Manny cleared his throat and wiped his eye, a twisted smile directed at Kyle. “Damn, I almost lost it there.”
Kyle kissed his temple. “Manny, it’s me. You can let go. I got you.”
Manny lowered his shoulders slowly and turned his head to the side, away from Kyle. His chest heaved and a mournful groan came from inside him, harsh, vulnerable, and wounded. Kyle kept hold of him, his fingers wrapped onto his shoulder, stroking his thumb up and down the back of Manny’s neck. He should have been there, like this, for Manny when Jeanette passed away, and the fact that he hadn’t would always haunt him.
When Manny shuddered and took a few more deep breaths, he turned back to Kyle. Darkness had fallen, and though no tears or redness could be detected, Kyle knew that for Manny the unthinkable had happened. But Manny was truly smiling now, albeit weakly, his white teeth catching what little light came from the landscaping.
“Another beer?” Kyle asked him.
“Better go ahead and bring the whole six-pack.”
* * *
Rebecca thanked God she’d thought to pack her laptop. The purpose had been to show Olivia the listings of important collections her department had assembled and catalogued for the library, but proposing an exhibit that centered on Olivia’s heritage was so much more persuasive.
She e-mailed Craig, who loved the idea. But he had a hard time understanding how she’d come across the opportunity.
Exactly how did you get your hands on letters belonging to Olivia Hunter?
Rebecca tried to keep things vague.
Her son is a friend of a friend.
I had no idea you had friends in such high places. Actually, I’ve never heard you mention any friends before. Work/life balance is what it’s all about!
Rebecca frowned at the screen. Craig was lecturing her on a work/life balance when half the reason she worked so hard was because he was too incompetent and disorganized to handle his own workload? What a crock! She smashed her lips together and beat her response onto the keys.
It’s a long story and none of your business, but I’m living with his best friend.
So there!
Craig’s message came after a few minutes.
OK, just know that I won’t be asking the library for funding. You’ll have to pull this off on your own.
She expected nothing less from that coward.
Won’t be an issue. Hunter Railways is sponsoring. Just be ready to cash their check.
She closed the e-mail window then, finished with Craig and ready to get to work.
Another message appeared, and she sighed. Only this one was from Wilson. A selfie of him with a bottle of French Bordeaux appeared in the preview screen and the heading read:
This one is worth the wait. I hope you are too.
She rolled her eyes and closed her e-mail out entirely. Talk about not taking a hint! She needed to set him straight, and fast. But there was no time for that now.
* * *
The ideas spilled across her keyboard. The letters would be photographed and put into a book of their own, referenced in chronological order. The originals would be mounted under glass on separate pedestals, maybe positioned in a circle to symbolize the couple’s unity. Maybe a circle within a circle, each pedestal lit with artifacts of the time, perhaps something personal to Olivia’s family.
Rebecca let out an excited squeal. Even if her job hadn’t been on the line, she’d have been head over heels for this project.
Tolerance and Love: Letters of Romantic Perseverance
. At least she hoped they were romantic. Great-grandpa may have been all about getting into his future wife’s bloomers for all she knew.
She read over her notes, barely able to contain herself. Nothing put her on top of the world like the love of her work. She sighed and rested her chin on her entangled fingers, catching a glimpse of the bright moon. No, that wasn’t quite true anymore, was it? Rebecca spied the time on her laptop. Near eleven. Manny hadn’t yet stopped by to say good night.
Perhaps she should save him the trip.
The two guest rooms they’d been assigned shared an adjoining bathroom between them. She walked through and pressed her ear to the door leading to his room. Nothing. She leaned on the sink, shoulders hunched in a moment of defeat, and noticed the sheer blue fabric peeking out from the neckline of her dress.
Blame it on the adrenaline rush left over from all of that creative energy—Rebecca would go with that if anyone ever asked—but the truth could be summed up much more simply: Rebecca was horny. Ugh, she always hated that word, but it didn’t make it any less true. Her condition, however, didn’t really have a simple cure. She was buzzing on inspiration, and self-service just seemed like a letdown. Rebecca needed the man who had her flying on the touch of his lips and wanting to stay cocooned against him forever.
