Everything Nice Read online

  “But?”

  “He seemed to think you would be upset.”

  “Well, I am upset, but probably not in the way Charlie meant,” she said. “What can I say? I’m selfish. I don’t like the idea of being left out of the fun, but I think maybe it was better that the two of you were alone together this first time. Maybe it took some of the pressure off him—wondering and worrying about my response.”

  “I don’t know if you’re right about that. Charlie seemed to view what we did as us cheating on you.”

  Allie was astonished by Alex’s words. “What? Is he insane? Where the hell would he get that idea?”

  Alex laughed. “That’s what I said, but I think this sort of falls under the category you mentioned before. Charlie’s ideas of the world are different from ours. He tends to get hung up on so-called normal things.”

  Allie bit her lower lip and pondered his words, fighting back her own laughter. “You know what the problem is?”

  “What?” he asked.

  “Nice, ordinary Charlie has been sucked into Allie and Alex Land, where anything goes. I think it’s safe to assume we’ve rocked his foundation quite soundly.”

  “Shit, I’d say we’ve crushed his foundation to dust. What the hell are we going to do, Allie? What if he’s taken off for good?”

  “He hasn’t,” Allie replied, unsure why she was so certain of that fact. “For one thing, Charlie is as reliable as the tide. He wouldn’t just take off from the firm without a word. He’s also pretty predictable in a male sort of way.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Alex asked.

  “If he thinks he’s been unfaithful to me, he’s probably hit a local bar and is drinking a bit of liquid courage in order to confess.”

  “The Way Down Under Club.”

  “What?” Allie asked.

  “He’ll be at the club. We have our own rooms there and I’ll bet you anything—”

  “Wait a minute. You have your own rooms? At a sex club?”

  Alex grinned guiltily. “Did I forget to mention we’re part-owners?”

  Allie narrowed her eyes. “Yeah, I think you did.”

  “He’ll be at the club,” Alex repeated, and Allie had to agree.

  She turned quickly, walking back toward Alex’s bedroom.

  “Where are you going?” he called out.

  “If we’re going to a sex club, I have to change my clothes. Hee-hee,” she teasingly giggled. “I’m finally getting back in that joint. Give me fifteen minutes.”

  * * * * *

  Charlie sat in a corner of the bar at the Way Down Under Club and tried to forget the fact that he was sitting at the exact same table where, two weeks ago, Alex had started them on the path that had led him back here tonight. He hadn’t intended to come here. In fact, he’d nearly been home when his courage deserted him and he pulled off the road. Confusion, frustration, desolation crushed in on him until he felt as if he’d been buried alive.

  He simply couldn’t go home until he figured out a few of the tangled emotions choking him. He loved Alex and Allie. He was in love with them. As soon as the words had drifted through his mind in the truck, he’d tried to disregard the brunt force of that knowledge. Now as he sipped his beer, it ran over him like a two-ton freight train.

  He loved both of them.

  “Hey, stranger,” a soft voice said, jarring him from his wayward thoughts.

  “Brooks,” he said, glancing up and finding Ginny smiling down at him. He looked over her shoulder, surprised to find her alone.

  “Travers went back to our room. We spotted you when we walked in and he suggested I come sit with you. Silly man is plotting some surprise.”

  “So things between you and Travers are good?” he asked, leaning back. He and Brooks had been friends forever and a day and, despite the fact that he was nervous as hell about filling her in on his budding relationship with her sister, he was glad to see her. She was funny and fun and he’d missed her the past couple weeks. She and Travers had been out of the office more than they’d been in it, but he figured they were entitled, considering they had let nearly twenty years of unrequited lust build up between them.

  “Things with Travers are unbelievably good. Great, stupendous, astounding, breathtaking!”

  Charlie chuckled at her enthusiasm. “I’m glad. You look really happy.”

  “I wish I could say the same for you. The little I’ve seen you this week, you’ve been walking around like Charlie Brown under his dark cloud. What gives?”

