Ben sat up in an almost identical position as me keeping his relaxed smile in place. “Alright you’re right. She is cool, and hot, I’ve just been busy. Running a business takes time Kel. Now answer a question for me. Fair’s fair.”
My eyes narrowed. What was he going to ask?
Flippin Eloise better thank me later. Because I was taking one for the team, I was almost sure of it. “Alright, one question, no small extra thrown in?”
He shook his head and gave a small laugh. “No, just one question.”
I groaned moving my head in an attempt to crack my neck.
You’re welcome Eloise.
“Okay, fire away.”
“How’s your harem?”
I knew it!
I knew this was where he was going. I could tell from that wide grin on his handsome face that he probably had planned to ask me anyways. I punched his arm and tried not to grimace at how bad it hurt. “I knew you were going to ask. And they are not my harem. They are guys that I am dating.”
He scoffed. “Yeah, guys that you are sleeping with. And they are not sleeping with anyone else. Plus, you guys spend every moment together. And they text you everyday. Are they seeing other people? No. Just you. So once again I ask, how is your harem?”
I rolled my eyes, but didn’t say anything. Because what could I say? Everything he said was true. Was I really in a harem. Did it really need a title? Did a man have a harem, when they dated multiple women? Can’t we just be happy? Too many questions and not enough answers were hurting my brain.
“My harem, as you so put it, is fine. In fact after your date with Eloise this week we should all get together.”
Take that macho man.
“This week?”
I smiled when I heard the bell ding, because I knew who it was, leaning in I whispered in Ben’s ear. “Oh, did I forget to mention I already told Eloise you’d pick her up, Friday night for The Chalet?” I patted his arm. “Have fun.”
Arms aching I pushed myself off the floor, turning to smile at the person waiting for me by the door. “Eloise, right on time.” Grabbing my bag, I made my way to her. She looked cute today in cropped khakis and pink tank top.
While I on the other hand wore sweat, like a coat.
She took catalog of my gym gear, and sweaty face. “Are you sure you wanna go now? Don’t you want to change first?”
I pushed the door open walking past her. “What I want and need are two different things. And what I want is doughnuts from the diner.”
“How can you eat that much sugar after working out? Doesn’t that make you sick?”
Instead of answering her rhetorical question, I pushed the rest of the doughnut in my mouth.
To savor the goodness that was my last bacon doughnut.
Hmm, gooey goodness.
“It’s a gift, really. Doughnuts hate me and love me. Though I like to think we have an understanding. I eat them on a regular basis.” I gestured to my overabundance of curves. “And I stay like this, plus, they don’t make me sick. I work hard for this body. It's ain’t easy, sweet pea.”
Eloise looked down at her egg white omelette and orange juice. “You are so strange, and yet you make my meal look so sad.”
I drank the rest of my milk wiping away my milk mustache. “That’s because it is sad. Life’s too short for egg whites.”
“Whatever.” She pushed her egg white monstrosity out of the way, with intention in her eye. I knew that look, that was the look that got me into the mess earlier. Eloise fixed her gaze on me with an evil smile and went in for the kill. “Okay, let's talk harem. Which ones have you slept with? Who’s the best? And are you keeping them all?”
“Why does everyone keep saying I have a harem? They are not my harem. They are three men that I am dating, and we spend a lot of time with each other. The end.”
“Harem.”
“That’s not a harem.”
I tried to think of another way to describe it. Because when said out loud, it did kind of sound like a harem. A reverse harem, but a harem nonetheless.
“It's, a dating relationship that involves multiple people. With which only, one is a girl.”
She raised her eyebrows at my definition opening her mouth very slowly. “Harem. Unless…”
Suddenly excited she put her elbows on the table, leaning forward inches from my face. “Are they dating each other? What would that be called? A reverse reverse harem? Do you want them to like each other also? Would you be with more then one at the same time? What about all of them?
Clumsily, I used my hand to cover her mouth, to stop the vomit of words that kept spewing out of her mouth. “Enough. Can you sit back down and be quiet long enough for me to answer your question?” She nodded her head against my hand. I moved my hand back slowly to see if the word vomit had stopped. She leaned back and silence ensued from her side of the table. Thank God, anymore and the people who were already staring at us would start asking their own questions.
Relieved, I slouched in my seat to get comfortable. If I was going to talk sex, reverse harem, and complicated relationships the least I could do was sit the way I wanted. “Okay, let's see if I can answer all these questions. Thanks by the way.”
She smiled. “Sorry.”
The smile showed me just how sorry the willowy perfect skin bastard was.
Huffing out a breath, I thought about all her questions trying to get it straight in my head.
“Okay, the harem thing. I don’t really like saying it, because I would want to talk to the guys first. Before just saying, ‘Yeah, that’s my harem. All mine, understand, and no women beside me for you guys ever.’”
She held her hands out quickly and gestured between us, “Hey, I totally understand. I would hate to say I had a harem, that I didn’t have to share.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Is that sarcasm?”
“Of course not, continue.”
“Okay well as for them liking each other? They are really close, but I don’t think there is any sword crossing. Though with Damon, I think he might, just to keep me guessing. And if they were dating each other, I don’t know what that is called. I was married to the same guy, for a while. This dating multiple guys or any guy for that matter is new to me.”
