Page 34 of Buddy System

Levi and I regard each other, and he looks so hopeful and happy. It’s a look I haven’t seen enough of lately, so I answer Skyler, “We’d love to.” Looking back at Levi, I say, “How do you want to get us moved, honey? Shall we all go back? Just you and me? Do you trust me to go back and do it on my own? I could hire someone if I decide I need help, but we don’t have a lot of stuff. And I don’t mind saying I won’t miss that house or living near the base.”

“That’s too much to ask you to do…” Levi begins.

“I honestly don’t mind. You can get started here with Skyler’s PT guy and the PTSD counselor, and you can start exploring what it is you want to do either with your music or a different job, and I’ll take care of it. You know I’ve never minded driving. I’ll just listen to a couple of racy e-books and maybe get some inspiration for when I get back.” I wink, and we all laugh at that. “And honestly, the small bit of furniture that’s ours and not the landlord’s isn’t worth moving, so I can just get rid of it all. I might be able to fit everything into the car if I’m by myself. It would just be our clothes and personal stuff. It was a good idea when we got rid of the second car, so we don’t have to worry about getting that here.”

We discuss all of the details as the light fades completely to night and the sky fills with stars. The guys get into a friendly argument about paying rent. Skyler doesn’t want any, and Levi says we refuse to be freeloaders, so we all agree on contributing to a household account that will be used for expenses like taxes, utilities, household repairs, and whatnot. I’m the only one who has set work hours, but even those are flexible, so we also commit to sharing and dividing duties as much as we possibly can. Levi says he’s willing to handle all of the bill paying if Skyler and I will handle the grocery shopping. We know we’ll all have to make adjustments as we go.

And then the elephant comes walking into the room and sits on the table right in our faces as it laughs at us. The elephant in the room is, of course, sex, and our relationship to one another.

Skyler didn’t want to have a beer or anything alcoholic after his headache today and taking medication, so we all had sodas with the pizza. We’re stone-cold sober, and that’s probably the best way to handle this conversation.

“Do we need to define anything?” I ask. “Can’t we just see how things go?”

Skyler looks worried and says, “I need more structure than that, Brooke. The last thing I want to do is interfere with your marriage. I want to be completely honest by saying if you guys want to live here with me like roommates, I can be happy with that—meaning the way we did when you first arrived, and we stay in separate bedrooms…”

Levi snorts and interrupts, “You mean with you sneaking peeks at us and whacking off afterward?”

“Levi!” I scold, but Skyler laughs.

“Yeah, probably that. What I was going to say was that if you want to continue to explore a physical relationship, all the better. I want to be clear that I have no expectations about that and respect your marriage one hundred percent.”

Levi loses his grin and looks first at me and then at Skyler. “I can’t predict the future, obviously, but I think we need to explore what we’ve begun. I have never felt so good as when we were all three together. It was a high like never before, and you both know I really needed it.” He looks closely at my expression then and explains, “I don’t mean to belittle our sex life from before, Brooke. It was amazing. You’re amazing, and I love you deeply and forever. But part of what I love about you is your openness. I hope you’re still willing to include Sky in our bed. Thinking about what he and I can do for you together turns me on like…well…wow.”

I can’t suppress a small shiver when I think of the possibilities this offers. “I love the idea,” I tell him softly. “You’ve known Skyler for several years now, and I see how much you mean to each other. Your connection doesn’t worry or threaten me in the least; I frankly think it’s hot. While I can’t say I’m in love with Skyler in such a short amount of time, I can visualize that happening.” I turn to Skyler and ask, “Are you at all worried about blowback from the community if and when they figure it out? Would you like us to be discreet? You’re the one who grew up here; you know the attitudes of the residents way better than Levi and I do.”

“I’m sure the reactions will be a mixed bag, but there isn’t a lot we can do about that. You heard how Mrs. Henshaw reacted to Levi giving me a scalp massage, and she weaponized her attitude to get a rise out of her cronies. That’s a small town for you. Some people will feel—or simply act—scandalized by us if they become aware, and others will celebrate our commitment and our happiness—if we decide commitment is the way we’re headed. I think we just need to mind our own business and be ourselves. I have no room in my life for prejudice or bigotry, so I won’t change to avoid it. It all boils down to this: it’s no one’s fucking concern who we choose to sleep with.”

“Agreed. Well said,” Levi says somberly. “But it may not always be easy. If you look at Juni, Asher, and Jack—they are all newcomers to the town. You’re not. They might have different expectations placed on them by the community because of that. Some of the locals may even feel a certain—for lack of a better word—responsibilityfor your actions because they’ve seen you grow up. The old ‘it takes a village’ thing. You’re theirs.”

Skyler laughs and says, “Well, anyone who thinks they have a right to an opinion ought to be told that I was swayed by more newcomers. Honeybee Hollow is obviously turning into a den of iniquity due to an influx of missionaries for sexual deviance.”

“Aww…but ‘missionary’ is such a mundane way to do it,” I scoff and then crack up. “We need to be the spice police!”

Levi stands and scoots his chair next to me. He sits and gives me a hot, probing kiss that makes my toes curl, and as he slides his hand under my shirt and up to my boob, he pulls back and says, “Then we’d better start practicing.”

“Skyler’s had a hard day.” I tell Levi. “I think we need to take extra care of him and make him feel incredible.”

Chapter

Twenty-Six

Skyler

Boing!(That’s the sound I hear in my head when my giant stiffy makes an instantaneous appearance).Holy cow. She wants them both to take care ofme?What does that even mean?Whatever it is, it’s bound to be good. I leap up from the table like my ass is on fire and whisk the pizza remains into the kitchen. “Come on!” I call to them, but I hear them snickering.Why are they taking so long to make it to the bedroom?Oh yeah, Levi doesn’t walk quickly yet. I dash into the bathroom and brush my teeth and take care of business before they arrive. They’re sitting on the bed having a quiet conversation when I meet them in their bedroom, and they both look at me with eager expressions.

“I locked the doors,” Levi assures me with a half smile, and I nod because clearly, I need to remember to do that more often. Then he tells me, “I asked you what your fantasy was last night, and you told us you wanted Brooke’s ass. Excellent choice, in my opinion. So just now, I asked Brooke her fantasy, and can you guess what she wants?”

I look at him then look at her. She looks pleased with herself. I don’t have a clue. “Uh…no.”

Levi winks and gives me a big smile.

“Skyler, honey…I think it would be amazing to see Levi make love to you.” Brooke begins in a voice that’s almost a purr. “Levi has fucked my ass many times, and he’s great at it. But I’ve heard that it’s even more pleasurable for a man to be on the receiving end of that. Would you like to have him do it to you? Are you ready for it?”

“We’re not trying to pressure you,” Levi says seriously as my breathing speeds up.

Is he for real? I close my eyes for a second, and before I can answer, Brooke adds, “But I want you to be making love to me at the same time.”

Oh wow. That means I’ll be the meat in the sandwich—the cream filling in the cookie the...fuck me!Well…literallythis time. I clear my throat and croak, “God yes. Let’s do it. Sounds good.” My heart starts to race, and my eyes are riveted on her as Brooke begins to take off her clothes piece by piece. This is what she meant by taking care of me. I think I might be falling in love with her right here, right now. Not only is she gorgeous—she has thebestideas.

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