  He shrugged, toying with the idea of confessing all. He felt like he needed some of Brooks’ common sense wisdom. He’d been inundated with Alex and Allie’s skewed view of the world nonstop for two weeks. He wanted to talk to someone with a solid grasp on reality.

  “I’m having some relationship problems,” he said, internally debating how many details to provide.

  “You? Relationship problems? Get out!” Brooks replied, shoving his shoulder playfully.

  “What’s so unbelievable about that?” He felt a bit pissed off at her astonishment.

  “Anderson, you’ve never let a woman get under your skin. Ever. I wondered if I’d ever see the day. So who’s brought you to your knees? I want to go shake her hand.”

  Her smug teasing pushed him to retaliate. “Allie.”

  Brooks’ smile dimmed a bit. “My sister Allie?”

  Charlie nodded, finding his confession surprisingly easy. “I’ve been in love with her for years.”

  Brooks sat silent for so long, Charlie wondered if he’d struck her mute. Brooks was never quiet. “I always thought…”

  “Thought what?” he asked.

  “Nothing,” she said, brushing her comment aside. “What does Taylor think of you and Allie?”

  Now it was his turn to fall speechless. What could have prompted her question? Had Alex talked to Brooks about his feelings?

  “Alex is okay with it,” he answered vaguely.

  “You’re a terrible liar, Anderson. You always have been.”

  “What’s that mean?”

  “You called Taylor ‘Alex’. Why don’t you go ahead and tell me the whole sordid tale? If you and Allie have finally admitted your feelings, then why are you so blue? Why are you sitting here alone in a bar, drinking?”

  “Alex is in love with her too,” he added.

  “I know.”

  “You know?” he asked, astonished to hear Brooks’ admission.

  “I saw him kiss her that night by the bonfire, years ago. Of course I also watched her drooling over you for a nearly an hour prior to that. Next thing I know, she hits the open road with Griffin. I sort of suspected she was afraid of coming between the two of you, but Allie was uncharacteristically closed-mouthed about her feelings.”

  Charlie nodded slowly, trying to let Brooks’ words sink in. She thought her sister had run in order to avoid driving a wedge between him and Alex. He marveled over how Allie’s departure six years ago could be misinterpreted by so many people, himself included.

  After spending time with her, listening to her stories of her years away, he realized she’d made the right decision in leaving. She’d remained true to herself and, as a result, was able to return home the mature, wonderful woman he’d fallen in love with. He wondered how differently things might have turned out if she’d given in to Alex’s proposal six years earlier. He couldn’t shake the thought that he hadn’t been ready for at least one part of Alex’s desires back then. Over the course of the past six years, he and his friend had grown closer and he suspected it was only their shared pasts, history, that had enabled him to take that step from friendship to lover.

  It seems he’d grown up as well.

  “So what’s the end of the story, Anderson?”

  The words flew from his mouth, slowly but steadily. He told Brooks everything that had happened since that first Friday here at the club, leaving out nothing. She listened in silence, nodding occasionally, but to her tribute, she never once looked sho
cked or horrified.

  Only when he’d finished, explaining how he’d come to be sitting in this bar dealing with the realization that he was in love with both of them, did she speak.

  “I don’t understand why you’re here,” she said quietly, and he was jarred by her simple statement. He’d just confessed to entering into a ménage with her sister and a homosexual affair with their best friend.

  “Jesus, Brooks, are you so out of your head in love that you haven’t heard a word I just said?”

  “Explain to me what you think the problem is.”

  Charlie shook his head. “And to think, you’re the normal sister. You can’t tell what might be bothering me?”

  Brooks laughed at his question. “You’ve fallen in love and you’ve had the good fortune to have that love returned.”

  “Allie doesn’t know about what happened in my office today. She doesn’t know Alex and I have become lovers.”

  “You’ve known Allie since she was a little girl. Do you really think my anything-goes sister is going to have a problem with that? From what you’ve said, I get a feeling she’s been guiding the two of you toward that event.”

