Switchy

  “We’re just friends and accomplices for right now.” She filled Chelbie in on the short version of their dinner discussion the other night.

  Chelbie grinned. “Awesome.” Her smile faded. “Whatever crazy stuff you might see online, ignore that and just be you. And feel free to talk to me if you have any questions. I appreciate that you’ve never pried into my personal life or seemed to hold it against me, but me and the guys, we’re poly and kinky. I’ll always be happy to lend an ear if you need to talk or have questions.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  “That said, I’m not a Domme. Tilly is, and Abbey switches with Gilo, but not sure if they’re even going to be here tonight or not. The best advice I can give you is the same advice I gave Rich and Nick when we first got together—don’t get freaked out and just keep talking and communicating. Even if all you guys end up being is friends. There’s nothing wrong with that, either. One of the odd things you’ll notice in this lifestyle is people tend to cut to the chase when it comes to discussing relationship stuff, because we’re all used to negotiating. It might unsettle you when you’re used to the vanilla dating pool where it takes several dates to even find out if someone likes a certain type of food, much less taking it up the rump with a strap-on.”

  Em couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Thanks. I think. I’ll settle for the kinky end of the dating pool if it means I can have a chance to go out on more than a couple of dates before my mom scares them off.”

  “Considering your first meeting was your mom calling the cops on them, I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”

  * * * *

  Nick the movie star turned out to be a very sweet guy, although it took Em a little while to reconcile in her mind that Lucas had Nick fetching him and Leigh drinks and appetizers, and it wasn’t the other way around. And that everyone was perfectly fine with that dichotomy, no one apparently batting an eye.

  It was nearly an hour after their arrival that Em realized the same sort of thing was happening with her and the guys. Garrison had brought her first glass of iced tea to her, and between him and Jarred, they never let it get empty. When the appetizers were placed out, it was Jarred who stepped forward first to get her some while Garrison kept introducing her around.

  Due to the large number of people, there was no formal seating arrangement. So Garrison brought her a plate of food while she was still talking estate sale stuff with Landry, and before she realized it, she’d been steered toward a seat on a couch.

  “Aren’t you guys going to eat?” she asked.

  “We will,” Jarred said. “Once we know you’re all set.”

  She felt a little guilty about that. “I’m good. Please, eat. And are you sure you don’t want to sit here?” she asked Jarred, who she’d noticed was limping a little.

  Jarred leaned in. “I’m fine,” he said. “I worked all day with it aching. I can stand up a little longer.”

  “All the more reason you deserve to rest.”

  “Please,” he said. “I’m fine. We’re having fun taking care of you tonight.”

  If this was the kind of thing the guys enjoyed doing, who was she to complain? It was admittedly nice having someone taking care of her for a change.

  Two someones.

  Two hunky, handsome someones.

  Like dinner the other night, she enjoyed how the men seemed to be focused completely on her. Not in a creepy way, but in a totally endearing way.

  As if they couldn’t wait for her to simply wish for something so they could make it appear.

  The dinner went well past midnight before it finally started breaking up. They bid their good-byes to everyone, making sure to find Tony and Shayla last before leaving.

  “Thank you for letting me come tonight,” she said. “I really appreciate it, and I had a great time.”

  “No problem. It was a pleasure meeting you.” He made a point of looking at Garrison and Jarred. “And yes, feel free to include her any time as your plus-one for future private events without having to clear it first. Make sure to send Ross her e-mail address so he can add her to the private list.”

  Both men grinned. “Thanks,” they said.

  “Not a problem.” He redirected his next comment to Em. “And if you have any questions, they can get you my cell number or my e-mail. Feel free to contact me. Might be easier to text me during a work day.”

  “Thanks. I’m not even sure what questions I’ll have yet.” Tilly had already passed her a business card with her cell number and e-mail address, and had made the same offer.

  “Even better. Always best to start out admitting you don’t even know what you don’t know yet.”

  As they walked out to the men’s car, Jarred led her around the front to the passenger side.

  “I don’t mind riding in back,” she said. “I’m worried about your leg.”

  He opened the door for her and offered her a smile. “Ma’am, in the future, please do us the honor of riding in the front.”

  She cocked her head as she studied him. The way he’d said that…Ma’am.

  Not a hint of snarkiness.

  And she kind of liked it. “Is this you easing me out of the kiddie pool and into deeper water?”

  “Maybe. If you’d like us to.”

  She looked over the car’s roof at Garrison. In the soft glow cast by lights along the front of the house, his green eyes were shadowed, but she could feel his intense gaze upon her.

  He nodded.

  She nodded back and slid into the passenger seat, Jarred waiting until she was all tucked in before closing the door and then getting in the back seat.

  * * * *

  Jarred hoped they weren’t pushing Em too fast. Chelbie had pulled him and Garrison both aside earlier and warned them to ease Em into things. That she was a complete newbie and might not even be Dominant.

  Nothing the men hadn’t already discussed amongst themselves in private, but they were hoping that maybe if they took the lead and showed Em what they meant that it wouldn’t freak her out.

