Page 63 of Lucy and Her Wicked Three

She glances down before opening the fridge and pulling out a half-empty bottle of white wine. I'm not sure why not putting in extensions makes her feel weird, but I can tell it does. Just another thing I don't really understand about her world.

Maybe Silas gets it, because he cuts her off, running his fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp. Her eyes driftshut. "It looks good, Lu. You didn't need them. I like it this length."

"It was really more about volume."

"Just use some salt spray, or something."

"How do you know about salt spray?" She muses, pulling out of his embrace to pour a glass of wine.

Silas shrugs, "I know things. Like that white-blonde color you dye your hair compliments your skin well. You're more of a soft-summer palette. It shouldn't work, but for some reason, it really does."

She pauses the glass in front of her lips. "I get it. You went to art school."

"I did. I know color. And beautiful things," he tacks on, stealing her wine glass and going in for a kiss. She moans into his lips before he starts kissing down her neck.

"No sex before dinner," Noah teases. It's so fucking weird. I feel like I'm borrowing Lucy's anxiety, because this? This perfection? It's too good. It's too natural, too easy.

This feels like family.

Silas lets go of Lucy, bringing her over to the table while Noah and I make up the plates.

"You guys cooked! This is amazing," Lucy gushes from the dining table.

"There's no meat on that—"

I cut Noah off, "She doesn't like steak. She'll eat carnitas tacos, and some beef in other forms. But she wouldn't eat a piece like that."

Noah nods, "Okay. Good to know."

He sounds dejected, so I nudge his shoulder. "She prefers veggies. We like meat. This meal is perfect. I wouldn't have done anything differently, and neither would she if we cooked with her. This is perfect for the four of us."

"Okay. That makes me feel better." We carry the plates over to the table and pass them out. Lucy lightly claps her hands together and compliments everything, making Noah blush.

We settle into easy conversation, and at one point Noah grills Lucy on what meals she likes most. She tells him about all her, admittedly, neurotic routines, which involve a ton of meal prep so she can eat healthy. Her smoothies stocked in the freezer. Her juice cleanses.

She hasn't talked about those things in a while, not without sounding like she's ridiculing herself, so it's nice to see her settle into her old self. Or maybe this is some version of a new Lucy. A little bit of before and after. Whatever it is, I like it. I like when she's not hard on herself.

Noah and Lucy spend the last few minutes of dinner teasing Silas relentlessly because, while he'll happily enjoy a healthy home cooked meal, he'll also eat convenience store hot dogs and microwaved burritos and anything dyed an unnatural color, without prejudice. It's funny, and I find myself laughing more than I have in ages.

Silas and Lucy clean up. We try to help, but they insist, so Noah and I settle in the living room and try to find something to watch to let our stomachs settle. I find a movie I think all of our tastes might tolerate, something between a rom com and an action flick. Lucy settles on the couch between me and Silas. She leans against me, and I hold her hands, while her feet end up in Silas's lap. He absently caresses her feet while working on his tablet. Silas is not a workaholic by any means, but he's extremely creative, so he draws a lot. Since it also happens to be his job, he's just really productive. It's one of the reasons his and Noah's company is so successful, small as they may be.

Toward the end of the movie, the two main characters go through their obligatory will-they-won't-they angsty separation, which looks to be leading toward a graphic sex scene.

I didn't think Silas was even paying attention to the movie. Without looking up, he says, "Lucy, did you have another video you wanted to try out?"

Lucy stiffens in my arms, pulling her feet out of Silas's lap. "Umm, hah… I'm not… I don't think…"

Silas sets his tablet down, snags her feet and pulls them back into his lap. Her breath quickens as she squirms against me.

Searing into her, his eyes eat up the length of her body. "Did you tell Matty about your videos? How curiosity got you spit roasted and covered in come?"

I try my best not to grin. If she gets any tenser in my lap, I may have to roll her out of here.

"Lucy…" I prompt. "Did you let my friends fuck you? Did you let them come all over your pretty tits?" I rub her nipple through her t-shirt, feeling it pebble between my fingers. I already know what they got up to when I was at work. We didn't discuss it, because there's no need. It's no secret, and I'm glad they've been intimate and that they felt comfortable enough to brag.

But Lucy's still reconciling my friends with me, thinking of us as two separate entities. Noah and Silas, who came on scene late, helping her relax and find her way again. Me, her rock, the one she can always fall back on. But if this is going to work, she needs to see that we're working in one relationship. She can have sex with us however she wants. Solo. Together. It doesn't matter.

My sweet little Lucy looks up at me, eyes a little dazed. "Umm… Well… See, there was this video…"

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