  Charlie considered her words, recalling Allie’s sudden loss of memory in the shower when she asked Alex to show her how to give him a hand job. And it was Allie who had encouraged him to kiss Alex on the couch. “You’re right. She won’t mind.”

  “So if that’s not what’s bothering you, what is?”

  “How do I make a happily ever after with two people, Brooks? As you’ve just pointed out, I’ve never managed that feat with one person.”

  “You never settled down because you gave your heart to Taylor and Allie years ago. You just didn’t realize it.”

  “It doesn’t bother you that your sister is hooking up with two men? Two men who are also hooking up with each other?”

  Brooks scowled at him. “Are you kidding me? If I could have picked any man on earth for Allie, it would have been you or Taylor. Lucky girl managed to land you both. I can honestly say my sister has the luck of the Irish.”

  “Crap, what’s Allie done now?” Travers asked as he walked over and joined them at the table. “Won the lottery? Found another rich old man to fly her all over the world?”

  “She’s managed to get Anderson and Taylor to fall in love with her,” Brooks replied, and Charlie fought the impulse to crawl under the table when Travers’ head jerked toward him.

  “And better yet,” his former best friend continued, “Anderson and Taylor have finally admitted their feelings for each other. So all’s well that ends well.”

  Travers sat silent for several moments and Charlie struggled to swallow past the nervous lump in his throat. It was one thing confessing his newfound relationship to Brooks. She was a woman and females tended to be a bit more understanding about matters of the heart. Travers was a man’s man, and he feared his friend would be more than a bit repulsed by the idea of him and Alex having sex…with each other.

  Finally his friend nodded. “Are you happy, Anderson?” he asked.

  Charlie leaned back and considered Travers’ question. “Yeah,” he said quickly. The question required no thought. Now that he contemplated it, he’d never been happier in his life. Talking to his friends had really put things into perspective and he wondered why he’d been so freaked out to begin with. Travers and Brooks’ calm acceptance of his new relationship relieved some of his own fears. Love was all that mattered. He loved them and, God willing, they loved him back. He’d been a damn fool to hide from that fact.

  Travers grinned at his response and Brooks giggled. “So I’ll repeat my question, why are you here?” she asked.

  “No reason,” he answered with a smile. “No reason at all.”

  * * * * *

  Charlie had settled his bar tab and was just about to head back to his truck when the doorman stopped him.

  “Oh Mr. Anderson. I have a message for you from Mr. Taylor.”

  Charlie took the note from the man and opened it.

  It merely said, Your room. Here. Now. A & A

  He grinned, pleased that he wouldn’t have to make the long drive home. Now that he’d cast away his worries he was ready to embark on the next step in this relationship. He’d been ready to grovel and beg for forgiveness. The fact that they were both here, waiting for him, gave him hope that they would forgive his foolish panic attack.

  As he walked down the hallway to his private room, he fought down the excitement and anticipation. Tonight, he thought. Tonight it all comes together. Everything nice in the world was within his grasp.

  Chapter Nine

  The room was dark except for the single candle by the bed and the light flooding in from the hallway as Charlie entered the room rather tentatively. Alex watched his friend’s entrance from the corner then glanced over quickly to make sure Allie was okay. Prior to sending the message to Charlie, he’d tied her spread-eagle to the bed at her request. Allie felt certain that perhaps they could put Charlie’s unease to rest if they gave the man back some of the control over their unusual sexual desires.

  Allie, to Alex’s delight, confessed her fascination and curiosity regarding bondage. Thrilled by her willingness to experiment with one of his favorite sexual positions, Alex had happily complied with her request.

  He’d decided to hang back for a little while, remaining in the dark shadows of the room until Charlie had seen Allie.

  “What’s going on?” Charlie asked when he spotted Allie on the bed. Seeing her naked had prompted his friend to quickly close the door lest someone in the hallway pass by and see her. By shutting the door, he’d also guaranteed that Alex could remain hidden.

  “We love you,” Allie said from the bed.

