Page 26 of Allure
“Boundaries and rules are important in any and every relationship.” He shifted in his seat and turned to face her. “They protect you, physically, emotionally, and mentally.”
Syra looked at him, her arms sat in her lap and she nibbled on her bottom lip. She felt his eyes zero in on the motion. The silence stretched as she mulled over what he told her. It made sense, and all she managed to muster up in response was anOhbefore looking back out the window.
Her mind was a whirlwind. She didn’t know how to answer him because she somehow didn’t want to box him in with Marco even though she knew she should. The two of them together wreaked havoc on her body and mind. They were a force she wanted to explore, and she felt her palms itching to grab a pencil and sketch everything they invoked inside of her. Their contrast of light eyes with a scowl and deep brown eyes with a smile that told a world of secrets would be her undoing. She knew it, and if she could get that on paper—show the world the power these two men held individually and collectively—it would bring everyone and anyone to their knees.
The trees passed her by in a blur as Asli picked up driving again. She was lost in her thoughts, the R&B music a backdrop that she couldn’t ignore. The singer’s voice felt like silk ties wrapped around her wrists as he sang about all the things he wanted to do to his woman. Her mind went back six months—back to the night she fell into Marco’s apartment while Asli watched.
How different would her night have been if Asli had joined them?
How did they interact when they brought a woman to multiple climaxes until she couldn’t breathe?
How did they navigate relationships together?
Syra’s voice broke through the music. “You and Marco share everything, right? How does it work? Is it just sex?” She instantly regretted the question, feeling that now that she spoke it out loud she was telling the universe—telling Asli—she was interested in more than just business.
He was quiet for a moment. He seemed relaxed, except for his grip on the steering wheel. “What has he told you about our friendship?” Gone was the smoothness he always had when he spoke to her, and in its place was something hot and raw that skirted down her spine.
“When we were together, he told me about you, about his best friend. He never told me your name though, which is highly convenient considering where we are now.” She sucked her teeth thinking how different things might have been if she had known Marco’s neighbor was his best friend.
You’d probably still be sitting here.
It seems you and Marco are inevitable and that now includes Asli.
She ignored the hopeful voice in her head and focused on the earlier memories of her relationship with Marco. “When we did the whole past relationships talk and things we’ve done sexually, Marco told me about his taste for exhibition and voyeurism. He brought up swinging, and while I was intrigued by the idea, we never got around to exploring more than some quickies in public places where we could get caught.” She felt her cheeks warm at how easily she overshared that part of their relationship.
She cleared her throat, waving a hand in front of her face, thankful he didn’t ask her to elaborate. “He told me how often you two shared women. In your teenage and young adult years you both experimented a lot. But I don’t recall relationships ever coming up in the conversations, only that you shared women sexually.” In fact from what Syra could remember, they shared every woman they’d ever been with except for her. Though given that Asli was out of the country when she walked into Marco’s life, she wondered if that was the only reason why it hadn’t happened.
She couldn’t deny she had been intrigued by the idea of two men—or even more than two sex partners at the same time. She was still intrigued by the idea now, but her focus seemed more on Marco and Asli than adding random strangers at different times. She wasn’t sure she could handle both men sexually, and she wasn’t ready to start thinking about a relationship with them—if that was even possible.
You still need to get divorced from Joel before you try and navigate any relationships.
Syra’s mood dropped. Her skin turned to ice as the thought of her ex bombarded her mind. She went a whole hour without thinking about him and feeling the insistent buzz of her phone. He was a distant memory, finally; she wasn’t worried about what horrible messages he was leaving her or wondering why he refused to sign the papers. But like the headache he was becoming, he managed to creep in—a slow ache between her eyes she was starting to worry she wouldn’t ever be able to escape.
“We’ve done both, actually.” Asli’s words steadied her and pulled the ice from her body. She shoved Joel to the back of her mind and focused on Asli—soaking up his words to save them for later.
To save them for when you’re ready for more.
“Sex seems to be easier though. It takes less work in the sense that there’s no real risk. All parties are there for essentially the same thing, pleasure. We talk about hard no’s, create safe words, and make sure all parties are consenting to what’s happening.” He paused for a moment, his gaze went to the rearview before he switched lanes and continued. “Relationships take a little more work, and that’s doubly true when there’s three or more people involved. Relationships can look different for different people. But again, for it to work, communication, boundaries, and respect go a long way.”
Syra made a humming noise but didn’t respond further. Asli gave her a lot of information to absorb. She knew there was more than one way to have a relationship. Monogamy wasn’t the one-size-fits-all practice society made it out to be. She knew from her friendships with Delilah and even Kat that they could take the shape of three or more. It seemed like her friends had it figured out, and she knew she could talk to them about her questions, but she had wanted to hear about Marco and Asli’s experiences.
They drove in a comfortable silence once again. The music filtering through the car speakers started to fill her body with anticipation for Orchard Tree. They still had a ways to go it felt like, but the farther away she got from Lockwood, the more her curiosity grew and with that her nerves. She had never been in Lush when it was open, and even though her friends told her how it looked when it was operational, she still couldn’t wrap her head around what she’d be walking into.
A small part of her—a naive part—thought she’d be walking in on everyone with their titties and balls out, fucking everywhere. But she knew that wasn’t the case. These parties were more for people to connect and find someone to play with later, even if there were a select few who enjoyed having sex right then and there.
“What else did Marco tell you?” Asli took the next exit.
Syra thought she heard a curious amusement in his tone, as if he had stories—maybe even embarrassing ones about the two of them that would make her laugh and ease the growing tension she was feeling about tonight.
“The usual…hopes and dreams and family stuff.” Marco talked about his father’s expectations. How he wanted Marco to be a business mogul—take the family business and make it into a powerhouse. Marco wanted to wander the world a little longer—build something significant with his artist friends, maybe even go into construction. He wasn’t one who enjoyed the corporate world with its business suits and cold, cut-throat behavior. She hated that is was exactly where he ended up.
“If I go into business, estrellita, it’ll be for you and my best friend. I can’t have my creative stars burnt out on the mundane things that it takes to keep a business going. But even then, that’ll be different. I’ll be doing something for my two favorite people.”
A smile touched her lips remembering how that conversation ended—her on her back, paint scattered everywhere, with Marco on top of her, whispering his praise for her art.
“Marco talked about you a lot,” Syra continued, shaking that part of her past from her mind. “He talked about how much love you two had for each other. It was quite endearing to hear him praise your craft and you as a person. He swore we would get along great because of our love to craft something out of nothing.” She chuckled. “He showed me a few of your handcrafted things… the jewelry box, the table he had in his kitchen, the um…the toy box.” She cleared her throat. “He swore you were the best artist there was, until I came along, of course.” She leaned over to pat his thigh. “Sorry about dethroning you.”
“You sound so torn up about that.” He let out a laugh that eased some of the tension in her body.
