26 - Cabin Rules #3
The afternoon unfolds easily. We drink beer on the deck, bundled in jackets against the cold.
Pedro makes chili that’s spicy enough to make my eyes water.
Ty tells stories about calls gone wrong, disasters averted, the time a guy insisted he was having a heart attack, but it turned out to be a panic attack from eating too many edibles.
“He kept saying ‘I’m dying, I’m dying,’” Ty says. “And I’m like, sir, you’re not dying, you just ate a whole bag of gummies.”
“What happened?” I ask.
“We sat with him for an hour, watching cartoons until he calmed down. Nicest guy once he stopped thinking he was dying.”
Eli is sitting next to me, close enough that our knees touch when one of us shifts. I’m aware of the contact every single second. I don’t move away. Neither does he.
Jade has migrated toward Pedro. They’re sharing a blanket on the other end of the deck, talking low, laughing. She looks relaxed. Happy. In her element.
I catch Eli watching me.
“What?” I ask.
“Nothing.” He smiles. “Just glad you came.”
“You said that already.”
“Still true.”
After dinner, we end up in the living room. Fire going. More drinks, but no one’s drunk. Just loose. Warm.
Ty pulls out a Jenga set and drops it on the coffee table.
“House rules,” he says. “Every block has a dare on it. You pull it, you do it.”
“What kinds of dares?” I ask.
“You’ll see.”
The first few rounds are tame. Noah has to do an impression of his worst boss. Pedro has to text an ex something nice. Jade pulls “kiss the person to your left” and plants one on Pedro that goes on long enough for Ty to start a slow clap.
My turn. I pull a block carefully, trying not to topple the tower. Read it.
Describe your biggest fantasy in three words or less.
“Being the center,” I say, keeping my voice light. Don’t look at anyone specific.
“Of what?” Ty asks.
“Wouldn’t you like to know.” I set the block down. “Next.”
Eli pulls. His dare is a celebrity impression. He does a terrible Matthew McConaughey that makes everyone laugh. The tower wobbles but holds.
A few rounds later, I pull again.
Have you ever been with more than one person at once?
“Yes,” I say. Read the block aloud so everyone knows I’m not dodging. “Once. In college.”
“And?” Pedro grins.
“And it was fun.” I take a sip of my drink. “But I wasn’t the center that time.”
The room gets a little quieter. Jade is smiling at me. I’ve said more than I meant to. Or maybe exactly what I meant to.
Ty whistles low. “Noted.”
The game keeps going. Jade shares a story about a hookup that involved a balcony and a confused room service guy.
Noah admits he’s never had a one-night stand, which makes everyone protest until he clarifies he’s just picky, not prudish.
Pedro confesses he has a thing for being told what to do, and Jade’s eyes light up in a way that makes me laugh.
I’m loosening up. The beer helps. The fire helps. The way Eli keeps glancing at me helps most of all.
My turn again. I pull a block. Read it.
Let someone spank you.
I look at the block. Look at the room. Everyone’s watching.
“Who’s someone?” I ask.
“Dealer’s choice,” Ty says.
I should just pick. Point at someone. Get it over with. But something in me wants to make it difficult. Wants to see what happens if I don’t make it easy.
“I don’t know,” I say, leaning back. “None of you have made a very compelling case.”
“Oh, she’s bratty,” Pedro says, grinning.
“I’m selective.”
“She’s stalling,” Ty says.
“I’m considering my options.”
I’m playing with fire, and I know it. Part of me wants someone to just take over. To make the decision for me. But I can’t ask for that. I don’t know how.
Jade sighs and sets down her drink. “Okay, let me show you how to handle her when she gets like this.”
My pulse spikes. I know that tone. I know what’s coming.
“Jade—”
“Ass up,” she says. Calm, like she’s asking me to pass the salt.
My face is burning. Everyone is watching. I could say no. I could laugh it off. I could—
I bend over the arm of the couch.
The first smack lands over my jeans. Not hard. Just firm. My breath catches.
“See?” Jade says to the room. “She’s not difficult. She just needs proper guidance.”
Another smack. Harder this time. Heat blooms across my skin. I make a sound I wasn’t planning on.
“You doing okay?” Jade asks. Her hand rests on my lower back. Warm. Checking in.
“Yeah.” My voice is smaller than I want it to be. “I’m okay.”
“Good.” Her fingers hook into the waistband of my jeans. “Can I?”
I nod. I can’t look at anyone. I don’t want to see their faces. I just want—
She tugs my jeans down to my thighs. I’m in my underwear now. Plain black cotton. Nothing fancy. Cool air on my skin. I hear someone inhale.
Another smack. Right on my ass. I gasp. My hips push back without my permission.
“That smile isn’t fake,” Jade tells them. Her hand rubs gentle circles where she just hit. “If she really wants you to stop, she’ll say something random. Pumpkins, probably. Until you hear pumpkins, she’s happy.”
One more smack. I whimper.
