As the waitress scooted away, Bobby looked over at Odis. “And you knew some groups that made this kinda thing work?”
Odis nodded as he ate some more okra. “Knew one ménage à trois that was together over ten years last I heard from them, but that was a time ago. They were two girls and a guy. I don’t know if that’d make a difference.”
“How long ago?”
“Let’s see, saw ’em last at my third art show? Or maybe fourth?” Odis ate another piece of fish. “So’s prob’ly ’92 or ’94.”
Bobby sort of nodded his head. “Any way you could get in touch with them now? Find out if they’re still…?”
“S’pose I could try.” Odis watched Bobby eat. “Would that—knowing that, I mean—make a difference?”
“Well,” Bobby replied after finishing off his fries, “if they are still together, it would give me some hope that such a thing could really work and not just be a ‘happy fun time’ experiment.”
Odis chuckled at his strange expression. “Happy fun time?”
Bobby gazed at Odis as he finished his last piece of fish. “You never watched Ren and Stimpy? ‘Happy fun time’ or ‘happy happy joy joy’?”
Odis shook his head as the waitress appeared again. She moved slower this time, peering at Bobby as she loaded more fish and fixings onto his plate. She moved over to Odis’s side of the table, still glancing at Bobby. After loading up Odis’s plate, she looked at Bobby. “Sugar, Nick back at the grill said he thought you looked like Bobby Lane, that baseball guy?” she said, dropping her gaze to the table.
Not sure what her reaction might be, Bobby nodded apprehensively.
The waitress playfully slugged Odis in the arm. “Dang you, Odie, ya didn’t say ya was bringin’ in a celebrity.” She went over to Bobby’s side of the table, wiping her hand on her apron before extending it to him. “My name’s Cindy, in case the goofus didn’t tell ya. Welcome to the Catfish Store.”
“Thanks,” Bobby said as he shook her hand. “It’s great catfish.”
Cindy smiled down at him. “I won’t let ya leave here ’til ya hafta unbutton yer pants,” she said with a wink.
Bobby blushed at the strange innuendo.
“Oh, no, sugar,” she said with a laugh. “I meant ya’ll be so stuffed, it’ll be like Thanksgiving.” She patted Bobby on the shoulder, still chuckling as she moved away.
Odis smiled at Bobby’s rosy-red face as he continued to eat. “So, what are your thoughts?”
“Well, it is an interesting idea. But like I said before, I think you and I kinda have something, and I’m a bit cautious to risk it trying something that might blow up in our faces. You know, since we could all end up with nothing in the end.”
Grabbing more okra, Odis nodded. “Well—”
Cindy appeared again with a pitcher and filled up their tea glasses. She looked down at Bobby with a serious expression. “Nick was just fillin’ me on that whole mess. I’m so sorry, Mr. Lane. Nobody deserves that kind of shit.”
“It’s okay, Cindy, you don’t need to apologize for anything,” he said with a kind smile.
“Oh, but you know.” Her expression lightened. “I hope ya enjoy yerself here in Brungess. Take that rascal out and get him into some trouble. Make him take ya over to the Blue Barn. Lord knows when’s the last time he had any fun,” she playfully teased while looking at Odis.
Odis rolled his eyes at her. “Just behave yerself, Cin. Maybe he don’t wanna go to no honky-tonk full of straight rednecks.”
Cindy chuckled. “Maybe not, I guess.” She looked over at Odis and noticed the warm smile he got when he glanced at Bobby. Her eyes suddenly got wider. “Odie?” Then she broke out into a wide grin. “Well, you two go on with yerselves, then,” she said, nodding as she went to the next table.
Odis smirked. “So much for keepin’ things quiet.” He looked over at Bobby. “Cin’s one of the biggest gossips in town.”
“Oh, I see.” Bobby ate another piece of fish. “You gonna be okay?”
“Sure. No point in tryin’ ta keep secrets, I guess.”
AFTER two more rounds, Odis and Bobby finished their meal and paid, then returned to the car with a small Styrofoam clamshell of food they’d smuggled out for Heimdalla. The dog bounced around in the El Camino when she saw them leave the restaurant. The guys crawled into the car, and Odis fed the bits to Heim.
Bobby watched her happily gobble up the fries and fish. “So what now?”