  Janis had always subscribed to the knight and his Lady type of dynamic with them.

  With impact play and sensual sadism tossed into the mix.

  As they’d settled into life together, it’d been a natural routine to take care of Janis and do things for her. Her job was stressful. Outside of work, they made sure everything they could do to eliminate all other stress, they did that. Whether it was making sure to keep their apartment clean or do her laundry or get her dry cleaning or serve her dinner or service her in bed.

  Then, when she’d gotten sick, both of them had stepped in and taken over in other ways, not forcing her to be their Dominant, but letting her lean on and depend on them in every way.

  It hadn’t been a burden for them, or a cause of resentment. They’d seen it as their duty, because they loved her. And when she got to the point she’d wanted to give up, they’d switched things around and actually became Dominants to her in everything but official title.

  Anything to try to keep her going one more day.

  Until the day her body gave out and she couldn’t go on.

  The trappings of BDSM had fallen by the wayside after she’d gotten sick, their usual way of life dynamically changing to accommodate reality. After they’d lost her, it took them a while to get their emotional feet back under them again.

  Even as they grieved, they leaned on each other, seamlessly switching back and forth, whoever happened to feel stronger on any given day naturally stepping forward into the Dominant role for the other. Sometimes even changing things out several times during the day, as the situation called for.

  This…

  This had been such an achingly sweet evening, even better than dinner the other night at their place. To let Em meet their friends in a nonthreatening environment, to see they were all “normal,” just average people living their lives.

  To see that it was about more than just the “kinky stuff” that they’d talked about a little alrea
dy.

  That it could be them.

  Back at Em’s house, both men got out and walked her to her door, where she stood there, staring up at them.

  Jarred beat back the urge to pull her into his arms for a good-night kiss when she did something that surprised the hell out of him.

  She rose up on her toes and kissed him, then Garrison.

  “Thank you for tonight, guys,” she said. “I really had a good time.”

  “What time do you leave for work in the morning?” Jarred asked. “I’ll bring breakfast and you can stop by next door first. I’ll be over here all this week working on the house.”

  “I’ll be by around seven thirty, then. Thank you.”

  “How do you like your coffee?”

  “Sweet, with a lot of creamer.”

  “Done.”

  “You realize, don’t you,” Garrison said, “that once you give us little facts like that, we store them away and use them. Once we’re living here, you can expect to have breakfast awaiting you every morning.”

  “I’m not going to ask you to do that.”

  “Who says you’d have to ask?”

  Jarred watched as Garrison took a step in, forcing her to look up into his face. “We want to. Even if only as friends. We need this. It’s healing for us to have someone, even if only a friend, to be able to do stuff for. For the first time in a long time, we’re starting to look forward to living again.”

  Jarred knew he couldn’t have said it any better himself.

  It felt good to have her to look forward to.

  To serve.

  “Okay. Thank you. I promise I won’t take advantage of you.” She rose up on her toes again for another kiss, then gave Jarred one before unlocking the door and going inside.

  Once they heard the door lock, they both returned to the car.

  Garrison started the engine, then held up his fist.

  Jarred fist-bumped with him.

  In peaceful silence, they drove home.

  * * * *

  Garrison waited until they were undressed and in bed and cuddled together to go to sleep to bring it up. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  “No, I mean I love you.”

  Jarred rolled over to face him. They usually started out with Garrison spooned around Jarred until they fell asleep and ended up in whatever configuration their sleep-selves chose.

  “I know you do. Is this about Em?”

  “No, this is about one of the reasons why I’ve kept saying no to marrying you. I want you to understand I’m here because I want to be. Not because I feel I need to be. I wanted you to understand I wasn’t just marrying you because of Janis telling us to. And I really was going to tell you yes when your uncle died.”

  “What brought on this conversation?”

  “Because whether or not something happens between us and her long-term, I want you to know I’m still here because I love you. I know we were together at first more because of Janis than each other, but I love you, I’m in love with you, and I’m happy with you. Even if it’s just the two of us from now on, or if we end up taking things farther with Em, or someone else.”

  Jarred kissed him. “You are fucking adorable. You know that? That’s one of the reasons I love you.” He smiled. “To my dying day, I will remember the way you moaned around my cock when she pegged you that first time.”

  Garrison rested his forehead against Jarred’s. “I recall you moaning, too. She was so damn devious. Besides, you had me down your damn throat and it felt good.”

  “Blindfolded and sixty-nined. Of course I moaned. Your mouth felt like a vibrator around my cock.”

  They let out identical sighs.

  “Is it wrong for me to hope that maybe Em will like putting us through our paces like that?” Jarred asked.

  “No, because I’m kind of hoping she does, too.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Em’s alarm awakened her at the usual time Monday morning. Disoriented, she lay there and tried to think about the dream she’d been deliciously buried within when she’d been rudely awakened.

  And why was it the alarm always had to go off right at the good part?