She began to undress. Maybe, just maybe, this gorgeous piece of lingerie could tip the scales in her favor.
She turned the knob and pressed open the door to find the room empty and dark. She took one last look at herself and shut off the lights in her own room, then closed the door to the bathroom and climbed onto his bed. Problem one: she had no idea how long she’d have to wait for him. Problem two: how exactly was she supposed to arrange herself to look slutty, but not
too
slutty?
Ten positions later, she now had time to run through the positions she wanted to try with Manny. Oh my, how the mind wanders when left to its own devices in a dark, quiet room. Soon her fingers were wandering too. Then the door opened and the light from the hall was obscured by not one but two male figures. She blinked, because just like in the movies she thought it would help make sense of what she saw. Manny backed into the room with Kyle pressing him to the wall just inside the doorway, their breathing heavy, their mouths busy with the other.
Kyle closed the door with the sole of his shoe.
“I’m so shit-faced. Is this your room or mine?” Manny whispered on an urgent breath.
“Yours. It was closer.” Kyle’s hands slipped under Manny’s polo shirt, stripping it over his head and leaving his arms tangled with it. Their hips gyrated against each other while Kyle tore at the buttons of his own shirt. Rebecca could tell that their cocks rubbed hard and fast through the soft cotton of their pants. She watched in amazement as Kyle ran his tongue flat up the side of Manny’s neck and grabbed a nice big handful of Manny’s dick, like he owned it. Her pussy clenched, and she soaked her thong in what had to have been a new world record.
Manny bent his head, seeking Kyle’s mouth with his own and their tongues flowed with short puffs of desperation escaping their lips. Rebecca inhaled at the sight of them kissing so deeply. They were so consumed with each other. Kyle explored the ridges of Manny’s abs with his hands, and he dipped his head to capture Manny’s nipple in his teeth. Then she watched him nibble over his rib cage, exchanging nips with licks.
Manny let out a groan. His eyes were closed with his head tilted back.
Kyle’s eyes were open.
And he was looking right at her.
Rebecca realized she’d been frozen in shock, splayed in exactly the same come-hither pose she’d been keeping when the door opened. God help her, her tongue was paralyzed too. She stared at them, saying nothing, seeing everything. Thanks to the bright full moon, she didn’t even miss the slow, smoky smile that crept onto Kyle’s face.
Manny looked down at him. “I’m going to tell her about us.”
“Um, I don’t think that’s necessary.” Kyle reached toward the wall and tripped the light switch.
At the sudden blast of illumination they all cursed; the pain in Rebecca’s pupils was the least of her reasons for the outburst. Her first instinct was to cover herself, though that proved damned near impossible as her second instinct, to bolt, had her crossing the room to the bathroom door.
Manny looked horrified, his eyes darting from her to Kyle and back again. She tried the doorknob and goddamn it all to hell, that motherfucker was locked!
“Oh dear Lord, just shoot me,” she muttered, steeling herself to look back in their direction.
Kyle had already taken a few steps toward her and continued with a lopsided smile and hooded eyes. He held up his hands. “This isn’t exactly how it looks.”
“Really?” she said, wrapping her arms around her boobs as tightly as possible. “Because it looks like you two were about to have sex.”
Manny raked his hands though his hair. “No, no. I wasn’t…”
Rebecca nailed him with her stare. What, did he lose his tongue all of a sudden? Maybe it was still down Kyle’s throat.
She winced. Now that was uncalled for. She wasn’t judging him. She was licking her wounded pride and trying to leave with at least a smidgen of dignity. In a softer voice she admitted her defeat. “It’s really none of my business.”
Kyle spoke, surprising her with his close proximity. “I’m pretty sure Manny is crazy about you, so it kind of
is
your business.” He jiggled the knob and gave the door a nudge upwards. The door opened and he shrugged. “Sorry, it’s an old house.”
Rebecca pushed the door further with every intention of slinking into her adjoining room and burying her head under the covers. But wait—Manny was crazy about her? She swallowed, wondering what she was supposed to do with that little tidbit when she’d just caught him attached at the lips with another guy. Was it some kind of a joke? She searched Manny’s eyes for the truth.
“I…you see…” Manny started, but he just couldn’t seem to finish.
