40. Tori
40
TORI
Never, in all my life, had I shared a bed with someone until recently. Therefore, waking up next to another person—especially a man—was a new experience.
And I loved it. I couldn’t say exactly why. Sometimes they hogged the covers. Sometimes they woke up with morning wood—which was a term I hadn’t even heard of until I moved in here. But it was just so amazing to wake up next to someone I liked—and who liked me. And to touch them and hold them—and have them touch and hold me.
The small windows in the basement didn’t offer much in the way of natural light, but that gave me an excuse to snuggle up next to Jayden. My alarm hadn’t even gone off yet, so I had time. Plus, it was Saturday—a good day to sleep a little late.
Things had worked out better than I expected in the last few days. Lucas was able to provide proof that the recording of Kyle saying those awful things was fake. It was a huge relief to know that my faith in Kyle hadn’t been misplaced.
Because of Lucas’s evidence, the ample documentation I’d provided, and a written statement from Jayden, the cheating charges were dropped.
And then, to top it all off, Professor Abrams had offered to take over as my advisor, and I’d jumped at the chance. She wasn’t part of the education department, but it seemed like a good fit. She taught college English, and I wanted to teach high school English. I was thrilled that I wouldn’t have to work with Dr. Mitchell again.
Jayden yawned, and without opening his eyes, he rolled onto his back, pulling me with him. I giggled as he immediately started stroking my hair as I rested my head on his bare chest. He had such talented fingers, and I knew I was likely to get a mini-scalp massage before we got up.
“Morning,” he finally said, a bit gruffly. That was another fun thing about waking up next to one of my three roommates. They were usually a bit grumpy and out of it in the morning—which, for some reason, always struck me as adorable.
I planted a kiss on his chest, his skin warm under my lips. “I should pack up my things, since I’m not allowed to sleep here tonight.”
Jayden groaned and squeezed his arm tighter around my shoulders. “Who made that rule?”
“You and Lucas,” I said with a laugh. The rule—or at least a pretty firm guideline—was that I wouldn’t share a bed with a person I’d been on a date with. And tonight was my first official date with Jayden. I couldn’t wait.
He wouldn’t tell me what the plan was, but I was pretty sure it would be on the fun and casual side. And definitely not involving any secret clubs.
Jayden stretched, and I watched the way his abs moved. I’d rapidly become a fan of shirtless men. Especially when those men were Jayden, Lucas, and Kyle.
I tilted my head up to see him better. “So, can I get a hint about what we’re doing tonight?”
“Right. Tonight.” His voice was scratchy and sleepy.
“Don’t tell me you forgot?”
“No, I didn’t. But there’s something I want to talk to you about.”
“Okay. You can talk to me about anything.”
“Let’s hope that’s true.” He squeezed a handful of my hair and then let it glide through his fingers. “There’s no subtle or indirect way to ask this…”
“Just ask.” Now I was really curious.
“Okay. Are you ready to take things further with any of us? Or, I should say, do you want to?”
Wow. I hadn’t expected that. Further probably meant actual sex, right? All three of them had already proven that they could make me come hard. My sex life was already a hundred times better than it ever had been before. But I did kind of want more. “I do, yes,” I finally answered. “But I’m not entirely sure what you’re asking.”
“Okay, let me rephrase. Is there any chance that you’d want to explore doing a bit more with all of us?”
My face flushed, but I knew I wanted that. “Like when I’m sharing a bed with one of you at night?”
“Not exactly.” He exhaled softly. “More like all four of us in a bed together.”
“Oh.” My breath caught in my throat, and then my heart started pounding wildly. I didn’t know how to answer that—though my body was clearly on board.
“Just think about it. Three men. Six hands. Thirty fingers. Three rock-hard?—”
A whimper of longing escaped my mouth, and I blushed, burying my face in his chest, embarrassed.
Jayden laughed, patting my back. “I love the little sounds you make. So hot and needy.”
“Pretend you didn’t hear that one.” My voice was muffled against his chest.
“You can think about it for a while. Or you could say no right now, and that’s perfectly fine.” He continued stroking my back soothingly. “But I think you might like it. You seemed to like sleeping between me and Lucas after the storm. And that time in the back of the library with Kyle and I both kissing you… you liked that, right?”
“That was really hot.” It was easier to be honest when I wasn’t looking him in the eye. In fact, the only thing I could see right now was the smooth skin over his pecs. “Do you think, though, it would bother Lucas? Or it wouldn’t be very much fun if they started fighting in the middle of it.”
“Things have been a little better between them lately,” Jayden said. Lucas had told him what Kyle had said about how things had ended between Lucas and Natalie. Then Jayden told me. It was a relief because while I knew that Kyle was no angel, it had always bothered me to think that he’d slept with Lucas’s girlfriend. To me, it hadn‘t seemed like something he would do, and now I knew he hadn’t.
Jayden kissed the top of my head. “I don’t think they’ll fight because they’d both be focused on you. All three of us would be. On you, and your needs, and your pleasure.”
My thighs clenched as my pulse spiked. “I have to admit, I like the sound of that. Does that make me greedy?”
“I don’t know. Does it make me greedy that I want you even though my two friends do, too?”
“Maybe,” I said, and he laughed. But then I took a deep breath. “So my answer is yes. I would like to go a bit further with the three of you.”
“Tonight?”
His question took my breath away. Tonight as in ten hours from now? “But what about our date?”
“We can have our date here, with some friends.”
“But—”
“If you don’t want that, that’s perfectly fine, Tori. But don’t turn it down because of me. You live here now. You’re paying rent and everything. We’ll have plenty of time to do things one-on-one and also… more on one.”
That made me smile. “Nicely phrased.”
“That means a lot coming from a future English teacher. So, are we on for tonight?”
After a deep breath, I let myself answer the way I wanted to, not the way I probably should have. “Yes. I’d like that.”
“Good. Then I’ve been deputized to pass along a request.”
“You were?” The idea that the three of them might have talked about this made me squirm, and only partly in embarrassment.
“Yes. The Council of Roommates has requested that you wear that dress that you bought at that thrift store in Atlanta.”
And just like that, all the good feelings inside me vanished. “I would, but… I think it would remind me too much of the wedding.” I’d only talked to my mom once since then, and things had been tense.
“Not that dress. The other one.”
Oh. He meant the one I wore on the date with Kyle. “Yeah, I can do that.”
“How is it that Kyle and Lucas have seen you in it, but not me?” he asked. “Again. That’s what happened with that green dress you wore to the movie night, too.”
“How about the next time I have something new and sexy to wear, I show you first?” I slid my leg over his. “In a private showing.”
“I like the sound of that.” He reached over to the nightstand and picked up his phone.
“What are you doing?”
“Ordering you some new and sexy lingerie.”
I laughed, pleased with his answer, and happy to be in his arms.
And incredibly excited about tonight.