by Rainey Daye
One of Alex’s strangest quirks was that his milk had to be absolutely ice cold. He couldn’t even tolerate it sitting on the counter or table for even a minute and insisted that it lost its flavor every time is was allowed to warm up. So to appease this quirk of his, everyone took their glass, or cup, or bowl to the milk rather than taking the milk to it. The only exception that Alex was able to tolerate was when milk was used for cooking. Then it could be brought to the stove or counter, but the moment it was set aside, no longer needed, Alex was there to return it to its rightful place in the fridge.
Selecting a tropical blend of juice, she snagged the carton from the refrigerator and took it over to the table located in a morning nook surrounded by windows on three sides at the back of the kitchen that provided them with a beautiful view of the backyard. Alex had already placed a glass on the table next to her plate, and she raised her brows briefly when she spied someone’s selection of cranberry juice that was already on the table.
She returned to the counter where her coffee was cooling and ventured a quick sip before she removed the plate of toast from the warmer and carried it to the table with her coffee cup in the other hand. Putting the plate on the table and placing her mug at her usual middle setting, which placed her back to the kitchen, she then turned around to see if there was anything else for her to bring to the table before taking her seat.
Seeing the men approaching with the eggs and bacon, she went ahead and sat down while Alex took his place on her left and Jesse sat down at her right.
“You outdid yourself, Jess,” she remarked appreciatively as she savored her breakfast. “This is delicious.”
Alex concurred, and the three of them concentrated on eating rather than engaging in their normal idle breakfast chitchat since none of them had had dinner last night and were starving, hence the weekend breakfast on a weekday that they were currently enjoying to the fullest.
Maggie was actually surprised that none of them seemed to be experiencing any awkward “morning after” qualms and had instead fallen quite easily into the morning routine that they had perfected over the past six months, although the large meal when it wasn’t the weekend was a bit out of the ordinary.
When Alex finished his breakfast first, he patted his lips with his napkin before he pushed his chair back and stood up. Grabbing his plate and a couple of other empty ones from the table, he took them to the sink and rinsed them off for Maggie. That was one of her quirks. She had no problem with doing the dishes as long as the dishes were rinsed immediately so the food wouldn’t congeal on the plates. She would then run her own dishwater and scrub the dishes clean, disdaining the industrial-grade dishwasher.
Alex poured some coffee into a thermos for himself while Jess rose from the table and returned the condiments to the fridge. Making his way back to where Maggie was still sitting at the table, nibbling on a leftover piece of bacon while watching some birds chasing a squirrel away from the feeder, Alex gripped her chin in his hand and tilted her face up to him. Smiling at the look of surprise on her face, he leaned down and kissed her soundly on the lips, briefly dancing his tongue with hers. He then straightened up and grabbed his thermos before he left the kitchen with a wave over his shoulder as he announced that he was running a little late for class and would see them that evening.
Maggie bemusedly watched him leave and then turned to Jess, who had returned to stand near the table. “We don’t have class for a couple more hours,” he stated and held out his hand to her in unspoken invitation. Smiling, Maggie took it and allowed him to draw her to her feet and then into his arms. He captured her lips with his own and kissed her hungrily while he cupped her face with one hand.
Pulling back, Jess reached for her hand again and led her into the living room, where he pulled her down onto the oversized sectional sofa with him and proceeded to kiss her senseless.
Maggie briefly wondered how long she could manage to remain the “rational one” while they partook of their first make-out session together. She hungrily twined her tongue with his and delighted in the feel of his hands roaming all over her body. But when she realized that he was keeping his hands strictly over her clothes, she knew she could relax and trust him not to allow them to get carried away.
Jess finally broke away from their kisses and simply cuddled with her. “By the way,” Jess finally said. “Alex and I were talking last night after you fell asleep.”
“Yeah?” she asked, burrowing deeper against him with her head resting against his upper chest while her hands trailed along his back and shoulders.
“It’s about us,” he said, and Maggie stiffened, suddenly afraid of what he was going to say.
“Relax,” Jess soothed as he stroked her back and placed a quick kiss on the top of her head as he felt her tense up. Giving her hip a squeeze, he continued. “Some of our classmates already know that we’re roommates, right?”
“The ones in our study group do at least. Ever since that day you told me you would see me at home when you had to leave one of our sessions early. And since you and Alex had made me promise not to ‘out’ you when I first moved in here, I had to think really fast to explain your slip.”
“Another of my fuckups.” He nodded. “I remember you came home fuming that night about my slipup, and you told us how you were forced to lie through your teeth and you told everyone that a small group of us were pooling our money and renting an apartment off campus and that everyone had their own boyfriends or girlfriends so that things were all platonic and above board.”
“That’s right,” she confirmed, curious as to the direction this conversation was headed.
“Well, Alex and I thought that even though we’re all now dating, we shouldn’t act any differently on campus.”
“Why not?”
“How do you think people will react if they see me kissing you on the west side of campus one morning and then see Alex kissing you on the south that afternoon?”
“Envious?” she teased.
