Misadventures in a Threesome

by Elizabeth Hayley

  There was something Jaz liked about the way the men looked at each other—like there was a trust and camaraderie between them that she hadn’t experienced with another person. The realization saddened her a bit, but she wouldn’t let it show. Witnessing it—though she wasn’t a part of it—was still somehow satisfying. “Mad and Wild,” she said. “Cute.”

  Maddox raised a dark eyebrow at her. “Did you just call us cute?”

  It probably wasn’t the most professional moment of Jasmine’s life, but it certainly wasn’t the most unprofessional one either. Though she wasn’t sure that realization justified the remark. “Is that bad? If it helps, I meant it as a compliment.”

  She hadn’t noticed Maddox’s smooth, tan skin and pink lips before, but they now did things to her that she’d rather not be thinking about during an interview. She wondered what his ethnicity was, because she couldn’t put her finger on it. Not that it mattered. Biology—and the gym—had been good to him. That was for sure.

  “That’s how I took it,” Wild said, drawing her attention back to him.

  She was sure these guys had never been called cute in an interview before today, and the fact that she’d been the one to break that streak made her blush a bit, though she hoped they didn’t notice.

  “We’re looking for someone who can teach a variety of group classes, Ms. Pritchett,” Maddox said.

  “Please. Jaz.”

  “Jaz,” Maddox repeated, his tone no-nonsense, and the look he gave her was intense. “We already have someone for kickboxing, spin, and Zumba. We were thinking of adding some yoga or Pilates, possibly something else, though we aren’t sure what yet. Guess it depends on what the new instructor’s qualified to do. We’re in the process of renovating the space currently, and we’d like to expand the variety of what we offer and, in turn, expand our clientele. I see you’ve taught yoga and have a few other certifications. Why don’t you tell us a little bit about what you’re willing to teach?”

  Anything that pays the bills was what Jaz wanted to say, but she went with, “Yoga, for sure. I’ve taught it for a few years and have recently begun incorporating essential oils into my classes. But I can do Pilates, BODYPUMP, whatever you need really. I’m a Jaz of all trades.” She hoped that her pun—and the bright smile she beamed at them—would lessen a little of the tension she felt when Maddox spoke. Wilder hadn’t been kidding. His business partner was definitely the more serious one.

  Maddox opened his mouth like he was about to reply, but Wilder spoke first. “How’d you like to be on the Transform team, Jaz?”

  “You’re hiring me?” She couldn’t disguise the excitement in her voice, and she didn’t want to.

  Wild raised an eyebrow at his friend, most likely a silent plea for confirmation that his offer was an acceptable one.

  After a long moment, Maddox extended his hand to her. “You’re hired,” he said sternly but added a nod and a small smile. “You have time for a tour?”

  Jasmine took his large hand in hers and gave Maddox a nod of her own, thinking she had time for whatever these men had in store for her.

  Chapter Three

  Wild and Mad shuffled into their apartment later than usual, which was impressive since they both always stayed until eleven on Wednesdays, when Transform closed. But after they walked around the gym and made sure everything was in its place before getting out of the cleaning crew’s way, they went into the new section to see how things were coming along before taking care of the business side of things. They were happy with the progress so far on the renovation and managed to get started on the paperwork Jaz had filled out.

  “I still can’t believe you hired her on the spot,” Maddox grumbled as he flopped down on their dark-brown sectional.

  Wilder felt his forehead scrunch up as he kicked back in the recliner. “Why? That’s exactly the kind of thing I’d do.”

  Mad grunted what Wild interpreted as “Good point.”

  “She’s a good fit,” Wild added, feeling the need to explain himself, though he wasn’t sure why.

  Mad laughed as he turned on the TV and flipped to a baseball game. “How do you figure?”

  Wild sat up a little. “You don’t think she is?”

  “Not what I said. I just want to know why you think she is.”

  Wild sat back again, resisting the urge to huff. He hated when Mad did this shit. Imply something but then argue it wasn’t what he said. “And I want to know why you think she isn’t.”