Odis sat back without starting the car. “Not that I’m tryin’ to rush things, but if yer seriously considerin’ this, I think we should call up Tuck sooner rather than later. I just have this feelin’ it might be one of those window-of-opportunity kinda things.”
Nodding, Bobby fished his cell phone from his pocket. “Well, let’s go ahead and call him, then.”
“You sure?”
“Not totally, to be honest. Still kinda scares me a little, about it blowing up. But….”
“I’m willin’ to try.” Odis pulled out his wallet and dug around for a ratty-looking business card. He handed it to Bobby. “Tuck’s cell number’s on the back.”
After struggling to read the faded pencil marks, Bobby punched in Tuck’s number. He glanced over at Odis as the line rang.
Odis started up the car. “Tell him to meet us at the house.”
Chapter 13
AS TUCK fluffed his pillow and turned down the blanket, his cell phone rang. Not knowing if it might be the department calling, he quickly reached to the nightstand and grabbed the phone. “Tuck.”
“Hey, it’s Bobby.”
He relaxed a bit. “Hey.” Tuck glanced at the clock and saw it was only 8:45 p.m. He hadn’t realized it was still so early.
“Listen, we uh, kinda might have a situation,” Bobby started. “Could you meet us at Odis’s house?”
Tuck felt himself once again tense up as his cop instincts kicked in. “What kind of situation, exactly? Should I get backup?”
“Oh,” Bobby chuckled. “Nothing like that. It’s cool, we just wanna talk.”
“Talk?” Tuck replied pointedly as the sense of threat faded. “You are on a freakin’ phone. So talk.”
“Really.” Bobby’s inflection sounded almost desperate. “It’s… just come to Odis’s, okay?”
Tuck reached in his closet for some shoes. “Fine. I hafta work early tomorrow, so no high jinks,” he said as he slipped on his sneakers. “I’ll be there in a bit.”
“See ya.” Bobby hung up.
As he moved to the living room, Tuck ran his fingers through his hair. One glance in the hall mirror as he grabbed his keys made him think his hair was a lost cause, so he grabbed his ball cap and slipped it on before heading out.
As Tuck drove farther from town, his mind kept wandering to dark places. He had already struggled with, and mostly won, the battle to set aside any desires for Odis or Bobby, so a touch of anger now began to boil at once again being reminded of what he couldn’t have. Can’t these guys just leave me alone?
Tuck wasn’t even sure why he was driving out to Odis’s. Hell, he still wasn’t sure why he’d even gone to the airport to pick up Bobby earlier in the day. What had he been expecting? He shook his head as he turned onto the gravel road. He needed to get over this, get past whatever strange compulsion kept steering him toward these guys. This wasn’t healthy behavior at all.
He thought again about Bobby’s call. If it hadn’t been for that desperation in his voice, Tuck wouldn’t be bothering with this. It wasn’t a fearful desperation—Valhalla knew he heard enough of that with his job. Bobby’s voice had that yearning quality he’d heard in some of those late-night calls from Hutchinson. Or maybe he was just a boneheaded lovesick puppy hearing imaginary things. Gods, hope I’m not that far gone.
BOBBY and Odis followed Heimdalla down the steps and into the house. Odis hadn’t even had time to offer Bobby a beer when Tuck came down the steps behind them. He entered the door, then bristled hesitantly just inside.
Bobby, fighting back a grin at seeing Tuck dressed in a pair of tight jogging pants, a faded sweatshirt, grubby-looking high-tops, and his beat-up Texas Rangers cap, motioned to the table. “Heya, Tuck. Come on in.”
Odis headed for the kitchen. “I’ll get some beers.”
Tuck and Bobby sat down at the table. Tuck glanced between the other two men. “What’s this all about?”
Bobby accepted a beer and watched Odis sit down after handing one to Tuck. Then Bobby took a deep breath. “It’s… you remember I told you about Nathan being psychic and all?”
Tuck nodded as he twisted the top and took a sip from the bottle.
“Well,” Bobby said, looking down at the note still sitting on the table. “This is the latest thing he left for me.” He picked up the note and handed it to Tuck. “The pencil marks are what Odis deciphered of it.”
Tuck studied the note in silence. He turned it over and found the back blank, then studied the front again.