“Forget it. You don’t have to say anything.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets and shook his head. “Fuck, I didn’t want you to find out like this.”
“Don’t…it’s my fault, really. I have no idea what I was thinking breaking in here to surprise you. Ahhh…well, it was a surprise, all right.” Rebecca tried for a joke of her own. “You said it was bad timing. I just didn’t listen. Let’s just pretend nothing ever happened.” She was sure a butterfly had caught in her throat. Her words stuttered across her tongue in a high-pitched rant, sounding as though they came from someone else. Hearing herself, she wished that they did.
Manny took a large step forward. “No. I
am
crazy about you. That might be hard to believe with what you saw, but it’s the truth.” He shifted. “Kyle and I…”
Kyle leaned forward. “Yeah, Manny? Kyle and I…” he repeated, prompting Manny to finish.
“We’re working through some unresolved stuff.”
Kyle blew out an exasperated sigh. “Oh, come on, Manny, just tell her that you want us both.”
Manny cursed and then scraped his bottom lip with his teeth. “It’s so wrong. I know.”
“To want us both?” Kyle shook his head. “Why is that wrong when we both want you?”
Rebecca threw up her hands. “Oh, this is nuts.” She started through the door again, but Kyle stepped into her way.
“What are you afraid of?” Kyle asked. “Does the idea turn you on?”
“What? No.”
“No?” He reached out and took her hand. Rebecca meant to pull it away, she really did. Only he smiled at her as if he knew that it wouldn’t matter. He already knew the truth.
Kyle squeezed her hand softly and began to walk her over to Manny. She went, thankful that he’d taken the initiative when she hadn’t found the courage.
Manny cracked a crooked grin that didn’t match the worry in his eyes. “Gee, I bet you never expected to see us making out in a million years, huh?”
She felt their eyes on her, watching her take a breath, watching the way her nipples poked through the sheer fabric. Rebecca shook her head. “No, I didn’t.”
Kyle leaned into her. “Want to see it again?”
“Kyle!”
“Let her answer. She’s a big girl.”
“That was between you two. I shouldn’t be here.”
“It could be between us.” Kyle dragged his lips over her ear, and Rebecca was frozen in her place. “What are you afraid of?” he repeated in a slow, breathless challenge.
“I’m not afraid of anything.” Oh, what a liar she’d become.
“Then don’t go. No one wants you to go.”
She looked at Manny and his tortured expression; his face was wrought with so many emotions. Pain, confusion…hope. Hadn’t she said she was a big girl who could handle herself in the face of his warning? She’d been certain she wanted to help his heart heal, whatever the source of the wound.
She put her hand flat on his chest. His heart raced beneath the bone and muscle. “Do you want me to stay?” she asked.
He dragged his gaze over her. “After you went to all this trouble to knock me out in that, that…”
“It’s a corset bra.”
“You look so fucking amazing.” Manny’s finger found its way to the soft rise of her breast, lightly tracing the silk velvet trim. She felt like a pretty prize in that moment, waiting to be unwrapped.
Kyle grinned. “Oh, now it’s OK to say something about the smoking hot outfit.”
Rebecca went hot in the face.
“And the color looks so nice with pink,” Manny said, brushing his thumb over her cheek. “Yes, I want you stay. But, here’s the problem.” He looked at Kyle and back at her with apologetic eyes. “I want him to stay too.”
Kyle eased closer. “You can help me make him feel good. Can’t you, beautiful?”
She thought of her personal collection, images of bodies draped over one another, limbs like spilled ribbons, skin flowing in hills and valleys. Those photos were made of fantasy, something to appreciate from afar and tuck away along with other untouchable dreams. Only now her fantasy stood right before her eyes.
But who the hell actually lives out those fantasies anyway? Certainly not a brainy, bookish loner who found more solace in the remnants people left behind than the living, breathing human beings they belonged to. No, she wasn’t the kind of girl who came across a situation like this. Not ever.
The question rang loud in her head.
What do you think you’re doing, Rebecca Sinclair?
It echoed and bounced around between her ears like a pinball. And yet, she found herself rising on tiptoe to kiss Manny on the mouth. His addictive lips animated her, as if she was made of electricity and he was the circuit.