Chapter 23
TOYS, TOYS, TOYS
Trina
“Where did you get this pound cake?” Cassie asks through a forkful of spongy dessert, which she’s eating before dinner. “It’s amazing.”
“The Poundcake Factory,” I say with a straight face. We’re at Oak and Vine, our parents’ favorite restaurant in the city, a cute little café in Hayes Valley.
“Oh, right near here, you said?” Cassie asks, like a dog with a bone, or perhaps a pillow.
“Cassie, is the baby still moving all the time?” I ask, wanting to shift gears far away from my imaginary dessert shop.
Cassie sets down the fork. “Yes, he or she does somersaults,” she says, proudly rubbing her belly.
Mom turns to me, a hopeful look in her eyes. “Trina, don’t you want to experience that someday?”
My father coughs into his hand, perhaps a suggestion for her to stop pressuring me, but it’s hardly a firm warning since she waves a hand, dismissing him. “They’re such wonderful things. Motherhood, pregnancy, family…I want you to have all that before it’s too late.”
“Yes, at twenty-five my clock is ticking,” I say dryly, praying this dinner flashes by in a wink.
“Let’s solve Trina’s housing situation first, Mom,” Cassie says with a laugh that’s definitely at my expense.
“I have solved it,” I snap, annoyed with her. “I have a place I’m moving into next week.”
“And until then you’re living with some guy you hardly know,” Cassie adds, like she wants to get me in trouble. I clench my jaw. I didn’t need Mom and Dad knowing about my unconventional living arrangements.
“Oh! Is it serious?” Mom asks, rustling around in her purse for something, then grabbing her phone. “Is it the guy in the pic that was with you and Nacho?”
My mom stalks me online? I better make sure I don’t accidentally make out with both Ryker and Chase at the wedding. Though, can you accidentally make out with someone? No, make-outs are definitely intentional. I’ll just have to keep my frisky mittens to myself at the wedding on Sunday.
“Does he treat you well?” Dad puts in before I can answer my mom.
Mom’s eyes twinkle with, presumably, baby rattles and pacifiers. “When can we meet him, Trina?”
Never.
Cassie nods to the TV in the corner of the bar. “Right now. Well, virtually. He’s on TV.”
Who needs a voice when you have a big sister?
“Ooh, an actor?” Mom asks.
“Sweetheart, I think he plays sports,” my dad says, nodding to the hockey game on the screen, and this dinner is worse than Nacho humping a pillow in front of my two guys.
A million times worse, because my parents have stamina that a three-legged Min Pin does not possess.
Weirdly, I’m dying to watch the TV, but I also want time to speed by, so I meet my sister’s gaze and fall on the sword. “Tell me more about how big the baby is.”
That earns me a small respite, but at the end of the meal, the conversation comes back to me.
“So, are you seeing this guy a lot? Outside of his home, I mean?” Mom asks, enthused.
One dog park visit and we’re a thing? Well, maybe it’ll get them off my back for a couple days. “I’m going to a wedding with him this weekend.”
“Oh, how lovely,” Mom says.
It’ll be lovely, too, when he fucks me senseless with his best friend very, very soon.
* * *
When I finally escape the we not-so-secretly hope you’ll follow in Cassie’s footsteps dinner, I head to Chase’s home. After I walk Nacho, I find myself drawn to the TV in the living room. Maybe I can catch the end of their games.
Such a weird thought for a sports hater like me. And yet, I’ve been antsy since last night to check out the action on the ice. But before I turn the TV on, I tilt my head, studying a pile of things on the living room table.
There’s a new cuddler cup.
And a stuffed monkey toy for a dog.
As I peer closer, I stifle a laugh. In the middle of the dog bed is a hot pink vibrator promising “fantastic booty stimulation.”
I pick up the little thing, turning it around with avid curiosity.
I’ve never let anyone in through the backdoor, but I can’t stop thinking about how it might feel to be overwhelmed by these two men at once.
To feel them both inside me at the same time.
I love when they crowd me, when they press their big, strong bodies against me.
It’s a heady thought, taking both at the same time, but double penetration isn’t number four. I’ll need to work my way up to that kind of kink.
I’m about to put the vibrator back down when I spot a pastel-yellow card in the cuddler cup too. I flip it open.
Toys for both of you.
Your roomies
My heart glows. I swear it shines in my chest. Chase said they got me the butterfly together the other day, and I try to picture the scene.
Did they shop for me online? Did they do more shopping today?
I doubt they went to a sex shop together in person, but did they go to a dog toy shop for my favorite critter?
With a smile I can’t erase, and a blooming, giddy feeling in my chest, I flop down on the couch, holding the card. They’re so good to me, and I’m determined to understand them more. To connect with them.
With my dog at my side, I flip back and forth on the TV between the Avengers game and the Sea Dogs game, rooting for both teams and both men.
Leaning close to the screen, I try to follow the action as Chase zips around the ice. He’s a blur of speed and agility as he maneuvers through the other players, weaving in and out, dodging opponents and passing to his teammates.
Then, in a blink he jumps off the ice. Shifts, the guys told me the other night, and I don’t entirely get why or how, but I’ll figure it out. Soon, he’s jumping back over the boards, and he’s on the ice again.
The tension in me ratchets up as I watch. When he makes a shot that misses by mere inches, my heart aches for him.
When I switch to Ryker’s game, I shout “yes” a mere minute later as he blocks a shot on goal.
I can almost feel his intensity through the screen.
His ferocity as he skates. One lesson doesn’t make me an expert, but I can read people, and it sure seems like he’s frustrating the hell out of his opponent.
As I watch, I feel like I understand both of them more deeply than before.
Hockey isn’t just a game for them. For Chase, it’s his passion, his drive, and a way to fulfill a promise.
For Ryker, I suspect it’s part of his whole protector side.
It’s how he takes care of his mom and sisters since his father didn’t.
It’s not just a silly game with sticks and stuff. Hockey is to them what books are to me—part of my soul.
* * *
But the Sea Dogs lose while the Avengers win.
Will Chase beat himself up again? Or will he need to fuck out the loss, like he did on Monday morning?
I squirm a little at the thought of an anger bang.
And on that note, a shower is always a good idea, so I take a quick one, and I’ve just pulled on a tank top and sleep shorts when a yawn pummels me.
Well, it is after ten.
That’s prime reading hour, so I grab my little guy and slide into bed, then open my Kindle.
I never finished the Hazel Valentine—nightly sex is putting a serious crimp in my reading style.
I devour more of the tale, till my eyes flutter, and my thoughts scatter to bookstore meet-ups, and tacos, and toys, and wedding dates this weekend.
They blur together for a long time until in the distance, I hear the faint sound of a door unlocking.