Chapter 2
2
“How are you doing?” Callie winced when a shout happened near her ear. “Sorry about that, some people think that shouting someone in a fifteen-hundred race is going to get them moving faster.”
Daisy laughed, running her fingers through her hair, her curls falling back over her shoulders.
“Sounds like you’re having a good time there. How are the boys getting on?”
“Pretty good. I’m sure Matt is going to wipe the floor, but Ben is giving it a good go.” Callie turned the camera on her phone around and pointed it towards the pool. “Matt’s in the middle and Ben is in the end lane closest to us.”
“He’s not doing bad. Looks like those extra lessons have paid off.” Daisy sounded amused. “He said that he wished that he had Matt’s stamina, and I think he’s been working on that.”
Callie laughed.
“I don’t think he can keep up with Matt. I don’t know how he manages to be so fast, either.”
It was nice to see her friend, even if it was at the end of a video call. Callie had been looking forward to spending time with all of them, but Daisy said that her sickness bug was worse than she thought, and she wouldn’t be able to race. She was practically bedbound, according to her. Callie was more worried about her than she was about her own racing now. Daisy was one of those people who was always healthy and nothing seemed to affect her, so for this to happen was surprising.
If only she was able to come with them. Daisy would be a good buffer between her and the boys.
“How’s the house?” Daisy asked. “And how was last night? Ben said that he cooked for everyone. Thai curry or something, was it?”
“Yes. It was delicious. I really enjoyed it.” Callie leaned against the wall, trying to find a place where it was cooler. Why was it so hot on poolside? “I was apprehensive about eating his food, but I was very surprised.”
“I told you that you would be fine. Wait until you eat the stuffed chicken tonight. I know you’re going to love that.”
“With feta cheese and pine nuts?”
Daisy winked.
“You never know. You might find that you like it.”
Callie wasn’t sure about that. She had an aversion to some foods, which made it difficult trying new things. But Ben was an excellent cook, and he had made the thai curry just perfect. Callie loved a good curry, but she had never eaten a thai curry, so she easily wolfed it down. Stuffed chicken, on the other hand, was going to be a little more challenging.
“Should you be talking about food, Daisy? I don’t want you to be sick thinking about it.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. Talking about food isn’t going to hurt me.” Daisy grimaced. “Keeping it down without it going straight through me is another matter, I think. That’s less fun.”
“I can imagine. What do you think you picked up?”
“Fuck knows. I’ve got the doctor’s on Monday, so I’ll find out if there’s anything it could be. Although knowing my luck, I’ll end up becoming something you put in the medical books because you have no idea.”
Callie giggled. She could definitely see that happening. She felt better talking to her friend. She knew so many people competing, everyone having travelled to Cardiff to take part, but nothing beat her closest friends. Daisy, Ben and Matt were people she could class as best friends, and Callie was glad that it was them she was spending time with.
She just wished that she would stop thinking about seeing what the rest of Ben and Matt’s bodies looked like under their trunks. Staring at their crotches while they were preparing to race was not a good idea. Callie felt like people were staring at her, catching her openly gawking at them.
“Anyway, how was last night?” Daisy suddenly looked sly, waggling her eyebrows. “Got up to anything?”
“What? We just sat and chilled, for the most part.”
“Is that all?”
“Well, we did put on ‘Catchphrase’ onto the TV and competed to see who could get the most catchphrases. I won.”
Daisy sniggered.
“Of course you did. But that’s not what I was talking about.”
“What?”
“Come on, Callie. You didn’t do anything with either of those?”
It took a moment for Callie to figure out what her friend was saying. She almost dropped her phone, fumbling as she caught it again.
“You…you think I would try and seduce one of them?”
“Or both of them.”
“Daisy!”
“Hey, don’t look at me like that. I’ve listened to you gushing about how gorgeous the two of them are.” Daisy held up a hand. “I can’t say anything, they don’t rub me that way…”
“Wrong choice of words, Daisy,” Callie groaned.