Questions answered, I decided to turn the tables on her, plowing ahead with my own.
“Why so interested? Do you want your own harem, and would Ben be a part of this said harem? By the way, you’re welcome for your date Friday night.”
Mouth opening and shutting, she wiggled in her seat delaying the answer.
I smiled. “I’ll take by the look on your face and the excessive wiggling as a yes to all the above.”
She glared at me. “I mean who wouldn’t want a harem? I think every woman wouldn’t mind a Marvel harem at the very least. Hello Thor, Black Panther, and Spiderman.”
“Spiderman?” Out of all of them I didn’t see her picking him.
“Have you seen that boy dance? He is hot when he dances.”
“Okay, but real life harem and Ben?”
“I’m fine with Ben, I mean I’m excited about the date. But it’s just a date, right? Besides I don’t see any other guy being interested in me. I've known most of these boys since Kindergarten and they ate their boogers. So it’s slim pickings. I think I might be a one girl wonder. Which is fine, it’s fine. Yeah, fine.”
Why did I get the feeling doubt clouded her mind?
Not wanting to add to her doubts, I decided to try to be the supportive friend.
I grabbed her hand squeezing lightly. “Alright, if that’s what you want.”
What else could I say? I mean if I had to guess, I think Eloise would love to add some extra men in her dating pool if she had the chance. But it wasn’t my place...yet. Plus, something had me thinking her story was far from over.
Eighteen
Dean
It never got old. I could’ve watched it forever.
“Get this damn dog off me!”
>
I sat relaxed in the recliner by the sectional, watching as Damon tried to extract himself out of Duchess’s grasp.
“Why did you bring her here darling, you knew this would happen.”
Kelly stared Damon down putting her hands on her hips. I didn’t think she realized just what an adorable picture she made when she got all huffy or how much we secretly loved it.
“Damon Michael Timbers, you know that dog misses you, if you’d just let her love on you a little she’d stop.”
I loved to watch Damon in uncomfortable situations so much that I couldn’t help but add my own two cents. “Yeah, Damon, just sit there and let her love on you a little. Then she’ll stop.”
Damon holding Duchess back with his forearm, turned to glare to me. “Shut it, smartass, or you’re next on my list.”
Too busy glaring at me, he failed to notice the beautiful girl crawling up the couch beside him. How he could miss her though I wasn’t sure. To me it just showed that he really liked Duchess and had to work twice as hard to put on a show.
Kelly never deterred by his glare, put her hands on his face turning his face towards her. “Calm down, just let her sit with us. Okay?”
In seconds he went into teddy bear mode letting a seventy something pound puppy on his lap with Kelly by his side. It made a beautiful picture that made my insides go warm. I looked behind me at Kasper in the kitchen cooking. He had said he was tired of eating out and after Kelly’s fiasco with the pot roast, it was a unanimous decision that we would give her a home cooked meal. Lately, Kasper had been cooking a lot over here. And staying here for that matter. Which I didn’t mind. Not really. I gazed back at Kelly with her arm wrapped around Damon’s bicep and Duchess laying across his lap, and realized that I wanted this to become more real. More permanent. And that’s when an idea began to gather roots in my head, and it started to grow, with all the pieces falling into place.
As we sat at our round table I glanced at the people closest to me. Kasper had really out done himself with the chicken fettuccine alfredo, and you could tell he loved the moans and groans coming from Kelly as she inhaled her dish. Damon who sat quietly beside me ate his meal like he always did.
Slowly.
He seemed to make eating into a form of contemplation. Me?
I just ate to fill my stomach. How he could eat like that was beyond me. There were other things that I’d rather do than take time on my food. Excited with my plan and full beyond belief, I pushed my plate away and tried to start up a conversation that for all of my good meaning, could go wrong.
Goal set on Kasper, I waited till he looked away from something Kelly was saying and made eye contact with me. “Kasper, isn’t your lease up on your apartment in Daily soon?”
Confusion clouded his features as he pushed his food around. It almost made me smile thinking about how his mind was trying to figure me out. He couldn’t stop himself. It was a natural reaction. But this time I didn’t see him figuring this out.
“It’s at the end of this month actually. Why?”
I couldn’t help but glance at Damon, who I hadn’t talked to yet. But once the idea formed and the more I thought about it the more it just made sense.
I just hoped Damon agreed. Especially if we wanted this relationship with Kelly to progress. And I knew I did.
I hesitated before I answered his question. “Well I was thinking about all the fun times we had when we lived with you in Daily in that small apartment and I thought maybe we could do that again.”
I looked at Damon who seemed to be piecing together what I was saying. Though I couldn’t always tell how he felt about things. Damon could be the hardest person to read sometimes, because he held his emotions close to his chest. Until Kelly that is.
Kasper, who had remained quiet, looked at me, and I think was maybe getting the gist of what I was saying. “Those were fun times Dean, but we’re older now. Different.”’
I smiled at Damon not able to resist poking him. “Oh, I don’t know, Damon has always been kind of a bear. Though it does seem that Kelly has turned him into more of a Pooh Bear instead of a Grizzly Bear.”
