by Sierra Brave
“Care to go another round?” Tommy’s flirty voice drew Ken’s attention. He had scooped a finger under the hem at the side of Trisha’s top and was tugging playfully. Upper arms tight to her sides, Trisha wrapped her forearms around her torso, protecting her nearly exposed breasts while placing both hands over her thighs to prevent the shirt from pulling up and showing her mons.
“Perv,” she chided, her voice sultry and a smile on her lips. Ken’s heart sunk. Damn it! She wants him. Doesn’t she? The walls seemed to close in on him as his blood pressure shot through the ceiling. As if in slow motion, every interaction between his best friend and Trisha seemed exaggerated for his benefit. The vein in Ken’s neck pulsed up into his ears, and a lump hung dryly in his throat. Unable to speak, he clenched his jaw. He could hardly even breathe.
Tommy smiled, his pupils dilating as Trisha touched his chest with one hand while shielding her pussy with the other. The undershirt inched upward, showing off a great deal of her hip. Tommy moved closer, leaving his face only an inch away from hers. His lips brushed her shoulder.
Swallowing down the revulsion stilling his tongue, Ken gritted his teeth. “Fuck you, Tommy.” He extended his arm, sloshing a short burst of beer at his friend.
“Agh! What the fuck, Ken?” Tommy jerked back, likely thinking he was avoiding a punch. Ken’s ears rung. His hands trembled and his breath fell in heavy pants. What am I feeling? Jealousy? Anger? I’m sure I’ve felt those things before, but this...I’ve never experienced anything like it. I want to kill Tommy, yet, at the same time, I don’t want to hurt him. I want Trisha, but I don’t want Tommy to disappear. I don’t want to have to choose between my best friend and the woman I love. Fuck! My stomach hurts. Why is Tommy pretending to be confused? He knows exactly why I’m pissed off, probably better than I do. Trisha’s expression is more troublesome. Is she angry or surprised?
“Ken?”
No! He shook his head. He couldn’t explain his actions, nor could he listen to her tell him it was okay for Tommy to come on to her.
“Fuck this!” Ken jumped to his feet. “I’m out.” He dashed into his room, slamming the door behind him.
Chapter Five
6:15 p.m.
“WHAT happened?” Trisha looked to Tommy for help. His face blushed to a mild shade of crimson. He and Ken were hiding something from her. She arched an eyebrow, tilting her head so her gaze locked with his. Just what was bubbling under the surface? “Did something happen before I got here?”
The color of Tommy’s face deepened to scarlet, and he averted his eyes, staring instead at the cards stacked on the table in front of him. “Wha-? What do you mean? What could have happened? Ha, ha, ha.”
Curiouser and curiouser... He can’t play anything off with such a fake laugh. Something was up. “Did you two have a fight?” She made a second attempt to catch Tommy’s gaze, but he kept his baby blues pointed toward the table.
“Thomas?” She used his given name to let him know she wouldn’t let this go.
He shrugged. “I’m still conscious, right? So, obviously not.” He punctuated his answer with another nervous laugh.
Why is he lying? “We should go talk to him.” She touched Tommy’s shoulder without applying any pressure.
“I’ll go. Ken’s probably a little jealous. He’ll be embarrassed if you go too.” Tommy stood, putting Trisha at eye-level with his jutting cock bulging beneath his last stitch of clothing. A tingling stirred between her legs and she swallowed hard. The palpable urge to reach out and paw at him ranked second to her worry over Ken.
Wait, did he say jealous? “Jealous? Why?” In one quick motion, Trisha’s gaze washed over Tommy’s muscular limbs before scooting upward across his cock and toned abs. Then she brought her attention to his face.
Tommy’s hair swayed to the side as he put his weight on his right leg and tilted his head forward. He forced an embarrassed smile, the corners of his mouth stretching sideways instead of up. “Don’t you know?” With her heart creeping into her throat, Trisha couldn’t speak so she shook her head. Tommy sighed in a nearly inaudible tone. “For someone so insightful when it comes to other people, you’re pretty clueless when it comes to stuff about you.”