“Sorry, but you know what I mean. You’ve got a perfect opportunity to be with one of them…or maybe both…” Daisy winked again. “So why not make the most of it? You’ve got two more nights before you’ve got to come home, so why not?”
Callie couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She had spoken to Daisy before about her crush on Matt, but had she said anything about Ben? True, she felt a fluttering of something whenever Ben smiled at her, but Callie had ignored it. Mostly because, at the time, she had been with Drew and she wasn’t about to ruin things there. But now she was single, it was getting harder to ignore.
She could appreciate a good-looking guy, but two of them? That felt like it should be illegal.
“Daisy…”
“What? Are you seriously telling me you haven’t thought about it?”
Daisy looked like she was enjoying herself with this teasing. Callie took a deep breath, trying to bring her scattered thoughts back.
“I’m not planning on doing anything with either of them.”
“Why not? You’re single now. So are they. If you’re all consenting adults, what’s the problem?”
“They don’t look at me like that, for the most part,” Callie shot back, looking all around her. There were people around, mostly warming up for their races or getting on with their own conversations. Nobody seemed to be paying attention to her. Even so, she moved along the viewing gallery and into the hallway, which felt like a relief with the cooler air wafting around. “I’m not going to waste my time flirting with a couple of people who aren’t going to like me in the same way.”
Daisy raised her eyebrows. Now she was looking more animated than she had been when Callie first called her.
“What makes you think they don’t?”
“Because I know. I’m not their type, Daisy.”
“But I know that Matt fancies you.”
That stopped Callie in her tracks.
“Excuse me? What did you say?”
“He and I were talking at Christmas. When we all took you out for a meal as an early birthday present? We went to the bar for drinks, and Matt said to me that he’s fancied you rotten for a while, but you were with Drew. Now you’re single, and he’s too shy to say anything.”
Callie felt like she was in a weird dream. She shook her head.
“You can’t be serious, Daisy. You’re blowing smoke up my arse, aren’t you?”
“No, of course I’m not. This is serious. Matt does like you in that way.” Daisy smirked. “And Ben has made a comment that if he had a chance, he wouldn’t turn it down.”
“What?”
Callie had to catch her phone as it slipped from her hand. Daisy laughed.
“You should see your face right now.”
“I’m glad you’re feeling better if you can laugh like that,” Callie said snidely.
“Well, it is quite funny. You’ve considered both guys pretty hot before, and now the feeling is mutual…”
“That’s not the point!”
“Why not? You’re all adults, yes? If you’ve got their attention and nobody else is in the way, might as well make the most of it.” Daisy looked like she was enjoying herself with this. “I know having a threesome is one of your fantasies.”
Callie was beginning to wish that she hadn’t said anything to Daisy now. It was coming back to bite her. She looked around, glad that there was nobody about. Even the cool air wasn’t making her hot face cool down.
“You’re really not helping right now, Daisy.”
“You want help with this? Leave me out of it,” Daisy howled.
“This isn’t funny!”
“Well, if you saw your face, you would as well. Just enjoy yourself. Be selfish for once.”
“You sound like Matt,” Callie muttered. “He said the same thing last night.”
“Then you should be selfish. You’re the most selfless person I know, and I think you should change that, just for this weekend.” Daisy was beginning to look like the Cheshire cat with her smile. “I think you’ll enjoy it. Those two will help out with whatever fantasies you want.”
“Daisy…”
“Anyway, I’d better go,” Daisy now sounded rushed, and the camera was moving everywhere, blurring her face. “I need to get to the bathroom. Talk to you later!”
“Daisy!”
But Daisy had hung up, leaving Callie just staring at her phone. Groaning, she put her phone away. Why did this have to happen now? Why couldn’t Daisy be here instead of back home?
Now her friend had mentioned the threesome, Callie was sure she wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about it for the rest of the weekend. So much for this being more relaxing than stressful.
The day had gotten better than Callie had anticipated. Given she had needed to cut down on training and working out because she needed to look after her kids alone, taking four seconds off her two-hundred backstroke time was a surprise. She was pumped when she got out, her legs shaking from the effort. It wasn’t a race she normally did so she was pleased with that.