  “I just told you, I didn’t say—”

  “Stop right there and cut the shit. Just tell me.”

  Maddox rubbed a hand over his eyes. He looked exhausted. Wild wondered if he was having trouble sleeping again or if it was simply from the long hours they’d been pulling. “She has next to no experience.”

  “Ya gotta start somewhere,” Wild interjected.

  Mad stared at him before he continued. “And you didn’t even check the few references she did have. What if they’re bullshit?”

  “I don’t remember you having a ton of references when I got you a job at the gym I was working at. And neither of us had any experience running a business when we decided to open ours.”

  “At least we’d worked in one,” Mad mumbled.

  “I got a good feeling about her, okay?”

  Mad looked over at him, and their eyes stayed locked on one another for a moment before Mad nodded. “Okay.”

  For normal people, this would be a shit reason to hire someone. But for Mad and Wild, it was enough. Wild seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to people, and his instincts were rarely wrong. Not to mention he’d only given someone a chance like this based on a good feeling once before. And that had worked out pretty well for the both of them.

  Maddox groaned and got up from the couch. “I’m going to bed. You want this on?” he asked, gesturing toward the TV.

  “Nah, I’m going to bed too.”

  “Okay. See you in the morning.”

  “I’ll be here.”

  It was a familiar response, but one that was more promise than trite send-off. Wild sat there for a few more minutes, gearing himself up to move. Finally, he pushed himself out of the recliner and walked to his room to retrieve his towel. He faintly heard water running in Maddox’s room as he passed, since he had the master with its own bathroom. Grabbing what he needed, Wild made his way into the hall bathroom and turned the water on as hot as he’d be able to stand. He let the room steam up a bit as he brushed his teeth. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and thought about how fucking tired he looked. While he was excited about the changes at the gym, it was also exhausting work.

  A few moments later, he stepped into the shower and under the hot spray. He hung his head and watched the water run down the ridges of his abdomen. Some might have called him vain, but Wild liked how he looked. He worked damn hard on his physique. Every vein had been hard-earned in the gym, and every ab had been cut by following a strict nutrition plan. That was what he loved about fitness: there were no limits to what someone could achieve as long as they were willing to work for it.

  Taking a deep breath, he raised his face into the stream of water before stepping back and grabbing the soap. He began lazily running it over his body, watching the water rinse the suds away. The more he ran his hands over himself, the more his body tingled with the touch and the harder his dick became. He’d been so consumed with the renovations, it’d been a while since he’d gotten laid—something he’d have to rectify if touching his own body was turning him on.

  Once he was done with the soap, he took his cock in his hand and slowly dragged his fist over the steely flesh, twisting his wrist a bit at the flared head. His hold was relaxed as he enjoyed the sensation with no desire to rush to the finish line. Putting his other hand on the wall, he leaned forward, the water running down his back as he dragged his fist up and down his length. For the first time that day, his mind was blank, and all he could think was how good it felt to touch himself. Soon,
his hips started to thrust a bit, his body deciding it was done with slow and his need to get off becoming more urgent.

  Wilder picked up the pace, his hand flying more quickly over his cock as his hips continued to buck as if he was pushing into the tight pussy of a woman. His balls were full, and tingles were zinging up and down his spine. The water dripping down on his cock was an added stimulation that ramped him up even more. He straightened as his climax began to barrel down on him, the heat of the moment causing a montage of beautiful women to float across his mental movie screen as he imagined emptying himself into any one of them. How great that would feel. How much pleasure he’d find as he buried his cock inside them. Then, a certain face sprang to mind and captured his focus. Smooth dark hair hung over her shoulders, and deep green eyes closed slowly in front of him. Somehow, she’d made her way into his brain—or more than his brain, it seemed. His entire body felt her presence so completely he could barely process all of it before he was coming—grunting his relief as his entire body spasmed in on itself. With the exertion of coming so hard, his shoulders bowed forward as he continued to milk his dick with his hand.

