by Payne, Jenna
“What? Why?” Samantha said, already thinking about how she could swing it.
“We want to take you away for a few days,” Jack said. “We’ll have to get you a passport, but we can rush that along. We know some people who will help us with that.”
Samantha’s head was whirring through a thousand different scenarios. These two men, both of them, wanted to take her away. She felt like a little girl who has just been asked to her first dance, like a teenager who has just had her first kiss, like a woman feeling love for the first time. All the emotions of her past seemed to pile under her and lift her upward.
“Where do you want to take me?”
“Malta,” Eli said. “Malta is a neutral island. No fighting there. No bloodshed. We want to take you to Malta, Samantha.”
“Say yes,” Jack urged.
Samantha paused. She would have to tell the big bad boss that she would be away for a few days. But she had earned it, hadn’t she? One of the other waitresses would have to pull her weight for once. Samantha smiled, leaned across the table, and kissed each man on the cheek.
*
Everything went with frightening speed. Before she knew it, Samantha was in a private plane with Eli and Jack. That her life had taken such a sudden turn was still amazing to her. How was it that she, a waitress from a small nowhere town like Barkton, was now on a plane to Malta with two Navy SEALs? If it could happen to her, she thought, it could happen to anybody. Her thoughts turned to all the bored women in the world, who never knew that tomorrow they could meet someone who would twist their world into something magical and unknowable.
Jack and Eli sat opposite her. Samantha sat in an armchair-like seat and the two of them leaned forward on sort-of-stools. Eli’s face, with its wild eyes, resembled that of an uncaged beast. Jack looked out of the window, watching the terrain whir past.
“This is going to be great,” he said. “Four days in Malta.”
Four days… Convincing Mr. Adams hadn’t been all that difficult. All she had had to do was remind him that she was the hardest-working waitress in town and that the local bar would gladly take her, had he any problems with her. Seeing as The Spatula and the bar were always vying for custom, it was simple. She felt a bit bad about leaving, but it was only for four days, and surely he could find another waitress to cover her for less than a week.
“Yes,” Eli said, in that deadpan voice. She imagined Eli walking across a dreary Viking landscape surrounded by endless forest-green fields the color of his eyes; the scene was pretentious and weird but it suited him exactly. “We’ll lie in the sun and fuck and drink.” He said it with such calmness, but when he turned and stared at Samantha his eyes widened a little. “We’ll fuck harder and harder each night.”
Then Jack leaned across the table and touched Samantha’s leg. “It’s my turn,” he said, looking her up and down. “I’m going to fuck you, Sammy.”
She didn’t say anything. She just grabbed his wrist and pulled at him. He hopped over the table and leaned down and kissed her neck. Like a wolf moving in on a kill, Eli rose from his chair and walked around the table. Jack’s lips were warm on her skin and she remembered that this was Jack and he was a SEAL now. Eli moved behind her, and reached around the chair and touched her breasts through the fabric of her t-shirt.
They were going all the way, this was happening—and then a flight attendant walked through the door. Eli and Jack didn’t try and hide what the three of them were doing; Samantha was the most embarrassed. She pushed them away and smoothed herself down. Eli and Jack returned to their seats. The flight attendant, a woman about Samantha’s age, did a good job at hiding her distaste, but Samantha still saw it, in the deepest recesses of her yellowish eyes.
“Can I get your anything?” she said, faux-chirpy.
Samantha ordered a large glass of wine.
Soon, she thought, looking over the rim of her glass at Jack.
*****
Each of them had their own hotel room, which Samantha liked because it didn’t force them to spend time together. She was still having trouble believing that any of this was really happening and had actually pinched herself last night, like a massive cliché, to make sure it was real. But this morning as she awoke with the soft winter sun shining through her curtains, she felt the reality of it strike her. It was real, she was here.