  She’d been with the men, in their house. Only it was finished and the three of them were together. The guys, naked, had been making love to her on their couch, leaving her hot and horny and…

  Yum.

  It struck her that unlike most unrequited sexy dreams she’d had, there was a very real and distinct possibility she might be able to make this one come true. Not right then, but maybe eventually.

  Throwing the covers off, she hurried out to start the coffee, motivated to get moving so she could go next door and have breakfast with Jarred. Before meeting all of the men’s friends last night, she’d still felt a little reticent in some ways to embrace what it was they had talked about.

  Dominating them.

  That had sounded horrible…before.

  But when she reframed it in terms of they wanted to serve her and do things for her, and it made them happy to do that…

  Okay. Sure. She got it.

  She refused to ask them to go out and buy her crap. That’s not what she wanted them to do. But if they wanted to make her breakfast in the morning? She wasn’t going to complain.

  If in the process of doing stuff for her their relationship deepened from being friends to being more than friends, she wouldn’t fight that, either. Chelbie obviously enjoyed having two guys. From the several triads in attendance last night, Chelbie wasn’t the only one.

  Not like it’d shock Mitchell and Brent. While she didn’t want to alienate her family, no offense to them, they all had someone.

  What did she have? Over the years, in addition to a failed marriage, she’d had several unfulfilling relationships, including two where the guys had cheated on her. Since her parents had moved in, she’d had three doomed relationships before giving up.

  Maybe it was time she followed her heart instead of sitting around alone and burying herself in work because between her past failures and her mother’s interference, she hadn’t found a guy.

  Screw pretending they were her boyfriends. Maybe she deserved to give it an honest try, if they were willing.

  Em was out of the shower and dressed and heading for the kitchen when her mom emerged from her bedroom. Even the sour look on her mom’s face couldn’t spoil Em’s mood.

  Em had seen Jarred’s car pull in next door.

  She offered her mother a smile. “Good morning, Mom.”

  “Why are you so chipper this morning?”

  “It’s a great morning. What’s on your agenda today?”

  “Back to the doctor and more tests,” she grumbled.

  “That’s good. Real good.” Em poured herself a travel mug of coffee. “And when you all are ready for the move, I know Mitchell will let me borrow one of the trucks.”

  “I still don’t understand why we have to move. We could get an RV and still live here part-time.”

  Em offered her mom a smile. “Don’t be afraid of change, Mom. You and Dad will have a lot of fun in your new place.” She headed for the front door.

  “Where are you going? You don’t have any of your stuff with you.”

  “Breakfast with a friend,” Em called out over her shoulder as she pulled the door open.

  She fought the urge to run next door and maintained a somewhat dignified walk. She didn’t even have to knock when she arrived. Jarred must have been watching for her, because he opened the door as she stepped up onto the porch.

  “Good morning, Ma’am.” He kissed her hand.

  “Good morning. You know, you could easily spoil me.”

  “I thought we warned you that was sort of the point.” He closed the door after her and led her to the kitchen, where he had two takeout containers sitting on the counter, as well as a cardboard drink caddy with two cups of coffee.

  “Best omelets in Sarasota,” he said as he opened hers for her. “Next to what
I make, that is.”

  “Thank you. You realize I don’t expect you to do this for me every morning, right?”

  Jarred arched an eyebrow at her. “Why not?”

  “Because you guys have lives.”

  “Exactly. And we want to live. Sure, if you order us not to do this, okay, but at least give us some other way to do things for you. This isn’t a hardship for us.”

  It really was a great omelet. “This is fantastic.”

  “Not quite as good as mine,” he said, “but I took the easy way out and got takeout because it was faster. Just wait until I make you French toast.” He stood up a little straighter, and she realized he was staring out the kitchen window. “Seriously?”

  “What?” She looked to see her mom heading over.

  “Oh, you have got to be fucking kidding me.” Em walked into the living room and yanked the front door open before her mom, who was still in a bathrobe and nightgown, could knock. “What?”

  Her mom looked taken aback. “I just wanted to find out what was going on.”

  “Go home.” She slammed the door in her mom’s face. What little goodwill remained in her vanished as Em made her way back to the kitchen and grabbed her cell phone, calling the house.

  Her dad answered. “Em?”

  “I walked next door to have breakfast with Jarred. Mom followed me.”

  “Dammit. I’m on it.”

  He hung up. Seconds later, the front door of Em’s house opened. Her father, wearing shorts and nothing else, stormed over and intercepted her mom, who had just started back.

  “Oh, boy,” Jarred muttered. “Sorry.”

  “Not as sorry as she’s going to be by the time he finishes with her,” she said. “You sure you want to be involved with someone like me? Crazy mom and all?”

  “It would take way more than that to scare us off,” he assured her.

  She took another bite of her omelet. “Let’s say I do decide I want to give whatever this is a try and not just pretend.”

  “Not talking about the food?”

  She returned his playful smile. “Not talking about the food. You guys had mentioned stuff like impact play. I don’t even know anything about that, or if I’d want to do that. Or if I’d be any good at it.”