The Arrangement

Maybe you should just focus on today.

Today…

As I dumped the mugs in the kitchen sink, I had to laugh. In truth, I still had no clue where we were going, or even what we’d be doing all day.

I only knew it would include all of us for a change.

Twenty-Eight

CHASE

We drove west just for the hell of it, taking the top down on Nathan’s Range Rover. The four of us were laughing. Relaxing. Talking about everything and nothing, as the miles spun out on either side of us.

We didn’t stop until we’d hit the ocean.

I had to admit it was a little strange, all of us being together. We’d spent so much time around each other as friends, growing up, going to school, all throughout our childhoods. Seeing each other lately meant that someone wasn’t working, and there was a guilt associated with that. An invisible weight, that none of us liked.

It wasn’t until Kayleen pointed this out that we finally realized it.

Today though, we were guilt free by her own decree. Happy to just let the sun kiss our faces while the wind blew through our hair.

It was liberating. Inspiring. Rejuvenating. Everything our cute little shared girlfriend said it would be, and more.

We walked the beach for a while, and ended up at Santa Monica. The pier was a bustling city all its own, filled with lights and sounds, delicious smells, street performers wowing their crowds. We played games. We won prizes. We even jumped on a few rides, raising our arms on the little roller-coaster as we sat together two by two, side by side.

As the sun set and the lights blinked on, we shared the long walk back to the car. Everyone was in a great mood. Even Burke was smiling; something the rest of us weren’t sure about, having dragged him away from his precious computer.

And the whole time, I kept staring at Kayleen.

As a person she was amazing — beyond amazing, actually. As a girlfriend she was even better.

And as a lover…

It was incredible, being in this situation with Nathan again. Sharing. Taking turns. Pleasing the same woman together, in the most incredible ways that only two men can…

It was a temptation we’d known before. The two of us had enjoyed it with Dana, and now we were loving every minute of it with Kayleen as well. Still, she wasn’t just another lover, another shared relationship. With Kayleen, it went well beyond all that. With her, it was markedly different.

Dana had been wild and carefree, her curiosity every bit as insatiable as her libido. She was quite literally born to run. Happy to disappear at a moment’s notice, only to come back later as if she’d been gone mere hours and not days or weeks. This was fun and even endearing at first, but over time it got tiring. It left Nathan and I in a situation where moving forward wasn’t possible… not with the threat of hurricane Dana blowing back into our bedrooms at the drop of a hat. And of course, blowing our minds and bodies in the process.

Sexually she was an absolute dynamo — everything we gave the curvy brunette came back at us twice as hard. There were nights when we’d hammer her into submission. Nights we would break her between us, body and soul, leaving her little more than a quivering puddle in one our beds.

But more often than not, Nathan and I were the ones left spent and gasping. Drained completely as if by some beautiful, wicked succubus… who would then giggle and bounce out of the room.

Dana was our inspiration. Our motivation, our impulse. Our shared addiction.

But she was also our curse.

I thought about these things as we walked arm in arm with Kayleen, taking turns stuffing cotton candy in her pretty mouth. Just how temporary was our ‘arrangement’? Would it dissolve away the moment the books were finished, or would she stick around afterward?

And then there was Burke. He’d been very open to the concept of a rotating relationship, and hadn’t uttered a word of complaint. His chapters had been top notch, too. Brilliant, compelling writing.

Still, he hadn’t shared her with us yet. Not in the way Nathan and I had.

I was worried about that part. About how maybe Burke was being more possessive. Hell, he might even be jealous. But with the writing schedule the way it was, there were very few times to talk to him about it.

Now that we were being more open and interactive, I vowed to make sure that all changed.

Darkness fell, and we ate the most amazing dinner served out the side of a greasy food truck. It would cost each of us an extra hour’s worth of gym time, but damn, was it worth it.