Chapter 6 #2
The benches are old, concrete bases with wood slats that creak when I lower myself.
It groans under his weight. He’s sitting too close, but doesn’t seem to notice when digging through the bag.
I set my coffee on the slate beside me and inch away.
The bench gives me away by squeaking more.
It gets a long look from him, and the few inches now between us, so our thighs aren’t touching.
He doesn’t say anything, but the downturn of his lips does.
That’s something with these two.
They’re blunt. Will let you know exactly where you stand. I doubt they’ve ever hidden anything in their lives. Probably never have had too. Must be nice. To be a hundred percent truthful with the person you’re with.
“Do you lie?”
With a box of food in midair, he turns to me. Confusion on his face.
“Huh?”
“Do you lie? To women? To get your way?”
As if in slow motion, he sets the box on his lap and angles toward me.
“Why would I do that?”
The slight breeze lifts the edges of his hair. It’s carefree and light. That’s what I love about the garden. Small actions, like a breeze, erase the false, sterile environment inside.
“Men do. They lie and cheat to get what they want.”
His eyebrows move together. Not confused. Not happy either.
“I’ve been straight up with you, Sofia. Told you exactly what I want. Em has too.”
His palm lands on my lower thigh, his fingers covering my knee. Breaking the touch barrier again gets my attention. The heat rolls off his hand, seeping through my scrubs and into my skin.
“Besides, we don’t need to lie to get what we want. We know our worth.”
The statement falls between us as we trade stares. But he left something out.
“And cheating?”
He laughs. The sound is big and deep. As if letting out a week’s worth of strain with it.
“We share everything, Sofia. Clothes, cars, and our house. There’s no need to cheat. What’s his is mine and vice versa, including women.”
I push his hand off my knee, needing a clear mind if we’re going there. Ever since he told me, my mind has run in circles around that.
“So, by everything, you mean you’ve seen him naked? Like you’ve watched your brother having sex with a woman while you were in the room.”
Another chuckle.
“Everyone has seen Em naked. It’s kind of his thing. But yeah.” He shrugs, going back to getting another container out of the bag. “And I’m more than in the room. I’m fucking her too. Watching them both get off.”
He chuckles again. I can’t help myself. It’s turning into an interrogation, which he doesn’t seem to mind.
“Isn’t that weird?”
“Not to me or him. It’s what we like. I’m sure you have things that you like. Maybe a threesome fantasy?”
He leans over to bump shoulders with mine. The bench squeals in protest. Of course I have. Not that I’d admit that to him. Instead, I continue my detective work.
“Do y’all do things together? Like kiss or touch each other?”
This gets a pause and a look. Going back to that slow motion of putting the third container on the now forming lap stack and dropping the bag to the ground.
“If you’re asking if we’re into incest. The answer is no.”
My hand slaps over my mouth. I didn’t mean for it to sound like that, but it does. My eyes are wide. My mouth clamps shut. Waiting for the awkwardness to pass. His fingertips pull my hand from my face, giving me an easy smile that I don’t deserve.
“Don’t do that. As Em would say, never hide those DSLs.”
He entwines our hands, leaving them on my thigh. He’s burning me in two places. My stomach is tightening with anxiety and want.
“Besides, it’s good to know where the line is, ya know?”
I nod, release his hand, and swipe the box off the top of the pile. At this point, I’ll eat anything, I’m so hungry. He shifts over, putting the two boxes between us and opening his. Somehow, he kept them in some order, as if he could tell which I preferred more. Interesting.
“There’s a line?”
A package of plastic utensils appears out of nowhere when he hands them to me.
“Always.”
“What is it?”
He leans over, then the bench groans, and my stomach tightens more.
“Wherever you set it, Sofia.” His lips are so close to my ear that I feel the words rather than hear them. “And there’s nothing Em, and I won’t do to a lady.”
My thighs squeeze together. The sudden heat causes my pussy to pulse.
I’m very sure he’s not lying. He said he doesn’t or they don’t, and I see that now just by the way he says it.
His body moves back, flipping open the lid to dive into his food.
As if he didn’t say he’ll do any and every dirty thing I’ve ever imagined, or they will.
“This is good.”
His carefree smile is back while he eats his dinner, mumbling the words with a full mouth.
“What? The food?”
I crack open the lid of my food, and the aroma hits me again. It smells delicious and has my mouth watering.
“No, you. You’re curious. That’s a good thing.”
“How so?”
With a mouth full of food, he grins even wider than before. Not bothering to chew before answering.
