Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
B
"How did it go?"
I pull my jacket off and toss it onto the chair in the living room. "It was good."
Fia eyes my jacket on the chair. "Lou's coming over later."
"Fuck, I forgot about that." I pick it up and walk over to the hooks on the wall and hang it up.
Whenever my older sister comes over, I try my hardest to appear tidy, so she has fewer things to nag me about.
I love my sister to pieces, but she is extremely type A, and I am.....
not. We lived together for a year and a half when I first graduated from college and moved to the Twin Cities.
Her college boyfriend had just dumped her, and she was in a really bad place.
That made her a lot less picky about my shit lying all around the apartment, but over time, as she started to get out of her funk, she became more vocal about her dislike for my habits.
When she finally moved in with her boyfriend, Sam, I was free to live my crazy tornado life in more spaces than just my bedroom.
And if we're being real, I'm not that messy.
She just has a low tolerance for my chaos.
"So, how was seeing him again? Did it reignite all those butterflies you shoved down?"
"I don't get butterflies, Fia."
"Only for me then?"
"Of course, only for you." I blow her a kiss through the air, and she dramatically catches it and slaps her hand to her chest.
Fia and I both know we’re nothing more than good friends and roommates who fuck.
When it comes to committed relationships, we're on the same wavelength.
That's what makes living with her so easy.
I don't have to explain that every person I go on a date with isn't the one who'll change me, like my sister and Iris so often like to believe.
They're both hopeless romantics, and that's worked out well for them, but that's not how I roll.
The sooner they both accept that, the less agony I'll put them through every time I cut someone off.
There's an aggressive knock, followed by the front door—which I forgot to lock behind me—flying open. Speaking of my overly optimistic best friend, Iris comes rushing through the door.
"How did it go?!"
Iris lands on the couch next to Fia, leaving me to close the door.
"I was just telling Fia here that there's nothing to report. I walked in, he gave me my jacket, then I left."
"That's not true." Iris is beaming from ear to ear, and it's starting to freak me out. "I was following your location, and you were there for at least fifteen minutes."
That's how she knew I was finally home. "So?"
"So...grabbing your jacket and leaving doesn't take fifteen minutes."
"Neither does whatever your little imagination is dreaming up for me."
"Oh, come on. You can't tell me that you don't ever have quickies that last less than ten minutes."
"Fine, I do. But that's not what was happening today. I ran into Raina, the other tattoo artist who was supposed to do my newest piece. We chatted for a bit before I even saw Kass."
Fia and Iris look at each other like I'm full of shit.
"I'm serious! You guys know I wouldn't fuck someone that hot and not tell you."
Fia ponders something for a second. "I've never actually seen a picture of him."
"What?" Iris looks appalled at Fia's confession. "Ohmygod, let me show you!" She whips out her phone and starts frantically tapping the screen until she finds what she's looking for.
Fia slowly scrolls through the photos. "Fuck, B. He's fine."
Iris takes her phone back from Fia. "I can't believe you haven't asked to see a picture of him yet. Or that you haven't looked him up yourself."
"I never look up the people B sleeps with. There's no point." Fia glances over at me. "It's not like we'll ever actually get to meet them."
The cogs start turning in my head. I couldn’t. No. Yes. Maybe? "You could."
Iris's face lights up again. "You're going to introduce us to him?"
"Not you."
Her face contorts, like she's actually taking offense to that. "What? But you just—"
"Fia can meet him."
Fia's eyebrow cocks up. "Why me?"
Am I really going to do this? Is this really how I want to handle these complicated feelings I don't know how to process? Yes, it is. Anything to divert the attention away from me. Anything to prove to them that this is no different than every other time I've hooked up with someone.
"Because I want you to fuck him."
Iris chokes on…air? Whatever it is, her mouth is hanging open, and she's making a sound I don't recognize. When she catches her breath, she spits out, "You can't be serious."
