by Golden Angel
"He's right," Jessica announced, squirming away from Chris. With a sigh, he let her. It was two against one, which meant he lost. Not that he really wanted to take that away from her anyway. He loved showing off their girl. And Jessica was definitely a bit of an exhibitionist, so she needed to be shown off now and then.
Besides, Justin was right. She looked stunning.
The silvery dress was perfectly acceptable for a nice restaurant if she ever wanted to wear it on a date, as long as she didn't spin, despite the low cut top. The straps would also slip easily off her shoulders and reveal her breasts if tugged on. The dress would still stay on though, because it was tight around her middle. He loved the way it clung to her natural, hourglass curves. Her brown curls were bundled on top of her head, and she'd put some sort of shimmery stuff on her eyes that made them look even bigger than usual.
Jess deserved to be shown off a little. "Besides," he said, speaking his next thought out loud, "If we don't go to the club, we'll miss the Andrew and Kate show."
"Which I, for one, would be super pissed about," Jessica said. "Since we were the only ones who missed all the drama last night."
Although, they'd all heard about it. Hilary and Angel had called Jessica, with two very different perspectives on how shit had gone down. Andrew himself had called Chris just to give him a "heads up," although Chris wasn't sure if he bought the guy's nonchalant demeanor. It had been a brief conversation. Patrick and Olivia had both called Justin.
Reminded of the night before, Justin's countenance darkened. "That fucker better not show his face around Stronghold again."
"I can't believe he was dumb enough to go after Leigh," Jessica said, sitting on the edge of the bed and putting on her matching, silver shoes.
Chris leaned against the dresser and watched. Just because he could order her to flip her skirt up and show him what was underneath didn't take any enjoyment out of trying to get an illicit peek. Sometimes, peeking was more fun. Especially when they didn't have time to let it lead anywhere.
He didn't bother saying anything. They were all on the same page in regards to Roland. According to Justin, Patrick had sent out a mass notification about Roland to pretty much everyone he knew within the scene that wasn’t a Stronghold member. With a picture of the guy. And asked them to pass the word along. If that asshole ever managed to get another submissive to talk to him, much less in to a club with him, Chris would be shocked.
"She's not even a real submissive," Jessica continued. Both Chris and Justin frowned.
"What do you mean by that?" Justin asked. A little frown line had appeared between his eyebrows as he exchanged a look with Chris. They couldn't tell if Jessica was being judgmental or naive.
"I mean, she comes to the club, but she never plays. She's just there to hang out."
Chris snorted. Naive it was. "Sure she is."
Looking up at him in surprise, Jessica blinked as she took in his sarcasm. "You think she's submissive?"
"Oh honey," Chris said, chuckling and shaking his head. "She's so submissive she even lets you other submissives boss her around. Just because she doesn't play doesn't change her nature. We've all known she's submissive for a while, there just didn't seem a whole lot of point in talking about it when she had a boyfriend. Or while she's rebounding."
"She's not ready yet," Justin said, adjusting his tie. To Chris, his best friend looked fine, but Justin was a perfectionist. Heck, he'd probably be adjusting Chris' tie next. Not that they would be wearing them for very long once they got to the club. But Lexie had decided that tonight was formal. At least they could still wear their leathers instead of dress pants.
"But I thought the reason you guys weren't thrilled with the idea of her and Jared was because she's not submissive."
"No, it's because she doesn't know she's submissive," Justin said. "And, considering her past relationship, she's going to have a lot of baggage. Jared also has a lot of baggage. We're just all worried about one of them getting hurt. Marissa has always managed to get Jared back, even when he's started seeing someone else, and Leigh doesn't seem like she's over Michael yet."
“That’s why we all kind of saw her with Jake,” Chris explained. “He’s steady, reliable, and definitely alpha, even if he’s not a Dom.”
"Oh." Jessica was still frowning. "That's not really any of our business though."
