Jake stayed silent.
“The timing makes it impossible,” she said, exasperated.
“Nothing is impossible,” he said grimly.
“Fine. Highly improbable then.”
Jake looked at her for a long moment then relaxed a little. “Okay,” he said. “Okay.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at the floor.
Lily sidled up to him and put her hands on his chest. “Can we do this again sometime? Obviously I need a few days, but maybe we can get together again next weekend?”
Jake kissed Lily gently. “I’m so sorry I hurt you,” he whispered. “I don’t know why you’d want to be with me after that.”
“Oh, Jake, of course I want to be with you again. I loved everything you did to me.” Lily wiggled a bit closer, brushing her breasts against his chest.
“I really liked when you played with my ass,” she said, and peeked up at him through her lashes. “Maybe you can show me some other things that we can do together? I’m a quick study.”
She felt him harden perceptibly.
“Fuck, Lily,” Jake said in a harsh voice.
“That’s the idea,” she cooed.
Before Jake could respond, they heard a brief knock and the sound of a key in the lock.
Jake pushed Lily back abruptly. He didn’t know how to explain this to Tom. He was going to kill him. He looked at Lily. Her hair was tousled, her nipples hard as pebbles, and her mouth was swollen. She had a freshly fucked look.
He didn’t need to say anything. One raking look from head to toe was enough to make his point. Lily turned and dashed up the back stairs. Jake reached for a mug and poured coffee.
Thankfully his erection had deflated at the sound of the door opening.
Tom strode into the kitchen, and Jake was nervous when he realized Tom was in uniform, his gun at his side.
Jake stepped to the side when Tom reached up for a coffee cup. Tom didn’t seem to care that Jake was in his sister’s kitchen before nine on a Saturday morning.
“Hey,” Tom said, pouring himself some coffee. “I thought I saw your truck in the driveway. You’re getting an early start this morning.”
Jake just grunted. He was waiting for a fist to fly, and then he really looked at Tom’s face. His face was a little pale, and his eyes had a pinched look. “Hey, man, are you sick?”
“Nah,” Tom said. “Just hungover. Hooked up with a hot little blonde at Starkey’s last night. Had a few more shots of tequila than was smart.”
Jake knew exactly which hot little blonde Tom was talking about. The way she’d come on to him and Derek, it wasn’t surprising she’d moved on to Tom before the night was over. Derek didn’t seem any more interested in her than Jake had been, but apparently Tom wasn’t as discerning.
“Why’d you hook up with her?” Jake asked. “Skank usually isn’t your type.”
Tom didn’t meet his eyes. “Yeah, well, I guess you don’t know my type.” Then he mumbled under his breath, “I don’t even know my type anymore.”
Lily called down the stairs. “I’ll be right down, Jake. Why don’t you grab a cup of coffee while I get the paint samples I want you to see?”
With one simple move, Lily had made it look like Jake just arrived.
“Hey, Lil,” Tom called up the stairs.
“Tommy?” Lily called back as she bounced down the back stairs. Her hair was pulled back into a barrette, and she had a loosely woven sweater on. It was airy enough to be appropriate for an early morning in the summer, and yet it was thick enough to hide her nipples.
Jake saluted her with his coffee mug. She gave him a smug smile and hugged her brother. She took one look at him and pulled a bottle of ginger ale out of her cabinet. She then pulled a single serving V8 juice out of the fridge. When she poured them into a glass together, Jake made a gagging sound.
Tom put down his coffee mug and took the noxious mixture in relief. “Thanks, sweetie,” he said.
“I have never been able to figure out how you can drink that without puking,” Jake said.
Jake had to turn his head when Tom started to chug the drink.
“Best hangover remedy in the world,” Tom said, sighing and leaning back against the counter.
“So where’s your car?” he asked Lily.
Lily didn’t spare Jake a glance. “I went to Starkey’s last night. I left early, but Jake didn’t want me to drive so he dropped me off at home. Speaking of that,” she said, turning to Jake. “After we look at my paint samples, can I get a ride to pick up my car?”
Jake was impressed. She hadn’t lied to Tom, but the way she presented the truth made everything seem innocent.
“Sure,” he said. “I want to get the crown molding put up in your office this morning, so I can either take you to pick up your car before or after I get that done.”
