by Jayne Rylon
Her busted lip moved as though she tried to speak, but he hushed her.
“Later. We can talk about it at home. When you’re better,” he promised, though he admitted to himself he was banking on the drugs lingering in her system to erase her memory.
Andi nodded, a tiny bob of her head before her eyelids drooped again.
Cooper rounded the gurney and clasped her other hand in his. “We’ve got you, sweetheart. You’re safe now. Don’t worry about anything else.”
Her gaze roamed until it landed on Simon.
With all three of them surrounding her, she relaxed.
“Time to go,” one of the medics told them.
Andi tensed.
“I’m staying with her,” Reed insisted. “We live together.”
“Fine. But you’re the only one.” The EMT began to wheel her away, cutting off their opportunity to argue.
“We’ll meet you there after we talk to the cops,” Cooper called as Simon blew Andi kisses.
Reed held her hand the whole way to the hospital, even after she’d succumbed to unconsciousness once more.
He wasn’t sure he could let go ever again.
That could be a major problem.
Chapter Four
Andi plucked fuzz off the well-worn comforter that cocooned her like a friendly hug. Snuggled into her nest on her slightly saggy mattress in the apartment she’d grown to love, she already felt better. It beat the cold, crisp sheets and too-firm hospital bed she’d been confined to for the previous day and a half, hands down. Although she’d spent most of her time in the hospital knocked out, it had been a fitful sleep.
On her own turf, she could pretend that the whole Flesh incident had been an awful nightmare. Except that Reed, Cooper and Simon had avoided her since they’d brought her home the night before. They’d deposited her in here, fed her some soup, then disappeared. Where were they?
Lying there debating how long she could hold off before having to pee, she heard the door crack open. “Hello?”
“Hey, Andi,” Reed whispered, as if afraid he’d hurt her by speaking full volume. “Sorry. Was just checking in on you since you don’t usually sleep so late.”
“Had a rough couple of days.” Her joke fell flat.
Reed grimaced. “Yeah, I noticed. I shouldn’t be bugging you.” He turned to go.
“Wait.” Andi sat up, gathering the covers to her chest like a shield. What did he think of her and the things she’d done? Was this awkward tension ever going to fade?
She supposed it would when she moved out next weekend.
Andi sighed.
“Hey, you okay?” Reed ambled closer.
She patted the bed beside her hip. “I’ll be better if you’ll come here and talk to me for a while instead of acting like I caught a major case of the cooties in that club.”
Thankfully the tests they’d run at the hospital had confirmed that wasn’t the case. But if the guys had been a few minutes later…who knew what might have happened? Andi shivered.
“You cold?” he asked, sinking beside her. His solid bulk caused the mattress to dip and she rested against his side. Though he stiffened, he didn’t shove her away, so she made herself comfortable.
“No.” Especially not with him to heat her up. “Jumpy, that’s all.”
“Ah, shit.” He put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed her tight. “I’ve got you, Andi.”
She didn’t mean to say it out loud, but she did. “Only for a few more days. Then I’ll be on my own. Alone.”
“Hey. That guy isn’t gonna go anywhere near you ever again,” Reed promised. “He’s going to have to answer to the law for what he did. And after that…”
“Don’t do anything to get yourself in trouble. I’m fine. No one got hurt.” She patted his abdomen, noting how tense he was. The cut of his six-pack was clearly defined beneath his soft T-shirt.
“I beg to differ.” The fingers of his free hand traced over her lips more tenderly than she knew he was capable of. The puffiness had subsided some, but her mouth still felt weirdly overstuffed. Getting decked had that effect, she supposed.
“Okay, well, it could have been a lot worse.” She sighed and nuzzled his chest, curling up against him as naturally as if she’d been made to fit there.
It surprised her when a growl bubbled up from his chest and he half-shouted, “Andi, what were you thinking?”
She blinked a few times, caught off guard by his sudden outburst. Had he been bottling up his frustration with her, waiting for her to recover before unleashing it?
Before she could respond, Simon and Cooper rushed into the room like a pair of guard dogs. Cooper slid onto the opposite side of her bed and tugged her away from Reed. She didn’t mind the loss of her comforter when he wrapped his arms around her protectively. She couldn’t help but burrow into his hold. “Hey. I thought we agreed not to harass her.”
“Seriously, Reed. What the fuck?” Simon climbed onto the foot of the bed and rested his palm on her shin. His thumb rubbed arcs below her knee.
“Sorry.” He scrubbed his hands over his face, which was when she noticed his bruised and scabbed knuckles.
“Reed!” She would have flown to him, but Cooper’s arms held her tight. “Your fingers—”
“Are fine.” A wave of them dismissed her concern. “Trust me. I’d have gladly traded a few broken ones for a dent in that fucker’s face. I didn’t get the chance to make a real impression before the cops showed up, though.”
“Thank God,” she sighed. She couldn’t stand the thought of him embroiled in legal problems because of her.
“You give a shit what happens to that monster?” He looked at her like she was nuts.
“No. But I care a lot about what happens to you, dumbass. Especially over something that was my fault.” Her shoulders slumped in Cooper’s hold.