She got dressed and went across the hall to meet Eli and Jack. They met in Eli’s room, sitting on the bed and looking out upon the ocean. It was warmer here, though it was still winter and it wasn’t scorching. There was no snow, however, and the air had a brisk vitality to it that Barkton lacked. The air felt clean, or maybe that was just how she felt, being away from home for the first time in years: fresh, remade.
“This is beautiful,” Samantha said into the silence as the three of them looked upon the ocean.
Without speaking, Samantha sat between them. She was beginning to see that this was the way that felt most comfortable to all of them: the two men bordering her. She placed a hand on Jack’s leg and a hand on Eli’s. Suddenly, she wanted these men. But she didn’t want to be the one to make a move. She didn’t want to cross that line. She was here at their mercy; that was the play. So they just sat there for a few minutes with Samantha resting her hand on their legs. She knew they liked it because their breathing had become quicker and each man was looking at her out of the corner of his eye.
Then Eli rose from the bed and walked across to a chair beside the window. He turned it so it was facing the bed and then sat in it. “I want to watch,” he said simply. “I want to watch the two of you fuck.”
Samantha looked into Jack’s deep blue eyes and he returned her gaze. She tried not to think about all those years ago when she had lost her virginity to him. This wasn’t the same person. That had been an idealistic teenager; this was a rugged, scarred man. She swore she saw the hunger moving through his face, making him grow larger. Then he leaned across and grabbed the back of her neck.
“I want you now,” he said, and pulled her toward him.
Even if Samantha had wanted to, she couldn’t pull away. And she definitely didn’t want to. She threw herself into him.
*
She really did feel like she was throwing herself into him. It was as though their shared teenage years rose from within him, or streamed from his eyes, and enveloped her. She felt herself wrapped in a warm blanket of the past. His lips touched hers and she breathed him in. Their tongues danced and nerve-endings exploded. All the time she was aware that Eli was watching them hungrily, and out of the corner of her eye she saw that his huge cock was out, rubbing it up and down whilst he watched them. She grabbed Jack’s cock and he took a quick intake of breath.
“I want to ride you,” she breathed. She placed her hand on his heavily muscled chest and pushed him back. “I want to ride you now,” she said.
He leaned back onto the bed and watched as she tore her clothes away. She felt like their clothes were blocking her. When she was naked, she padded over to Eli and touched his face. “Don’t look away,” she said.
She turned back to Jack, feeling Eli’s eyes on her bare ass, feeling sexy as hell, and walked to where he lay on the bed. She went to her knees before him and pulled down his jeans. His cock sprang up. He pulled his t-shirt over his head. His muscles were statue-like; it was as though his body was carved from marble. Each muscle was impeccably sculpted. His torso was hairless. He had never had much hair, she remembered, even as the other boys were growing their first beards. She thrust that thought from her mind and regarded the man before her.
She grabbed the huge cock, liking the feel of it in her hand, the hardness of it. She felt it harden ever further in her hand and then she rubbed it up and down, up and down, relishing each of Jack’s pleasure-filled breaths. She sucked it for a while, forcing her face down, choking on his huge cock. And then she climbed onto the bed, throwing a quick look back at Eli, whose eyes were now glassed-over with fascination and lust.
Sh
e sat back on Jack’s cock, placing her legs either side of him, and guided him with her hand, propping one hand on his tensed chest muscles. She moaned in pleasure and pain as his huge cock filled her. It stretched her vagina. She was opening to him and she knew only pleasure. She pushed down on his cock and moaned loudly. He looked up at her, at her bouncing breasts. She looked down at him, at his stern face and at her fingernails digging into his flesh.
Eli walked around and stood by the side of the bed, watching Samantha intently, his eyes roaming from her breasts to her thighs and all the way to her feet and back up to her face. She found herself putting on a show, bouncing up and down with ever more ferocity on Jack’s cock. She liked that he was watching them. It heightened what they were doing: made it more than simple lovemaking.
