Off Limits: MMF Bisexual Romance

by Bianca Vix

  She gives her head a firm shake. “I just need to go right now.”

  I start to follow her, but Ash catches my arm. “I think she needs some space.”

  He’s right. But as Sarah disappears into the crowd, I can’t help but feel like the wind’s been knocked out of me.

  She’s gone.

  How can this be happening?

  Chapter 18

  Ash

  Sarah’s dropping a chart into the slot on the door just as I open it. Her expression quickly turns from surprise to sadness when she sees me.

  “This is your next patient, doctor.”

  She doesn’t need to say that. We both know what the file’s for. I hate this awkwardness that’s sprung up between us ever since she walked out on Cory and I.

  He and I have both tried talking to her to see if there is anything that we can do to fix things. But she’s holding firm. And so are we. I can’t think of a way around this situation. It’s too soon for me to come out about being in a threesome. I’m a lot less concerned about coming out about being with a guy. Cory has the opposite problem. And neither one of us can figure out what to do.

  So here we are. Sarah and I, trying to work together in spite of being broken up now. It’s really unpleasant and uncomfortable. It really hits home now why it’s a bad idea to get involved with someone you work with.

  It’s all I can do to hold back from gathering her up in my arms and making her feel better. It’s torture knowing I won’t be seeing her outside of the clinic anymore. And that I can’t kiss her or hug her again. Or have insanely mind-blowing sex with her and Cory.

  At least it’s really busy today. Working hard helps keep my mind off of her. And I’m progressing with plans for opening up my new clinic. I wish I could tell Sarah all about it. I hate that even if I ask her to come and work for me there, she’ll more than likely turn me down.

  After I’ve treated a few patients, I glance at my phone. There’s a text from Cory. He needs to get his leg checked out after last night’s game, since he had a slight twist to it. He’s on his way, nearly here. I was about to take a short break, but I’ll wait until I can examine him.

  And of course Sarah’s the one to bring him back. She’s trying to keep a poker face, but I can tell that it’s even worse for her that he’s here now too.

  Cory’s jaw is set as I close the exam room door behind us. “Do you ever get a chance to talk to her? About us, I mean.”

  I shake my head as I start to manipulate his leg. “No. Not here at work. Things are awkward enough as it is.”

  “Yeah, I didn’t think you would. I was just hoping. No change in her?”

  “None. Her mind’s made up. Even though she’s upset about it.”

  Cory raises his eyebrows. “And that’s a good thing?”

  “No. Except that it shows she cares. Or at least, used to care about us.”

  “Does that make it better, or worse?”

  I shrug. That’s an impossible question to answer. “I don’t know. Okay. Your leg’s in pretty good shape. But you should give it a rest as much as possible before your next game. I’ll give you a prescription for anti-inflammatories that you should start today.”

  Cory takes the paper from me after I print it out. “You’re done soon, aren’t you? Do you want to get some dinner? I’m guessing you haven’t eaten much today, if anything.”

  “You guessed right. It’s been nonstop.” I check the time. “We’re officially closed now. There’s probably a couple more patients left to take care of, and then I’ll be free.”

  “I’ll be out in the waiting room.”

  Cory heads off and I get through the next couple of patients pretty quickly. The final one is already with the other doctor who’s working tonight.

  I take off my white coat and hang it up carefully. Automatically I’m about to go find Sarah to say good night, and then I change my mind. If we’re over, we’re over. It’s time to leave it be.

  The waiting room is empty except for Cory. Even the front desk staff have left.

  “You need some new magazines in here, man.” He sets aside the one he was flipping through. “These are getting way too old.”

  I snort. “Most people are happy to mess around on their phones while they’re waiting. But yeah. I’ll have to get on that anyway.”

  Cory gets up and comes over. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me in close to him. I lean in and we kiss. It feels so good to be with him like this after a day like today. Everything falls away. The problematic patients I’ve seen. The tension between Sarah and I. It all disappears and all that matters is the way our kiss feels. The way Cory’s masculine body feels against mine.