“Hey, that’s not fair.” He kissed the crown of her head lightly. “You aren’t responsible for that bastard drugging you. You know, he wasn’t even the guy you were supposed to meet there.”
“He wasn’t?” She sat up straighter.
“Nah. We know Peter. He’s a dumb fuck who doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut, but he’s not evil. He wouldn’t do that,” Simon told her before explaining the mix-up. It was the first time they opened up about that night. “We saw him up at the bar. He told us what was going on and we put two and two together…”
Andi closed her eyes for a moment, relieved. Knowing it wasn’t Veronica’s brother that tried to harm her somehow made her feel less stupid. She’d trusted her friend, and allowed that faith to cloud her judgment when it came to some of the shady things that imposter-Peter had done.
She thought about how he’d cut the bouncer off before he could be greeted by name, how he had never referred to Veronica as anything other than “my sister”, and the glimpses she’d caught of him tampering her drink. Those clues made so much more sense in hindsight. They alleviated the majority of her self-recriminations. Maybe she’d be ready to talk to the police and give her statement this afternoon.
The guys had held them off while she recovered.
“Can I ask…and you don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to…” Reed trailed off, very unlike him to seem so unsure.
“No more secrets,” she swore. “It didn’t work out so well the last time I tried that.”
“Ah, sweetheart.” Cooper rocked her lightly.
“Okay.” Reed nodded. “What were you looking for at Flesh? It’s not like you—”
“How would you know what’s like me when it comes to sex? Son of a bitch, how would I?” She hated the sting of tears that sprang up in her eyes in a flash. This was exactly why she’d resorted to something so out of character. The fear that she might not ever find out these things about herself. A huge piece of her was missing because she’d neglected to excavate it and had instead buried it deeper within herself.
If she was honest, it was partly the fault of these men, her roomma
tes. She’d never wanted to betray them or the profound feelings she had for them. Partly, she was to blame, because she’d never had the guts to be honest about that. With them or herself.
That was going to change now.
She had nothing more to lose.
They only had days left together either way. After graduation, she was moving a couple states away for her lab tech job and they were not. Reed had a business plan to execute, Cooper was enrolled in law school and Simon—a sports medicine major—had been recruited to continue the work he’d begun with the college’s football team during his internship.
The three guys were going to stay together, probably find another roommate. Some new girl to replace her with. Maybe one who wouldn’t be too stupid to take a chance and tell them how she felt about them.
Fuck. It was now or never.
With the threat of looming awkwardness removed, she laid herself bare to them. “Look, I’m just going to say this. I probably should have gotten it out of the way a long time ago, but…I didn’t want things to get weird.”
“What are you talking about, Andi?” Simon asked, his hold on her leg growing stronger.
“I know I acted like I didn’t bother to date because I was busy studying.” This was harder than she’d imagined. Shit. She powered through without pausing or she might never finish what she’d started. “That’s not true. Not entirely. I just…never found anyone that interested me as much as you guys do. Then all of a sudden I was about to graduate and I freaked, thinking about what I’d missed out on the past few years. I wanted to do something wild for once before it was too late. Even though it wasn’t what I really needed, I figured it’d be good enough to keep me from regretting all the things I never did with you three. I was wrong.”
There, she’d said it.
Her confession hung in the air between them like a giant stinky fart.
None of them recoiled, or jumped her, or even seemed to breathe. They were killing her.
“So, now that you know that embarrassing factoid, I won’t be upset if you want to pretend to be real busy for the rest of the week until I’m out of your hair.” She cleared her throat. “Or if you want, I can pack up and get out of here early. My apartment in Cunningham is ready any time.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” Reed practically snarled.
Andi flinched.
“Don’t be scared. He’s not angry,” Cooper murmured to her. “He’s trying to keep himself in control.”
“Huh?” She peeked up at him.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure we’ll be jerking off to that speech for the next twenty years.” Simon laughed softly. “Considering we’ve talked about what it would be like to sleep with you more often than we’ve fought over which team deserves to win the World Series.”
Wow, that was a lot.
“Seriously?” She tried not to squeak, and failed miserably.
Reed nodded. He stared at her with an intensity she’d never seen fully unveiled before. It didn’t frighten her in the least. It was sexy, and alluring. Uh-oh, this was bad. Or awesome…
“Then why didn’t you do anything about it?” She looked at each of them for a few seconds, trying to discern the answer in their carefully blank features. “I’m not an idiot, you know. I heard what that woman said to you at Flesh. And I’ve been thinking… The frittata girl. The reason you wouldn’t tell me which one of you slept with her wasn’t because you were being chivalrous, it was because you all fucked her. Together. Didn’t you?”
“Umm, yeah,” Simon caved. “That was the first time. We were drunk and she sort of looked like you with beer goggles on.”
“Now I’m glad I hit that lucky bitch,” Andi grumbled, not giving a shit if it made her petty.
Reed burst out laughing. It was nice to see him unwind a little. “You’re crazy, you know that?”
“That’s why you love me.” She hadn’t meant it like it sounded. There was no way to take it back, though.