  When the last of his come pulsed through his slit, Wilder opened his eyes in time to watch the water wash it away. All evidence of his orgasm gone, just as he hoped the knowledge that he’d blown his load to the image of Jaz would wash away as well.

  Chapter Four

  Jasmine finished putting her belongings in the women’s locker room and then headed out to the gym where Maddox had told her to meet him. She found him standing near the barbell rack, laughing with a guy squatting a weight she was shocked he could lift because he was about a foot and a half shorter and clearly a lot lighter than Maddox. At her approach, both men turned toward her, and Maddox smiled. He seemed more jovial than he’d been when she’d first met him, and she attributed it to the fact that he probably liked the training part of his job much more than the managerial side.

  “Jaz, this is Bull. He practically lives here,” Maddox said. “Bull, Jasmine Pritchett. She’s one of the new trainers we hired. She’ll be teaching some yoga and a few other classes in the new space.”

  “Pleasure to meet you.”

  She wanted to ask about his nickname, but judging from the amount of weight he was lifting, she could guess. He looked to be about her mom’s age, and she found herself glad that her mother would probably never meet him. Despite Bull’s small stature, he was classically good-looking, with a square jaw, salt-and-pepper hair, and broad shoulders.

  Bull wiped his hand on his shorts before shaking Jasmine’s hand, and she appreciated the courtesy, even though it wasn’t necessary. A little sweat didn’t bother her.

  “Welcome,” Bull said. Then he lifted his damp navy T-shirt up to his face to absorb the moisture before handing a fifteen-pound weight to Maddox to put on the barbell. “I probably won’t be taking any of your classes anytime soon, but it’s good to have a new face around here. Especially one that’s prettier to look at than your two bosses’.”

  The comment made Jaz laugh. It might’ve seemed creepy coming from someone else, but Bull had a warm innocence to him that made the remark more of a compliment than it otherwise might have been. Still, it earned him a swat to the arm and a “Watch it” from Maddox.

  His eyes seemed to warn Bull as much as his words did, indicating to her that Maddox cared more about Bull saying something inappropriate than about insulting him and Wild. She appreciated it but didn’t really need it.

  Jaz had learned to handle just about any situation at an early age out of necessity. No one else had been there to do it for her. She’d worked since she was fourteen, and since most of her jobs resulted in her being surrounded by men, she had learned when and how to put them in their place. She’d learned more about sex during her shifts at the local pizza place than she had from her middle school health classes, and though she didn’t mind the vulgar language—as long as it wasn’t directed at her—she didn’t hesitate to speak up if a conversation bordered on offensive.

  Maddox told Bull they’d see him in a bit, and then he let Jaz know that Wild was running a little late but would be here soon so she could shadow him. Though her job didn’t require her to conduct one-on-one personal training sessions with people—at least, not yet—Maddox and Wilder thought she would benefit from more of a hands-on tour of the facility and its day-to-day operations than the quick overview they’d given her the day she’d been hired.

  Since her studio space wasn’t quite ready, she had no objections to shadowing the men until it was ready. Not only would she get paid sooner, she liked the idea of spending more time with Maddox and Wilder so she could get to know them.

  Maddox showed her how to use the computer to clock in and out and sign in clients when they arrived, as well as adjust the trainers’ schedules if needed. “Everyone knows all of this, and we just hired someone to help out at the front desk,” he explained. “I’m not showing you because I expect you to be our secretary.”

  He seemed more concerned about the comment than he should’ve been, and she wanted to tell him she didn’t take offense to it, but he continued before she could speak. “We could also use some help coming up with the best way to have clients book group classes. We don’t want them getting too crowded, but we don’t want people signing up to save a spot only to cancel at the last minute either.”

  She told him she’d give it some thought and do a little research over the next few days.

  Their conversation was interrupted by an excited Wilder pulling open the glass door and yelling that he had coffee.

  Jasmine eagerly accepted the cup.

  “Cream and sugar are in the bag,” he said, offering it to her.

  “Black’s good for me, actually.”

  “See?” Maddox said, taking one of the other two cups. “Some people know how to drink coffee the right way.”

