by Erin Osborne
Off the common room, there’s a kitchen that holds a long table and several smaller tables. The stove, refrigerator, and freezer remind me of ones that you’d find in an industrial kitchen. I guess when you’re cooking for as many people in the clubhouse, you’d need that.
There are two women in particular that are eyeing me like they want to kill me where I sit. Kim, Sam, Gwen, and I are sitting at a table in the corner. The guys have been playing pool while I talk to the girls. Well, more accurately sit around and watch everyone in the club together.
“Why do those two keep looking at you like they want to kill you?” Gwen asks.
“I don’t know. It’s been that way since I walked through the door with Wood and Boy Scout. I don’t have a claim on them so they can go fuck them if they want to,” I say, sipping my beer as I continue to look around.
“Girl, those men are all about you. You’re the only one they see,” Kim says. “Let them think what they want, and don’t pay them no mind.”
Nodding my head, I stand up and walk toward the hallway so that I can check on Wade. He’s been sleeping, and Trinity, one of the house bunnies, has been in the room with him. As I walk down the hallway, I’m suddenly forced against the wall.
My fight or flight instinct kicks in as I’m roughly turned to face the two girls that have been giving me the evil looks. They each let their gaze wander over me from head to toe before sneering at me.
“I really don’t see what Wood and Boy Scout see in you. It must be their need to protect you from something. Let me tell you that they’re going to be in our bed whether you’re here or not. You have no claim on them, and they don’t want you,” the redhead says, getting up in my face as the blonde stands back.
“What are you talking about?” I ask.
“You think you’re untouchable and that Wood and Boy Scout want you. We’re here to tell you that they don’t. Those two men are ours and we’ll beat you down if you try to take them from us,” the blonde says, shoving her friend out of the way so that she can now be in my face.
“Do we have a problem here Collette and Ginger?” Killer asks, walking up to us and stepping between them and me.
“No. We were just saying hi to the new girl,” the blonde says, running her hand down his chest.
Killer grabs her hand and flings it from his body. “Not what it sounded like to me. How about you two go clean the bathrooms, and I’ll go let Slim know that’s where you are. One of you in the men’s and one in the women’s.”
I go to say something to Killer only to watch him walking back toward the common room. I’m not going to be standing here when those two show back up, so I finish making my way to the room that the guys put us in earlier. My body is shaking from nerves after being confronted by the girls, so I take a minute to calm myself down before walking into the room.
“He’s still sleeping. Hasn’t made a sound since you left,” Trinity says.
“Thank you. I think I’m going to go to bed myself,” I say.
Trinity stands up from the couch and makes her way out of the room. I walk in the bathroom after grabbing my shorts and tee and quickly get changed and ready for bed. By the time I walk out of the bathroom, I nearly scream with Wood and Boy Scout walking through the door that I locked after Trinity walked out.
“What are you doing?” I ask, walking to the bed and pulling the covers back.
“Goin’ to bed,” Wood says.
“Oh. Did you need something?” I ask.
“Nope,” Boy Scout says.
They begin to strip and my mouth waters as they take their shirts off after laying their cut over the chair in the corner. Once they begin to undo their jeans, I turn my head so that I don’t have to see them. Instead, I listen to the soft commotion they make while getting ready for bed.
I’m lying on the edge so I can quickly get to Wade if he wakes up. Boy Scout walks to the other side of the bed and climbs in. Wood stands in front of me and just looks down for a minute.
“My side, Spitfire,” he says.
“Oh.”
I move over closer to Boy Scout while Wood climbs in bed. I’m ready to climb out of this bed and sleep on the small couch that’s in the corner of the room. I’ve never slept in bed with a man, not even Trey. This is freaking me out; making me wonder what they’re going to expect from me tonight.
“Wanna tell us what happened in the hall with Collette and Ginger? And why you’re shakin’ right now?” Wood asks, turning to face me.
“They were just telling me that you were gonna be in their beds and I have no claim on either one of you. It’s fine,” I say.
“No, it’s not fine. Those two girls have no claim on us and they had no right to corner you where no one else was. They knew what they were doin’,” Boy Scout says.
The three of us lie on the bed in silence. I know Wood asked me another question, but it’s not necessarily one I want to answer. Hopefully he forgets and leaves me alone.
“They’re bein’ taken care of as we speak. Now, why are you shakin’ so bad?” Wood asks, dashing my hopes of getting away without answering.
“I’ve never slept in a bed with anyone other than Wade. I don’t know what you two want from me tonight, and I’m ready to move onto the couch,” I say.
“Not goin’ anywhere,” Wood says, pulling me into his body. “We don’t expect anythin’ from you until you’re ready to take that step. For now, we just want to sleep in bed with you, and feel you between us.”
“Okay,” I say, trying to get comfortable.
I lay down and the heat from them engulfs me. Wood and Boy Scout keep their hands to themselves, but they get as close to me as they can. In a strange way, they’re warmth and knowing that there’s no pressure to have sex helps me feel secure. These two men are once again showing me that they care about me enough to make sure I don’t feel obligated to do anything with them.