Jess growled at her. “Seriously,” he said. “We want to preserve your reputation around campus, so we agreed that it would be best not to show any public displays of affection there, no matter what.”
“The same way you and Alex maintain the façade that you are simply friends and not lovers?”
“Exactly,” he agreed. “So no displays that can be construed as sexual by even the most observant person. Are you okay with that?”
“I’m not sure,” she had to admit. “I’ve always felt the need to stake my territory with my boyfriends in the past and so was always touchy-feely with them whenever we were in public.”
“Then try to mimic our behavior when we’re together on campus. Follow our lead and our cues. Try to force yourself to stop and consider before you act. Or better yet, treat us the same as you always have so no one will think that anything has changed between us.”
“You know, the stigma of being the school slut doesn’t really apply to a large college campus like this one. And I think a lot of our classmates would be envious rather than condemning. As least the girls would be. The guys might feel morally obligated to clue you in that your girlfriend is cheating on you with your best friend. So is it really my reputation you’re worried about?” she teased.
“Yes, it is, and if you aren’t going to behave in public on campus with us, then Alex said we need to make it a condition for dating us before we proceed any further. I actually mocked him when he said that. Can you believe that? But now I see that he was right yet again, and we are going to have to insist,” he finished sternly.
Maggie burst into laughter. “Wow! You were really channeling your inner Alex for a minute there. Did you know that? Relax,” she continued, removing the teasing note from her voice when his scowl didn’t lessen. “I’m perfectly happy to abide by this new rule, not because I’m concerned about preserving my reputation, but because I’m concerned about yours.”
“Ours?”
“Yeah, yours. If people found out t
hat I’m dating both of you, yeah, some girls might be envious while some guys might want to give you a heads-up about me. But if they actually saw all three of us together at the same time, with me hugging and kissing you both in front of each other, then they are going to be curious. They are going to wonder how the whole sex thing works between us. Do I do you one-on-one, or is it a group thing? Do you both participate at the same time, or does one of you sit back and watch while waiting to have your turn with me? And if you do participate, is there any accidental touching of each other, and how do you handle that or look each other in the eye afterwards? Does it make you any less of a man to have a three-way with another man?”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Jess cried as he sat up, interrupting her. “Where the hell did all that come from?” he asked, amazed.
“Well, you had your true confession last night, so here’s mine. I have had extremely detailed sex fantasies about the two of you ever since I’ve moved in, and I’ve considered each of those scenarios, along with numerous others, and worked them into one of my fantasies at one time or another,” she confessed.
“Damn,” Jess breathed in awe, barely controlling the urge to say I love you. “You are something else, you know that?” He kissed the tip of her nose before lightly slapping her ass. “Come on, get up, we’ve cuddled long enough and need to head to school now.”
Laughing, Maggie let him pull her to her feet and followed him to the garage, scooping up her book bag along the way. Climbing into her beat-up old Chevy, she followed Jess to campus. Even though they tried to carpool together as much as possible, their Thursday schedules were such a mess that no matter how they tried, the logistics proved to be impossible. And for once, Maggie was thankful for that fact, since she needed the ride to school alone to help her come to grips with the new direction her life had taken overnight.
Chapter 9
“You guys are going to absolutely love the movie I chose,” Maggie announced as she walked into the basement media room that evening, where the guys were waiting to get their weekly movie night under way.
Since none of them had a morning class on Friday and didn’t get home until 8:00 p.m. at the earliest on Thursday, they had decided early on that term that it was the perfect night for them to order in pizza and enjoy watching a movie together, taking turns choosing what movie they were going to watch. Maggie was just thankful that it was her turn to choose, because she had wanted to share her all-time favorite movie with them but had never had the nerve to do so before now, afraid that they would view her selection as a “hint.”
“What did you choose for us?” Alex wanted to know as he flipped open the pizza box and grabbed a slice before popping the top on his beer and sitting down on one of the comfortable old recliners in the room.
Maggie held the DVD case up so he could read the title.
“Paint Your Wagon,” he read thoughtfully. “Never heard of it before. What is it?”
“A musical,” she answered as her lips twitched with the urge to grin as she heard their collective groan.
“Aww, Maggie,” Jess cried, “what did we do to piss you off this time?”
“Nothing, you goof.” She laughed. “This movie here happens to be one of my favorites, and it is a sign of my feelings for you that I want to share it with the two of you. Besides, I’m trusting you not to mock me for liking it so much.”
“No, it isn’t. It’s some type of whacked-out female test of hers to see if we are compatible with her,” Alex explained to Jesse.
“Is it a deal breaker if we don’t like it,” Jess asked in concern, “even if we don’t mock?”
“Well…” She drew out the syllable slowly and then burst into laughter at the horrified looks on their faces. “No, it’s not a deal breaker, and I’ll simply have to learn to enjoy it by myself or wait to watch it with my dad when I go home to visit, but I really do think you guys will enjoy it,” she assured them.
“Your dad likes this movie?” Alex asked dubiously.
“He’s the one who introduced me to it,” she said enthusiastically. “He watches it every time it’s on TNT. He’s a huge Lee Marvin fan.”