Huh? What kind of answer was that? Trisha’s nervous stomach reacted to all the beer she had poured down her gullet. She grimaced as she placed a palm on her tummy, applying light pressure in an attempt to settle the cola and pop rocks sensation brewing there. “Tommy?” She lifted her chin to examine his facial expression.
“We’ll talk after I get Ken.” Tommy turned to leave before making his way into his own room, leaving her to sit on pins and needles.
Is Tommy saying Ken likes me, or that he likes me? Can I hope for both? Her heart palpated so fast, she felt scared. Grabbing the remote control, she turned the television back on, hoping an update on Fran would distract her. The mighty bitch was dumping a whole lot of water on their little coastal town while her fierce winds swayed trees, taking the limbs out as if she were flicking matchsticks. After dithering in the ocean for most of the day, she now stood on their doorstep, ready to make land and bear down on them. Trisha wrapped her arms around her upper body, grasping her shoulders as she swayed back and forth where she sat. She had relied on the familiar posture to comfort herself ever since she was little. Did we make a huge mistake? Maybe we should have evacuated when we had the chance.
A loud, startling buzz accompanying an electronic surge announced the darkness that fell on her in an instant. Trisha squealed as she tried to jump to her feet. Pain seared across her knee as she smacked the body part against the table. “Ow.” She hopped around on one foot, trying not to fall, but then tripping over something she couldn’t see. “Fuck!” She belly-flopped face first. Her nose smacked into a pillow stacked on the floor with some blankets. The clank of one beer bottle being displaced by her left hand failed to warn her of the partially full one her body’s inertia toppled next to her, leaving Trisha’s chest a wet mess, stinking of alcohol.
“Son-of-a-mother-fucking-bitch!” Her curse served to dispel her tension rather than call out anyone in particular as she rolled over on her back. She groaned at the mild pain resounded in her muscles and bones, equally displeased by the damp playing cards adhering to her skin at various places on her body. Her face burned with embarrassment as she realized her mortifying predicament was of her own making. While looking upward, she stared at the darkness covering the ceiling above. I’m such a clumsy jackass.
“Trish! Are you all right?” She turned her head in the direction of Tommy’s frantic-sounding voice. Ken flicked a cigarette lighter, illuminating his face.
“Here.” She groaned in abject humiliation, covering her face with both hands.
“Are you hurt?” Tommy turned on a nearby camping lantern.
“Just my pride, but now I’m filthy, soggy, and miserable.” Her eyes welled up as she reached out, grabbing Ken’s bare ankle. “Please don’t leave me again.”
He knelt beside her, touching her cheek. “Sorry.”
She propped up on her elbows and huffed before pushing off to sit upright. Running her hand back through her sandy hair, she pushed the mess of curls back away from her face before she flicked a card off her forearm. “It’s not your fault I can’t walk two feet in the dark without falling on my face.” She scoffed, glancing toward Tommy and catching him staring at her. Oh yeah, I don’t have on any fucking pants, and Tommy’s shirt is now bunched up around my waist. Trisha Harper—One Woman Wet T-shirt contest. While pulling down on the beer-splattered undershirt, she rolled her eyes and scolded him. “Seriously?”
Ken jumped into action. “There should still be some hot water in the tank, and we have some candles. I’ll run you a bath and set everything up for you.”
Trisha flashed a smile his way. “Thanks, Kenny.”
As he headed back toward his room, he stopped abruptly, glancing over his shoulder. “Will you help her get there, Tommy?”
“Of c
ourse,” Tommy nodded. Another look Trisha couldn’t read passed between the two, but at least they were working together again. Thank God! The synergy’s back! From here on out, she would have to be more honest about her feelings and let the chips fall where they may. She grasped the hand Tommy offered, accepting his help as he pulled her to her feet.
“The fall took the wind out of me, but I’m okay.” She held on to Tommy as he placed an arm around her waist for support and carried the lantern with his free hand.
“Does anything hurt?”
Trisha’s knees trembled but only because he was touching her. “Yeah, my pride.”