"I am. You guys think I have some deep, hidden feelings for this guy, and I'm going to prove to you that I don't."
"And having me fuck him is going to prove that?"
I shrug. "If I really liked him, like you guys think I do, would I be okay with you fucking him?"
Fia doesn't look convinced. "I'm not actually sure. Sharing has never bothered you before."
"That's my point. If my feelings toward him were different, then I would care. Right? The fact that I don't care proves he's just like everyone else. It proves that he's nobody to me."
Fia crosses her arms over her chest, a sly grin on her face. "Okay, I'll play along. But under one condition."
"What's that?"
"You have to join us."
Iris's mouth is still open. "Ohmygod! You guys are joking, right? I mean, I know you guys do wild things. You tell me about them all the time, but I've only ever heard about them after the fact. I've never been here for the planning part of it."
"We usually don't plan out these sorts of things. They just sort of happen."
I stare Fia down. She's testing me. The question is, what answer gets me to pass her silent test? Do I want to be there with them? Fia and I have had threesomes—and more—with other people before. It's never fazed me then, so why should it now?
"Fine. I'll join. But he has to agree to it first."
"Of course." She nods. "Why don't you text him right now?"
"Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it!" Iris is practically bouncing out of her skin. She's so adorable. She's always been way more vanilla than me, but she loves living vicariously through my sexcapades.
"Fine." I grab my phone out of my pocket and pull up our messages. "But no one's allowed to say anything to Lou about this."
KASS
I'm just finishing cleaning up from my late session before I head over to Raina's to pick up Clover, when I notice a text from B.
I can't help the smile that forces its way onto my face. I had hoped she'd reach out, but after her cold exit, I wasn't sure. I thought maybe I'd have to be the one to reach out again, but here she is. She's always surprising me.
B
I have a question for you.
Kass
What's that?
B
Have you ever had a threesome?
I stand there, in the middle of my office, staring at my phone screen for far too long. What the actual fuck? This is not what I was expecting her to ask. Not that I ever know what's going to come out of her mouth, but still... A threesome?
I debate how I want to respond before I decide to opt for honesty.
Kass
I have.
B
Interested in another one?
Kass
With who?
B
With me.
Kass
And...?
I mean, typically, there's a third person involved. Unless your split personalities count as two people.
B
Very funny.
She's my friend.
Kass
Can I get a little more information than that before I sign a deal with the devil?
B
I'm flattered.
She’s bi, hot, and good in bed. What else do you need to know?
Kass
She knows about me?
B
She knows of you, yes.
Kass
So you talk about me?
B
Don't flatter yourself too much. I tell her a lot of things.
Kass
Well, you must have had at least a little fun with me to be inviting a friend to join.
B
Yes or no?
Kass
Can I think about it?
B
What's there to think about?
Before I can think of an appropriate response that won't earn me a sarcastic comeback, B sends a picture. It's of her and a girl with dark curly hair, tanned skin, and eyes that could stop traffic. Okay, she's definitely hot, but why is B doing this?
B
She and I have had threesomes together before, so I can promise you we know how to share well. No drama. Just fun.
Are you in?
I think about it. I'd much rather have B to myself, but if all she's willing to give me right now is a shared version of her, I'll take it.
Plus, I haven't had group sex in a while.
It's always been fun for me, so why the hell not do it with the girl I can't get out of my head?
This could go really well or really bad. Let's hope it's the former.
Kass
Okay, I'll do it.
B
You free on Saturday?
Kass
I need to check a few things first, but I should be free.
I'll let you know by the end of the night.
B
Sounds good.
Kass
My place or yours?
B
You can come here.
Kass
Letting me step into your world, huh?
Isn't that a little too vulnerable for you?
B
No.
Now shut up before I change my mind.
Kass
I'm just teasing.
I would like to go over some ground rules ahead of time if that's cool. You know, to get an idea of everyone's likes, dislikes, what we're looking to get out of this, etc.
B
How responsible of you.