The only problem was it had completely sapped the energy out of her, and Callie felt floppy after that. She almost fell up the steps going to collect her things to get changed.
“Maybe we should have driven instead of walked,” Matt laughed as Callie lagged behind them along the street. “Callie’s going to be crawling in a minute.”
“It’s fine,” Callie answered before Ben could respond. “I need the exercise.”
Ben fell back and gestured at Callie’s gym bag, which she had put on her bag like a backpack.
“Give me your bag.”
“What?”
“I’ll carry you. You’re buckling.”
“But…”
“Don’t argue. I can manage another bag.”
Confused, Callie managed to get her bag off her shoulders. Ben had never done this before. He was courteous, but he had never offered to carry her bags. Callie would have been too embarrassed to ask, anyway; she was not entitled.
Still, who was she to argue? A handsome guy offering to carry her bags was not something Callie came across often, if at all.
“Come here.” Matt was suddenly on her other side, smiling as he slipped an arm around her waist. “Lean on me.”
“What is going on here?”
“Why do you say that?”
Callie looked from Matt to Ben and back again. They were both watching her, and while their expressions were innocent Callie felt like they were both stripping her with their eyes. Her skin felt hot, and she wondered if it was from the thirty-minute walk or from them looking at her.
“You two are being far too nice to me. I feel like I’m about to be ambushed.”
Ben laughed. That sound was enough to make Callie fight back a groan. God, she enjoyed hearing that.
“You think we’re being suspicious because we’re being nice?”
“Yes.”
“Fair point. Anyway, you’re clearly dropping, so we thought we’d help.” Ben adjusted his hold on Callie’s gym bag and nodded at her. “Let’s get you back. I’m sure you could do with a bath to relax.”
Callie wasn’t so sure about that. She had tried to have a bath in the square tub already, and the bath filled up incredibly slowly. Plus there was a frosted glass window next to the bathroom. Despite not having windows in the next house at that level, it still felt exposed. Also, who put a frosted window in the bathroom door opposite the toilet? Right next to the boy’s bedroom?
But a bath sounded better than a shower. Callie just wanted to sit down.
Too tired to argue, she leaned against Matt and allowed them to help her back to the house. He was almost a foot taller than her, so she was leaning her head against his chest as he walked her. His body was as solid as it looked, nice and warm. This was the first time Matt had held her - he was not someone who gave people hugs, neither was Ben - and it felt really good. Callie wanted to put her arms around him and snuggle in close. Even the smell of chlorine would be enticing.
But she didn’t. She didn’t want Matt to pull away because she was doing something that made everyone uncomfortable.
When they got back to the house, Ben got in first and put the bags down in the kitchen.
“That’s day one done. Not too bad for a haul so far.”
“You mean you and Matt getting medals?” Callie asked as she leaned against the counter. “Or are you going to complain about you getting a bronze when you didn’t have to beat anyone?”
“I still got something.”
Callie made a face.
“Thanks for making me feel better. Fifth out of five.”
“Hey, you’ll get there,” Matt assured her, squeezing her waist. “Once you get sorted again, you’ll be speeding along like everyone else.”
“I wish I was faster.”
“And you will be.” Ben winked as he got his medal out of his bag. “You just need to pull your finger out.”
What Callie needed was more time and energy - and money - to work on her body so she could evenly match the people in her age group. But she was a mother with curves and limited on money. She would have to do it within her means, and a little slower than everyone else.
“Anyway,” Ben went on, “I thought you were going to have a bath. That will do you good after your face.”
“Yes, Dad.” Callie rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry about me. I might just lie down in my room. I’m just worn out.”
Matt and Ben exchanged glances, which made Callie wonder what was going on between them. They had been doing this since Callie met them to travel down to Wales, but they had said nothing about it.
Something was off.
“If you’re sure?” Matt cleared his throat. “Do you want any help getting upstairs?”
“You going to tuck me in or something?”
The words were out of Callie’s mouth before she could stop herself. Then she felt her face getting warm with Ben looking amused and Matt raising his eyebrows. Pulling away from Matt, Callie moved towards the door.