"Nope. Which is why no one is intervening. No matter how much Olivia might want to," Chris joked.
"Actually, I think Olivia's coming around on the idea of Leigh and Jared," Jessica said. "Hilary told me that Olivia told her that she thinks Leigh is good for him."
"Great," Justin said, check his watch. "Gossip time is over, let's go."
On his way to the door, Justin paused to adjust Chris' tie. Grinning, Chris put his arm out to indicate that Jessica should precede him, and they both followed Justin out to the car.
******
Walking into Stronghold, with two incredibly hot men on her arms, Jessica felt like a fairy tale princess. She still couldn't believe how far her life had come since meeting Fire and Flood, better known to her now as Chris and Justin. They were still figuring things out, because poly relationships weren't exactly standard, but she'd never been happier than she had this past year. Her family had finally, mostly, accepted her relationship even if it made them a little uncomfortable. When she’d brought them both to her cousin’s wedding, there had been some whispering and some looks, but no one had said anything directly to any of them. And her parents had been supportive, even if her dad was still uncomfortable with it. And she was sure that this upcoming year, this new year, she'd finally talk Justin and Chris into doing some kind of commitment ceremony.
She was laying low until after Hilary's wedding, but after that, the gloves were coming off. Right now, Justin and Chris were trying to make the decisions about the future, and she was going to give them the time to try and figure it out, but there was definitely an end date to how long she was going to wait, and it was coming up soon. If they didn't have it figured out by the time her best friend got married, they were doing it her way. She'd been reading enough ménage romances to come up with several solutions - not that anyone had asked her. Silly Doms. They always thought they had all the answers.
Smiling up at them, she still had her breath taken away by how gorgeous they were.
They looked enough alike to be brothers, even though there was no relation. Dark haired, dark eyed, and both hot as hell. They thought she was just as beautiful, even though she had an extra ten (or even twenty) pounds on her frame. That had eventually stopped mattering as much to her, as she realized they loved her body just the way it was. Not that she was going to let herself go, but she felt good about herself. She no longer questioned that yes, she was definitely hot enough to stand between them and look like she belonged with them. To them.
"Wow... it looks like a real party and not the club," Chris said, craning his head around, obviously impressed.
Jessica was impressed too. Lexie had managed to get all of the decorations from Christmas down, except the hanging white lights, which now made the room seem to sparkle. Especially with all the silver decorations hanging everywhere. Up on the stage, at the back of Stronghold's main room, there was a mock New Year’s Eve ball. Although she knew it actually worked. Lexie had hired Andrew, who did custom wood-working, to make it for her, and he'd gotten someone to help him with the electronics. Above the ball, which had been painted silver and liberally bedazzled, the number 10 was lit up, bright and festive.
The main room of Stronghold was meant to look more innocuous. There was a big bar and a lounge area, along with a dance floor in front of the stage. People were already on the dance floor, grinding along to the music which was blaring a little louder than usual. Probably also Lexie's influence. She loved to dance. Jessica knew it was her secret goal to get Patrick drunk enough to actually get on the dance floor with her at some point tonight.
And there was no way she was going
to miss out on Patrick dancing, if Lexie managed to make it happen.
Her boys both loved to dance with her, so she knew they'd be out there at some point this evening.
"Happy New Year!" trilled Sharon, one of the newer submissives to the club, as she went by them. Petite and effervescently cheerful, she was already popular with the other submissives, although Jessica had noticed she was a bit more stand-offish with the single Doms.
"You too!" she called after Sharon, who had already moved past them and into the crowd.
Next to her, Chris chuckled. "I think somebody's already drunk."
"Well it is a party," Jessica said, grinning.
Justin looked down at her sternly. "One drink for you until after our scene."
Fizzy excitement bubbled up inside of her. She already knew the rules, but there was something about Justin bossing her around in the club that made her hot and bothered. He knew it too. Probably because bossing her around made him just as turned on.
"Yes, Sir."
