“Look, the point is that we can’t work together anymore,” Florrie said, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly.
“There’s nothing wrong with us working together. You just need to listen to me when I tell you what to fucking do. I am your team leader, after all.”
“Oh, fuck you and your team leader bullshit. You were acting like a caveman because you didn’t like the way another man had his hands on me.”
“Here we go again. Same shit, different day,” Craig sighed. “I’m your man. You do as I say.” He made his voice high to mimic Florrie. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I don’t need your bullshit.” And then he dropped it low. “I’ll kill any motherfucker who dares to put his hands on you. You’re my woman and I protect you.” And then high again. “Do I look like I need you to protect me? Does my vagina render me incapable somehow?”
He was about to go on, but Cap interrupted him. “Are you done?”
“With the team or giving the play by play of my life nowadays?”
“Both.”
“Do you see what I’m dealing with?” he asked Cap almost painfully. “Every fucking job is a nightmare now that we all know. And I’m never really sure what the fuck is going on. Are they together? Are they just fucking? I want to go back to don’t ask, don’t tell.”
“That was about gays in the military. Doesn’t apply here,” I said.
Cap tapped his pen against his desk as he stared at us thoughtfully. “I think the only way this is going to work is if you go to counseling.”
Craig burst out laughing and I shot a glare in his direction. “What? It’s fucking hilarious. If you had just stuck to fucking and it never came out, you wouldn’t be going to a shrink. Finally! I might actually be able to get some sleep without having nightmares about the two of you.”
“You have nightmares?” Cap asked.
Craig leaned forward, all too eager to spill his guts to Cap. “Are you fucking kidding me? You know how some teams have flashbacks to traumatic events?” He shook his head. “Not me. I’m traumatized by every look that these two shared, wondering if they were fucking when I was in the same room sleeping.” He glanced over at me and then leaned in closer to Cap. “You know how it is, dreams have a way of manifesting from reality. What if…you know…they were fucking and it worked its way into my dream? It’d be like fucking my teammates. Which wouldn’t be bad if it was just Florrie…”
The thought of him even remotely thinking about Florrie naked had my stomach churning in anger. I almost got up and snapped his neck just for even mentioning her like that, but then he continued.
“But with Alec…Don’t get me wrong, he’s a handsome man. I mean, he’s strong and virile. He’s obviously great in bed based on the fact that Florrie’s putting up with his bullshit. And then there’s the fact that he has that smoldering gaze going on-”
“Craig, are you trying to tell us that you’re gay and have a thing for Alec or that you’ve had dreams about him and now you’re worried how they’re affecting you?” Cap cut in. I raised an eyebrow in surprise. I obviously had overlooked a very strange aspect to our new team dynamic. Craig turned bright red and started stammering, confusing me even further.
“Hey-they were dreams and I never said that they were about him. That was all your assumption. And even if I had, there’s nothing wrong with being gay-which I’m not. There’s nothing wrong with it. I’m just not. And having sexual dreams about other dudes doesn’t mean that-you know, dreams don’t even necessarily mean anything. They’re just dreams.”
It was quiet for a moment as Cap and I stared at Craig, trying to figure out what the hell he was trying to say. And Florrie, damn, she was just sitting next to us laughing her ass off. Apparently, this was all funny to her.
Cap cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Well, obviously, anything that happens in your group remains between the three of you. If you choose to have a…ménage-type situation, that’s completely up to you-”
“Wait a minute,” I cut in, but Cap continued.
“Just as long as it doesn’t interfere with your work.”
“Hold the fuck on,” I said angrily. “Not that I don’t reciprocate Craig’s admiration, he too is a handsome man, but there was never any talk of Florrie and I having relations with another person. And if there was, it would be with a woman.”
“Why a woman?” Florrie asked testily. “So, I’m supposed to share you with another woman and give you pleasure in ways that you’ll never give me?”
“You want to share Craig?” I asked incredulously. “I’m a dude. There are parts that men do NOT share.”
“Craig,” Cap asked. “How do you feel about all this?”
“I’m…I’m thinking.”
“You’re thinking?” I shouted, jumping from my seat. “I’m never gonna fucking share Florrie. She’s mine.”
“Hey, it’s a lot to take in! One minute we’re talking about you two going to counseling and now we’re talking about having a three-some. Give a guy a chance to catch a breath.”
“No, there’s no fucking breathing, because there’s no chance in hell that I’m sharing Florrie with you.”
“Sharing Florrie?” She stood and got in my face. “I’m not exclusively yours. What if I want to try Craig out, see where this could go?”
I clenched my jaw in anger. This was bullshit, but if I pushed too much, she’d just walk away. And there was no fucking way I was letting her walk away. Even if we were just fucking.
“Whoa,” Craig cut in. “I’m not some piece of meat that can be passed around for personal use. If I’m getting involved in this, it’s because someone wants me for more than my body.”
“Would you shut the fuck up,” I said irritatedly. “Look at you. You’re basically a bodybuilder with a salami hanging off the front.”
Craig crossed his arms over his chest and glared at me. “I have a brain, you know.”
