That was how come Adam had a DJ slot at a nightclub. He enjoyed it, but never wanted to make a career of it. He didn’t need the cash, so he didn’t take on the later, more lucrative, slots.
Ben often went along with Adam. He liked to dance. A few times he was paid to dance at the club where Adam worked when they had special themed parties. Then he went on to get a part-time job as a go-go dancer in a gay bar. That was a lot of fun. Even I went there a few times. I wasn’t gay, Ben and Adam weren’t either, but the guys in that bar loved the three of us, and we had some good nights out.
I had a feeling it would be Sophie’s class that I’d be sitting for today.
She’d mentioned a number of times that she’d be sketching naked people. We’d had the conversation on numerous evenings. I think Sophie was a little nervous or excited, it was hard to say.
In all honesty, I knew I should have mentioned something about me doing that kind of work, even if I didn’t realize it was going to be for her class, but I didn’t mention it. Ben and Adam both looked at me expecting me to say something, but they didn’t say anything either.
I wasn’t nervous about taking my clothes off.
I’d done it before and getting naked in front of strangers was fun for about a minute or less, just while I watched the artist’s faces and their reactions. However, it was interesting to see their finished work at the end of the sessions.
The rest of the time was quite dull and could even be physically exhausting and stressful.
Once the session was underway, holding poses, staying completely still, even for just a minute or two could seem like forever. The most comfortable position started to feel uncomfortable after five minutes and, unfortunately, those were the ones I’d have to hold for twenty minutes at a time, have a brief break, and then return.
It all begged the question of why I kept doing it. I didn’t voice my complaints aloud precisely because of this matter. Most of the influx of nude models would drop out after just one sitting when they realized they couldn’t face the boredom and discomfort. My ego wouldn’t let me quit. I just made sure I did the fewest number of sitting possible each semester. Usually, two.
The students were already at their drawing boards when I entered the room. I’d already removed my clothes and only wore a robe.
I wasn’t completely sure this was Sophie’s class, but I made eye contact with her immediately and saw the look of surprise on her face.
I don’t know why I hadn’t expected that.
And she obviously hadn’t expected to see me.
The art teacher asked me to stand comfortably in front of them.
When I shed my robe I did I didn’t look at Sophie, but thoughts went through my head about her. In the past two days, she’d slept with one of my brothers; precise details remained unconfirmed. Last night, evidence suggested something happened with the other brother. That food didn’t end up on Adam’s shirt by itself.
Now, there I was, in front of her.
I never had an erection while posing for life drawing classes. There was nothing sexy about it at all. However, thinking of standing naked in front of Sophie was a different matter. That was erotic, and enough to get every part of me standing up at attention.
Unwanted thoughts entered my head about her enjoying a romantic candlelit dinner with one of my brothers and the noisy sex I’d overheard. It had given me plenty of fantasy fodder the last couple of nights.
In fact, since she moved in, I had been jerking off on a daily basis thinking about Sophie.
And now I was standing naked in front her.
It took all my concentration to keep the blood out of my cock. And keep all sexy thoughts out of my mind. I had to give a lot of thought, instead, to our president’s fiscal policies as a necessary distraction.
I changed positions when the teacher requested. The artists looked at me and sketched. Eventually, I stopped thinking about Sophie and drifted off into that day-dreamy place that I usually found. The announcement of break time came as a sudden but welcome interruption.
Barely had I wrapped my robe around me than a young dude was standing in front of me with a scrap of paper in his hand. He was skinny and wore trendy clothes that appeared to be two sizes too small. I didn’t know how he got in them and I felt like a colossal lumbering oaf in front of him.
He raised the paper toward me, but before he could speak, Sophie strode across the room and abruptly pushed the dude’s hand away.
“What are you doing here? And why didn’t you tell me you are going to be here?” She addressed me and completely ignored the other guy.
My brain had obviously dulled with the power of tedium because I didn’t respond.
“Introductions, Sophie. You’ve never formally introduced your brother,” said the artistic dude.
I wondered how this guy knew we were related, to some extent.
“Stepbrother, Nathan,” Sophie snapped. “You’ve never met this one.” She continued looking at me, anger in her eyes, while she spoke to him. “This is Carl. Carl, this is Nathan.”
“I'm pleased to meet you. I think it’s safe to say I'm, perhaps, Sophie’s best friend at school.” The young guy, who was quite possibly a year younger than Sophie, waved his hand between the two of us. “You didn’t know each other was going to be here?” He seemed oblivious to Sophie’s mood, but he focused on me and didn’t look at her.
“No,” she replied.
I shook my head.
Finally, my brain caught up, and it was time to defend myself. “This is my third year of modeling at this college. I didn’t realize you were going to be in this class.”
The small guy, Nathan, raised his hand again. “I need a life model. The sessions will be in this building, and I can afford to pay the going rate if you are interested.”
I reached out and took the paper with his details. “Thanks.”
“If you would consider doing just one session, that would be great.”
“Nathan! He’s one of my stepbrothers,” Sophie protested.