Kass
I just want to make sure you ladies have a great time.
*NEW GROUP CHAT CREATED
Unknown number
Hey Kass, this is Fia.
B said you're down to have a little fun?
Kass
Did she also tell you that she threatened my life if I didn't agree?
B
I DID NOT
FIA
Hahahah. I believe that.
Kass
I have to drive home now, so I won't be on my phone, but I would love to chat more about this when I get home.
In the meantime, if you ladies want to type out some expectations and boundaries, that would be greatly appreciated.
FIA
Mmmmmmm, a man who communicates. We love it
Raina sets a glass of wine in front of me and takes a seat at the table. "How was the rest of your day?"
"Didn't get as far on my last big piece as I wanted to, so we'll have to schedule another session, but otherwise it was good. Pretty uneventful. How was Clover?"
"A sassy sweetheart, per usual. Today she told me that she kicked rocks at a boy on the playground for calling her friend fat."
"Oh god, did she get in trouble?"
"Of course not. Our girl knows how to do shit and not get caught."
We both laugh and take a sip of our wine.
Raina sets her glass down and sighs. "I love that girl."
"I'm glad." This is my chance to ask her. "Since you love her so much, would you maybe want to spend Saturday night with her?"
"You need her to spend the night here?" I can already see her mind running through a hundred reasons as to why I'd need her to watch Clover. All of them bring a smile to her face that she's trying very hard to hide with her wine glass.
"Yeah, I had some plans come up, and I need a place for her to go."
"Plans, huh? What kind of plans?" She lifts her eyebrows a few times.
I glance over my shoulder into the hallway, just to make sure the girls aren't eavesdropping. "Fun plans."
Now it's me who's struggling to contain all my feelings bubbling just under the surface.
"With little Ms. Purple Hair?"
"Yeah...and one other person."
Raina slams her wine glass down so hard I'm shocked it doesn't break. She throws her head back and cries. "Ohhhh to be that young and horny again."
I rush forward to cover her mouth. "Shhhhh. The girls are getting old enough to know what that word means now. Or at least Winnie is, and you know she'll tell Clover."
I remove my hand, and laughter starts booming out of Raina's mouth.
"And you're only eight years older than I am," I say. And what is she even talking about? She goes on dates with women just about as often as I do.
"But you might as well be in your early 20's the way you throw that thing around." She gestures towards my crotch, and I swat her hand away.
"Knock it off. You know I'm not as wild as I once was."
"Boy, do I ever. When you were going through it with Daisy, you threw your dick at anything with a pulse. Whatever would numb the pain of rejection."
The mention of Daisy kills any laughter that remains in my body. "Yeah...those were some pretty dark days."
Raina, having sensed my sudden melancholy, reaches her hand out to rub my thigh. "Hey. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring her up. Sometimes I forget that she's actually gone and not just going through a phase where she's running away from her feelings for you."
"It's okay. I do too, sometimes." I take in a deep breath and let it out. "The other day I was making dinner, and I kept having the feeling that she was going to show up at my door to pick up Clover."
"That must have been hard."
"It's getting easier."
"Good. I know you haven't really gotten out much in the last two years since she passed. I'll gladly take Clover for the night if it means you get to have a little fun for both of us." She winks at me, and I feel a little bit of the tension in my shoulders release.
"Thanks, Raina. You're a great friend."
"I know I am. And so are you. We both know this give and take is going to go back and forth as long as we're both breathing. That's how true friendships work." She gives my thigh, which I forgot she was holding, a little squeeze before releasing it. "I love ya."
"Love you too."
"Now go get laid by two beautiful women. I want all the dirty details on Sunday when you come to pick up Clover."
"How do you know the third person is a woman?"
"Well, is it?"
"It is."
"Okay, then shut the hell up and promise me you'll tell me everything."
I shake my head and laugh, knowing there's no way I'm going to be able to keep any secrets to myself. "Deal."