I let their body heat wrap around me and lull me into sleep. No nightmares haunt me as the blackness takes over and pulls me under to sleep.
Chapter Five
Slim
I KNEW THAT some of the house bunnies would be a problem, but Collette and Ginger are going to have to be watched more than I initially realized. Killer came out of the hallway and told us all what happened between them and Jennifer. He also told us that they were made to clean the bathrooms. The men all got a good laugh at that because they all hate that job.
For now, I’m going to keep Alex on them and make sure that they don’t cause any more problems. If they do, they’ll be out of the clubhouse for the remainder of the lockdown and kept on probation for an extended period after that. These girls will fucking learn that they are not to mess with an ol’ lady or any of the women that came here for our protection.
Walking into the bathroom, I see Collette standing there, not doing a damn thing. When the door closes, she looks up and sees me standing in front of her with my hands on my hips.
“You know this isn’t gonna clean itself, right?” I ask.
“I don’t see why I have to do this at all,” she says.
“You and Ginger confronted Jennifer in the hallway. There’s no reason for you to act like a jealous bitch when you have no claim on any man here. Your sole reason for bein’ here is to spread your legs and make sure the place is clean. What don’t you understand about that?
“These women don’t need you to get in their faces and act like you run the place when that’s not even close to bein’ true,” I say. “Now, you’re gonna clean this bathroom until it shines or your out on your ass. First, we’re gonna have a little chat with the rest of the house bunnies.”
I lead Collette from the room and open the door to call Ginger out before rounding up the rest of the girls. This is the only time I hope to talk to them while we’re here. Or, the guys are gonna end up looking for new house bunnies.
“I’m in charge here and you girls have had it too easy apparently. There is no reason that you can corner a woman in
this clubhouse and try to assert any form of dominance. You have two jobs in my clubhouse; keep the men that want you satisfied and clean the fuckin’ place. None of you are ol’ ladies and in all likelihood will never become an ol’ lady. If I see you tryin’ to bully one of the women, get out of doin’ somethin’ a member told you to do, or anythin’ else no one here likes, you’ll be out on your ass,” I say, turning my attention to Collette and Ginger.
“You two are officially on probation until further notice. If there is one more incident involvin’ either one of you, you’re out of the clubhouse. You won’t be let back in and no one from here will talk to you or acknowledge you in any way.”
The girls begin to walk away and I can see that Collette and Ginger are for sure going to be problems. Their heads are bent together as they walk back out toward the common room instead of the bathrooms. I yell at them, telling them to get back to work. Collette turns to look at me before they change their direction and go back to work.
I find Alex and let him know to keep an eye on the two club bunnies. He takes off to do what I asked him to as I walk up to the bar. Zach hands me a beer without me having to ask him. Looking around, I see all the men spread out around the room while the women that are here for protection are huddled in one corner.
This is the time that I wish Shy was here, but she’s not. I spend more time pushing her away because of my own hang-ups then I do anything else. Shy is the only woman that has gotten under my skin since Maddie’s mom. I refuse to put a target on her back though, so I push her away.
Taking a deep breath, I walk to my office and shut the rest of the clubhouse out. I sit down at my desk and wonder if I’m getting too old for this job. The younger men are more than capable of taking over the club. I could just fade away into the background. But, I’ve never done anything else in my life. I’ve always been a member of the club. Maybe I just need a vacation or something.
Chapter Six
Jennifer
WE WERE ON lockdown for almost two weeks before Slim finally decided we were safe enough to go back to our lives. I’d like to say those two weeks were okay, and nothing terrible happened but some of the house bunnies were all over the place, and it didn’t matter to them if the ol’ ladies were there or not. I wanted to shrink away from everything. Wood, Boy Scout, and Kim wouldn’t let me do that though. So, I got used to being around everyone in the club and sat back to watch the interactions of everyone surrounding me.
There’s definitely a hierarchy to the club. The men are all at the top of, followed by the ol’ ladies. After that comes any friends of the club and the hang arounds. At the very bottom of the hierarchy come the house bunnies. Kim, the rest of the new girls, and I watched them try to worm their way into any of the brother’s bed that they could.
Since I’ve been in the position of sleeping with countless men by force, I have a different opinion of what they’re doing than most of the others. Don’t get me wrong, I find it pathetic, like the rest of the girls, that they’ll do whatever it takes to catch one of the men’s eyes.
There’s a desperation that isn’t typical when it comes to someone finding a member of the opposite sex for whatever type of relationship they’re looking for. I also see it as them being women that know what they want and are going after it. Yes, it’s wrong if the man is in a relationship, but they make their feelings known. There are days I wish I could be like that.
I got comfortable around the guys in the club during the lockdown. They still scare the shit out of me, especially Killer, but I see how much they respect one another and the way they’ve treated us. It was never about degrading us, making us do what they wanted, or treating us no better than their slaves.
These men have made sure that Kim, Sally, Samantha, Gwen, and I have what we need and that we’re not going without. If we’re hungry, they make sure we have food, and that we’re as comfortable here as we can be given whatever circumstance we’re coming from. The only people I’ve had problems with are the house bunnies as they think we’re stepping on their toes and can’t stand us being here. More than once they were put in their place by one of the men.