  “‘We’?” Charlie asked. For the first time Alex questioned the wisdom of their plan for virtual darkness. He couldn’t discern from Charlie’s voice how he felt about Allie’s admission.

  “Alex and I,” she added softly. “We love you, Charlie.”

  His friend stepped closer to the bed and at last Alex could see a bit of his face, though it was still cast in shadows.

  “Where is Alex?” Charlie asked, and Alex’s heart raced at the impatient tone of his friend’s voice.

  “Oh,” Allie replied vaguely. “He’s around.”

  “Hiding?” Charlie asked. “Too afraid to come out and face me?”

  Alex felt Charlie’s taunt in his gut, but hesitated in responding. He and Allie had intended for Charlie to take her up on her obvious invitation to play. The fact that he wasn’t touching the woman he loved left Alex feeling unsure. Perhaps Charlie had decided their ménage was too much for him. Maybe he regretted their hot, hard lovemaking in the office. Again Alex cursed the darkness that kept Charlie’s face from his view. If only he could see him, he thought.

  “He’s not afraid,” Allie said with a sexy smile. “We thought perhaps you’d like to even the score, so to speak.”

  Her words obviously caught Charlie unaware as he glanced down at her. “Even the score?”

  “You accused me of being a naughty girl in the truck a couple weeks ago, but I think you and Alex were the bad boys this afternoon,” she teased. “I’m very angry with you for leaving me out. I told Alex it was only fair that I get to be with each of you…alone.”

  Charlie seemed to process her words. “And you and Alex?”

  “We had sex together before arriving here. Damn man didn’t like the outfit I originally planned to wear. Or maybe he liked it too much. Anyway, I don’t think you can blame us, Charlie. You have been leaving us alone quite a lot lately.”

  “A habit I fully intend to break,” Charlie muttered.

  Allie giggled at his gruff words and Alex reached down to grip his throbbing erection. He and Allie had completely undressed before Charlie’s arrival. He slowly pulled his fist along his hard cock, fighting back a groan at the touch. He was overcome with the need to join them, fuck them, love them. God, so many emotions were working on
his psyche, he didn’t know which end was up. He only knew which body part was up. Way up. He tightened his grip and pulled his cock harder.

  “Come to bed,” Allie begged, and he watched as Charlie took in the image of their woman in bonds. The soft silk straps looked lovely against the pale skin around her ankles and wrists.

  “Is this all for me?” Charlie asked, gesturing at her lovely body.

  “Just you,” Allie whispered.

  Charlie unbuttoned his shirt and Alex was certain neither he nor Allie were breathing, watching as their sexy man slowly drew out the process of undressing. In their brief time together, none of them had mastered the ability to leisurely enjoy the intimacies of foreplay. It appeared that tonight, Charlie meant to draw out the anticipation.

  Damn him.

  Allie shivered on the bed and Alex struggled not to rush toward her, to touch her, to put her out of her agony. Fuck, to put himself out of his sexual distress. He’d never been harder or in more pain. Charlie’s slow striptease was working on him like a whip against his back. Each blow building the pleasure with the pain.

  “Charlie, please,” Allie begged, but his friend didn’t move. He looked down at Allie as if memorizing each precious curve of her body.

  “I love you, Allie,” Charlie said, his words unexpected yet as welcome as the sun after days of rain.

  “Oh Charlie,” Allie whispered, and even from across the room Alex could see the sheen of happy tears in her eyes. “I love you too.”

  Charlie glanced around the dark room and Alex was amazed when his friend’s gaze seemed to find him even in the inky blackness.

  “I love you, Alex. Now get your ass over here. I’m not in the mood for any more hiding.”

  Alex grinned and walked toward the bed. He looked across Allie’s body at his best friend and suddenly felt like the richest man on earth.

  “Okay?” he asked, still unable to truly believe he was standing in this room with the only two people he’d ever wanted in his life.

  “Well, that depends. We seem to have a captive wildcat on our hands and she’s offering herself up for some kinky loving. Seems to me this might be a two-man job,” Charlie answered with a sexy grin.