Tommy chuckled as he helped her along. True to his word, Ken had drawn a bath and lit several tealight candles. An emergency flashlight plugged into an outlet also provided a small amount of illumination. Ken had even wrung out the clothes she had left in the sink and hung them over the side of the shower stall to dry.
“Can we all fit?” Trisha eyed the small tub.
“What?” Ken’s head jerked in her direction and Tommy laughed as if she were joking.
Without answering, Trisha removed her soiled top. She didn’t say a word as she stood naked in front of the sink while she rinsed and wrung out the garment before hanging it with the others flopped over the shower stall. She gazed in the mirror at the two deer caught in headlights standing behind her. While turning around to face them, she hid her frayed nerves behind a smile. “I’m showing you mine so I expect to see yours.”
Ken’s eyes widened and his lips parted, seemingly struck speechless. Tommy hooked his thumbs under the waistband of his underwear, curing Ken’s laryngitis immediately. “Tommy, you idiot, maybe she was talking to me!”
Trisha burst out laughing at Ken’s priceless expression of annoyance. “She’s messing with us.” Disappointment dripped from Tommy’s words.
“No, No.” Trisha managed between bouts of laughter. “I’m so dead serious.” She held her stomach, waiting for her breath to regulate before pointing to her breasts’ engorged nubs with both index fingers. “Does this look like I’m joking?”
As both men eyeballed her chest, stiffening nipples pulled her skin tight while a jolt of electricity resonated between her legs. She checked back and forth, right to left, over and over, ogling Tommy and Ken as hard as they were her. A sizeable bulge strained the fabric of Ken’s underwear while about half an inch of Tommy’s cockhead was already pushing out over the top of his waistband.
Her eyes bugged out. He must be huge! She trembled, aching for them to take her. She needed this. She needed them.
“Me or him?” Ken’s voice seemed shaky.
“Yeah, tell us who you want.” Tommy shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his palm on the back of his neck.
Watching their anxious faces, she sweltered, and her pussy dampened with arousal. Her tummy turned somersaults. She didn’t answer them as she slipped into the tub and sat down. “Who’s going to wash my back?”
Ken and Tommy exchanged a few anxious looks, but neither man said a word. With Ken, who had once been mistaken for a mute, the reluctance to answer meant almost nothing, but his respiration had increased and his silver-gray eyes had darkened to the color of charcoal as his pupils dilated. Tommy appeared nonplused, but his hesitance to talk out of his ass said everything he did not. She looked back and forth from one man to the other as she encouraged them with her eyes.
“Are you serious?” Tommy panted, his cheeks red.
“Completely.” She flicked a little water at them. The two men exchanged looks.
Ken muttered something she couldn’t hear, but Tommy shook his head. “No, Trish, neither of us wants a one-time thing. You have to make a decision. Which one of us do you want to be with for good?”
Trisha’s heartrate climbed as her entire body trembled. The moment she had been dreaming of was at hand, and here she was barely able to catch her breath. “I don’t want a meaningless thrill either, but I would never do anything to tear you two apart.”
“What are you saying, Trish?” Tommy’s erection fought his briefs for dominance. Ken froze, still speechless and nearly blank-faced, but Trisha picked up on a subtle expression he only showed when pissed or extremely upset.
“Guys, I love you both…a lot. Don’t make me choose. I can’t…won’t break up the dynamic duo. We all love each other. We can make this work.” With everything out in the open, she sat and waited, naked, vulnerable, and trembling, as she closed her eyes and silently pleaded. Please say yes.
Trisha’s eyelashes fluttered as she blinked, focusing on the two gorgeous and nearly naked men standing less than a foot away. A pit gnawed in her stomach as her body burned for them. The tingling, throbbing desire building between her thighs was difficult to bear. Both guys stood and stared at one another as if each were waiting for the other to answer first. Trisha squirmed. One of them needed to speak soon or she was going to swallow her heart when the organ finished pounding all the way up her throat. “Guys?”
Tommy’s head turned, his gaze locking with hers as he nodded. “I’m in.”
“What?” Ken whispered. “I... I don’t know if I’m okay with this.” He grabbed Tommy and shoved him out the door and into his bedroom. Ken followed but looked over his shoulder. “Be right back.”
