9. Nine
Nine
Blake
I lean back in my desk chair, a grin spreading across my face as the printer spits out the pages of our carefully crafted contract. I can’t help but chuckle at Cole and Landon’s giddy expressions. I’d like to say they look like kids on Christmas morning, but it’s better.
Getting Jasmine to agree to more time with us feels massive. The possibility of having her under our tree on Christmas morning is more than any of us thought we were going to get.
Cole nods, his usual calm demeanor cracking. “I never thought I’d be disappointed that a woman only wants sex, no commitment.”
Landon says, “Or that the three of us would be brought to our knees by Trent’s ex.”
It’s truly hard to process. “We have to stick to the long game though.”
The sound of footsteps in the hallway catches our attention. Trent walks past our shared home office, then doubles back and leans against the doorframe. “What’s got you guys so amped up? Did we finally make progress with the national parks partnership?”
Our high shifts to nervousness.
The three of us exchange quick glances, and I clear my throat. “Uh, not exactly.”
He waits for one of us to explain.
I go for it. “You gotta promise not to get mad.”
Trent schools his expression. “Why would I be mad?”
I grab the freshly printed pages from the printer tray and step toward him. “You said you didn’t care, so we’ve been working on this contract for Jasmine.”
“A contract?” Trent’s voice tightens.
I flip through the papers. “To make it clear that we understand she’s a free agent.”
Trent’s expression flickers, a mix of emotions crossing his face before he forces it into neutrality. “That’s cool. If that’s what you want.”
“You sure you’re alright with this?” Landon asks, studying Trent.
“She’ll leave the second you get serious. Don’t come crying to me,” Trent says calmly, but the tension in his shoulders tells a different story.
He slides out of the doorway.
“Are you sure?” Landon asks loudly.
From down the hallway, Trent answers, “That you’re gonna get hurt? A hundred percent.”
Landon taunts him. “I meant, are you sure that you don’t want to wipe our tears?”
No response.
“What a fucking buzzkill.” Landon grabs the papers from me and puts them in a protective sleeve. “Let’s go.”
With our collective mood taken down several notches, we drive to Jasmine’s place to go over the contract. She doesn’t make us wait on the porch this time.
We sit around her small wooden kitchen table. It occurs to me that the white legs and wooden top of the table and chairs match. The chairs are sturdy. She’s done well for herself, even having her own house, but at what cost?
Her finger slides down each page as she meticulously reads the contract, which is pretty simple but we used a fourteen-point font to make it take up a few pages. She looks up, a mix of gratitude and hesitation in her expression.
“This is really thoughtful. I appreciate that you’re respecting my wishes.”
“Of course,” I say, leaning forward. “We want you to feel comfortable and in control.”
She returns her attention to the papers, reads a few more lines, then laughs. “The three of you agree to provide all of the “D” I want.”
“You said…”
“I sure did.”
“I’m impressed that you’re reading the contract,” Landon says. “Most people just sign whatever’s put in front of them.”
“How can both parties be on the same page if we don’t respect each other enough to read what we’re agreeing to?” She taps a finger on the page. “I’m not okay with the clause about not dating anyone else without telling you.”
Cole shifts in his seat. “We’re not saying you can’t.”
“It sounds an awful lot like commitment.”
I superficially defend the clause, as much as it pains me. “We just want to know if you’re seeing anyone other than us.”
“We’re not exclusive.”
“We having unprotected sex and that shouldn’t be taken lightly.”
She waves a finger. “Agreed. But this is supposed to be fun, not controlling.”
“We plan on keeping it fun.” Landon flips the page and points to a line item. “Right here… we explicitly state no commitment. We’re all willing to sign.” Then he mutters, “Against our better judgment.”
“Okay, but…” She handwrites a sentence then turns the paper to us, extending the pen to me first. “You all need to initial this change.”
My heart cringes as I summarize aloud. “Regarding sex partner notifications… No names have to be revealed, and the clause applies to each of us, not just her.” Then I add, “Do you really think you’ll need more than the three of us to stay satisfied?”
She shrugs innocently. “Just keeping my options open.”
I grumble and initial, passing the pen to Cole, then Landon.
Jasmine bites her lip, considering the next page while they add their initials. “I think I need one other item… a termination clause.”
“An opt-out clause?” Landon echoes, confusion evident in his voice.
“Yeah,” Jasmine says, her voice soft but firm. “Something that lets me end everything if I need to.”
Should we be taking Trent’s cautions more seriously? A knot forms in my stomach. “You already have total control, no commitment.”
Jasmine takes a deep breath. “If I invoke the termination clause, it’s over. No calls, no texts, no showing up. Clean break, no questions asked.”
A heavy silence falls over the table. I exchange glances with Cole and Landon, seeing my own uncertainty mirrored in their eyes.
“That seems... pretty final,” Cole says carefully.
Jasmine nods. “It’s important to me.”
I lean back in my chair, processing her words. Part of me wants to argue, to find a compromise, but I can see and hear her determination. Plus, kickback would fly in the face of her statement that she wants no questions asked. What has Babygirl so worried?
My roommates each give me a small nod. I say, “Agreed.”
She adds the clause to the page and we all initial. After she flips to the final page, her tediousness has my heart racing. Will she find a deal breaker? Will she push any of us to a point we can’t agree to? Fuck! What if one of us balks? Can the other two continue?
Her finger slides past each line of ridiculously large print. Only three more lines left.
Two.
One.
No objections.
She sets her hands on either side of the paper. I’m frozen, staring at the signature lines. I can’t speak. Pick up the damn pen already, Babygirl.
“Well?” Landon’s voice has more concern than I’ve ever heard from him.
She lifts her gaze, meeting each of ours in turn. “We’ve got a deal.”
Her words hit my ears, but it’s not until she grabs the pen and signs that I breathe a sigh of relief.
Landon doesn’t even wait for the ink to dry before moving on to the next step in our masterplan. “Ready for your first set of D’s?”
When it was just the three of us guys tossing out ideas, it seemed fine to tease her, in the sense that turnabout’s fair play, but right now my cock is so hard, I wish we’d come up with a different plan.
She licks her lips, tempting me to disregard our earlier stupidity.
Landon plows forward though, taking one of our business cards from his pocket and sliding it across the table. “Our first D, a date .”
Our plan seems absolutely ridiculous now that we’re pushing our chairs away from the table and heading to the door.
Jasmine’s jaw drops as she shifts her attention from the card to us. “You’re leaving? I thought we would…”
“We will,” Cole says.
The fact that we managed to stymy her makes the blue balls a touch more tolerable.
“But wait… what if I’m busy? You can’t expect me to drop everything.”
“ Drop everything…” Landon laughs. “Another D word. Guess you’ll have to decide if you want a date and dinner or if you want to ditch us?”
“Grrr.”
She’s fucking adorable.
“The roof? 6 pm? What does that mean?” She questions the information we wrote on the card.
“Guess you’ll find out when you get there. Would you like us to send a driver for you?”
“No, thanks. I guess you’ll have to wait and see if I can make it.”