“I think what you need is some team building,” Cap finally said.
“No,” I cut in angrily. “The last time you had everyone do team building, we were fighting each other with wooden swords.”
“I’m going to send you all to a therapist I recently met. She’s really good with this shit.”
“Whoa, why do I have to go see a therapist?” Craig asked. “I’m not part of this relationship.”
“You’re part of the team, and obviously, there are some unresolved issues that need to be dealt with,” Cap clarified. “It’s either you all go to a therapist or the team breaks up.”
“We break up,” Florrie said instantly.
“Not a fucking chance in hell,” I grumbled. “Someone’s gotta watch your ass.”
“Nobody has to watch my ass,” she shot back. “Why do you always do this?”
“What? Protect you?”
“Jump in the line of danger because you think I can’t take care of myself.”
“You can’t,” I said before I could think better of it. The look of fury on her face had me scrambling for something romantic as fuck to say, but it was too late. I was fucked.
“You were the one that got yourself shot when we rescued that girl that was taken hostage. You were the one that got yourself stabbed in the leg because you thought I needed saving because I had an injured arm. And today, you almost got yourself killed by a gang of bikers because one of them grabbed my ass. You’ve been injured more than I have,” she seethed. “If you would just let me do my job, you would see that I’m perfectly capable of fighting off any asshole that comes my way.”
“You know what I don’t get,” Craig said. “Why now? We’ve worked together for years and now that you’re fucking, you think she can’t do her job?”
Florrie crossed her arms and glared at me, like he was actually making fucking sense.
“You can’t be seriously considering all this bullshit, can you?” I asked her incredulously.
“What I can’t believe is that you actually think I would continue to work
with you, let alone fuck you, when you act like I can’t handle myself. Something has to change and if you can’t trust me on the job, I will leave the team.”
“And what about us?”
She looked away, which gave me my answer. This was her ultimatum, go to counseling with her or we were over. Well, shit. I sighed and sat back down in my chair, knowing I had lost. I couldn’t fight her on this. This might have started up again as fucking, but she was mine and I would do anything to hang onto her. And if this was what it took to recognize what was right in front of her, then I had to do it.
“I guess we’re going to counseling.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Florrie
“I still think this is fucking ridiculous,” Craig grumbled as we walked toward the brick building in front of us. We were on our way to our first therapy appointment and Craig was especially pissed off that he had been lumped into this little gathering.
“Suck it up and deal with it.” Alec was no more happy about this than Craig. “If I have to do this, then so do you.”
“You don’t have to do anything,” I sassed. “I told you that we should split up. It’s not a good idea for us to work together. And based on how you’re handling this, it just proves my point.”
Alec put a hand on my arm, stopping me where I was. “I do have to do this. You didn’t give me a choice. If I want to stick with you, this is my only option.”
“Saying that you are obligated to do something doesn’t make the effort very sincere,” I sneered.
“It’s just one thing after another,” Craig sighed. “I tried to tell him. I told him it was a bad idea and that nothing good would come of this, but nobody ever listens to me. Of course, why would they? I’m a traitor.”
“You really need to let that go,” Alec shot to Craig. “I’m on your side, but you walk around like it’s your own personal crown of thorns.”
I couldn’t believe that Alec had just said that to him. He had no fucking clue how much Craig had been hurt by that or what it did to him. I couldn’t stand to be around him anymore, so I turned and headed for the building. When I opened the door and walked over to the door labeled Psychiatry, I heard a chuckle from behind me.
“Oh, this is too good. Delilah Sunshine?” Craig snorted and then broke out into full on laughter. I rolled my eyes and opened the door. If she was good enough for Cap, then she was good enough for me. I checked in at the front and took my seat while Alec and Craig bickered about a sports magazine.
“Hey, isn’t Sunshine the name you used to call Alec’s old girlfriend?”
I glared at him. “Way to make things uncomfortable by bringing up past girlfriends.”
His grin dropped and he leaned back in his chair. “Oh.” He cleared his throat and nodded, staring at the wall opposite him. “How about those Raiders?”
“What about them?” Alec asked.
“Uh…Go football,” he cheered.
“Craig, what the fuck are you talking about?”
“Hell, I’m just trying to ease the tension.”
“Alec, Florrie, and Craig?” the receptionist called.
“Thank fucking God,” Craig muttered. “Never thought I’d be so happy to go see a therapist.”
We walked back into the therapist’s office and I immediately took the single chair and left the couch for the guys. Alec and Craig both looked at the love seat and then sat down, both being careful not to touch each other.
“Hi, I’m Dr. Sunshine, but you can call me Delilah if it makes you more comfortable.”
“Yes,” Alec looked to me, “it would, Delilah.”
“Alright,” she smiled uncomfortably. “So, why are we here today?”
“Alec’s a possessive asshole,” I started.
“Florrie can’t admit that she loves me. Apparently, we’re just supposed to go on fucking the rest of our lives.”
“I’m not gay,” Craig said. “I just want to make that clear from the start.”
