Gabe kept his promise. All through their appointment on Thursday, he’d kept his hands to himself. He didn’t even offer a friendly handshake. Now, it was time for her to keep the promise she’d made to him.
In the parking lot of the run-down motel, Brooke sat with a board-stiff spine, waiting for Gabe’s truck to appear.
She could do this. She could be brave. It was supposed to be about pleasure, he’d said, nothing more, nothing less. He seemed to genuinely want her there.
Playing solitaire on her phone, Brooke thought back to his instructions. Make sure you cut your fingernails. Brooke didn’t know how to respond to that request. She supposed she should trust him—he’d done this before—but when he’d asked if she had a vibrator, she’d wondered why.
“Because,” he’d said, “I’ve only got one dick, and while I might be able to rally for a second round, often the girls need to bring something to help themselves,” he’d grinned, “or each other. But you won’t need one this weekend.”
She guessed that meant he’d ensure she got off while he was inside her. She shuddered at the thought. Anticipation had ridden her hard since he’d kissed her in his office on Tuesday. She’d figured, sooner or later, she’d end up saying yes to his proposition. Dallying would only lessen her time with him. She needed to jump in with both feet. And that meant preparing to do sexual things with other women.
In preparation, she’d read a few articles and watched a few pornos. They only made her more nervous. Brooke had been thankful when Gabe sent her a text earlier that day, telling her to stop overthinking it. It was presumptuous of him, but she’d appreciated the thought.
So lost in her musings, Brooke didn’t notice the people approaching her car. She jumped when someone banged on the trunk. Glancing around, she saw Jacey approach the driver’s window, and through the rear-view mirror, she spotted Taylor, who gave another playful double tap to the trunk.
“Way to go, Taylor,” Jacey scolded. “You startled her.”
“Sorry, Brooke!” Taylor called loudly to the night.
Brooke tossed her phone into her purse and stepped out of the car. Seeing the women fully dressed made her breathe a little easier. This time, she wouldn’t be tossed directly into the deep end.
“Is she drunk?” Brooke asked in an aside to Jacey.
“Nope, just excited. She didn’t think you were going to come back.”
Together, they walked to the rear of the car. Taylor looped her arm through Brooke’s and started trotting toward the front of the motel.
Jacey walked calmly beside them. “Gabe’s running a little late, but he told us what you drove and asked that we take you inside.”
Walking into the lobby, Taylor waved to Joe. He waved back but reserved a stern glare for Brooke. She stowed her embarrassment and called out, “I don’t need a key this time!” His glare lifted when she stuck her tongue out at him.
The ladies continued through the motel, ushering her down the narrow hallway. Big circular patterns adorned the hideous red carpet, and one of the wall sconces had blown a bulb. The place was in dire need of an update.
Taylor finally released her to open the door. “Sam and Paige aren’t coming tonight.”
Brooke wondered if that was a deliberate decision on Gabe’s part to help her feel more comfortable, but she didn’t want to put anyone out. She learned her concerns were for nothing, as Taylor went on to explain. “It’s their anniversary. They went into Toronto for dinner.”
“Oh.” Brooke didn’t know how to respond. “That’s nice.”
Shannon must have beaten them to the motel because they all spotted her when the door swung open. Taylor yelled out her name in the way of a greeting. “Shannon!”
Inside the room, Shannon stood at the tiny kitchenette, pouring red wine into two glasses. Sandwiched between the closet and the main living space was a counter maybe four feet wide, with a coffeemaker and a miniature sink, and just below it was a black mini-fridge. Shannon opened the fridge door and pulled out a bottle of white. She indicated to the two empty glasses, “Brooke, are you a red wine kind of girl, or do you prefer white?”
“White, if you’re going to open it, but if not, red’s fine.”
Jacey closed the door to the hallway but didn’t bother with the security bolt. Taylor ditched her spring jacket in the closet before running and jumping on the bed. Jacey hung up her own coat before handing a hanger to Brooke.
