Vivian Arend - Falling, Freestyle

They already had an awesome relationship as a trio. The only thing that had changed this weekend was adding a physical relationship. Hopefully they could beat that fact into Jack’s head sooner than later.

Dara twisted to straddle him, bringing her lips against his throat. She opened his collar and touched him with her tongue as she tugged on his shirt. His body was interested, very much so in fact, but he held her wrists and stopped her.

“I think I should go see Jack. Make sure he’s okay.”

Dara unbuttoned his shirt. “He’s being a grump. How will it help to go see him? Maybe we should give him more space to cool off.”

Kane was tempted, really tempted, but giving Jack enough time to rationalize this even more would make their task that much harder. “He doesn’t need to calm down, we need to get him really riled up. Make him mad enough to fight for what he really wants because, Dara, he wants you. I know it.”

She tilted her head and her expression changed to The Look. The one that made him shake in his boots. The one Jack called her Devil Face.

“You want to make him mad? You up for a little acting? Because I think I know one way to get him to react.”

“Oh good Lord, Dara, what are you dreaming up now?”

“It’s kind of poetic justice, really. They got us into this trouble and maybe they can get us out.”

They? Who the hell is she talking about?

She scrambled off his lap and dug through her backpack. She twirled with a cry of satisfaction, holding up a pair of—

“Walkie-talkies?”

Dara’s smirk grew wider. “To the rescue. Let’s see what a little eavesdropping does to Jack.”

Alpine Responsibility Code

Rule #10—Share the responsibility for a safe experience with others.

Jack sprawled on the couch and sucked on his beer. He stared at the bottle mindlessly for a minute before focusing on the label. The icy cold local brew—called Faceplant—always made Dara giggle when she handed them out, and he gritted his teeth together and turned up the volume on the television. He flicked through channels and wondered if Kane was even going to come home tonight.

Damn it, why’d he leave? He could have been there with them right now, or better yet, they should have hauled Dara into their apartment and his king-sized bed.

He held the bottle to his temple. Right. For tonight. And tomorrow. But what about after that? What about when he couldn’t hold back any longer and started taking charge again, not only of Dara, but Kane?

He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t put aside his need to lead in the bedroom. For the second half of the trip he’d tried that, forcing down his more dominating urges. Trying to change the way he operated had made him lose something fundamental. Even though he was controlling when it came to sex, he had always connected emotional caring with the physical demands he made. He hadn’t even realized that had been missing for the past day until he’d heard Kane as they prepared to take Dara together. Kane had been the one with the soft words, talking about making love. Talking about wanting to be there to support her. Wanting to share the experience so it became much more than just a physical thrill.

Dara and Kane were the ones who deserved to be together, without him coming in and ordering their world. Changing his spots seemed impossible, no matter how much the offer she’d made tempted him.

Maybe I could deal with it if it meant I could have Dara.

Fuck.

No, this was a better way. He’d use the excuse of society, and after a while Dara and Kane would accept it. Somehow he’d find a way to not let them know he was slowly dying as they carried on in front of him.

The door opened with a clatter and he startled upright. Kane entered, his pack on his back. He stared at Jack, looked as if he was about to speak, then turned and headed silently to his room.

Jack stared morosely at the screen. Great. Now all three of them were miserable. He was a fucking genius, he was.

Kane rattled around for a while in the back of the apartment. The shower clicked on and Jack found himself with his hand on the front door before jerking to a stop. His body was ready to return to her without any qualms at all. No. He had to give this breathing time. He paced back to the couch.

But there was no reason why he couldn’t call her. Just to make sure she was all right.

She answered on the fourth ring.

“Jack?”

“Umm, just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Silence on the line. A soft sniff. “I’m fine.”

“You want to come over and watch some TV with me?” Sheesh, pathetic much? Surely he could beg a little harder. Throw in a few grovels for good measure. He’d been away from her for what? Thirty minutes, and he was caving already.

“Kane’s coming here.” She whispered the words and his heart stopped in mid-beat. “He’s just grabbing a shower and some stuff, and said he’d spend the night.”

