The Stagers (12 page)

“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Dolores added, leaving the group. Frank turned to Farrin and added in a not-so-hushed tone, “If you don’t come home, you’ll make life hell for the rest of us.”

“Maybe your daughter should have thought of that before she slept with my husband and had his child.” She let out a deep, shuttering breath as Frank rushed toward the door.

“Sorry about that. I guess our weekend plans are shot.” She looked disappointed.

“We’ll try again next week,” he said, holding her gaze. “Do you really want to go home, Farrin?”

“No, this is my home now, here in Miami and with you and Lyle. This is where I belong.”

Van slid his arm around her shoulder and drew her close. His lips met her forehead in a light kiss. “You stand up for yourself, girl. Lyle and I both want you here. Don’t second guess that.”

“Thanks, I’ve got to go. Keeping them waiting will only make Mother madder. I’ll see you Monday.”

“Call if you need anything, like moral support or a place to stay while they’re here.” She gave him a cryptic smile and slowly left the restaurant. Van headed back to the bar where Lyle had watched the interaction.

“Wow, what a bitch,” Van said, drinking his beer. “And the stepfather….”

“They were polite to you tonight. In the shop today, they didn’t care what they said or who heard. I think they did it especially to embarrass her.”

“What do we do?”

“I suppose we wait until Monday and reinforce how much she means to us. To both of us.” Lyle sat back on his barstool and watched Van.

“I suppose you’re right.”

“You know what that means, Van?”

“Yeah, I do, and I haven’t run screaming from the room yet. That should account for something.”

“It’s a first I’ve witnessed. So I guess the time has come. Where do we stand, and what do we want for our futures?”

“If you asked me that a few months ago, I would have said no attachments. But, between you and me, bud, I guess it’s about time for attachments and relationships. It just took finding the right woman to make me accept it.”

“Me too. Can we share her, or do you just get her?”

“I suppose that’s ultimately her decision, isn’t it? I like our three-way partnership, at work and in bed. I’m not looking to make any changes.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Lyle tapped his bottle against Van’s. “I guess this means we’re growing up and becoming responsible adults.”

“It was bound to happen sooner or later. I can see the long term with Farrin, and it scares the hell out of me, can you?”

“Yes, I fell for her the first time I spoke with her on the telephone, and when I met her in person, well, love superseded lust for the first time in my life.”

Van dropped his arm around Lyle’s shoulders. “My young apprentice is grown up.”

“Sucks don’t it, though? Why does everything have to change just when it was going so smoothly?”

“Yeah, I agree it sucks, but we all knew it would happen at some point. Now we just have to figure out how to keep her with us.”

“I’ll drink to that.”

Chapter Sixteen

Van and Lyle experienced strange weekends. When they met up Sunday afternoon, Lyle was solemn and antsy. Van had spent Saturday on the boat touring the area. In the past, just the freedom and smell of the salt air would revive him. It hadn’t. Instead, he found the boat ride was boring. It seemed like a lot of work for a few hours of fun when he was tying her off and washing her down. Sunday he spent on the patio lounging, the newspaper scattered around him in sections but still unread.

They sat beside each other, watching the water and other boats going past.

“This sucks. I want to storm over there and tell her parents to go to hell, or back to New Jersey.” Lyle kept his gaze ahead, not looking to Van.

“I’ve had similar thoughts, but I think we have to give her this space.”

“You want a drink?”

“No. See, I can’t even enjoy a Sunday afternoon since those people came.” Lyle let out a huffing sound.

“We’ll know her decision by tomorrow morning. Just chill and wait it out. You hungry?”

“I could eat but more out of angst than hunger.”

Van tossed a folded towel lying near him at Lyle. “Come on, I’m sick of being here, too.”

“That’s because you keep picturing her fucking us here.”

“All right, yes. I look around and remember how she looked and tasted and how her body pulsed around my cock.”

They were stoic for several seconds before Lyle let a smile creep onto his lips. “If it all blows up, at least we have great memories.”

“Yeah, let’s hope we get more to savor in our old days.” Van stood and stretched to his full height. “Come on, deli or diner?”