“Don’t you worry, I like white, but these two prefer the red, so they’re both getting opened.” Shannon uncorked the white wine. Jacey took the full glasses of red off the counter, providing Shannon with more space. Jacey delivered one of the glasses to Taylor, who ceased jumping around in favor of drinking the wine. Shannon corked the white and returned it to the mini-fridge. Brooke gladly accepted her glass of white.
She didn’t know what to do now. She’d thought Gabe would be here. Would they start without him? The thought was rather daunting. She was hoping to draw from his strength: that, and her desire to crawl into bed with him.
Shannon sat on the edge of the bed next to Taylor while Jacey plopped down on the couch. She motioned for Brooke to join her.
“How was your week, Shannon?” Jacey asked once Brooke had taken the seat next to her.
“Hectic,” Shannon said after a sip of wine, “head lice are going around at the school.”
“Ouch,” Taylor commented. “I had that once. It was the pits.”
“Two of the girls in my class have it. Hopefully, it won’t spread any farther, but there are only so many times you can tell them not to share hats and hair accessories.”
“You’re a teacher?” Brooke asked, a little dazed by the information. She took a drink from her glass. She was driving, so the one glass would probably be her limit, but she was grateful for it. Between the wine and the casual conversation, she was starting to relax.
“Yep.” Shannon nodded. “I teach the second grade.”
Brooke wondered how a teacher ended up partaking in sexual orgies, but she supposed everyone had a private life: a preacher’s daughter, a librarian, a teacher. Gabe’s type might be more than just plus-sized women with big boobs. “What do the rest of you do?”
“Jacey’s a nurse,” Taylor explained, “and I’m in school. I just finished my undergraduate degree, but I’m moving across the country to do my master's.”
From beside her, Jacey asked, “What do you do?”
“Website and graphic design. I work for Miles, you know, the athletic company? What are you getting your masters in?”
“Social work. I really like understanding how people deal with their problems and why they have those problems in the first place.” As Taylor explained her education path, she grew serious, but the topic hit a little too close to home for Brooke.
Praying Taylor hadn’t accumulated enough knowledge to see through her, Brooke changed the subject. “So, how did you all meet Gabe?”
The ladies looked at each other as though it was something they’d never discussed.
“Gabe picked me up at a bar,” Jacey confessed.
“Me too,” Taylor chimed in.
Shannon added, “Make that three.”
They grinned in unison. She thought about the brunette at the bar the weekend before.
“I guess that’s his hunting ground. What made you agree to it? I mean, was he upfront about the whole,” Brooke gestured around the room, “you know?”
Obviously suspecting something, Taylor wagged her finger at Brooke. “Nuh-uh. How do you know Gabe?”
“We went to high school together.”
They exchanged a glance that Brooke didn’t quite understand.
Taylor edged closer. “So if you’re not some random, he picked up at a bar like the rest of us; what made you agree?”
Brooke scoffed. “He’s hot.”
Shannon snickered. “Crushed on him in high school, did you?”
Understatement. Brooke held up her fingers a few inches apart. “Little bit.”
Taylor tossed her hair. “What was he like in high school?”
“He was on the football team. He was never slick, you know? His best friend is a real charmer, but Gabe was always more earthy. Honest. Real protective of his sister. I never would have expected he was hiding this.”
“But yet, here you are,” Jacey said.
Brooke shifted on the couch. “What made you guys agree? Like, was he upfront about it? How does it work?” There was a long pause as they all thought it over. “It’s not something that comes up in casual conversation. How do you go from flirting with a guy at a bar to, yeah, let’s get it on in a big group?”
Taylor laughed so hard she started snorting.
“He’s hot,” Shannon said, tossing Brooke’s words back at her. She lifted one shoulder in a shrug before tipping up her glass to drain the remaining wine.
While Taylor tried to regain her composure, Jacey gave a profound answer. “He likes us for who we are. There is no great expectation, no pressure to be better. At best, I’m average. I spend my days covered in other people’s shit and blood. I don’t bother with long hair because I have to keep it tied back at work. But when I come here, Gabe makes me feel beautiful.”
“Hey!” Taylor took offense.