A dagger of pain went through him. His best friend worked damn fast. Still, this was what he wanted, wasn’t it? “Okay. Well. Later then—”

“Jack, I love you.”

He scrambled for words, but before he could answer, she hung up.

She loved him? He buried his face in his hands. She loved him, but his best friend was going to be the one in her bed tonight.

Because I’m an idiot.

Jack wasn’t sure how long he sat there, numb and needy. Wishing he could see a way out of the hellish hole he’d dug for himself. Behind him, Kane cleared his throat, and Jack forced himself to turn and look him in the eye.

“I’m heading over to Dara’s. You’re welcome to come.”

Inside his belly, anger and frustration battled. “I said no.”

“You said a lot of things over the past few days, mainly to Dara, but I’ve been listening as well. You talked about not feeling guilty over what brings you pleasure. About trusting yourself. Not rushing into any decisions.”

“So?”

Kane shook his head. “Take your own damn advice. She needs you, and you need her. Hell, I’m the one who should be curled up in a fetal position.”

Jack frowned. “Why would you be freaking out?”

Kane laughed mockingly. “Oh, maybe because I found out having you around during sex wasn’t nearly the issue I thought it would be?” He held up a finger. “I’m not saying I want to get it on with you, but you were right. It’s a bloody big turn-on to be with Dara at the same time as you. Because it’s her, and because it’s you—my two best friends.”

Jack broke eye contact to stare at the wall. “I can’t do this tonight.”

“She needs you, man. She needs me. Don’t throw this away.”

Rustling noises followed as Kane hefted his bag and left. Jack sat miserably for a while before grabbing another beer and returning to the television. He cranked it up loud and settled in to watch something mindless.

Over an hour passed before he hauled himself upright. He’d been flipping through the same damn mental pathways over and over again.

He had to change his ways. If he changed he could be with Dara and Kane. But how much more would it hurt down the road to have to call it off if it didn’t work, or if he ruined their friendship in the process?

Jack growled at himself in exasperation as he hit his room. He threw his dirty clothes into the laundry and himself into the shower. The steamy water didn’t wash away any of his troubles, and when he made the mistake of picturing Kane in Dara’s bed, he had to turn the water to icy cold to deal with his instant arousal. He was not going to jerk off to the memories of being with his best friends.

Not when I could be with them.

He snapped off the water and stalked naked into his room to find clean clothes.

And froze at the sound of voices. Muffled, but loud enough to recognize as Dara and Kane.

“Like that?”

“Oh hell, yes, right there. So good, Kane. More, please, more.”

The words trailed away but the sounds of their lovemaking continued. Jack searched the room in a frenzy to find where it was coming from. The moaning and grunts of pleasure were driving him mad by the time he found the walkie-talkie. It was tucked into the side of his backpack, the listen button jammed in the “on” position. Fuck it. Somehow the two at the other end must have accidentally triggered theirs as well.

Jack smacked the casing to try to get the button to release. It had been bad enough to be imagining them having sex without him, he didn’t need a live play-by-play.

“Kane, would you…spank me?”

Oh my God. The image of her bare butt glowing pink flashed to his mind and his dick went instantly rigid.

“I’m not sure.”

“I loved it when you did it the other day. You and Jack, it was so good. Please?”

No. Fucking. Way. Jack couldn’t stand it any longer. He cracked open the battery compartment, ready to break the connection when he heard a loud slap and a sharp answering gasp from Dara.

Another slap.

She cried out in pain, not pleasure, and Jack swore.

“Ouch, no. Stop, that hurts.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to…fuck that. I can’t. It’s not my thing and I think it’s for freaks anyway. Jack should have known better than—”

The walkie-talkie fell unminded to the floor, the batteries rolling two different directions as Jack saw red. For freaks, hey? What happened to the little lecture about not feeling guilty about things that brought pleasure? He yanked on a pair of boxers and stormed through the apartment. Just because the bastard had no finesse didn’t give him the right to hurt Dara.