  We come up for air. “Let’s get going. The sooner we get to dinner, the sooner we can get back to my place.”

  “Sounds good to me.” Cory grabs his jacket as I turn around to head for the door.

  And I catch sight of Sarah.

  She’s just come out with a stack of folders in her hands. From the way she’s standing and staring at us, it’s clear that she caught us kissing. And she must’ve heard what I said to Cory too.

  She looks even more upset than she did before. I can’t think why.

  “Sarah.” Cory glances at me. “We’re going to go get some dinner now. Would you like to join us?”

  “No. Thanks. I have to get back home and study.”

  “Are you sure?” I can’t help but asking. “You need to eat too.”

  “I’m good.”

  “Is something wrong? You look a little unhappy.”

  “I’m just surprised that you two are still together. I mean, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be. I guess I just didn’t think that you would be.”

  “Sarah.” Cory takes a step closer to her. “It’s not that we don’t want you with us too. Because we do. I miss you a lot.”

  “We want you with us just as much as we want to be with each other,” I add. “But since you made it clear you don’t want to be with us anymore, yes. Cory and I are still together.”

  “So that worked out pretty well for you then. You can stay in the closet if you want to about seeing a man. But now there’s no more threesome to get in the way of your careers.”

  “Sarah, it’s not like that. You know that. We want you with us,” Cory says. “You were the one that walked away. Not us. Come on. Come out and eat with us. Then we can talk. It’s just dinner. Just the three of us having a meal. It doesn’t have to mean anything more than that. We both know you don’t want to get back with us.”

  “I need to finish my work and get going.” Her voice is firm. “Thank you for inviting me along, but I can’t make it.”

  She sets the files down on the front desk and turns to head into the back.

  “Let’s go. There’s nothing more to say now.”

  Cory and I walk the couple blocks to a nearby restaurant in silence. Once we’re seated, Cory speaks up.

  “She’s stubborn, isn’t she.”

  I set down the menu. “More than we are?”

  Cory snorts. “Good point. Do you think there’s any chance we can work this out so all three of us can be together again?”

  That’s all I’ve been thinking about since the night we went to his game. I haven’t come up with anything. “Maybe Sarah’s right. Maybe we should be more open.”

  “Yeah, maybe. Or maybe she’ll come around once more time has passed. Maybe it’ll become less important to her to be open about our relationship.” Cory sounds about as convinced of that as I am.

  “Sure. Could happen. I think there’s about zero chance of it though.”

  “Yeah, I know.” He picks up his beer glass glumly. “I’m surprised she didn’t expect us to still be together.”

  “Me too. I never thought Sarah would think we’d break up as well. Maybe she believes that we aren’t serious about any of this. Each other or her.”

  It’s the first time I’ve had that thought. Could that be true?

  “You m
ight be right.” Cory looks thoughtful as the waiter brings our food to us. “Maybe we should tell her that we are.”

  “I think it wouldn’t do any good. Now she knows were together. And she already knows she can come back to us anytime she wants to.” I stare at the plate of pasta sitting in front of me. “If Sarah wanted to, she’d be here right now. And she’s not.”

  “Ah, you’re right. I know it. It’s just hard to accept sometimes, you know?”

  “I know.” Boy, do I know. I never thought things would turn out this way. I thought everything was so perfect and so great that there was no chance it wouldn’t last forever. I can tell Cory feels the same way.

  This sucks. Big time. Like nothing ever before. And there’s nothing to be done. It’s all up to Sarah. And she’s made her choice.

  Chapter 19

  Sarah

  “Good night, Sarah. See you tomorrow?”

  “No, I’m off for the next couple of days.”

  “That’s great. Enjoy your time, don’t study too hard.”

  “I won’t. Good night, Dr. Ash.”

