7. Plans for the Day
SEVEN
PLANS FOR THE DAY
After the conversation quiets, I collect the plates and return them to the kitchen, starting the hot water running in the sink. The girls are still talking in the other room, but their happy tones encourage me to do something for them. Taking care of the dishes is the least I can do to repay their support and encouragement.
“Do you remember Kitchen Patrol back in outdoor school?” Amy says, coming up behind me and laying her head on my back, her hands running up and down my sides.
“I do remember.” I smile, keeping my hands busy by scraping the food scraps into the sink. “We just had to supervise the kids for that, though. I liked that our two groups were teamed up for the various duties. It meant more time with you.”
“It was a bit frustrating, though.” Amy leans her chin on my shoulder. “I couldn’t stop fantasizing about what we could do alone in this kitchen. How often did you think of me? I mean, when we were counselors here?”
“Constantly. It wasn’t all sexual fantasies, though. You were my favorite person then. I daydreamed about being a couple as much as I fantasized about sex with you.”
“Mmm, happy memories,” she says, then pauses to tighten her arms around my waist, then softly whispers in my ear. “Could we do something together today, just you and me?”
“Like what?” I ask, remembering my morning alone with Paige.
“We could rent a rowboat on the lake you walked around? I’d like to see the spring you and Paige visited.” Amy’s eyes widen, and her cheeks blush before she shrugs. “I want to be outside, and I want to be alone with you. All this talk about you moving here has my head spinning.”
“I used to love rowing those boats when I vacationed with my family. It sounds like fun. Will Paige and Leah be okay with us having a date?
Amy steps back, then turns and leans against the counter, smiling at me while I continue the chore. “If you move here, you should consider dating each of us. Even being your harem girls, we all need some face time alone with you.”
I nod and then focus on the dish in my hand, scrubbing it and placing it in the sink behind Amy. She turns and picks up the plate, rinsing it in the hot water, then putting it on a dish rack to dry. “It will be an adjustment. I’ve hardly even been in a relationship,” I admit. “Now I’m in three that are combined into one. I hope I don’t fuck it up. But to answer your concern, I agree with you. Each of you deserves my focused attention. Have you ever done this before?”
“Been a harem girl?” Amy laughs. “No. I never even considered it until now. I’m more like you than you know. After my divorce, the last thing I wanted was to be tied into a monogamous relationship. I took time for myself and explored some of the dating apps. In the end, I focused more on running this business. I thought I was satisfied until you walked into reception.”
“Now you’re not satisfied?” I asked, handing her another dish.
She slides the dish into the hot water and then takes my hand. “It’s not that. I just never expected you to be here. I have to admit that you’ve been on my mind over the years. I often question what my life would be like if we’d stayed together. At the same time, I’ve grown closer to Leah and Paige, but we never crossed that line until last night.”
“Yeah, that’s a lot like me. I stayed single because it seemed too complicated to maintain a relationship while always traveling. How I feel around you, all of you, has me rethinking that maybe I need complications in my life.” I finish the last dish and slide it into the sink with the others. “I know it will take work, and I’ll have to deal with feelings more than ever. But you’re worth that to me.”
Her eyes grow large as they shift focus between mine. When she breaks into a slight grin, I join her. Shaking the water off my hands, I turn and wrap her in a hug. Words drift out of my mind as I relax in our embrace. The scent of her hair and the warmth of her body against mine remind me of our natural chemistry together, and I can’t help the feeling of arousal that wells up inside me.
Amy tilts her head up, and I lower my lips to kiss her lightly. She slides her tongue along my lips, then pulls away from the kiss, and we spend a few moments just looking at each other.
“Are we crazy?” she asks, then shakes her head. “I know it feels fast, but it feels so good to be in your arms. I don’t want it to be just good sex between us. I want you in my life. I can’t ask you to pick up and move here to be with us.”
“You didn’t,” I say and kiss her forehead. “I feel the same way, though. The sudden shift is different, but being with you, talking with each of you—it feels much more right than trip after trip on the road.”
“Okay.” Amy smiles and turns back to the sink. “Let’s finish up, then we can go.”
“Where are you going?” Paige asks as she and Leah enter the kitchen.
“I want to take Amy out on a rowboat on the lake we hiked around this morning,” I say, smiling at the pair.
“That sounds fun. We’ll finish the cleanup,” Leah offers. “You two have fun on the lake. Paige and I will be fine by ourselves. We need to take some time for us, you know?”
“Thank you, and I know what you mean,” I say, shrugging. “I mean, I don’t know, but I understand. My new plans have impacted yours, and you need to work through what that means.”
“We are legally married, that’s true,” Leah says, turning and pushing Amy and me toward the main room in the lodge. “More than that, though, we’re partners. We’ve always worked things out to benefit us both. I don’t see that changing, only expanding to include new partners.”
“She’s the practical one,” Paige teases with a grin. “But that’s why we work; she balances out my impulsive wildness while I keep her life exciting.”
“No argument from me.” Leah wraps her up tightly and looks at Amy and me. “Go on and enjoy the afternoon. We’ll talk and then start on dinner. I’m sure I can find something to fix.”
“Everything is either in the cooler or the pantry,” Amy says, pointing around the kitchen, and Leah nods.
“I need to shower quickly, but I can meet you at my cabin. We can take my rental.”
“Perfect. I need to freshen up some, too,” Amy grins, beaming at me. “Thirty minutes?”
I nod, then head toward the cabins as Amy climbs the stairs to her bedroom. I enter the bright sunshine and blue skies and return to my cabin. I note that I’ll need to return fresh sheets later, but I quickly strip and toss my clothes in my suitcase. As I start the shower, I realize I’m grinning as I wash off the sweat from the hike.