“It’s okay,” Tom said. “I can take her. You were good enough to take her home last night.”
Yeah, I’m a great friend,
Jake thought in self-disgust.
I just drove your sister home, took her virginity, and then fucked her this morning until she bled. Some friend I am.
Tom turned to Lily. “You ready, squirt?”
“Sure,” she answered then went to get her purse. Tom headed for the door.
Lily hung back a moment, “Will I see you next weekend?” she asked in a whisper.
Jake answered after just a short beat of silence. “Yeah.” He knew he was going to hell for what he was doing with Lily, but her words just before Tom showed up were in his head. There was so much he could teach her.
* * * *
In the squad car, Tom asked in a too-casual tone, “So, you were at Starkey’s last night?”
“Yeah,” she answered.
“What were you doing there?” Again his tone was far too casual to be sincere.
Lily was sure her little act with Jake hadn’t worked. “I just hung out with Derek and Jake for about an hour, and then Jake took me home. Jeez, Tom, it’s not like I’m under twenty-one or anything. I am old enough to be in a bar.” Her tone was a bit antagonistic. The best defense is a good offense, they say.
“It’s just that Gillian said she saw you flirting with Derek, and that Jake got mad and carried you out of the bar.” Tom said it in a rush. “I thought you said there was nothing going on with Derek, Lily.”
Lily couldn’t believe how far off the mark he was. “I flirt with Derek all the time. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Gillian said you were dressed in a short skirt rubbing your butt all over him, Lil.”
“Look, Tom. It’s none of your business what I do and who I do it with.” She was tempted to throw Jake in his face, but she didn’t want to have him warn Jake off.
Tom pulled into Starkey’s parking lot and turned toward her with a sigh. “There are just some things about Derek that you don’t know, honey. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Lily pondered that statement for a moment. She knew that Derek had never told his best friends about his bisexuality, but it sounded like Tom might have guessed. Hmm, she couldn’t help but wonder what Tom knew.
She decided to tread cautiously. “Derek’s been one of my best friends for a lot of years, Tom. I’m guessing I know as much, if not more, about certain aspects of his life than you do.”
Tom flushed and looked angry for it. “Look, you’re an adult, and he’s an adult. What you guys do together is none of my business. I just don’t want you getting hurt.”
Lily hugged Tom tightly. “I’m not in a romantic relationship with Derek, Tom. I don’t know why you would be so against it if I were, but I’m not.”
“There are just things about him you don’t know,” Tom repeated.
Lily reached for the door handle. “You know what, Tom? I’m not the ignorant one in this scenario.”
Then she got out of the car and slammed the door.
Tom watched her go, wondering what in the hell that meant.
* * * *
Lily figured she wouldn’t see Jake two nights in a row, so on Saturday night, she decided to go on a fishing expedition with Derek. She wanted to know what was up between him and Tom.
She knocked on Derek’s door, a bottle of wine in her hand.
He opened the door and raised an eyebrow at the bottle. “What’s up, doll?” he asked.
“Do you have any plans tonight?” Lily asked, shaking the bottle.
Derek opened the door wide, a smile on his face. “Not only don’t I have plans, but I have two more bottles if you want to get snockered.”
Lily laughed. “Just a couple of glasses.”
“So how did last night go?” Derek asked as he opened a drawer for a corkscrew.
When Lily stayed silent, Derek turned to her. “Not the details, love,” he assured her, “just the highlights.” He wiggled his eyebrows.
Lily laughed. She couldn’t help it. “I’m not telling you about it.” She blushed, her face turning as red as her hair.
“A couple of glasses of wine, you’ll tell all.”
Derek poured the wine and led Lily to the couch in the living room. He put the baseball game on the big screen as background while they talked.
They chatted about casual things through the first glass of wine. By the end of the second glass, everything was funny. Derek had to open another bottle of wine so that they could each have a third glass.
“So,” Derek finally asked. “How did it go?”
Lily sighed.
“That bad?” Derek asked, surprised. He had always figured that Jake would be a great lover. He had never gotten a chance to see him in action. He didn’t share women with Jake like he did with Tom. Derek slammed the door shut on that thought.
“No, it was great,” she said. “Just a little embarrassing.”