“Okay,” Delilah said slowly. “Um…gosh, where to start…This sounds like it’s going to be loads of fun,” she muttered to herself. “Okay, let’s start off by telling me how you all know each other and what your relationship is. Other than the f-fucking.”
“We’re all on the same team at Reed Security,” I informed her. “Alec is our team leader, but he seems to think that he can tell anyone what they should do at any given time, on or off the job.”
“Florrie is my lover, and yes, I’m her team leader, but I’d like to be more, if she could just get her head out of her ass and admit that we have something good. See, I like to protect the people I care about, but Florrie sees that as a bad thing.”
“That’s because I already know how to take care of myself,” I said through gritted teeth.
“And you?” Delilah asked Craig.
“I’m the third man out. I just found out about a year ago that they’d been screwing behind my back for two years. There were so many times that they were fucking right in the other room and I didn’t have a fucking clue. Now, I’m left wondering if things that I dreamt about are some kind of twisted mind fuck or not. And on top of that, I have to constantly listen to them fighting. Seriously, it’s worse than anything I’ve ever heard. I don’t know how they manage to listen to each other argue.”
“Right.” Delilah looked at the three of us and then back down at her notepad. “Let’s start with Alec and Florrie. Where do you see this f-fucking going?”
“Nowhere,” I answered quickly.
“See?” Alec said. “She speaks for both of us, I guess.”
“Mhmm,” Delilah nodded. “Florrie can you tell me why you don’t want a relationship?”
“We don’t need one. We’re just fucking.”
“All the fucking time,” Craig muttered.
“Are you around for this?” Delilah asked.
“Oh, yeah. You have no idea. There were so many times I was right fucking there.”
“And they just kept going?” Delilah asked in shock.
“Hell yeah.”
“And they knew you were there?”
Craig glanced to Alec, who grinned. “All the fucking time.”
“Perhaps…” Delilah cleared her throat and straightened in her chair. “Perhaps we should talk about what kind of relationship the three of you have as a whole.”
“We’re just teammates,” I said quickly.
“It’s good,” Craig answered. “I mean, we all get along well. We’re really close, you know, like the three musketeers.”
“I wouldn’t say we’re that close,” Alec said, his gaze narrowing in on Craig.
“What? Am I no longer part of the group because the two of you are fucking?”
“Maybe you should consider ways that you can expand your relationship,” Delilah suggested. “I get the feeling that Craig is feeling left out of this threesome.”
“Damn right, I am,” Craig muttered.
“Would you like to expand on that?”
“Well, it’s like, they have their things they do together that I’m not part of. I’m just the third man out, the twig to their berries.”
“And you’d like your twig to be more cohesive with their berries?” Delilah asked.
“Well, it’d be nice.”
Delilah nodded and Alec and I exchanged looks. I had a feeling that Craig and Delilah were not at all on the same page.
“I think I have a solution for your problems,” Delilah said, leaning forward. “I think the three of you should take some time to spend together, really get to know each other from a new dynamic.”
“Like, go to the movies and stuff?” Craig asked.
“Well, to start. You could do things that other…groups like you do.”
Craig turned to Alec. “Yeah, would it kill you to take me out to dinner once in a while?”
“Craig, I don’t think you’re understanding what she’s saying.”
“She’s suggesting we get to know each other in a new way,” Craig
said. “I’m down with that.”
“No,” Alec bit out. “That’s not quite what she’s saying. She thinks that we’re more of a different kind of team.”
“Well, we are. None of the other teams have a couple and a third man out. I think she’s onto something. We should mix things up. I wouldn’t mind seeing this side to Florrie that you see.”
“That’s not gonna fucking happen,” Alec growled.
“Do you see what I’m working with?” Craig asked. “It could be so good between us if they’d just open up a little.”
“I agree. I think your assignment for this week will be that you do more things together. As a group. I’ll make sure that Mr. Reed follows up with you and makes sure you’re completing your assignments.”
Craig nodded along happily, but he didn’t get it. I was going to have to make this clear for him. “Just how much time would you like us to spend together?”
“A few hours every night. I think you should get adequate…knowledge of each other in that time.”
“And would you suggest any specific things we should do?”
“Well,” Delilah cleared her throat again, pulling down her skirt like she was trying to hide herself from us. “If you and Mr. Wesley engage in any acts of a sexual nature, perhaps you should include Mr.-”
“Whoa!” Craig jumped up from his seat and stared at Delilah, completely flabbergasted. “You want us to do what?”
“Well, you said that you wanted to feel more connected. A great way to feel connected is through touch. I don’t know what exactly the mingling of the twigs and berries would look like, but I’m sure there are websites that could help. Perhaps that would even…liven things up between the three of you. Plenty of couples that enjoy a more…diverse relationship also enjoy engaging in pornographic film watching.”
Alec and I smirked at each other, but Craig looked like he wanted to shrink into the seats.
“Thank you, Ms. Sunshine. We’ll see you next week.”
I stood and Alec quickly followed me to the door.
“You’re a sick woman,” Craig said before he exited behind us.
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