Honestly, I’m even more confused about Wood and Boy Scout than ever. We shared a bed for the entire two weeks, and neither of them tried a single thing with me. When I questioned them about it, they said I wasn’t ready, and they weren’t going to push me into anything. If anything were going to happen, I’d have to initiate it.
So, I slept surrounded by their heat every night, and I’ve never felt safer than when being wrapped in their strong arms. That’s not to say I don’t want to be with them, because I do. It’s just a matter of wrapping my head around being with two men at the same time, and it being about more than sex.
“Jennifer, you here?” Kim calls through the door of the apartment.
“Yeah. Just cleaning up the kitchen. Come on in,” I say, placing the last of the breakfast dishes in the drying rack.
“Brought you something that you can borrow for a while,” she says, walking in with a bag over her shoulder. “Wade taking his nap?”
“Yeah. He had a rough morning,” I tell her, sitting down at the table too.
“You talked about wanting to go to school after getting your GED. So, I brought you my extra laptop to use. We can figure out what you need to do for your GED testing, and then you can look up colleges in the area. There’s no point in putting this off when it’s something that you want to do,” Kim says, opening the bag up and taking out her computer.
Tears well up in my eyes from her generosity. She doesn’t have to do anything to help me, but she is. They all have in their own way. Kim is the one that’s been there for me since moving here, but now, I’m getting to know the rest of the girls too. Hell, some of them even have apartments here, and I never realized it. It’s time to break out of my shell and start living life-a life that I’ll make into what I want it to be.
“The girls will be over soon. Sally was going to wait until Natalia woke up from her nap before stopping by. I think the rest of them are making a run to the store for drinks and snacks before they get here. Tonight, we thought we’d grill out and have a little party now that lockdown is over with,” she says after putting her password in so the computer will boot up. “I’ll write this all down for you along with the internet password Alex gave me.”
“Okay. Thank you so much for this, Kim. You don’t have to do this,” I say, sitting back in my chair.
“I know I don’t. But, there’s a fire in you that’s slowly coming back. If I can help you reach your full potential and beyond, then I’ll do anything I can to help. Where’re the guys?” she asks, turning her attention back to the computer.
“At work. I’m not sure what that even means, but I don’t question them,” I say, standing up to get a glass of water. “We’re all just gonna hang here today?”
“Yeah. You good with that?” Kim asks, turning her attention to me.
“I’m good. It’s a shock after being locked in the clubhouse for a few weeks is all. I didn’t realize how much I was still hiding away from everyone,” I say with a shrug of my shoulders before taking my seat at the small kitchen table again.
“Alright. Let’s get some work done before they all get here,” Kim says going back to business.
We spend the next hour or so on the computer looking up testing sites, dates, and review courses offered in Benton Falls for GEDs. I make a call to the one that’s the closest to me and set up an appointment for tomorrow to go meet with Mrs. Swimely.
She’s been in education for over thirty-five years. She started out as a teacher and then moved onto being a substitute teacher when she retired. Now, she manages the office for individuals wanting to get their GED. I explained my situation in minimum detail when she asked what I was looking for as far as preparation goes. Then she explained I would take a practice test to see what I needed the most help on before we started doing anything. It makes sense to see where I’m at and skip over t
he things that I already have a good concept of.
Kim then talked me into looking at some of the colleges that aren’t too far from us. There’s a community college that has a good accounting program from what I can tell. I filled out an early enrollment page, with some good-natured ribbing from her. In the comments section I made sure to explain that I was beginning to go for my GED and that I understood that I can’t fully enroll until that point in time. For now, I’m content to just be taking these steps, and get further information about the courses I’ll need to take and how much everything is going to cost me.
Sitting back in my chair, I take a deep breath. A feeling of accomplishment fills me and I relish in the lightness that I feel. I’m beginning to take the steps that I need to become a productive member of society and earn my own living. I know it’s not going to be easy at all, but I’m done sitting on my ass and watching the world pass me by.
Wade, and everyone I’m surrounded by, deserve more than that. But most importantly, I deserve better than that. The way I lived in the past is just that; the past. It’ll stay there so that I can begin to move on and become a better person. One that’s not afraid of every little thing around me.
As we go to sit in the living room, the pitter patter of Wade’s feet walking down the hall toward us reaches my ears. He runs directly to Kim as soon as he sees her. It’s his thing. He loves Kim, Wood, and Boy Scout as much as me. My heart warms to see the connection he’s able to form with others in our life now. It’s not like we had a lot of people surrounding us that I wanted him to get attached to before. Our life has changed though and I love the positive and strong people he has learned to trust and show his love to.
The girls have been here for a few hours, and we’re sitting outside watching the kids play in the grass behind my apartment. I love that no one can see us back here with the way the apartments were built. They’re built in a large square with a huge grassy area all the tenants share. Wood brought over a grill after he was done with work, and I’m guessing a few of the other men will be stopping by since he was on the phone telling someone we were all here.