Vivian Arend - Falling, Freestyle

He let himself into Dara’s apartment with her spare key and shouted a warning.

“Get your hands off her, you bloody idiot. You were all high and mighty a little while ago, feeding me back my words—”

He thrust open the door to her room, fully expecting to see them naked and tangling the sheets. Or Dara rubbing a sore butt cheek, eyes filled with tears. Instead the bed was covered with a Monopoly board, and Dara and Kane, fully clothed, fists full of popcorn, reclined on either side of the game.

“Hey, just because she asks me to sell Park Place doesn’t mean I’ve got to.” Kane snickered as he glanced Jack up and down. “Nice choice of attire, man. You wander the halls of the apartment like that and Santa’s going to put you on the naughty list for sure.”

“Jack? You okay?” Dara slipped off the bed, concern filling her eyes. “You look upset.”

What the hell was going on? Jack glared at them. “How did you do that?”

“Do what?” She frowned before slipping a few popcorn kernels into her mouth.

Was he going insane? He could have sworn he’d heard them. He scrambled to recall the actual words, but there was no way he could have misinterpreted the sexual sounds for people playing a board game. Kane turned his face away, but not before Jack caught a glimpse of a smile.

Kane…smiling? Even though Jack stood ready to pound the shit out of him for hurting Dara? What the hell was going on? Understanding broke over him, and for a second he wasn’t sure if he should leave, slug Kane like he’d planned in the first place, or burst out laughing.

“It wasn’t real. What I heard wasn’t real. How the fuck did you… Damn it, you set me up.”

Dara approached cautiously, as if concerned he was going to growl at her again. “Kinda?”

“Hey, no ‘kinda’ about it,” Kane gloated from the bed. He leaned back, hands crossed behind his head, wiggling his brows at Jack. “That was a damn good ruse. He fell for it—hook, line and sinker.”

She turned slightly and put her finger to her lips. “Shh, he doesn’t need to hear that yet. We can taunt him later.”

“It’s more fun when it’s immediate.” Kane reached beside him and pulled away a pillow to expose a walkie-talkie and his laptop computer. The open screen revealed a shot of Jack’s bedroom from a high angle.

Jack jerked in disbelief. “You set up a camera in my closet? If you wanted to see me naked, you could have just sat on the bloody bed.”

“It’s my cell phone, and yeah, well, you tell me this didn’t get your attention right where it hurt the most.”

Jack glanced back and forth between the two of them. On his right, his best friend grinned openly. On his left, stood the woman he cared about the most in the entire world. Only these two would have the gall to pull him out of a funk before he could wallow in it, because they were the only two that knew him, inside and out.

To hell with caution, it was time to take a chance. But they needed to know what cards he was laying on the table. If they’d take him, the real him, he was willing to try.

He held his arms out and Dara’s face lit up in the split second he had to see it before she threw herself at him. She burrowed in like a nesting animal, tucking tight to his side. “Please, Jack…”

“Spank you?”

From across the room Kane shouted in dismay. “Hey, none of that.”

Jack offered a smirk. “I wasn’t volunteering to spank you.”

“Thank God.”

Dara wiggled in his arms with her laughter, and he arranged them so he could look her in the eye. “Please what, Dara?”

She took a quick breath and held it for a second before blurting the words out. “Give us a chance. It might not work, but it might. It’s worth a shot.”

Jack waited, watching the emotions roll over her face. He imagined she saw the same kind of things in his. Some fear, tons of need. Rising hope.

Falling in love?

“Sweetheart, it’s not as easy as that. All weekend I’ve been thinking about how right it felt to be with you. When I wasn’t feeling jealous, I even loved watching you with my best friend, even though he does have a serious issue with exhibitionism.”

“Hey!”

Jack flipped Kane the bird, never taking his eyes off Dara’s face. Kane laughed out loud and she smiled as she lifted her hand to his face. Her touch was infinitively soft against the stubble on his jaw.

“But, Dara, I’ve got to tell you the truth. I like to be in charge in the bedroom.”

“I noticed.” She flushed hard. “I liked it.”