And Nathan looked as confused by this statement as I felt.
“I’m only offering him work for an hour or two, Sophie. I don’t know why you’re getting your panties in a twist.”
“Nor me. Sophie, I understand, you’re surprised to see me, but we’ve only lived together for a few weeks, and I don’t think you know everything about us.”
As soon as I’d said it, I hated that I’d said about us, instead of about me. Ignorant people, who didn’t know us, would often lump us together as if three triplets equaled one whole person. We triplets fiercely fought to be recognized as individuals when we looked so alike. We were individual men with our own minds.
Yet, often in our day to day lives, we thought of ourselves as a cohesive group rather than as individuals. I supposed it was a bit like how some married couples who lived together for years talk about themselves as a couple rather than an individual. But we weren’t a couple. We were more like a fraternity or a sports team. A group of players who had similar goals and spent a lot of time together.
Sophie and I had spent time together. But she didn’t know me as well as she may have thought and she didn’t know my brothers either. I was still hurting because of how she rejected Ben. Her rejection of one of us felt like a rejection of all of us.
It was crazy, but emotions were crazy, not logical.
“Nathan, do you mind if I have a private word with Carl?”
All of the students had stepped outside for the break by this time, to go to the bathroom, the vending machines, or to get air. We three were the only people still in the room.
I always preferred to stay in the classroom for the break. It was for a relatively short time and walking around college dressed in just a robe didn’t appeal.
“Sure,” he said, both his hands flew up in the air at this point, and he backed out of the door leaving Sophie and me alone in the classroom.
When the door shut behind him, I began my half-hearted a
pology. “It was just another modeling session to me, but I should have thought about the fact that you might be here.” I didn’t think I had anything to be sorry about, except that I’d upset her. There was nothing wrong with what I was doing here.
“You should’ve. Didn’t you think about how shocked and embarrassed I might be to see you like this?”
No. I knew that wasn’t the correct answer.
“I'm sorry, Sophie. I’ll be honest, I never thought about that. You were going to be drawing somebody, and it just happens to be me. What difference does that make?”
Her cheeks flushed red. “Isn’t it obvious?” She looked around; I followed her gaze about the classroom confirming we were alone. “I expected it to be someone old and someone I didn’t know. Not somebody young and handsome.”
Her hands went to her mouth as if to stop herself speaking. She hung her head and looked at the floor. “I don’t know. I can’t do this right now. All three of you are so attractive, and I like all of you.”
It was a weird situation, and a full hug seemed inappropriate under the circumstances. I placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Look, Sophie, my brothers and I, we all find you attractive. We’d all like to date you. You can choose any one of us or, frankly, we wouldn’t mind sharing you either.”
At that comment, she looked up. Surprised, shocked, or disbelieving, I wasn’t sure what thoughts went through her mind.
“We’re used to sharing,” I said, in case she didn’t fully understand my meaning.
I would have liked to talk more but the door opened, and a few students walked in. She walked away to stand behind her easel where she began to fiddle with pencils. I turned my attention away from her to watch the other students. They were so deeply engaged in their conversation it was as if they didn’t see me. That was fine by me.
As anyone who'd done life modeling knew, the final minutes stretch out, lasting hours. I stood and sat in many positions, becoming increasingly uncomfortable and numb. I focused elsewhere. In my head, I certainly had stuff to think about.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
SOPHIE
After approaching Carl during the break, I couldn’t face a second conversation. I kept an eye on the clock, and when class ended, I was packed up and out of the door faster than anyone. I charged out of the classroom, desperate to get away.
Somehow, over the course of the lesson, I made a life-changing decision, one that required action.
With one destination in mind, I dashed along the corridor and down the stairs.
“Sophie, wait up.” I could hear Nathan tearing after me, and as I walked downstairs, he reached my side. He didn’t say anything else. We were going at such a pace neither of us had the breath for conversation. We went down the stairs and outside. I walked toward the administration offices in the next building, and Nathan stayed alongside me.
When I reached the door of the director of residential life, my can-do attitude suffered a little. The door was shut and displayed a definitive closed sign. On closer inspection, the timetable on the door revealed they opened in an hour, just when my next class was due to start.
I had been on high alert with my body tensed for fight or flight since first seeing Carl in my art class until that moment. I turned to face Nathan and felt my shoulders slump.
“So, that’s your plan, is it? You’re going to look for somewhere else to live?”
Nodding, I replied, “I think it’s the only solution. I don’t know how I’ll face the three of them again and it seems there’s just too much temptation in the house.”
“Temptation for them? Or temptation for you?”
I smiled, shrugged again, and shook my head. I had no answer. At least, not one I wanted to share. “Come on.”
As we turned to leave, Nathan suddenly grabbed my arm. “But look, there’s a notice board.” He pointed at the wall opposite the door we’d been staring at.
The largest notice stated that all the college-owned, on-site student accommodation was currently full. I was disappointed, but not completely surprised by this. However, there were also ads for apartments and roommates further afield.