“Lee Marvin? Isn’t he that guy who starred in all those old war movies?” Jesse asked, confused.
“That’s him,” she confirmed. “But I think my mom likes the movie so much because she’s a Clint Eastwood fan.”
“Clint Eastwood is in it, too?” Alex gaped. “You really expect us to believe that Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood, two actors known for their tough-guy roles, starred in a musical together?”
“Yep,” she replied smugly. “And not just any musical. It happens to be the best damn musical you’ll ever see. Ooh, just wait until you hear the voice of Rotten Luck Willie when he sings ‘Mariah.’” She sighed dreamily.
“Mariah Carey?” Jess asked, confused again.
“No, Mariah is the wind,” Maggie replied.
Throwing each other baffled looks at her response, Jess ceded defeat as he asked, “You want to give us a basic plot so we know what we’re in for?”
“California, gold rush days, all-male camp of gold prospectors,” was Maggie’s succinct reply.
“All male, huh?” Alex asked thoughtfully.
Laughing at his attempt at humor, Maggie put the DVD into the machine and adjusted the dimmer on the lights before grabbing her own piece of pizza and settling back on her recliner to enjoy the movie.
Bemused, the guys watched her as Maggie couldn’t help but sing along to the movie’s opening credits, and then they sat back like the good boyfriends that they were trying to be to humor Maggie’s choice of movie. But in the opening scene when the characters abruptly flung the body they were burying out of its grave and jumped into it instead because they had spotted flakes of gold in it, the two of them sat up and took notice, realizing the movie was actually a comedy.
They found the scene where the men of the camp were drunk and dancing around a bonfire in the mud entertaining, and when Ben drunkenly bought a wife from a passing Mormon, they were both laughing out loud.
By the time the town council decided to legalize prostitution and Ben set off with some others to kidnap five “French tarts” bound for a nearby mining town, they were thoroughly enjoying Maggie’s movie selection.
They laughed over Ben and Pardner’s fight when Pardner confessed that he had “deep feelings for Elizabeth,” and when she admitted that she was in love with both men and they decided that the best solution was to share her, the guys looked at Maggie with sudden, new insight into her psyche.
They guffawed right alongside Maggie at Ben’s line, “Welcome to hell, Parson,” while he thrust a bottle of whisky in the man’s hands. But they each grew somber as the end credits rolled and Elizabeth wound up with Pardner while Ben moved on to the next gold strike.
“Well?” Maggie asked excitedly when it was over. “What did you guys think of it? You liked it, didn’t you? I heard you laughing. Don’t try to deny it.”
“We thoroughly enjoyed the movie, Maggie,” Jess assured her.
“But?” Maggie frowned. “I hear a ‘but’ in your voice.”
“We didn’t care much for the ending,” Alex admitted.
“What?” Maggie cried. “How could you not love it? The ending was brilliant. They built their perfect town, and then they sunk it!” She laughed.
“No, not that part,” Alex said. “That part was hilarious.”
“It was the part that came afterwards,” Jess clarified.
“Afterwards?” She frowned, at a complete loss.
“When Ben left their ‘happy little triple.’”
“But that went along with the whole movie, too,” she pointed out, still not understanding. “Ben was born under a Wand’rin’ Star. He never was the type to settle down. And he even told Elizabeth on their wedding night that he would stay until the gold ran out or the first snow of winter, whichever came first, and that’s exactly what he did. For all his faults, Ben was a man of his word where
she was concerned.”
“You really don’t see any parallels between us and them?” Jess asked point-blank.
Maggie blinked in surprise as she realized the guys were reading way too much into this. “No,” she said seriously as she stood up from her chair to face them. “Unlike Elizabeth, who eventually let the men go, I will not allow either one of you to walk away from me! I will tie you up while I beat some sense into your thick skulls. Do I make myself clear?” she finished with a growl.
“Yes, ma’am,” they answered in contrite tones.
“Good.” She nodded decisively but then couldn’t resist adding, “Besides, you’re both young studs like Pardner was in the movie, not lecherous old men like Ben.”
And as she had hoped, they both laughed at that.
* * * *
While they were having a late breakfast the next morning, Alex cleared his throat to get Maggie’s attention.
Looking up from her notes that she was going over since the professor of her 2:30 p.m. class loved giving pop quizzes, she gave him her attention instead.
“Jess and I were talking,” he began.
“Not again,” Maggie groaned.
“What?” he asked.
“Every serious conversation with you two begins with you ‘talking.’” Disgruntled, he glared at her before Maggie laughed and patted his hand. “Note to self. Alex is a grump in the morning. Do not tease him at the breakfast table.”
Jesse laughed. “She’s right, Alex. You are a grump in the morning.”
“Fine, then,” Alex grumped at them, “I’ll just sit here and grumpily drink my coffee while you tell her what we were talking about, then.”
“Okay,” Jess agreed good-naturedly. “So, Alex and I were talking,” he began, and Maggie burst into laughter while Alex’s lips twitched as Jess looked nonplussed and seemed unable to continue.