  Wild was already dumping in sugar packets and creamers, stirring the liquid every so often and evaluating the color and taste.

  Maddox and Jaz exchanged disgusted glances before Mad leaned in and whispered, “I’m sorry you need to witness the desecration of such a fine beverage.”

  “Me too,” she whispered back before taking a sip of her coffee. “That’s not exactly the healthiest thing to be putting in your body either.”

  Wilder held his arms out and looked down at himself before raising his head back up at her. “You saying I need to change how I look?” he teased with a smile that was complete with those dimples she’d noticed the previous week when she interviewed.

  She was definitely not saying he should change his appearance. He was in a tighter shirt than he’d been in last time—black Dri-FIT with no sleeves—so she could see the definition of his abs and his perfectly defined shoulders and biceps. His orange-and-gray shorts came a little above his knees and fit perfectly, allowing a view of the bottom of his quad muscle. It made her want to see higher. “Not what I said at all. I was actually wondering the opposite. How do you look like”—she moved her hand up and down the space in front of his body—“that, if you put all that shit in one cup of coffee?”

  “My one and only weakness, I suppose. Like Kryptonite to Superman,” Wild explained, causing Maddox to roll his eyes. “I only have one cup of coffee a day, and then it’s back to boring shit like chicken and rice the rest of the time.”

  “I try to keep Wilder from providing nutritional counseling to the clients as much as possible,” Mad interjected. “He has the metabolism of a teenager and the appetite of a ravenous lion. He could probably eat a lot worse than he does and still look good.”

  “That’s why it’s so impressive that I can stick to such a healthy diet,” Wild said.

  “Do you do a lot of that here?” Jaz asked. She was actually pretty strict about what she ate as well, though it was likely she was laxer about it than Wilder. Overall, she did enjoy eating well, like the discipline of it all—that she had control over what she put into her body, what it looke
d like, and how it functioned. She felt better when she fueled her body with nutritious foods, and it had the added benefit of helping her look better as well. That said, she was a big fan of using her cheat days. “Like nutritional counseling? Or workshops or anything?”

  “Some,” Mad answered. “Mostly on an as-needed one-on-one basis. We’ve never done anything too formal.” He looked at Wild and then back to Jaz. “Okay, well, I hate to leave you in the hands of my lesser half, but I have to get going. I have an appointment at the bathroom place to pick out the fixtures and stuff for the new space.” He explained that because some of the clients they’d be getting for their yoga and studio classes might not want to walk through the more industrial main space to use the bathroom because guys dropped barbells and some of the women squatted close to double their own weight up, they decided to install some in the new part of the gym. “It’ll just be two unisex bathrooms, each with a shower, toilet, and sink. But it’ll feel like a separate space if people want to treat it that way.”

  It was a great idea since, from what the guys had told her, the new gym space would have a much more upscale feel. “Sounds good. I’ll see you later, then,” she said.

  Maddox said goodbye and left Wild with, “Don’t do anything to make our new hire quit on her first day.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it,” Wild said with a smile.

  Jaz wondered if the comment had been a joke or a warning based on a prior situation, but she didn’t think it was her place to ask. And it didn’t matter anyway. It would take a lot to make her leave a good job with two hot bosses who also seemed pretty damn cool.

  Maddox’s appointment had taken almost three hours, which was two hours longer than he’d anticipated. He’d had to decide on the bathroom layouts, and they’d tried to upsell him on fixtures and tiles that were unnecessary. They’d almost convinced him that it would be more economical—though somehow still more expensive—to create one men’s room with two stalls and a shower and one women’s room with the same. The extra toilets didn’t add much to the cost, and ultimately, it gave people the ability to use the bathroom even if someone was using the shower. It had seemed like a good idea until he figured if they had to pee that bad they could just use the bathroom in the other part of the gym if both in the new space were occupied. So after two hours of debating which would be best, he went with his gut and decided on his original plan. He wished he’d trusted himself more because his instincts didn’t usually mislead him.