Looking up at him, she smiled as his gaze sharpened. Jessica had never really gotten into calling either him or Chris "Master," but all of them enjoyed that little bit of formality.
"Come on you two, I see Andrew, and we've still got half an hour before we get started."
"Are we in a room tonight?" Jessica asked, feeling a little disappointed. That was the only reason she could think of that they would have a certain start time, and she'd been under the impression that tonight they were going to have a more public scene. Something they hadn't done in a while.
Not that she was ever truly disappointed in what the guys set up for her, but she'd been kind of excited about indulging in some exhibitionism. She'd gotten a taste for it here, once she'd become more comfortable with her body and the members of the club.
"You'll see," Justin said, with a little smirk.
The fizzy bubbles in her stomach swirled. Uh oh. Her men were up to something. Something good? Something bad? Even as her pussy creamed, she could feel anxiety tightening her muscles... which, of course, just made her cream even more.
As they walked through the room, towards the bar, more people wished them a Happy New Year, and Jessica smiled and returned the words, even though her mind wasn’t there at all. She barely even noticed Marianne and Walter, her favorite older couple at the club who only came in about once a month or so, to visit and chat with people. Marianne had dressed Walter up in a party hat, which he still somehow managed to make look classy. With his silver hair, calm smile and straight back, even though he was submissive, somehow he always gave off the vibe of an old-school gentleman. Some of the dominants didn’t have that level of self-assurance. Promising to catch up with them later, Justin steered Jessica past the elderly couple, which was good because she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep up with the conversation.
******
Justin could practically see the thoughts whirling through Jessica's head. As much as he loved seeing her more confident than when he and Chris had first met her, there were times when he liked to make her a little anxious. A little on edge. And he knew she liked it too. It didn't take anything away from her confidence in herself, it just made her fantasize about what he and Chris might be doing to her tonight.
Exchanging a glance with his partner, because that's how he thought of Chris in this threesome relationship, he guided Jessica along in Chris' wake so that she was walking between them, where both of them could keep an eye on her. All the shit that went down with Roland had all of the regular Dominants at Stronghold on high alert. Not just Patrick's group of friends; every single one of the Doms and Dommes that were members. It had been a reminder that even a private club didn't always manage to weed out every asshole.
No one had expected Roland to actually attack someone.
Thank god Leigh had been okay and that Kate had shown up to save her.
Determinedly thinking of her as Kate, Justin was doing his best to separate his feelings of Kathy from the past with this new Kate in the present. Going by what Adam had said, Angel and Leigh really liked her, and there was a good chance she was going to be around regularly, if Angel had anything to say about it. Even if Adam wasn't totally thrilled with that, although he didn't seem to be against either, he and Angel had already had enough arguments over her choices in friends that he wasn't going to go there with her again. Especially since Kate was a girl and he was always telling Angel that he'd love it if she had more female friends. Trust Angel to choose one of the few females in the world that Adam would feel ambivalent about.
When Kathy and Andrew had first broken up, and she had disappeared from their lives completely, there had been a lot of anger within the group at her. They'd treated her the same way they'd treated Lexie - as a team of overprotective big brothers. And then she'd just left them without an explanation, without a single word in fact, and left Andrew brokenhearted in her wake. No one knew what had happened, and he'd never told anyone any of the details.
Granted, over the years the anger and hurt had dissipated, but there was still a little bit of bitterness there. A bit of resentment. Justin wasn't entirely sure how he felt about her showing up in their lives again, especially at the club. Especially because they'd all assumed that she and Andrew had broken up over his needs. That was the impression they'd all gotten.
Now, who knew what the fuck to think? Like they needed more stress on top of wondering what was going to happen if things went badly between Jared and Leigh. Their lives had all been a hell of a lot simpler when everyone was single.
Warmth pressed against his side, and he looked down at the curvy, little brunette who had thrown his whole world upside down, and he couldn't help but smile. More complicated or not, some things were worth it.