“Yep, it’s one reason.” He huffed out a sardonic sigh. “Andi, don’t you see? We thought it was better to keep this part of us away from you. Your friendship means too much to us to fuck it up with sex.”
“And I’m telling you that I’m not some judgmental cow. It pisses me off that you didn’t trust me enough to show me who you really were.” She would have put her hands on her hips if Cooper wasn’t practically smothering her in his trembling arms. “In fact, your kink turns me on. And I’ve already said that I’m attracted to all of you. Therefore…”
“No.” Reed crossed his arms.
“What’s the problem here?” Andi wondered.
“Other than the fact that you nearly got raped two nights ago?” Reed had definitely not mastered subtlety.
“Yes, other than that.” She cleared her throat. “What some random piece of shit did to me has no bearing on how I feel about you three. I trust you. Completely. That’s sort of the point. I probably won’t be comfortable setting up an online dating profile or taking home some cute guy from a bar for a very long time. So this is it for me. My last chance to try this out in a safe environment before giving it a go for real. I think it will actually help, you know?”
Cooper hugged her tight. Instead of making her feel trapped, his arms surrounded her in protection. It was all the proof she needed for her theory.
“Okay.” Reed groaned. “Two other things. First, I admit it. I’m a selfish bastard. I’ve never been jealous of these guys before when we’ve played around with a woman. I guess because they didn’t matter like you do. I don’t mean that in a dickhead way. I respect every person we’ve ever been with. But it was exclusively about a good time. Something simple. They were onboard. They knew we weren’t looking for more than to rock their world for a single night. With you…I don’t know if I can share without causing permanent harm to one of them.”
“If it’s all the same to you, Andi…” Simon winced. “I like my balls attached.”
She laughed.
“I’m also worried that you’re not ready,” Cooper said softly. “It’s intense, having sex this way. What if it’s more than you can handle?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” she insisted. “Come on, be my outrageous college experiment.”
It hurt her to imply that her interest in them was only skin-deep. But she wasn’t sure they’d go for it any other way.
No, no, that was the old her talking.
She quickly added, “Okay, that’s not really what I mean. Hiding how I felt didn’t work out before and I don’t want to screw up again.”
She swallowed then dug deeper, exposing her vulnerability to them and trusting them not to eviscerate her. Deep down, she knew they never could do that. “Let me be with men I trust and care for. No strangers. Either now, or later, that’s what’s going to happen. I’m curious and turned on. Don’t make me go somewhere else to find out what it’s like to give in to these urges.”
“Andi—” Reed’s mouth pinched at the corners. He still wasn’t convinced.
She drew a deep breath, prepared to persuade him that he wouldn’t be responsible if it turned out she couldn’t handle going from zero to sixty in her race to embrace her sexuality.
“Actually,” Simon spoke up, surprising her with the quickness of his compromise. Had he thought of this before? “We don’t have to throw her straight into the deep end.”
“What do you mean?” Reed asked him.
“Why can’t we each have a night alone with her?” As usual, he seemed to speak without considering the consequences. The most impulsive of their quartet, his instinctive calls were either brilliant or disastrous. No telling which this would be. “Build up her experience, introduce her to what we’re like in bed as individuals. Give her a chance to change her mind if it’s too much. If she can handle each of us separately, then…at the end of the week, we’ll spend our last night together.”
“Sounds like one hell of a graduation present,” Andi whispered, trying not to bawl when
she added, “And a perfect way to say goodbye.”
“Ah, fuck,” Reed cursed.
Cooper clung tighter to her while Simon gave her a look she could imagine belonging to a kicked puppy. None of them persisted in their futile objections. Could they need this as badly as she did?
“Good. So who’s first?” She couldn’t help but lick her lips as she looked at each of them.
“Cooper,” Reed and Simon said simultaneously.
“Why me?” He grunted when she smacked his chest. “I mean, not that I’m complaining…”
“Because you’ve got the most manners. You’ll take things slow. Do it right,” Reed explained, and Simon nodded.
“I should say no.” He looked down at Andi with a rueful smile. “But I can’t. I’ve wanted this for a long, long time.”
“Me too,” she admitted.
“Take the rest of today to get back on your feet, longer if you want it,” Reed ordered. “Now that finals are done, you have a whole week to relax. Tomorrow or the next day is plenty soon enough to blow our friendship all to hell.”
Andi nodded, and their course was set.
When she felt up to it, they escorted her to the police station. As she strode from the building, her story told, she felt calmer. Ready to put it behind her. They spent the evening watching moves, playing video games, eating takeout and generally being normal, as if each of them feared the end had come sooner than they’d bargained for.
After this, nothing would be the same again.
Andi couldn’t decide if she should mourn or rejoice over the change. She supposed that depended on what happened in the next few days.
Holy shit.
Chapter Five
Andi did a double take at the list in her hand. She’d made it all the way to aisle seven before she realized what she was truly doing.
After waking around lunchtime, her head still shaking off the last of the fuzzy feeling from her drugging, she had found herself alone in their apartment. Like she had every Tuesday after classes since they’d moved in together, she’d grabbed the top sheet of paper off the magnetic notepad stuck to the front of their refrigerator then headed out to shop for groceries.