Odis leaned forward. “And?”
Taking another swallow of his beer, Tuck remained expressionless as he glanced from Odis to Bobby, then back down at the note. “Is this some kind of April Fools’ joke?”
Bobby shook his head. “No, that was yesterday. That’s really what Nate left.”
“And you’re okay with this?” he asked, staring right at Bobby.
“I have some reservations, to be honest. But Odis said he knows of this kind of thing working.”
“It was two girls and a guy, but same principle.”
Tuck glanced unreadably between Odis and Bobby again. “Well, fuck a duck.” He reached into his pocket and retrieved his cell phone. After punching some keys, he held the phone to his ear. “Hey, Josh, kinda had somethin’ come up. You free to work the seven-to-three shift tomorrow?” He nodded while listening to the phone. “Yep, okay. See ya Sunday, then.” Tuck closed his phone and set in on the table, then set the note next to it before he looked up at Odis. “Go grab yer pipe.”
Odis went outside and around to his studio and returned a minute later with his corncob pipe. He went into the kitchen for a baggie of pot and brought everything to the table. “So,” he said while loading the pipe with some of the dried weed, “I guess you’re stayin’?”
“I don’t know about stayin’ stayin’, but we should at least sort all this out.” Tuck looked up at Odis when he handed him the pipe and lighter. “And you’re surprisin’ the fuck outta me. I find out in the same week you’re into guys and threesomes?”
“I’ve never done a threesome,” Odis said, shaking his head.
Tuck turned to Bobby. “Have you?” he asked before lighting up.
“No, never even really crossed my mind.”
Exhaling the breath of pot smoke he held, Tuck set the pipe on the table, then leaned back into his chair. “So none of us knows what the fuck we’re doin’, but you wanna try this anyway?”
Odis and Bobby nodded silently.
Tuck reached down and adjusted the crotch of his sweatpants. “Loki’s nuts,” he muttered exasperatedly. “And ya guys don’t mean this as just a one-time roll-in-the-hay thing either,” he muttered aloud.
Bobby shook his head, trying not to look at the enlarging package in Tuck’s sweatpants. “I don’t think that’s at all what Nate meant.”
“Me neither,” Odis said.
Tuck sat up and grabbed the pipe again. He kept staring at the note as he took a big hit and held the breath. He handed the pipe to Odis, but Bobby reached out and grabbed it instead.
“Careful, stud,” Odis warned. “That’s the one I named Orange Brain-Bash.”
Tuck chuckled at the name, sending intermittent bursts of vapor out his nose like strange smoke signals.
Bobby inhaled a small drag and handed the pipe to Odis. Odis took a hit, then set the pipe and lighter on the table.
After exhaling, Bobby smiled sheepishly at Tuck. “Not exactly orthodox, I know.”
“Nope,” Tuck replied, leaning back into his chair.
Bobby glanced over and noticed the glint in Odis’s eye as he admired the way the sweatshirt had tightened around Tuck’s chest and accentuated the curves of his pecs. Odis cleared his throat. “So, what’re yer thoughts?”
Tuck smirked. “This could either be totally fantastic or completely FUBAR. I can’t really see any middle ground here.” He sat up again, grabbed his beer, then drained it.
Bobby drained his own bottle and scurried to the fridge for a round of refills. As he put the empty beers in the trash, he noticed some orange plastic lying in the bin. Something about that particular shade of orange nagged at him, but Bobby shrugged it off and went to the refrigerator. He brought back the fresh beers and stood between Odis and Tuck as he gave each a bottle. Bobby thought the room seemed to be getting warmer. “Odis said something about rules….”
“Oh,” Odis said, taking his eyes off of Tuck’s chest. “Right. Ground rules.”
Tuck nodded. “Like a contract. Prob’ly need sumthin’ like that ta lay it all out. So what’s the first rule?”
Bobby looked at Odis, who seemed to be drawing a blank, so Bobby spoke up. “First rule, prob’ly doesn’t need to be said, but no outsiders. This would be a totally exclusive thing just with us three.”
“Right,” Odis agreed. He looked right at Tuck. “No diddlin’ on the side.”
“Hey.” Tuck bristled. “Don’t look at me. I haven’t diddled in about nine months now.”
“Oh?” Odis asked playfully.