“Deli tonight. I’ll order her favorite sandwich, turkey with Swiss cheese on rye with mayo, and coleslaw. It will make me feel like she’s dining with us.” They walked through Van’s home, and Lyle waited while he locked up. “I’ll drive. I’m not drinking tonight.”

* * * *

The drive down the coastline at dark was a beautiful sight. After dropping her mother and her stepfather at the airport, much to their surprise, Farrin drove the coast road down to the Florida Keys. Even in the fading light, the old cottage gave her a static jolt. She sat on the deserted beach front, her arms wrapped around her knees, hugging them to her chest, and asked herself what she really wanted from her life, now, at this time. Situations were different than they had been at the first of the year when she moved here. In the back of her mind, she always figured she could move on or even go back to New Jersey if she hated Florida. But she didn’t. Instead, she’d fallen into her dream job with two very interesting and diverse men who lavished her with their sexual attentions.

She realized this was the first time in her life she was making the decisions for herself. There were no parents whispering in her ear or husband, rather ex-husband, trying to sway her in their directions.
Well, I’ve managed quite
well for myself, so far
.

Farrin accepted that she was a responsible adult and would make choices that fit her for a change. Glancing back over her shoulder, the old cottage loomed in the darkness.

“I could do it,” she said aloud, mentally recalculating her finances. “I could actually own this house and land and eventually make it beautiful and useful again, a sanctuary to come home to.” From that image, the decision was made. While she struggled with it the rest of the night, she knew deep in her heart, this was what she wanted to do. She’d turn the house back into a home. She’d even be able to turn the garage into an art studio. A rush of anticipation chased through her body. Farrin hadn’t painted since the situation with her husband started. The concept of having a space to drip paint on the floor and leave her canvases to dry was appealing.

For a while, she’d thought her painting days were gone. She just didn’t have the enthusiasm to work at it. Yes, she still sketched for her staging job, but that was different than standing before a blank canvas and wondering what it would look like when she’d finished with it. At the time, she’d seen nothing but blankness.

Her fingers itched to get to a sketch pad, the visual of her two men, her lovers intertwined with her the first idea she’d put to canvas. The idea of having the two men naked, intimately posed as she asked, moistened her pussy. The idea that she’d join them during the process made her wet. She stood and gave the site one last, longing look before she drove home at leisurely pace, one hand on the wheel, the other dropped in her lap, stroking her clit through her shorts.

At home, she sprayed each room with deodorant to clear the heavy scent of her mother’s perfume. Then she slid across her bed, and moved her right hand to her clit, rubbing it lightly as she humped the covers. With her eyes closed, she pictured Van and Lyle standing naked beside her bed, close enough for her to lean up and suck their cocks.

When the image continued to piqué her imagination, she rolled over and took her toys from the bedside drawer. Feeling the weight of her original dildo, she dropped it on the bed, reaching for her new purchase, a smaller, slimmer dildo she’d just bought. Farrin stripped off her clothes and crawled back on the bed. One toy she sucked on while she teased her clit with the other. When the first one was wet, she tucked it in her pussy, already wet and wanting. The second she sucked as she fingered her clit, pumping her hips up and down to shift the toy inside her. As her orgasm neared, she gently pushed the second in her anus. Turning on her belly, she rubbed against her fingertips, the toys moving with her body until she found the exact spot that pushed her over the edge into an orgasm that left her breathless and sweaty.

A quick shower and she sat on her balcony, her wet hair air drying, her body covered only in a light robe. Her hand crossed across the sketch pad in a flurry, trying to commit her lusty ideas to paper before she forgot them. When she finished, there were four small, sketched scenarios on the page, each with her and her men in different sexual positions.

Glancing out at the marina below, she again accepted this was her place in the world. Farrin now resided in Miami, Florida. This is where she would rebuild her future.

* * * *

Farrin bustled into the office Monday morning as usual. She carried a cardboard holder with three cups of coffee and several assorted Danishes. She already knew from seeing Lyle and Van’s vehicles in the parking lot they were there. She wondered if they’d thought about her over the weekend. Knowing how much they invaded her dreams and waking hours, she hoped she’d been on their minds, too.

