“Heaven’s enlightening me on the glory of teen movies and how our relationship, particularly in high school, was like one.”
I took a lick of the cream and said, “Totally. Jackson was the handsome, popular jock that should have been a jerk but was really sweet.”
He smiled at me, eyes darting down to my mouth, watching me clean off the spoon.
“Hey, what about me? I was a loveable jock,” Anderson said. Jackson and I burst into laughter and Anderson grew defensive. “I was!”
“You were a sarcastic and stubborn jock. You made me crazy.”
“He made us all crazy,” Jackson added, plucking another strawberry off the plate and scooping up a dollop of cream on the tip. “But to be fair, babe, you made us the most crazy.”
“Try this.” He held the plump, bright-red strawberry up to my mouth. I took a bite, cream covering my lips. I was about to lick it off when Jax leaned over and did it for me. Anderson’s hand that was on my leg under the blanket, tensed. “Delicious, right?”
“Very much so. Sweet.” I leaned into Anderson’s side, eyeing Jax. “What do you mean, I made you crazy?”
“Back then? God, it was those short skirts.”
“Damn, those skirts,” Anderson muttered.
“And tight blouses.”
“That white one. The one she tied at the waist.”
Jackson looked over my head. “Do you remember those boots?”
“The thigh highs?” He laughed and I felt it against my back as it rumbled in his chest. “I had dreams about those boots.”
“Stop. You know I did all that to get a rise out of everyone.”
“Oh, you got a rise out of everyone all right. Why do you think we got so protective?” Jackson replied, going for another strawberry and more cream. “I used to go home and think about what you wore, how sexy you were.”
“I’d sit in my desk in class and try to will my boner away,” Anderson admitted. I turned to face him. His cheeks were red but he shrugged. “I had to work twice as hard in the classes you had with me because I could barely pay attention with you sitting there. You smelled so good.” He sniffed my hair. “And looked ridiculously hot. Sometimes you’d bend over, giving me a peek of your cleavage, and I’d have to recite the alphabet backwards to calm myself down.”
“You did not.”
“Oh, hell yeah I did.”
/> Jackson nodded, popping the strawberry in his mouth. A tiny bit of cream remained on his lip and I had the unmistakable urge to lick it off like he’d done with me. His blue eyes watched me closely as I leaned over and gently sucked off the cream. His hands moved to my hips and he pulled me in for more. I sank into his kiss, fueled by their stories of high school boners and unwavering affection. Anderson ran a hand up and down my calf, creeping up my thigh. The twist of arousal churned in my belly.
I turned back to the tray and dipped my fingers in the cream. I brought them to my lips, smearing the sweetness across. Both boys leaned over and cleaned me up. It was, as Jax said, delicious and really, really hot. We normally spent our intimate times alone, but occasionally the stars aligned for something more spontaneous. Something more freeing.
The movie forgotten, each one of us thoroughly sunk into the moment. I felt their hands, their breath, tasted the sweetness between our lips. I felt the heat of Anderson on one side and Jackson on the other. My rocks. My loves.
Unlike the girl on screen, I didn’t have to pick between the boys I loved. I chose them all, and they chose me, and as we bared our bodies and our souls to one another once again, that bond only solidified.
23
Heaven
It was always weird returning to my mother’s house. I always felt caught in a limbo between the white clapboard structure being my home and now being a guest. I had a lot of firsts in this place. Good and bad. The good was really good; my first few dates with the guys. Dry-humping with Jackson on the front steps. Making love to Oliver on my single bed upstairs. The bad was the opposite side of the pendulum. My depression and anxiety. The cutting in the bathroom. The realization that I was being watched over my laptop. Reuniting with my father after his years away.
Then there was my mother.
We’d had our ups and downs over the years. In many ways she was supportive—sending me to therapists and doctors. Helping with my meds. But she also had an unhealthy relationship with my father that lasted for far too long. When she’d stuck by his side, through all his conniving and maliciousness, I had to let her go. Eventually she saw the truth behind his lies and slowly we’ve been rebuilding our relationship.
When it came to me and the Allendale Four, she was hesitantly supportive. She knew the guys cared for me but she also didn’t think our alternative lifestyle was sustainable. There were times when I let her nagging thoughts get to me, but not recently, because things had been so good.
“So the grand opening of the new gym is tonight?” she asked, pouring milk into her tea. “Sorry I can’t come—we’re short-handed at work.”