I pulled out my phone and began to take photographs of the ads. Many were probably unsuitable, such as the one that specifically mentioned it was a house full of men. No, I didn’t think I want that. I’d probably do better staying where I was than moving in with a bunch of dudes I didn’t know.
At least I currently lived with guys who make me feel safe. Then I remembered that was a big part of the problem. The guys I lived with were supposedly family. And then I reheard Carl’s voice in my head. What did he mean when he said they’d be happy to share me? Just what exactly did that mean?
Speaking of sharing, it was my turn to cook that night.
“I’ve got a plan. I’m going to call these numbers.” I held my phone aloft and gave it a shake. “I’ll skip classes this afternoon and hang around for when the accommodation office opens to see if they’ve got anything else.”
If there was a chance of finding somewhere, I needed to act fast and check it out. Ideally, I’d be home and have dinner cooked before the rest of them arrived back so that we didn’t end up hanging out together.
Sitting in and sharing our evening meals had been pleasant and now the thought of doing it again was terrifying.
“Let’s go get a drink,” he said. “And then you can tell me about your plans.”
The hour passed quickly talking to Nathan, plotting with him, and calling the telephone numbers I’d photographed on the wall.
I didn’t make it to the housing office that day because I got lucky with two of the numbers I called. I found myself with appointments to look at rooms. The first was that afternoon, which would mean missing class, and the second in the evening.
The house in Springfield turned out to be a little further from school than where I currently lived. I could conceivably continue to walk to school if I wanted to get the exercise, but I’d probably have to allow more than thirty minutes. Or I could take up the offer my mom and stepdad made to buy me a car.
It had seemed extravagant. My stepbrothers each had cars but rarely drove them as we lived so central. I think they might have routinely driven to school before I moved in. None of them mentioned it after I went off on a monologue stating that it would be appalling lazy and bad for the environment given that we lived so close to our college campuses as well as just about everywhere we could want to go.
As far as I knew, Carl and Adam did drive to their classes, but we didn’t talk about it; we had no reason to have that discussion. The boys were all doing serious sounding business courses and their classes were at a different college than mine. We didn’t run into each other in the day, usually. Ben generally walked with me most of the time, but went out of his way to do so.
Sometimes, however, I had a lot of art materials to cart around making a car a practical necessity. That occurred more often than I cared to admit.
When I knocked on the door, it was opened immediately as if the woman had been waiting just on the other side.
“Hi, I'm Elisha, you must be Sophie?” She opened the door wide and welcomed me in. She had a warm smiling face, and her eyes sparkled with cheerfulness.
“Yes, that’s right.” I stepped into a long narrow hallway. This only made it seem even stranger that she was behind the door by chance when I knocked. “I’ve come to see the room. Just in case lots of people called Sophie are coming to your house today.”
She grinned. “Yeah, I knew it was you. You’re the only Sophie I'm expecting.” She set off along the corridor and up the stair, saying as she went, “It’s this way. Poor Kerry moved out a few days ago. She had some family issues.”
“Yes, you said that on the phone. Is she a good friend of yours?” I asked, making polite conversation.”
It turned out the house was arranged over many floors, and soon we were climbing the second staircase.
“Not really, we just met like t
his, sharing a house, but I liked her. I’m sorry, I know we should have emptied out the room, but we’ve already dumped stuff in here. You know how tempting it is to hide crap and shut the door.”
We walked through the bedroom door. I noticed it had a sturdy lock and key. Something that should’ve reassured me that my stuff would be safe, but only reminded me that I’d be living among strangers.
“Oh, there’s not that much stuff in here. Don’t worry about it.” There was a few empty boxes, three suitcases, and a pile of shoes. Nevertheless, those few items took up most of the space; it was less than half of the size of my current room.
“All of the bedrooms are about the same size and the good thing for you, if you move in, is that your room is next to the bathroom.”
Ominously, I noticed she said “the bathroom,” not “a bathroom.”
“How many bathrooms are there?”
“Only one has a shower, that’s the bathroom just next to here.” She pointed to the bedroom wall. “There is one other, downstairs, that’s just a toilet, no bath or shower.”
One shower! Two toilets.
So, from this room, it would be a short hop to the communal facilities along with the convenience of hearing everyone else using them. Either the best or the worst room in the house, depending on how you measured it.
I wandered to the closet and opened the door. It appeared sturdy, clean, and well designed. “And how many people live here?”
“Three girls at the moment, you’d make four. They’re all reasonable sized rooms with queen beds, much the same as this. Of course, any night a couple of us might have fellas over, you know. We’re broadminded girls here. You can bring home a different guy every week or as many guys as you like.” She raised an eyebrow. “Unless you’re into girls, of course, which is fine too. What you do is your own business. Just keep the hallway clear in case there’s a fire alarm. That’s our only rule.”
Four or six or more of us standing in line waiting for the one shower in the house. Oh. My. God.
Triplet Time: A Reverse Harem Stepbrother Romance Page 8