She gripped Jack’s chest muscles even harder, getting a crazy pleasure when he winced in pain. She could see his muscles under his skin, like something alive. She leaned down and in a fit of ecstasy sunk her teeth into his chest. He gasped but then he reached around and grabbed her ass cheeks and began to thrust upward, adding to the force of her movements, the two of them pounding into each other. Eli grabbed her bouncing breasts, tweaking the nipples, and the combination of Jack and Eli sent a powerful orgasm surging through her.
Everything pulsated. The morning sunlight was blinding and everything was hot and otherworldly for a few precious moments, and then the orgasm waned and she was feeling tired. But she wanted Jack to come. Needed him to. She bounced even harder and allowed her hand to be guided to Eli’s cock. As she bounced she rubbed his cock and soon Eli was groaning loudly, his body jerking, his cock wilting as come shot onto her breasts. She rubbed the come into her breasts as Jack stared at them. Then he closed his eyes and breathed heavily: “Fuck, Sammy, yes, yes, yes!”
She bounced even harder, pushing down with all her force now, riding him as hard as she could, and then he closed his eyes and seemed to stop breathing. Then he let out a long breath, and rolled over. She slid away from him and lay on the bed. Eli climbed in beside her, wrapping his arms around her. Jack ran his fingers up and down her thigh.
“Well,” she said, after a pause. “That was a good way to begin the morning.”
“Yes,” Jack said.
“It was,” Eli agreed.
*
After the sex they showered and then went downstairs to the restaurant for breakfast. Their hotel was close to a beach and so they decided to take a walk. As they walked (Eli was at her left, Jack at her right) Samantha couldn’t help but feel profoundly safe. Without thinking, she took Jack’s hand and Eli’s hand, squeezing them both. She had never really reflected on the nature of a relationship before, but right now she did for the first time in her life. Why couldn’t two men share one woman, if all three of them enjoyed it?
She knew what people would say about her. They wouldn’t say much about the men; nobody ever says much about men when it comes to things like that. If a man had had two girlfriends, he would be cool, a player, a legend. But if people found out about her, she would be a slut.
Ah, yes, she thought cynically. There is that word: that word that has done so much harm. Why would you listen to such a cruel word? Why would you let such a cruel word have an effect on you? But the fact is, if people in Barkton found out about this, she would be out of a job. Oh, the boss would contrive another reason, but soon enough she would be shunned, by the whole town. That’s what small towns were like.
Then she chided herself. Why was she dwelling on the pains of tomorrow when she had the pleasures of today to enjoy? Eli and Jack were dressed in shirts and shorts. She was wearing a dress. In truth, it was too cold for what they were wearing, but they were abroad so they’d made the effort.
“We should go for a swim,” Samantha said, not even knowing she was going to say it.
Then, without waiting for a reply, she ran toward the water. The tide was in and the water was glittering blue. The sun was pale and white in the sky. And the coldish air pricked her skin. She leapt into the water and then dunked her head under, relishing the revitalizing shock of the cold. She came up with a quick intake of breath, giggling like a fool. She turned to the shore and saw Jack laughing as Eli took off his shirt and waded into the water like a man on a mission. After a pause, Jack shrugged and followed.
There were few people on the beach, but the ones that were there were mostly walking dogs or taking quiet walks. They looked on in a mixture of disgust and envy and bemusement at the three adults splashing around like children. At first they just splashed, and then they played Marco Polo for a while. Samantha was shocked by how good Eli and Jack were at it. She could barely move without their lightning-quick Navy SEAL reflexes latching onto her.
Soon there were too cold and had to get out of the water. They traipsed back to their hotel room and took off all their clothes. They ordered up some lunch and ate in bed, naked. There was nothing sexual (just then) about their nakedness; they were just totally comfortable with each other. That was the most startling thing to Samantha. She had never been totally comfortable being naked around people. And now here she was, comfortable being naked around two people.