“Means we’re this close to a yes.”
He holds up his thumb and index finger, with no space in between. His confidence is something. I see how these rich kids get their way. They don’t need to lie or cheat. They get life handed to them on a silver platter. Possibly my ass included.
“You’re not closer than you were before,” I sass back because I’m not ready to admit that he might just be right. “If anything, you might be farther away.”
“Not possible. Distance was for the first day. Now we’re so many days in that I know you have thought about Em and me. The three of us. Maybe not masturbated to us yet, but close. You’ve definitely thought about what it would be like. And I’m here to tell you, it’s fun. Amazing.”
His inflection hits soft and extended on that last word. I’d blush if I hadn’t already seen the naked body in so many various forms thanks to nursing. But I’d be a filthy liar if I didn’t admit I have wondered and fantasized about myself with them.
“You’re making a lot of grand assumptions over there.”
He’s busy shoveling the food in as if he just got off a twelve-hour shift in the ICU himself. He pauses, raises an eyebrow, and continues chewing.
“You eat like a beast,” I say, casting him a disapproving look. “Slow down before you choke.”
He grunts, swallows, and takes another bite anyway.
“I know it’s true. Em and I talked about it. He’s a go. Even with everything he’s got going on.”
I noticed he never says ‘injured’ or ‘hurt’. Avoidance or denial. It’s common with the more serious injuries, but his brother will be downgraded in a day or two and moved to another floor. I don’t have the heart to tell either guy. I’ll let the lead charge nurse handle that good news.
“You got one thing wrong.”
He stops chewing to look at me. Even sitting beside him, he’s enormous. His body is twice the size of mine, which makes the ache between my legs more noticeable.
“What?”
“I have masturbated to you both.”
He flips his fork in the air. Falls back against the bench, and it groans angrily. I glance down at the old thing, hoping it holds. He doesn’t even notice. His breathing changes to labored pants, and a vein suddenly pops up at the side of his temple.
“Fuck me.”
That’s the idea.
I laugh, loving his reaction even if he’s just thinking about sex.
It’s nice to be desired by someone as funny and fun as he is.
Even with my distrust of men and thinking they are basically dog shit, except my beloved Paco, I can appreciate their unrelenting chase.
I shouldn’t want the validation. Don’t need it.
But hey, who doesn’t like to feel wanted?
“I fuck my fist every time I come up here.”
“What?” I caught my mouth from falling straight open and hanging there. “You masturbate in the hospital?”
“Yeah, why is that weird?”
“Where?”
“All over. Em’s room, or a bathroom. This one time, you were wearing red scrubs, and you bent over in the hallway when my parents were in with Em. I ducked into the waiting room bathroom and knocked one out. It was fast that day.”
I stare, then cover my mouth with my palm. Massimo pushes my hand down as a silent reminder not to cover my lips.
“How? Like . . .” My mind races, wondering how that’s even possible. How can he feel all that and bring himself to? “Did you finish? I mean like go all the way or just to feel—”
“Fuck yeah, I finished. Why wouldn’t I?” His eyes narrow, and he leans toward me. “You don’t?”
“Well, yes, but we’re not talking about the same things.”
“Jerking off is jerking off.” He shrugs, showing his age. That’s what keeps me from falling for the possibility of him and my patient.
“That’s definitely not true. But all I’m saying is masturbating in a hospital is not . . . sexy.”
I have to think about the right word to use. Over my years in nursing, many male patients masturbate and don’t care if you watch or not. Some even like it. Lewd as it is. We send in male nurses to address it. Rarely do women, or at least they are more discreet about it.
“You’re sexy. It’s why I live with a stiffy around you. Got one now.”
He moves the boxes off his lap to show me. The distinct outline of his long shaft is now evident as I stare right at it. More dirty thoughts flood my mind. My pussy is already drenched.
“Uh . . .”
“Don’t worry, I won’t do it out here. Unless you want me to. I would then. Watch you watch me, that’s fucking hot. Press the tip against your DSLs. Fuck me.”
“Ay, Papito!” I scold him, slap his shoulder, and he looks a bit hurt. The flirty face he is making rolls into a lip pout that’s more adorable than sexy. “Don’t say such things.”
He mutters something and goes back to eating. I do the same. The silence builds between us when my name is called. By the last person in the world I want to hear it from. My hands shake, so I set the fork down before it clatters to the ground. My pulse pounds through my skull.
“Sofia, who’s this guy?”