"Yeah. I got there early and Joe's office door was locked. A minute or two later Lacy opened it, then admitted her and Joe had been screwing each other, and that it was like the sixth time."
I tried to do the math and figured that'd be about right for Saturday night and Sunday morning.
"Okay, well … thanks for letting me know, but I don't mind," I told her, willing it to be true even if it wasn't exactly.
"Yeah, and then last night I got a text from Melissa, a paralegal in our office. She said they've been seen out at lunch together, acting very touchy feely, and Joe's door has been closed every day this week. Several times a day."
"Wow. Well, ah, good for them I guess," I responded, not sure what else there was to say. I'm sure her dad was thrilled that Lacy was with a man he felt deserved her.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Jess asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Well, if you really are or aren't please don't tell them I said anything to you. Joe is my boss and all, and Lacy's my friend."
"I won't. Thanks for letting me know, Jess. Now go enjoy your vacation."
...
That night at Safe Haven Lacy looked awfully damn perky and happy.
"Hey," I said when I climbed up on a dryer across from her. We were on laundry duty again tonight.
"Hey, Will," she replied with a smile, looking just as gorgeous as always in her jeans and yellow tank top. She was swinging her dangling feet and twitching her flip flops with her toes.
"How's work been this week?" I asked. Now I understood her blush from the other night, when her cheeks brightened again.
"Good. How about you?" she asked. I knew my office hadn't been nearly as exciting as hers apparently.
"Good," I replied.
"So, Joe said he's in for tomorrow night."
Sounded like he'd been "in" all week.
"He asked if we wanted to come over to his place. He's got a few new toys, and less neighbors," she explained.
"You know that from firsthand experience?" I asked. She looked away, her face glowing redder.
"Yes," she admitted. At least now she was being honest instead of lying by omission.
"How many times have you been to his house?"
"Um, I've stayed with him for the last three nights."
"Wow, you two have been busy, huh?" I asked, completely caught off guard. Jess had said they'd been fucking at the office. Guess they'd been fucking at night in his house too.
"It's just sex."
"And an awful lot of it by the sound of it," I remarked, which came out angrier than intended. This is what I get for trying to hold out on her. Or maybe that didn't matter at all.
"We like screwing each other, but I swear that's all it is," she said with a shrug. "Just us messing around."
"So you want me to join you two tomorrow?" I asked, trying really hard to keep the jealousy pinned down.
"Yes, and there might be someone else with us."
"Another man for your foursome?" I asked, not exactly surprised. But shit, that meant being more alpha than the new guy and Joe. Either way, I had to figure it out if I wanted a chance with Lacy.
"Yeah."
"Do I know him?"
"I don't think so. He's another attorney at our firm, Chad Flanagan."
"Have you already fucked him?" I asked, gripping the edge of the dryer and bracing myself for her answer.
"Yes."
"Wow." Seemed like she was fucking everyone but me. Because I was trying to show her I wanted more than that from her. I still do, even if I have to deal with her being with other guys. As much as it hurt, I couldn't walk away. The thought of not seeing Lacy anymore was more painful than my bruised and battered ego.
"Can I at least take you to dinner before we all fuck you?" I asked her. "You know, like a real date?"
Her eyes widened and her mouth flew open, but then she closed it and nodded. I think I'd shocked her. The woman who wanted three men to fuck her at the same time was shocked by me asking her out to dinner. I might be able to do this after all, win her over by showing her that I want more than her incredible body. And, well … I wasn't opposed to participating in threesomes or hell, even foursomes to make her happy in the meantime.
"Yes. That would be nice," she finally said with a smile.
"Where do you want to go?"
"I don't know. What sort of food do you like?" she asked. Now, I thought we were finally getting somewhere. She wanted to know something about me non-sex related.
"I'm not picky. I'll eat anything but sushi and lettuce, so you pick."
She laughed. "I agree with you on the sushi, but lettuce?"
I wrinkled my nose at the disgusting thought. "I hate salads."
"Do you like Italian?" she asked.
"Of course."
"There's this little Italian restaurant that I love. They have the best vegetarian ravioli … not that I'm a vegetarian, but how they make it is just so freaking delicious."
"Okay, then we'll go there," I said.
"Well, the thing is it's in Winston," she said hesitantly, biting her luscious bottom lip and temporarily distracting me.
"So? I don't mind. That's only a thirty minute drive."
"Yeah, half an hour there and half an hour back."
"If that's where you want to go, that's where we're going," I told her. "And since we're not supposed to be seeing each other, it'll probably be best if we have dinner out of town."
After she agreed, we used the time between loads of laundry to just talk and get to know each other better. I didn't try and fuck her, even though I wanted to. My control was hair thin, and I couldn't wait until Friday night to finally be with Lacy again, even if that meant I'd have to share her with two other guys. Lauren said I needed to be alpha and be good to her out of the bedroom, so I was determined to figure this shit out.
I called Joe when I left Safe Haven. I was still pissed that he'd kept what they were doing from me too.
"Hey, Will," Joe answered. I could hear the deceit in his unsure tone.
"Lacy there yet?" I asked.
"Ah, not yet, no. She told you she's been staying with me?"
"Yeah. Why didn't you?"
"Look, you know this doesn't mean anything, right? Me and her, we just get what we each want right now, and I'm tired of being lonely. Oh, and horny."
"Well, speaking of horny, she asked me to come over there Friday night. With you and Chad."
Joe was silent for a few seconds. "She tell you anything else?"
"That she's been fucking you all week, and that she's fucked that Chad guy already."
"Yeah," he exhaled. "She has. Both of us at the same time last night." Goddamn it.
"Well the reason I'm calling is not to bitch. I just want to know … I mean, maybe you can tell me … what she wants." I hated asking Lacy's "other lover" how to get her off, but I'd do whatever it takes to win her over.
"Ah. Sure. Lacy likes it rough and hard. She wants to be taken, the dirtier the better. She likes to be told what to do," he said, and then laughed. "She wants to be treated like a slut if that makes sense, and I don't mean that disparagingly. I'm not a psychiatrist, but I think she's just tired of being the good girl guys screw over and cheat on, and wants to get fucked and dominated. It's almost like she wants to be taken so she won't have to give herself to someone and end up getting hurt again. Being restrained keeps her from having to make any decisions, because when she's opened up in the past she's been hurt. And when it's just fucking, she can't fall for anyone or worry about developing feelings."
"And you're sure she's not 'developing feelings' for you?" I asked tersely.
"Will, I'm absolutely sure. Lacy and I might be growing closer as friends, but she's just a fuck buddy. We get each other off. It's sort of selfish of us really, like we're using each other. But since we both realize that truth, it just … works. No feelings, no strings, no complications or seriousness. Just the physical act our bodies are desperate for. It's fun to have meaningless sex with a friend."
"And you're going to have meaningless sex with your friend in a few minutes when she gets there?"
"Probably," he admitted. "But she's staying here for more than the sex. Now that school's over she hates living at home with her dad. She was crashing on her friend Kylie's couch, but Kylie's always screwing her new boyfriend. Lacy wasn't happy there and didn't even have a bed to sleep in. Her mom lives down in Charlotte, so she's sort of staying with me until she finds a job and her own place."
"So she's your fuck buddy slash roommate?" I asked.
"Yeah, I guess she's like my fuck bud-mate, but that's it. Hell, do you want to watch?"
"What?" I exclaimed.
"I don't mean here in person, but on my security camera. I've got one I can set up in the bedroom. I'll send you a text saying it's about to go down, and give you the password. You can see for yourself that you don't have anything to worry about when it comes to me and Lacy. In fact, you'll probably see that she talks about you."