After lunch, Samantha returned to her room and took a shower. The three of them were going out on the town this evening. After her shower, she was going to call across and ask the others what they wanted to do until tonight when they walked through her door, fully dressed.
“Come on, Sammy,” Jack said. “We’re taking you shopping.”
And I thought this day couldn’t get any better, she thought, as she hastily put on her shoes.
*
Standing in front of the full-length mirror in her new dress, Samantha felt sexier than she had in years. She had not one, but two hunky Navy SEALs. Just the thought of it made her feel dizzy.
That night they dined in an expensive-looking restaurant and then went to a club. Samantha kept insisting that they let her contribute toward something but the men were adamant that they would pay for her. Samantha told herself that when they got back to the States she would treat them to something nice, which she would. It was only fair.
When they returned that night, they sat in the moonlit hotel room and smoked cigarettes out of the window. There was nothing particularly abnormal about that moment but Samantha felt a change begin to happen within her. She was no longer Samantha the Lonely Girl Whom Nothing Happened To; now she was somebody interesting with some kind of purpose and spontaneity. She felt like she had finally been introduced to life.
After the cigarettes they made love, all three of them, and then fell asleep together. It was perfect.
*****
The four days in Malta ended quicker than Samantha would have liked, but reality came calling and all of them were adults and so they had to return. Samantha apologized to the good patrons of The Spatula and Eli and Jack went north for a meeting with some important Navy people. Samantha sensed that neither of them wanted to talk about it so she didn’t ask. They were uncomfortable with the role they’d played in so many deaths, Eli had told her one night in Malta. It was as though the animal-shield had been lifted and she had glimpsed the real him.
Samantha didn’t contact the men and they didn’t contact her. It was nice, in a way, to get back to her normal life for a while. It was nice to remember what it was like to be a normal member of society. But beneath it all was the yearning to return to the craziness of those few days. She wanted the SEALs back with her; she wanted them to whisk her away into another realm of craziness.
Instead of anything so dramatic, she came home one day to Eli and Jack standing outside her apartment building. It was almost two months after their return. It was well after Christmas (which Samantha had spent with Fiona) and the first whispers of spring were beginning to thaw the snow and paint the leaves a yellowish green.
Samantha knew that some women would be angry at the way the two of them had left her, but she wasn’t. They had never declared love or even commitment. They had shared
pleasure and that was that. And now that they had returned, Samantha’s main emotion was happiness intermingled with surprise. She immediately ran over to them and took them both in her arms, wrapping her arms around their necks. They hugged her back, Jack laughing, Eli squeezing her tight.
“Come in,” she said, and hurried them through the door.
*
The three of them sat around the coffee table, much as they had when the two of them first came here, but something was changed in them. They seemed less comfortable. Eli stared at the wall and Jack looked down at his hands for a long time. Samantha couldn’t help but remember. Jack is staring down at his hands. He is nervous. She is nervous. They are fifteen and the summer sun blazes down on them and the river glitters and Sammy knows things will never be this perfect again. He wants to say something but he had to look down at his hands to compose himself. Jack is small and nervous and strong and big at the same time. He looks up and smiles and says it; and they kiss and they do more than kiss and it is beautiful. She was stunned by the force of the thought, but pushed it away. She wouldn’t dwell on the past.
“We’re going over there again, Sammy,” Jack finally said.
More was said. There were hugs and kisses and lovemaking and everything else, but that was all Samantha really heard. They were going away. But this was different to the last time. Now they were going away possibly forever.
The SEALs had taken her; the SEALs had left her.
*****
Samantha Fry, the manager of The Spatula in the small town of Barkton, had no idea that Jack and Eli were going to return, or if. She had worked hard over these last eight months and eventually the boss had promoted her and taken a more background role himself. She was able to buy a house and she had no problem staying here. She had flown one wintery fortnight last year that nobody but she and her secret traveling companions knew about. Over the months she thought about writing them a letter, but she just couldn’t do it. She had no clue what to say.