Jade pulls my jeans back up. Pats my ass gently. “Good girl.”
I straighten up. Pull my jeans the rest of the way up. My face is flushed, but I’m smiling. I can’t help it.
“Those were all my secrets,” I say, trying for indignant, and landing somewhere closer to grateful.
“You were going to waste the whole night being coy.” Jade shrugs. “You’re welcome.”
The room is quiet for a beat. Then Ty laughs.
“Well,” he says, “that was educational.”
“Pumpkins,” Pedro repeats. “Got it.”
I risk a glance around. No one looks horrified. No one looks like they think less of me. Ty is grinning. Noah is nodding slowly, like something just made sense. Eli is watching me with an expression I can’t quite read. Warm. Interested. Patient.
Jade stretches. Looks at Pedro. “All right, I’ve done my good deed for the night.
” She stands up. Crosses to where he’s sitting.
Climbs into his lap like she belongs there.
Kisses him, long and slow. When she pulls back, she’s smiling.
“Here’s what I want,” she says, low enough that I almost don’t hear it.
Pedro grins. His hands slide under her thighs, and he stands, lifting her with him. Her legs wrap around his back.
“Don’t wait up,” Jade calls over her shoulder. They disappear down the hallway.
And then it’s just me. And Eli. And Ty. And Noah.
I should feel exposed. Embarrassed. I just got spanked in front of a room full of men, and my best friend told them my safe word.
Instead, I feel lighter, like something I’ve been carrying just got set down.
I move to the couch, sit next to Eli, closer than before.
His hand finds my knee. Warm. Steady. He doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t push. Just lets it rest there.
I lean into him slightly. Let my shoulder touch his.
This is happening. I’m letting it happen.
I’m glad.
Pedro appears in the hallway. Boxers only, hair mussed, grinning like he just won something.
He surveys the room. Points at Noah.
“Hey. More, the merrier.”
Noah considers for about two seconds. Then he stands, pulling his shirt over his head as he walks toward the hallway.
“Have fun,” he says over his shoulder. And he’s gone.
Now it’s just me. And Eli. And Ty.
The fire crackles. Eli’s hand is still on my knee. Warm. Patient.
“So,” Ty says. He’s moved to the armchair across from us. Watching. “That was something.”
“Jade doesn’t do subtle,” I say.
“Neither did you.” He grins. “Bent right over when she told you to.”
My face heats, but I don’t look away.
Eli’s thumb traces a circle on my knee. Slow. Deliberate.
“Pumpkins, right?” Ty asks from the armchair.
“Yeah, it was pumpkins, wasn’t it?” Eli looks at me.
I nod. “Yeah, pumpkins.”
Eli smiles. That slow, patient smile. “I’d love to see you bent over again.”
My stomach flips. I stand up. My hands go to the button of my jeans.
“Jade pulled these back up too soon, anyway,” I say.
I push them down my legs. Step out of them. I’m in my underwear again. Black cotton. Nothing fancy. But the way they’re both looking at me makes me feel like the sexiest woman alive.
Eli nods toward the couch. “Bend over.”
I walk to the arm of the couch. Bend over it. The leather is cool against my belly.
His hand rests on my lower back. Warm. Then it’s gone.
The first smack lands. Lighter than Jade. Testing. Learning.
Another. A little harder.
“You want more?” he asks.
I nod.
He continues. Steady rhythm. Each one just slightly harder than the last. Patient.
My skin warms under his hand. Pink spreading across my ass.
By the time he’s hitting as hard as Jade did, I’m already floating. Already wet. Already wanting.
The couch shifts. Ty is in front of me now, sitting on the cushions. His hand finds my chin, tilts my face up. He’s watching me get spanked. Watching my face every time Eli’s hand lands.
Another smack. I whimper. Ty’s thumb traces my lower lip.
“She wants more,” he says.
“I know.” Eli spanks me harder now. I cry out.
My hands grip the couch cushion. Ty leans down. Kisses me. Soft at first, then deeper, swallowing the sounds I make every time Eli’s hand connects.
I’m caught between them. Eli behind me, Ty in front. Exactly where I wanted to be.
Eli’s hand slides between my legs. Over my underwear. I’m soaked. He makes a low sound.
“She’s ready,” he says.
“I can see that.” Ty is still kissing me. His hand slides down my neck, my shoulder.
Eli hooks his fingers into my underwear. Pulls them down. I step out of them without being asked.
Now I’m naked from the waist down. Bent over the couch. Two men on either side of me.
Eli’s fingers trace through my wetness. Slow. Teasing. I push back against his hand.
“Greedy,” he says. But he gives me what I want. Two fingers sliding inside.
I moan into Ty’s mouth. He pulls back. Looks down at me.
“I want to taste you,” he says.
They rearrange me. I end up on my back on the couch, legs spread. Ty kneels on the floor between them. Eli sits near my head, his hand stroking my hair.
Ty’s mouth finds me. Hot. Eager. My hips buck off the couch.