  Now that the last doctor has left, I’m only one here in the clinic. I like closing up. It gives me a chance to quickly get through the remaining work I have that would take a lot longer if there were still people around.

  I’m just finishing up at the front desk when someone taps at the front door.

  The door’s locked. I go over to see who’s there. It’s not anyone I work with.

  “I’m sorry. We’re closed now.”

  I don’t know if the man outside can hear me. He’s slightly doubled over, as if he’s in pain. He presses his palms together in a plea for me to let him in. “Please,” he mouths.

  I unlock the door and open it. He walks in slowly, as if he’s having trouble moving. “Can I see a doctor?”

  “Unfortunately no. There are no doctors here now, because we’re closed. What’s wrong? I’ll help you out if I can. Otherwise, I can direct you to a clinic that’s still open.”

  The man looks up at me for the first time. “You can help me.” All of a sudden, his expression changes. And he straightens right up as if his pain has disappeared.

  But now I can see it never existed in the first place.

  “I want drugs. Morphine. Dex. Oxy. Everything you’ve got.”

  He pulls a gun out of his coat. And points it straight at me.

  I’m rooted to the spot. I can’t believe this is happening.

  “I don’t have the key to the medicine cabinet on me.”

  “Well, where the fuck is it?” He’s so menacing now. So different from the man who needed help that I thought he was.

  I have to think fast. Our protocol says that we should give him what he wants in a situation like this. I’ve never had anything like this happen to me before. I’ve heard stories, but they’re rare. I can’t believe this.

  I want to give him what he wants so he’ll leave without harming me. But I wasn’t the last one to lock up the cabinet. Who was it? If I knew that, I’d know where to find the key. We’re supposed to keep it in the back but often it gets left elsewhere. I’m guessing it’s behind the front desk.

  I hope I’m right.

  “I think the key’s here, over behind the desk.”

  I’ve never been so scared in my life. Since he’s seeking drugs, there’s no telling what he’ll do to get them.

  The man gestures with his gun even as he keeps it pointed right at me. “Go on. Find it. Now.”

  He follows right behind me as I walk over. He’s so close, I can feel the gun against my back.

  My hands are shaking as I look through the drawers the key should be in. I’m frantically moving everything around and he’s getting impatient.

  “Hurry up. If you’re stalling for any reason, you’re gonna fucking regret it.”

  I’m not. I try to speak, but the words stick in my throat. I can barely breathe, let alone speak. I’m just about to close the very last drawer when I feel it, right at the back. My frantic searching must’ve pushed it there.

  I pull it out and hold it up for him to see. “This is it.” I think I manage to say the words out loud. “What you want is in the back.”

  “Then let’s go.” He’s sounding more impatient every time he speaks. I make myself start to walk. With every step, I feel like I’m going to collapse. Again the man’s right behind me, pushing the gun against my back every now and then to try to make me hurry up.

  We’re almost there. I don’t know what I’ll do if he’s decides he wants to shoot me even after I give him what he wants. I’m also afraid because we’re running low on a lot of our medication. Our next order is set to come in tomorrow morning. I want to give him enough so that he runs off. Not decides that I’m keeping it back from him. We only have one medicine cabinet where we keep the controlled substances that he wants.

  This hallway has never felt so long. I round the corner with the man right behind me when the gun gets pulled away from my back. I don’t dare turn around. I keep moving forward, but then I hear him make a noise.

  Carefully I turn my head to look back behind me slowly. We aren’t alone. Someone has grabbed the man and is fighting him to the ground. Another man has grabbed for the gun.

  Once again I’m frozen to the spot as I try to take in what’s really happening. Someone has come for me. It takes me a moment to even realize that I know these men.

  It’s Ash and Cory. Cory’s wrestled the man to the ground and is pinning his arms behind his back. Ash has the gun.

  He hurries over to me. “Sarah. Are you okay? Did he hurt you in anyway?”

