Page 12 of Christmas with my Three Best Friends

“We’ve seen her through the worst and the best of times,” I say to Jax. “She knows she can trust us, and I intend to keep her trust going forward. This may be a messed up world, and ours may be a… let’s call it a complex friendship currently evolving into something unorthodox, but Shay needs to feel safe and loved with us. If we can’t provide for her in that sense, we might as well just pretend the naughty list never happened.”

Richard nods in agreement. “We either do this right, or we don’t do it at all.”

“How did she seem when you dropped her off at her place the other night?” Jax asks me.

Almost instantly, a grin slits across my face. A sense of pride swells within me, and my pants feel tighter as I remember the sound of her voice when she came, when I ate her out and made her quiver until she could barely stand. The mere look on my face is a clear enough answer and prompts Richard to laugh lightly.

“Pleased,” I manage, then clear my throat and try to stay in the present. I’ve been wandering back to that moment at the bottom of the staircase, I’ve been reliving it, over and over. She’s dangerously addictive, and I could easily overdose on this woman without a single shred of remorse. “We’ll have to ease her into it.”

“I’m still shocked Vincent didn’t get the first time with her,” Richard says, scratching his rust-colored beard. “There must’ve been a glaring red flag on top of the ones we saw, big enough to scream ‘Don’t do it’ in the back of Shay’s head. I know they almost did a couple of times.”

“She stopped it twice,” Jax remembers. “She said it didn’t feel like the right moment. Like she wasn’t really into it.”

“Shay also said Vincent was rushing her,” I say. “So that’s one thing we need to be careful with. We have to let her come to us. To voice her desire and give her full consent.”

Richard takes a long sip of his latte and whips out his phone, going over the list again. “Alright, let’s see what we’ve got here. We don’t have to start with the very first item, do we? You know, since you said we should ease her in.”

“Christmas is just around the corner,” I reply. “We could get Santa to drop some presents early. Shay made an impressive list there…”

I’m constantly turned on these days. It’s hard to even focus. I was already nuts about her but getting a glimpse into her deepest and raunchiest desires… now I can’t stop thinking about her, about being with her. About taking it all the way, night after night and day after day.

It’s a dangerous mindset for me to be living in. I’ve gotten my heart broken before. Roxanne left deep wounds that I’m still healing from. And having her as a client at the gym hasn’t helped, either. I’ve found comfort in Shay’s presence when Roxanne hovers in my vicinity. At least I passed my ex onto another coach since I didn’t want us to stay friends like she had originally suggested. I couldn’t be friends with a woman whose toxic jealousy damn near broke me. In stark contrast, Shay’s self-confidence is remarkably seductive on its own. I can’t help but feel drawn to her. Maybe there’s hope for me still. Maybe it’s Shay.

“Look at this,” Richard says, showing us the list on his phone screen. “Item number three…”

“Oh, I recognize that,” Jax says, the corner of his mouth twitching.

We all recognize it. It’s a wearable vibrator with a Bluetooth remote control. The woman inserts it, stimulating her in more than one way, while the man plays with the remote.

“We could start there,” I reply, my gaze wandering around.

“I’ll order it tonight,” Richard says. “Next-day delivery is an option.”

“Have it gift-wrapped. She deserves a proper present,” Jax smiles. I’m aware he’s had a soft spot for eons, too. Not that I can blame him. Or Richard. If anything, I think our affection for Shay has only served to bring us closer together as friends and partners. “We’re meeting with her on Friday, right?”

“Yeah, evening, after practice,” I tell him. “What time do you wrap up?”

“Nine. Got my eight o’clock group,” Jax says.

“That’s fine. If I remember correctly, Shay will be putting together price offers around that time for yours and Lyle’s fitness and weight training combo plans,” Richard says.

I notice my cup is empty. I could order another one, but I’d rather get two to go and take Shay a latte, instead.

“Alright, then, Rick, you place the order, and we’ll meet up on Friday night. The four of us,” I say, pulling myself out of a startlingly comfortable armchair. “I need to get a couple of coffees and head back to the gym.”

If Shay wants us to take her every which way, we’ll do it. If she wants to be claimed and shared, we’ll claim and share her. If she wants her brains fucked out of her head, she’ll get that, too. Body and soul alike, we’ll take her and make her into our woman.

I have no idea how it will work out in the long-term, but I do know I’m willing to try whatever I can to make it happen.

5

Shay

It’s been a while since I’ve sat down with Cassandra in her office. Her private practice is a lovely, generously illuminated space on the east side of Seattle, nestled between residential buildings with restaurants and cafés lining the ground floor. Giant spruce trees poke out of the park nearby, their dark green spears shooting for the gray winter skies as I melt into the sofa, admiring them from the other side of the glass. It smells of vanilla and jasmine in here—one of Cassandra’s favorite incense combinations.

“I’ve missed you,” Cassandra says.

“I know, I’ve missed you too. It’s been so busy at the gym lately. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to get together as much.”

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