“I…I’ll go and…I mean…see you later.”
Fuck, that was embarrassing. She should have kept her mouth shut instead of coming back with her usual quips. Matt and Ben were going to think she was bonkers. Although, Callie thought as she climbed the stairs, she wouldn’t mind being tucked into bed by those two. Preferably naked. All of them.
Fuck, she needed to be careful where her imagination went, especially with those two so close by.
Callie had planned to call her kids and see how they were doing, but she just needed to have a lie-down first. Rest her eyes for a moment. It was cool and quiet in her room, compared to the bright lights and the noise of the swimming pool. Her head was throbbing with that, even almost an hour later.
She was going to have a migraine come on if she wasn’t careful.
Just close her eyes for a moment and soak up the quiet…
Callie awoke feeling someone lifting her legs and moving them. She gasped and jerked away, only to lose her balance and fall off the bed.
“Whoa, careful!” Ben caught her, heaving her back onto the mattress. “You’ll really do yourself a mischief if you do that.”
“Ben?” Callie stared at him. “What are you doing in here?”
“I came to check on you. It’s been almost an hour since you came up here, and you were half-off the bed.” Ben shifted Callie further onto the bed. “I thought you might be more comfortable.”
“An hour?” Callie fumbled for her phone, which had ended up under her. She groaned when she saw the time. “Shit. I must have been more tired than I thought.”
“You did work hard earlier.” Ben sat on the edge of the bed. “And you’ve been looking after two children mostly on your own. I’m surprised that you’ve got any energy left after that.”
“They’re not that bad. I’m sure it will get better in a few years when they’re both teenagers.” Callie sighed. “I’m looking forward to that. A bit more freedom.”
Ben smiled.
“That’s definitely a game-changer. I certainly enjoyed it when my kids became teens.”
“Stroppy attitudes but more independence?”
“Pretty much.”
Callie realised that Ben’ hand was on her leg, his fingers curling on the inside of her thigh. His touch was warm through her legs. Either he had no idea he was doing that, or he did and he was teasing her. His expression wasn’t giving anything away. Callie knew she should tell him to move his hand, but she didn’t want to. In fact, she wanted him to shift his hand up a little higher, closer to her crotch.
Her clit was throbbing at the thought of it. Callie hoped that she could contain herself from squirming.
“Do you still want that bath?” Ben asked. “I can run you one if you want.”
“Why are you doing this, Ben?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why are you being so nice to me? Not that you aren’t normally, but this is something else. It’s like you and Matt were waiting on me.” Callie peered at him. “What are you up to?”
Ben tilted his head to one side, regarding her thoughtfully.
“You think we have an ulterior motive or something?”
“I don’t know. You tell me.”
Ben leaned towards her. Callie’s breathing quickened as he came closer. Fuck, was he actually going to kiss her? She wanted to go to him and kiss him back, but she waited. Nothing was worse than getting an assumption wrong.
He didn’t kiss her. But his mouth was so close that his breath tickled her lips. Callie had to stop herself from licking her lips.
“When we see a woman who’s in need of being taken care of, Matt and I do what we can to…relieve the stress.” He smiled. “Trust me, we haven’t even started yet.”
The statement didn’t sound sexual, but the sentiment behind it…Callie wanted to squeeze her thighs together to ease the throbbing, but Ben still had his hand on her thigh. If she did that, though…
“Anyway, I’ll run that bath for you. It’s no trouble at all.” Ben squeezed her thigh before he stood up, slowly dragging his fingers away. “You’ve got the rest of the afternoon to chill. Don’t forget I’m doing dinner tonight. I’m sure you’ll be hungry.”
Callie was hungry, but she wasn’t about to say that out loud. Right now, she wasn’t entirely sure if she was hungry for food or something else.
She held back a groan until Ben left the room, closing the door behind him. Not for the first time, she wished that Daisy was with her. It would stop this sexual tension from building.
Because that’s what it was. Ben and Matt had never behaved like this before, and now it was overwhelming.
What was she supposed to do with that?