“And the girls do, too,” Jacey corrected. “We don’t get bogged down in the logistics of it. We just sort of go with it. Being here is about doing what feels right.”
“It’s where Sam and Paige fell in love,” Taylor said dreamily.
“Gabe found me right after I got dumped.” Shannon left the bed to refill her glass with a wistful sigh. “I’d been dating a guy for two years. Really in love; I thought we’d get married and do the whole kid thing. I was devastated when he broke it off. One of my girlfriends took me out for drinks, and I started bitching and complaining. I hate to admit it, but I think I was even crying. When she left me to go to the bathroom, Gabe approached. He’d heard the whole thing and offered me exactly what Jacey said: a no-strings-attached, judgment-free, good time.”
“The way Paige tells it, Gabe’s terrified of commitment. This way, his no-strings-attached sex is exactly that, and there is no confusing it. His heart isn’t involved,” Taylor clarified.
“So, not the good guy Jacey and Shannon paint him as,” Brooke supplied.
Taylor shrugged, showing no sign of remorse for outing Gabe’s true purpose. “He’s a guy… a typical guy, and he created the perfect setup for himself.”
“Which brings us full circle. If you knew him in high school, you know the real him, the person he comes here to escape from.” Jacey put her wine glass on the coffee table. “Why are you here?”
Why was she here?
That was the million-dollar question. To prove something to herself? To prove something to Gabe? Was it simply a distraction from the complications in her life, using these women to help her through a difficult time? Or was it even worse than that? Was she tempting fate to throw her back down that deep, dark hole that had taken her years to claw her way out of?
She decided to go with what she felt was the most honest. “I’m hoping to get Gabe out of my system once and for all.”
That seemed to shock them, and for a minute, the conversation failed as they gaped at her. The sound of a key in the door, followed by the turning of the handle, saved Brooke from having to explain her statement.
Gabe waltzed in, kicking the door closed behind him. From across the room, he sought out her gaze, and they stared at each other for a heartbeat. Yep, she was definitely tempting fate.
Gabe’s gaze lingered, scorching her with its intensity. She gave him a small wave, which seemed to break the enchantment.
He glanced around the room, smiled, and said, “Ladies.”
Smiles, giggles, and general greetings followed. Gabe retrieved the red wine bottle and offered to top up Taylor and Jacey’s glasses. Taylor declined while Jacey happily accepted.
“How was everyone’s week?” he asked while switching out the red bottle for the white.
The conversation that ensued nearly made Brooke’s head spin. Like he was the devoted husband coming home from work, they discussed their week. The only difference was instead of one wife it was four he had sitting before him. As they conversed, Brooke sat quietly, occasionally suffering through a heated look from Gabe, but for the most part, he focused on what each woman was saying to him. And that was when Brooke started to see it: how Gabe paid attention to each of them and gave them exactly what they needed—someone who listened to them and gave them what they wanted.
The atmosphere in the room was carefree, and Brooke found herself easily slipping into a state of relaxation. Gabe motioned to her glass between stories, silently offering her more wine from across the room. With a shake of her head, she declined.
Casual-as-you-please, Gabe took Shannon’s glass, pressed it to his lips, and swallowed back what remained. He refilled the glass and passed it back to Shannon before corking the white. After a kiss on her forehead, he left her to continue drinking as he put the wine away.
“You’ve been quiet, Brooke.” Gabe finally addressed her directly. She knew he would, but still, she wasn’t prepared to speak. The air had changed when he’d arrived. Sure, the girls were still relaxed, but now that Gabe was here, there was a sexual undercurrent pulsing through the room.
She didn’t want to talk about what comprised most of her week—her mom. Part of the reason she’d agreed to this whole orgy thing was to forget, so she shrugged a shoulder. “I was with you on Thursday.”
Gabe looked unimpressed. “And the rest of the week?”
Tapping her finger against her bottom lip, Brooke pretended to think about it before saucily replying, “I saw you on Tuesday, too.”
His eyes narrowed. Apparently, he wasn’t in a playful mood. Well, tough titties. Just because she’d agreed to join in his sex orgy didn’t mean he could dictate to her. Some things never changed.