“Darlin’, if you were embarrassed, he didn’t do something right.”
Lily flushed partially with embarrassment, partially because of all the wine. She leaned toward Derek, swaying slightly. “The sex was awesome, so much better than doing it myself.”
Derek laughed and hugged her. “I would hope so. So what was embarrassing?”
Lily knew she should never have said she was embarrassed. Derek was a good enough friend that there was no way he would let it go without an explanation. “It was just that my monthly friend came a week early.” Then she frowned. “I think. It seems to have already stopped.”
* * * *
Derek felt an overwhelming tenderness. “Lily, you know that you’re going to bleed a little the first time.”
“I shouldn’t have,” she said. “I’m twenty-six years old. And I definitely shouldn’t have the second time.”
Derek knew he should have been embarrassed himself talking about this, but this was Lily. She was his best friend.
“Lily, you’re a tiny, little thing. I know that Jake’s hung like a horse. The second time would be worse than the first.” Derek frowned. “Jake should have known that and left you alone.”
Now Lily blushed hotly. “I, um, sort of woke him up with, um…”
Derek stopped her before she could go on. “Ahhh. No need to say more, doll.”
“Then Tom showed up early,” Lily said.
Derek stiffened. “He did? What did he say?” He tried to sound casual and drained his glass. He got up unsteadily and refilled it then topped off Lily’s glass.
“He didn’t catch us or anything,” she said. “He was hung over and didn’t even question why Jake was there.”
She slid her slightly blurry gaze toward Derek. “He did ask about you though. I guess some girl told him I was teasing you.”
“Gillian.” Derek said flatly. “Yeah, she tried to get me to go home with them last night. When I didn’t want to, she told Tom that I must have been pining over you. They left about ten minutes later.”
“Why would she think you’d go home with them?” Lily asked.
Derek cleared his throat. “She knew someone that Tom and I, um, spent some time with.”
“Together?” She sounded shocked. “I thought I heard Jake mention that at the bar, but I didn’t realize he meant you sleep with a woman at the same time.”
Derek slapped his wine glass onto the table, the liquid sloshing precariously close to the edge. “We didn’t sleep with her, Lily. We fucked her. Until I got stupid.”
Deflated, he hung his head. He was clearly drunker than he’d realized because he told her the truth. “Tom and I used to share women all the time. The last time was six months ago.”
“What happened?” Lily whispered, putting her glass down and hugging Derek.
He laid his head on her chest, just like he had when he was a nervous college kid trying to explain his sexuality to a sixteen-year-old girl. “I touched him.”
Lily took a deep breath. “What did he do?”
“I don’t think he realized I was touching him. I mean, she was riding me and sucking him off. He was kneeling right by my head.” He hesitated, suddenly realizing that Tom’s sister wouldn’t want to hear all the details.
“It’s okay,” she said. “Keep going. I think you’ve held this inside for too long. For tonight, we’re going to pretend he’s not my brother.”
Derek needed to talk. He needed to have someone who really knew him listen. “His head was tilted back, and he wasn’t looking at her. I reached over and slid my hand up the inside of his leg. By the time I reached his balls, he was coming. I let go, and that was it.”
“Why don’t you share women anymore?” Lily asked. “Tom doesn’t know what you did. Or if he knew, he didn’t mind.”
Derek raised his gaze to her. “The woman saw what I did,” he whispered. “And worse, I know I won’t be able to stop with a touch next time. I’ve loved him since we were teenagers.”
“Oh, Derek,” Lily said, holding him close. “Maybe—”
“No.” Derek voice was gruff but absolute. “I know Tom is completely straight. I’ll be fine.”
They were silent for a few minutes. “Lily?” Derek asked. His voice sounded sad and insecure. “Can we just lie down for a while?”
“Sure, sweetie,” Lily said.
She lay down, and he put his arm around her waist. Derek pulled the throw blanket over them, and before either could think it through, they slept.
Jake was worried and pissed. Where was Lily? He knew she was too sore to have sex, but did that mean she didn’t expect him to come just to spend time with her? He waited at her house until after midnight.
At six the next morning, he was back there again. Her car still wasn’t in the driveway, and there was no answer at her door. Where could she have been all night?