’ve ignored it. I didn’t.
‘Not someone you need to worry about because I’m not someone that belongs to you anymore.’
‘I will fuck him up.’
I wondered if Tyler could take Jeff. I didn’t know, I’d only ever seen Jeff hit me. Feeling some bravado that I probably shouldn’t, I replied again, ‘Good luck with that.’
I got a tirade of insults and threats after that. So many so, that I turned off my phone and continued the ride to work wearily watching out the windows for his car. I thought I’d seen it at one point and it frightened me enough to turn my phone back on and call Chase.
I didn’t bother to consider why I had the need to call him, it just seemed like a gut reaction.
“He saw me at the bus stop again,” I reported as soon as Chase answered. “He sent me a text message threatening Tyler.”
He was quiet for a moment, allowing the noise of the background to bleed in. There was a lot of voices, even though I couldn’t decipher what was being said. I couldn’t hear anything that sounded like he was on a construction site. But that didn’t mean anything, really… he could be in a conference.
“Save them. Send me screenshots. We’ll use them when we go to apply for your restraining order,” he instructed after a beat.
I nodded before realizing he couldn’t see me. “Will you be picking me up after work, too?”
“I will if that’s what you want me to do.” His willingness to help, as well as Tyler’s, only made me realize just how lucky I was to come into this situation.
Any misgivings I had now were pointless.
22
Getting the paperwork for the restraining order was quick. Having Chase there made me feel a little bit better, but I still found myself tripping over my words and looking at the toes of my flats as if I were the one in the wrong. I spent every free moment I had filling out the paperwork. I lost track of time between the phone calls and the details of each question. It had my stomach in knots.
“Emily.” I tensed and looked up to see Matt standing over my desk. He had his mouth open as if he were about to say something, but his attention went elsewhere. He looked like he was focused on what was on my desk.
I covered it with my hands. “Mr. Clarke! I’m sorry! I just got this today, and I was trying to get it filled out so I could file it.”
“A restraining order?” He leaned further over, his brows together. “Is everything okay?”
He didn’t correct me, I swallowed. “Um… Yes, sir.” I tried to hide my embarrassment. “Just an ex that doesn’t realize he’s an ex.”