“Good morning, gentlemen. How did your weekend go?” She paused to let her carryall slide off her shoulder to the empty seat and started handing out the coffees. “Lyle, thanks for Friday off, and my apologies for the scene my mother created in your workplace.” Finally, she sat and glanced between the two men. “All right, ask what you want to know. Say what you need to say. I know they were rude and embarrassing, and I’m sorry. I’ve asked them never to show up here again, under any circumstances.”

“Are they still here?” Van enquired, taking a tentative sip of the hot brew.

“Would I be this happy if they were? No, I put them on a plane home yesterday afternoon. We decided they should spend their vacation somewhere else.” She didn’t hold back the giggle forming in her chest.

“And?” Lyle asked straining forward in his seat. “What is your decision? Are you staying with us or going back?”

“There was never a decision to make. I made my choices last winter when I came here. This is my home, where I live and work.”

“How much guilt and grief will you get?”

“Probably as much as before, but their trip reinforced my decisions were right for me. Their guilty consciences can’t rule my life.”

“And they accepted this? Your mother didn’t seem so willing when I met her.” Van shifted in his seat to watch her openly.

Farrin sipped from her cup and then stalled, debating which pastry she wanted, tearing the Danish in half. She took several small bits and licked her fingers clean of the white icing. “I explained to them that I’m not down here hating all of them. Yes, my husband cheated on me. Yes, my stepsister had his child. And yes, when it was all happening, I found it hard to believe my mother would side with them. ‘The baby to be considered and all…’ But I tried to make them understand that hate takes too much time and energy. I’ve come to terms with the situation on grounds I can live with. I think that pissed them off the most. In a way, they wanted to find me down here pining away for my old life. One I could never get back.”

“What are your terms, Farrin?” Van shot Lyle a warning glace over his cup, but Lyle went on. “Damn it, we deserve to know if you’re staying with us.”

“My terms are simple. I don’t hate the family. I just don’t picture myself spending a lot of time with them. I live here in Florida now. This is my home.” She paused and sipped from her cup. “And I’m hoping these last days haven’t cost me my job or my men.” There, it was out. She’d said the words. The ball was in their court. If they wanted her to stay on the job, she would. If they wanted her to stay with them, well, she hoped they did.

“Your job was never in question, my dear. Only if you’d leave us and go back north.” Lyle’s grin was full.

“I like our situation as it was,” Van added, shifting in his seat before standing and pacing the small office.

“But,” she asked, knowing from his expression something else was brewing. “Talk to me, Van. Are you tired of our personal relationship? Because if you are, I believe I can continue to work with you and leave that side behind.”

She didn’t expect his hand to hit the wall with such power. “Damn it, Farrin, that’s exactly what I don’t want. I want you in my life. I want the three of us back the way we were before your parents intruded.”

For the first time since she’d known him, Van blushed. His neck and cheeks turned a deep crimson.

“Thank God.” She rose and hugged him from behind.

“That’s what I want, too. I was afraid they’d spoiled this for us.” Lyle stood and walked toward them, engulfing them in a bear hug.

“Are we back to normal, or whatever we consider normal?”

“As far as I’m concerned, we are,” Farrin reinforced.

“Good, I’m not great with all this emotional stuff.”

“Oh, and like I was this weekend?” Lyle gave a pronounced pout. “The two of us were like wounded dogs looking for solace.” He hesitated but went on. “Why neither of us even thought about sex, didn’t even mention it to one another. Does that tell you how upset we were?” He hugged them tighter to him.

“My men,” she said with a deep sigh. “I suppose I should take care of your wounds.” Pulling from the hug, she moved to the office door and locked it. Then she went to Lyle’s desk and made sure the web cam was shut off. Finally, she took the phone off the hook. Plopping her weight in Lyle’s wheeled desk chair, she scooted herself around the furniture to the center of the room and sat straight. “Come here, I need my cocks.” She lifted both hands and smiled as both men stepped forward. “Drop the pants, men.” When they both stood still, she added, “Now drop them, I said.”