Bobby looked over at Odis. “That’s all I got. What other rules? What about pairing off?”
“Well, the way the Sunflowers did it, they’d have a threesome at least once a week, and then they had different ‘date’ nights to pair off with.”
Tuck nodded at Odis. “So, like Monday night, you and me’d have a date, then Wednesday night, you and Bobby, then Friday, me and Bobby. And all of us together on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday?”
Bobby chuckled. “That schedule seems a bit optimistic, but I kinda like the ‘date’ idea.”
Tuck laughed. “Hey, if we can make up our own rules, why not be optimistic?”
Odis grinned. “I could go with that, except maybe Sunday. Should have a day off to get laundry and shit done.” Odis scooted closer to Bobby and nudged him with his hip to get closer to Tuck. “I think a lot of it will depend on your work schedule, Tuck.”
“Right.” Tuck glanced between the men. “And does this mean we’d hafta live together? I don’t think there’s enough room for all of us here. Speaking of which,” he said, looking up at Bobby. “Does this mean you’d be movin’ out here? I can’t see even tryin’ sumthin’ like this if yer not.”
Odis ran over and started rifling through his filing cabinet while Tuck gazed at Bobby.
“Well.” Bobby smiled. “There’s absolutely nothing tying me there anymore, and I just got a fat check. The thought of moving has been on my mind.” Bobby turned to glance back at Odis in the other room. “If you guys wanna try this, I’m game.”
Tuck kept studying him. “What about work?”
“Haven’t even thought about that yet,” Bobby admitted with a frown.
Odis rushed back with a big tube of rolled paper and plopped it onto the table. Bobby grabbed an empty beer bottle out of the way and Odis unrolled the tube, revealing a huge set of blueprints.
Odis smiled over at the other guys. “Here’s the rest of the house. This,” he said, waving around in the air, “this part is just the starter module.” He motioned behind himself to the bed. “That’s supposed to be a living room. This module was designed ultimately for entertaining.” On the drawings, he pointed with a finger to the opposite side of the dug-out patio. “This is where the master suite is supposed to go.” He pointed to an area next to the studio. “And a spare bedroom here.”
Tuck and Bobby glanced over the plans. Then Odis rolled up the top s
heet to reveal a second page. “And this second circle goes on the other side of the garage, adding a huge craft studio, storage, and more bedrooms, possibly.” He grinned up at Tuck. “All totaled up, it’s about five thousand square feet. Is that big enough for ya?”
“Damn, Odie, why didn’t ya ever finish it?” Tuck asked with a touch of concern in his voice.
“Didn’t seem like much point when I’s alone. And didn’t feel like buildin’ any damn shit for Tina.” Odis rolled up the second sheet, showing a larger garage plan underneath. “And here’s the extra two-car garage that goes with it.”
Bobby glanced over the drawings. “How long would all this take to build?”
“Well, ya know the old saying, ya either spend your time or ya spend your money. So if ya got a lot of money to pay, could prob’ly get it done in sixty days.” Odis patted Bobby on the shoulder. “No point in bleedin’ out the nose, though. Reasonably priced, I’d say four months for the whole ball of wax. Less than thirty days for just the master suite.”
Tuck sat up more squarely. “Okay. Sounds like we got some good options for the future, but we still don’t know if it’ll actually really work. With three of us, I mean. You two’ve already hooked up, and I’m assuming it was good….”
Odis released the papers, and they lazily rolled back into a tube shape. “We didn’t really.” Odis blushed. “Bobby just gave me a blow job.”
Bobby stepped closer to Tuck and put his hand on the larger man’s back to massage him lightly between his shoulder blades. “Then I guess I owe you one, to start.”
Tuck gazed up at Odis with slight worry in his eyes. “You really sure about this, Odie?”
Odis walked around to the other side of Tuck’s chair. He slid the ball cap off of Tuck’s head, filling the air with Tuck’s musky scent as he dropped the cap on the table. Odis placed a hand on each side of Tuck’s face as he leaned down. “Yeah,” he said as he moved closer for a kiss.
Tuck felt the warm sparkles of Odis’s kiss as another set of hands reached around his shoulders and down to his chest, sensually rubbing and massaging his pecs through the sweatshirt. His pecker swelled to full mast in a mere instant.
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