His smile dimmed a little as the crowd parted to let Chris through to the table where Andrew was standing with Michael, Adam, Angel, Leigh, Jared and Kate.
She looked the same, and yet different. Older, more confident, more mature. Gorgeous, as always. The dark bruise on her face that showed, even through her carefully applied make-up and the muted lighting of the club, made his jaw tense. Angry or not, resentful or not, he wanted to beat the shit out of Roland for hurting her. Protective instincts didn't go away just because the girl did.
Kate - it was easier to let go of the old bitterness if he used her new nickname - was standing in between Angel and Leigh, as if they were protecting her. An impression that was solidified when Angel shot Jessica a slightly suspicious look as they approached. Considering Jessica was Hilary's best friend, and Hilary hadn't exactly been welcoming, Justin wasn't too surprised by that. He knew that Jessica preferred to garner her own impressions though. She'd even given Marissa a chance. Hilary, for all that she was a sweetheart, had never been quite as open-minded as Jessica. She loved her best friend and had supported their unconventional relationship, but he knew that Jessica still worried sometimes over what Hilary really thought. Although, coming to the club had been a big eye-opener for the little blonde, and she'd definitely broadened her horizons.
"Happy New Year," Chris said, grinning, as he stepped up to the table. Reaching back, he grabbed Jessica's hand and pulled her next to him. Justin stepped up behind him, resting his hand on the nape of Jessica's neck. They both liked to be touching her on a pretty regular basis, but Chris usually went for the hand-holding, and Justin usually went for her neck or the small of her back. They hadn't intentionally claimed zones, but that was just what had fallen into place over the months.
They introduced Jessica to Kate, who barely blinked when Jessica was introduced as both his and Chris' girlfriend and sub. Either she'd been warned or she really didn't care. There was a very subtle tension at the table, and at the same time... Andrew seemed a lot more relaxed than he'd been lately. The tension was, strangely enough, coming from everyone but him and Kate.
"So you just moved back here?" Jessica asked Kate, obviously determined to keep things friendly and try to dissipate some of the tension. Angel s
miled at her, happy that she wasn't going to jump down Kate's throat the way Hilary had.
"I did; my roommate and I both moved here at about the same time. We just couldn't give each other up," she joked. Dressed in a stunning, green, halter-top, sheath dress, Kate definitely looked like a California girl. Hell, she looked like she'd just stepped off a red carpet. Justin was proud of Jessica for not being intimidated by her, although he'd noticed that Jessica was better at meeting new people when she was surrounded by her friends anyway. Going up on tiptoe, Kate tried to glance over their shoulders, although, as tall as she was, she still couldn't have seen much. "Sharon's around here somewhere..."
"Wait, Sharon's your roommate?" Jessica asked. Justin actually felt her perk up even as some of her nervous tension disappeared. "We saw her on our way in. She's awesome."
Kate beamed. "Isn't she? She's also insane, FYI. In case you hadn't noticed that yet, although it's hard to miss."
"I like her nicknames," Angel said with a grin.
The reaction around the table varied. Andrew scowled, Michael grinned, Kate coughed, and Leigh covered her mouth with her hand. Adam just looked at Justin and shook his head. Standing behind Leigh, Jared's lips twitched as though he was trying not to smile.
"Nicknames?” Jessica asked.
"She's got interesting nicknames for these three," Angel said with a grin, pointing her fingers at Andrew, Jared and Michael. "Crusty Cock, Hot Chocolate, and Master Hell No. OUCH!"
Adam scowled down at her as she twisted her head to look up at him with a pout, rubbing her butt where he'd just spanked her. "I told you not to use any of those names in the club. Sharon knows better than to say any of them inside Stronghold."
"I wasn't using them, I was just telling Jessica about them."
Eyeing Justin and Chris standing with Jessica, Kate's smile widened. "I'm pretty sure that I just figured out who the McHottie Sandwich is too."