  I swallow hard, but my throat is still dry. “I’m fine.” The words choke out of me. All at once Ash gathers me up into his arms. He’s holding me tight. And I never want him to let me go.

  But he has to. He disengages from me to pull out his phone. Once he’s dialed, he holds the phone in one hand and picks up my hand with his other.

  My eyes are glued to Cory and the man. I need to make sure that he can’t break free. I trust Cory, but still part of me is afraid. Cory has him securely face down on the ground, and is sitting on him with his hands clamped tightly.

  “Don’t worry, Sarah. That asshole isn’t going anywhere.” Ash puts his phone away. “The cops are on the way. They’ll be here soon. Don’t worry. You’re safe.” He picks up my other hand and holds it tightly.

  He feels like a lifeline to me.

  Chapter 20

  Ash

  “That was something else.” I close the door behind the police.

  Sarah walks over to the window so she can see the now-handcuffed man being loaded into the back of their car. “I just want to be certain that he’s really gone.”

  “Come on.” Cory goes to her. “Let’s get you home.”

  “How are you guys even here? How did you happen to come back to the clinic when you did?” She shivers. “If you hadn’t come back when you did, who knows what could have happened.”

  “We came back to see if you were still here so we could talk to you. I didn’t like the way we left things earlier.”

  “How did that guy get in?” Cory wants to know.

  Sarah tells us the story as we drive back to my place. “I’m sorry, Ash. I shouldn’t have let him in. He could have taken all of our medication.”

  “Don’t be sorry. This isn’t your fault. You were being compassionate to someone you thought was in need. That’s one of the things that makes you an excellent nurse. I hope you don’t lose that quality and openness just because of one asshole.”

  We all get out of my car. “Besides. I’m the one who feels bad. You shouldn’t have been in that situation in the first place. I’m going to make sure that from now on, no one’s ever working by themselves. Day or night.”

  I guide Sarah into the living room and take her over to the sofa, sitting her down and wrapping my arms around her. “We’re going to take care of you. Now. What would you like to drink? Alcohol? Water? Coffee?” />
  “Some tea would be nice, if you have it.”

  “Of course.”

  “Stay there. I’ll go make it.” Cory disappears.

  I’m glad he offered. I don’t want to let Sarah go, not yet anyway. She leans back against me as if I’m comforting her, which is what I mean to do.

  “I should get home soon. I need to study tonight.”

  “We can take you home whenever you want. But not until we make sure you’re okay.”

  “I’m glad you came back when you did.”

  “So are we.” Cory’s back, handing a big mug of tea to Sarah. She sips at it gratefully.

  I’m not a tea drinker myself, but it’s better than nothing. I pour myself some and try it. It’s not bad actually. Cory is doing the same as I am, but I think he likes it less. “If anything had happened to you, I don’t know what I would’ve done.”

  Cory and I are on either side of Sarah. We all sit together as the minutes tick by. At least she’s not asking us to take her home yet. In spite of the circumstances that brought this about, it’s still nice to be with her now.

  Sarah’s leaning back against my chest, still letting me wrap my arms around her. But maybe she really wants to get home. I can’t tell. “Just let us know when you want to get back.”

  “I’d like to stay awhile, if that’s okay.”

  “Of course. As long as you want. You can even use the guest room if you want to stay, but you’d rather be alone.”

  “I don’t want to be alone. Or without either one of you. I never wanted to be without either one of you.”

  “But, Sarah.” I try to say it as gently as I can. “You’re the one who walked away from us. If you didn’t want to be without us, why did you do that?”

  “I never wanted to not be with you. What was bothering me so much was the secrecy. I need to be able to tell people in my life that I’m in a great relationship. Because it was. What we had was so special, I wanted to shout it from the rooftops.”

  She takes another sip of tea. “But even more than that. The thing is, I didn’t want to be dishonest. By not being open about our relationship, it felt that way to me. Like I was being dishonest. And I know it doesn’t make sense, but I also felt like you were keeping me a secret.”