Shit! She exhaled the breath she had been holding, flopping back to rest herself against the tub. She sat up again before she pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them. Nothing to do but wait. This isn’t going nearly as well as I’d hoped.
Chapter Six
6:55 p.m.
“ARE you out of your blond-haired head? What is wrong with you?” Ken held his hands out in front of him stiffly.
Tommy backed away. Ken probably wasn’t planning to pop him, but better safe than knocked face down on the floor. The occasional, light smack to the back of the head from his best buddy was routine, but Ken had never cut loose on him. The guy was formidable so a fight between them would be no contest at all. He rolled his shoulders, ready to cover his face and cower if the powder keg situation before them went south. “What’s the problem, Kenny? The woman you want wants you. How is that a bad thing?” Tommy put on his best unassuming, aw-shucks grin.
Ken stared back at him blankly. “Maybe because she wants you too... Tommy, you have some seriously strange and liberal ideas about what is appropriate in regards to sexual behavior.”
“Well, apparently, you have a shitload of hang-ups,” Tommy mumbled under his breath. “Excuse me if I want to make love with a girl I’m crazy for.” Shivering at Ken’s dead stare, Tommy took another step back seconds before Ken’s balled-up fist slammed against the wall, leaving a hole in the drywall.
“That’s not the only problem. I feel all messed up inside. I’m scared... What happens when... Fuck, I can’t even say it!” Ken panted, looking down to the floor, his face bright red.
Tommy’s heart went out to Ken. Normally, he would sit down with him and help him articulate what he needed to say, but with Trisha naked and ready in the next room, he wasn’t sure they could spare the time. If the moment passed, and she wasn’t willing anymore, they’d be kicking himself for the rest of their lives. Ken could blow it for both of them. Trisha had been clear about wanting all or nothing so bringing Ken around was Tommy’s only choice. “Sharing isn’t ideal for me either, but if it’s with you... Are you disgusted because it’s me?”
“No.” Ken shook head while staring down at his feet
“Would you be fine with a threesome with Trisha and some random guy?” Tommy tilted his head, hoping to catch Ken’s gaze.
Ken scrunched up his nose. “Ew! Hell no! That would be gross as shit and I don’t think Trisha would be into a casual three-way.”
“Me either.” Tommy nodded. “She’s a good girl. I’m surprised she wants us both, but honestly, I’m relieved she didn’t pick either one of us.”
Ken shot Tommy a sideways glance. “Are you mentally challenged?”
&nbs
p; Tommy laughed. “Probably, but that’s beside the point.” Unable to help himself, Ken cracked a smile as he rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. “Hear me out. No matter who she picked, we both lose. If she said she wanted me, would you be able to bow out and go along as if nothing changed?”
“No... Yeah, that’s it... I think... Um, I’m not sure how to put it.” Ken huffed, holding his head in his hands.
Most people wouldn’t have a clue what Ken was trying to say, but Tommy felt sure he did. “That’s what you’re afraid of? How things might change between us?”
Ken shrugged, his brow furrowed, probably pondering the situation and calculating every probability. “Maybe... I don’t know. Calculus and coding are easy, but this?”
“I get it, but you have to realize we can’t keep going as we have been. This day was coming, and frankly, I think this is the best outcome. Trisha isn’t dumb, and who gets us better than she does?”
Tommy ran his hand down his bare chest, attempting to settle his thumping heart. Ken’s face looked the same way it had the day their Kindergarten class’s pet, a white rabbit named Buzz, keeled over in the middle of story time. The answer seemed clear to Tommy. The three of them together forever was the only way to go, but he couldn’t rush Ken for fear of spooking him.
Heaving a dense breath, Ken closed his eyes. “Tommy.”
“Yes,” Tommy held his breath. Please say yes!
“There will be rules.”
Holy shit! Was that a yes? A tsunami of excitement rippled over Tommy, and he tittered with eager anticipation.
Ken frowned, furrowing his brow and growling through clenched teeth. “The first of which being you are not allowed to look at me like that. Further, you are to touch me as little as possible during this…process.”