Damon not ruffled one bit, grabbed Kelly’s hand and kissed it softly. “I can still kick your ass.“
“Sure, sure.” I said.
I would never admit to my older brother that he was probably right. That he could kick my ass. I hoped to never have a real fight to figure it out. Back to Kasper, I pushed on. Maybe I should have talked to him without Kelly being here. But once I came up with the idea I knew it was the right thing to do. “You’re right, we are older. So we won’t do all the stupid things we did when we were younger. Plus, it’s closer to school. And maybe once school starts you and Kelly can ride together. Not to mention all that time of having to drive home every night to your apartment. I mean, you’ve been staying here most nights anyways, so you saying yes is just a formality.”
Kasper frowned at me. I could see his mind weighing the pros and cons in his head. Wishing that he had a pen and paper to start writing. Kasper glanced at Kelly to his left, reaching for her hand smiling at her. Still holding Kelly’s hand he met Damon’s eyes. “No offense to you Dean, but I think I should be asking Damon too. Considering this is his house too.”
This was it. This could either go good or bad for us.
Damon hated being put on the spot and talking about his feelings was a hard no for him. But if a relationship with all four of us was going to work, then he had to open up to us. No more three weeks of no talking, and I think Kelly had a way of making him do just that.
Forearms on the table, Damon looked Kasper in the eye. “I mean you’ve been staying here anyways, so nothing would change.”
Damon cut his eyes towards me and I knew he was going to pop off.
Asshole.
He leaned back in his chair smirking. “I mean besides the cooking that is. And if that means more meals like this and,” he looked at Kelly continuing, “she comes around more, then I’m all for it. So what do you say?”
Pride swelled within my chest at my big brother doing something that would help this budding relationship along. He was growing. I cut my eyes towards Kasper. Now all I had to do was worry about how he would answer.
Kasper put Kelly’s hand down on the table. He leaned forward putting his elbows on the table crossing his fingers together. “I would love to move in with you two if that’s what you really want. And I’d love to drive to school with Kelly.” He turned to smile at her. “That is, if she wants to ride with me, everyday. I’m told I’m quite dreary, upon occasion.”
With her small hand she caressed his cheek, and I swore love was between them. I wonder if either of them could tell? Even though none of us had spoken the words out loud. I felt like we had just fallen into this relationship with love in the equation from the start. And that having Kelly here was natural.
Kelly stood up slightly grazing his lips with her own. “I don’t mind riding with you. Though I think I might break a bunch of hearts at school. When the other ladies know that the sexy history teacher has been taken.”
That was another thing. No more misunderstanding. This was a good time as any to make everything clear. “So we are taken, all of us? We’re all together, no dating other women, or you men. Just us four having a relationship. Boyfriends and girlfriend?”
Kelly blushed while she looked around the room, at us all. She cleared her throat dropping her hand from Kasper’s cheek. “Yes, I mean, that is if it’s okay with y’all. That’s what I want. No other men, just you three.” She frowned. What was going on in that pretty head of hers? Didn’t she understand that’s what we wanted too? Maybe she didn’t. After everything that’s happened why didn’t we think she might need some reassurance. Well I’d remedy that now. Standing up I went around to her and wrapped my arms around her. “We don’t want any other women either.” I kissed her quickly on the lips, then grazed my lips across her jaw, and she trembled under my hands. “You, Kelly Green, are all an
y of us want. All five foot, green eyes, and sass. We want all of it.”
She had a smile of relief on her face. “Okay, so boyfriends and girlfriend then?”
I nodded my head. “Boyfriends and girlfriend.”
Now that that was out of the way, we needed to elevate the mood for game night or it was going to be serious, for the rest of the night. Another idea started to form so, I yelled at Damon. “Hey, Damon, Kelly said she couldn’t find her phone, can you call it?”
Kelly tugged on my shirt. I looked down to see Kelly biting her lip looking slightly worried. “Dean, why did you do that. I have my phone, and Damon’s ringtone…”
I covered her mouth with my hand whispering, “Oh, I know what the ringtone is. That’s why I did it.”
Damon pulled his phone out dialing Kelly’s number while Kasper got up to move around pillows in search of Kelly’s fictitious missing phone. Still grinning at Kelly, I held up my hand counting down from five as I waited for the ringtone to start playing. Five. Four. Three. Two. One.
“Kelly!”
Looking up at me she smiled. “Shit!”
Nineteen
Kasper
It really was a beautiful picture.
As I sat in my truck about to take a giant step into my future, I took in the sight before me. And what a sight it was.
The lake glistened like a diamond off to the left of my apartment building. The red and white lighthouse creating a nice backdrop that was complete with spruce trees that were beautiful shades of green.
Green.
That’s why I was doing this. I mean, she wasn’t the only reason. I had made a list of pros and cons after my talk with Kelly and the guys.
Closer to work. Check.
Being able to see the guys more. Check.
Cheaper. Double check.
Being able to see Kelly more and watch out for her since the break in…. That was more than just a check.
Road to Them: The Road Series Book Two Page 13