He paused. “What if I get even more bossy? Could you still enjoy it? I toned it down a lot the last couple of days, and if we do this thing, I’m not going to do that again.” Jack glanced at Kane who was sitting at attention, listening to his every word. “And you. What if I start ordering you around as well? Especially when it’s the three of us together?”

Kane grinned. “I’d say hallelujah and pass the plate for more.”

Fuck.

“Seriously?” Jack asked. Could the whole issue be solved this easily?

Kane nodded. “When it’s the three of us together, having you call the shots was pretty incredible. I didn’t mind at all. Of course, if you interrupt Dara and I when we’re alone, or try to touch me yourself, I will break your face.”

Dara laughed softy. “Jack, we’ve got a lot of things to figure out while we work through this, but I loved how you had such power over me. The restraints, the spanking you made Kane give me, even making me wait for release… I’ve never felt more loved and cared for than when I let you take charge.”

She turned and pointed to Kane. “And it all balances out nicely with Mr. Showoff here, who made me smile by cutting it up in the ski line, or chasing me down the hill like a sex maniac. I love the unique things you both bring to me, and it’s always been that way as friends. Why should I expect you to be anything but yourself when it comes to sex?”

Jack stared into her pretty green eyes. It was true. They’d never asked him to do the changing; it had been his idea in the first place. To find out it hadn’t been necessary—the relief hit him hard, although if he could kick himself in the ass right now he would. He’d wasted part of the time they’d had together.

He cleared his throat. “Damn it, you two. I’m supposed to be the logical one of our trio.”

Kane laughed out loud. “Right. Like we’ll fall for that load of bull.”

Dara rested her head on his chest and hugged him tightly, squeezing the final bits of fear from his system.

He lifted her chin until he could see into her face.

“I hoped I’d get a chance to do this privately somewhere down the road, but I suppose what we’re entering into means ‘private’ has new definitions. Dara, you want to move in with Kane and me? I really care about you. I think I love you, and I’d like to see where we can take this.”

A mischievous expression flashed over her face. “Hang on…”

She slipped from his arms and out of the room. Jack watched her go, uncertainty seizing him.

“Good one, Jack, you scared her off already.”

Jack pivoted slowly, giving Kane a glare. “Freaks?”

“Exhibitionist?”

They both laughed and Kane rose to give him a huge bear hug. They pounded each other on the back in typical guy fashion before Kane grabbed him by the arms. “This only works because it’s you. We’ve been there for each other forever. This is just one more adventure.”

Jack nodded. “We’re going to have to get a bigger apartment.”

“Bigger beds.”

“Another ski-getaway in February.”

Kane laughed. “Definitely.”

Dara strolled back, her hands tucked behind her back. Jack eyed her carefully. Tricky woman. Between her and Kane, he was never going to get to relax again. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“I thought this would be the best way.” She pulled out three chocolate bars and passed them around. “They’re from the freezer, so don’t break your teeth.”

Kane scooped her up and spun her in a circle. “You’re a goof.”

“Takes one to know one.”

It seemed more than appropriate. Jack held up his 3 Musketeers bar with ceremony. “Ahem. I hereby proclaim we’re all for one…”

Kane lowered Dara carefully, keeping her tucked under his arm. She held out her free hand and took Jack’s in it, linking their fingers together before raising her chocolate bar to meet the other two.

“…and I’m the one for all,” she declared.

The three of them burst out laughing. Jack cupped the back of her neck and drew her in for a long, slow kiss, letting the taste of her wash over him and clear away the remaining concerns. For now, this was all they needed to be together.

Loving, freestyle.

Vivian Arend has hiked, biked, skied and paddled her way around most of North America and parts of Europe. Throughout all the wandering in the wilderness, stories have been planted and they are bursting out in vivid colour. Paranormal, twisted fairytales, red-hot contemporaries—the genres are all over.

Between times of living with no running water, she home schools her teenaged children and tries to keep up with her husband—the instigator of most of the wilderness adventures.

She loves to hear from readers: vivarend@gmail.com. You can also drop by www.vivianarend.com for more information on what is coming next.