She lay on her stomach, smiling, sleepy, giddy, enjoying the feeling of their lips on her back.
"The straight branch has five blossoms," she said. "The lower two are for my mom and dad. The upper three are for Joe and the kids. The ones on the branch going to the right are for Sunny and Tej."
"And the one branching off to the left?" Rachel asked.
"Those two are for you and Al."
"It's so beautiful," she said, and Lauren was surprised to hear emotion in Rachel's voice. Rachel kissed it in the very spot where Lauren knew their blossoms to be, and she felt tears when Rachel pressed her face into her back. "It's also incredibly sexy."
"I agree," Al said, and Lauren felt his lips there too. "When did you get it?"
"A couple of weeks ago," she replied. "Before that party, Joe asked me why I never got a tattoo, and he mentioned cherry blossoms for a motif. After what happened with Ralph that night, I realized that life was too short and, along with the counselling, I thought I would get one to help me heal. I thought the cherry blossoms would be perfect, honouring my Japanese heritage, and I thought it would be a nice tribute to everyone I love."
"It suits you," Al said. "The pink agrees with your skin tone."
"You've always looked good in pink," Rachel agreed. "That blouse you wore at the memorial and at the party, it's this kind of pink."
"Oh, you noticed that was the same blouse, huh? Shit."
"Who cares? I couldn't take my eyes off you at the party."
"I know. I wanted to take you in here and lock the door." They were in Rachel and Al's bedroom, spent from a marathon of lovemaking. They'd made sure to close the door to Samson this time, and Lauren felt a little sorry about that; the cat had proved crucial to the case against Ralph, and leaving him out seemed like a punishment instead of a reward.
Lauren couldn't remember being so tired, but it was a good tired. They had more time today than they'd had the first time the three of them had been together, so they had the luxury of just lying snuggled on the bed, all three of them, one on either side of her, and it was so lovely, and Lauren was so happy she could cry, but their kisses on her back prickled like the tattoo needle had in those hours on the table in the tattoo parlour, and it made her giggle instead.
She'd surprised Joe with the tattoo right after she'd gotten it, and it had aroused him so much that he'd been as energetic with her as he'd been pre-Joanie, making sure he didn't actually touch the area because it had been wrapped in plastic wrap and still sore. It made her happy that he still wanted her, because it meant he wasn't going anywhere, and her marriage was secure, but she'd also wanted to show Rachel and Al as soon as she could and see their reaction. Finally, they had this opportunity, and they took every advantage.
"And yet you ended up making out with my husband," Rachel said.
"We were drugged, remember?" Al said.
"Uh-huh. I guess that was established. Tell me more of what happened while you were looking for us. After you woke up naked in this bed without any memory of what happened."
Al and Lauren traded off telling the story. When they were finished, Rachel said, "Those are the facts. Now tell me the feelings. Lauren, before that thing at the party, I had no indication that you were attracted to him. I knew you would have done her at the drop of a hat," Rachel said to Al.
"During those two days we looked for you, Al was a perfect gentleman," Lauren said.
"Yes, but I'll admit there were times when we were together those two days when I really wanted to kiss you," Al said.
"I know, I could tell," she said. She turned over and bopped him on the chest with her fists. "Horndog."
"I like when you use that word."
"Really?! I feel like I'm twelve when I use that word."
"Okay, now I feel creepy for liking it."
She smiled. "Well, I felt pretty close to kissing you too, like when you brushed dirt and leaves from my hair after I tripped over Charlie's grave. When you touched me that time it felt like an electric shock all through my body." She turned to Rachel and said, "I asked him to stay over that night so I could sleep. He slept in my bed with me but it was just sleep."
"Uh-huh. I thought you said he slept downstairs."
"Okay, I lied. It would have just complicated things if I told you the truth. We were just so happy you were back, and we didn't want to distress you with the truth right then."
Al nodded. "You know I spent most of that night in the same position, with my arm around your waist and an erection I couldn't satisfy? You'd pulled me into it in your sleep."
"I wasn't asleep," she said sheepishly, feeling Rachel's stink eye. "Well, maybe half asleep, but I knew what I was doing. And you never took advantage. That's what I mean, Al, you're such a good guy, you wouldn't let yourself give in to your desire even though you might have gotten a freebie from me two nights before; you knew we weren't in our right minds at the time and didn't assume I'd want you the same way again. By that time I was fully into you, though, and when I woke up that morning, I was ready to reward you for being a good boy."
"I used that same move when we first got together," Rachel said. "It's a good test of how good a man is if he can control himself when you didn't specifically ask for sex. A good boy, though, as you say, would have been content with one girl." She said this last pointedly.
"So would a good girl," Lauren retorted. "We're all getting something we want, here, aren't we?" She made sure to give Rachel attention, now, and soon she was climbing on top of her. She looked Rachel in the eye and said, "I fucking love you, and that's why I want to share everything with you."
"Everything?" Rachel asked. "So, if Joe ever gets tired of Joanie, you'd loan him out to me?"
Her question was like a punch in the gut, but it was a fair one. "Do you want him?"
Rachel considered it, and her mouth seemed to chew on the answer for a moment. Finally she said, "I think what we did while we were out there was just us reaching out to the only other warm body around, and that tenderness expressed itself in some physicality, but it wasn't like the two of you. For example, that Saturday when we thought we found your van, Lauren, we went back to your house, and Joe and I had a talk on the balcony, and I walked him around to get his legs moving. I was his crutch because his knee was still in pain, and so I had a lot of his weight on me. His touch did not feel electric to me. We were just two old friends, almost siblings, again. I think both of us are good with that."
"So, Rachel's other is you," Al said, "and my other is you, and Joe's other is Joanie, now... but you have two others, Lauren."
Rachel blinked in surprise. "That's right. You make out the best of all of us, you nympho."
Lauren shrugged and smirked, feeling strangely pleased with herself. "What can I say? I'm a very sensual person."
"In Lauren's defence, she's playing a bit of catch-up," Al said. "She settled on Joe from the very beginning. She's had one sexual partner for... when did you two first have sex?"
"When we were sixteen."
"You beat me to it," Rachel said. "I think I'd just turned eighteen."
"So," Al said, quickly doing the calculation in his head, "for almost thirty years it was one partner. Even I haven't been that dull."
"Thanks a lot!" Lauren squawked, punching him on the shoulder.
He shook his arm out. "So, anyway," he continued. "I've had two other partners before Rachel, so including you that makes four. Rachel, I only know you've had at least two others before me..."
"No comment," Rachel said. Then she relented and said, "I did fall in love with my first guy, he was named Omar, but we were too young, and we split up when he went off to UBC and I went to SFU. Then there were a few bad mistakes before Mason, but they're not worth mentioning."
"Okay, so, of all of us it's safe to say Rachel's had the most experience," Al said. He turned to Lauren. "So, if you've had Joe, Rachel and me, that really only makes three partners in your entire life. That's hardly nympho. It only seems that way because you've frontloaded your numbers."
"That's very intellectual of you, Al," Rachel said. "Now let's shut up about this, it's weirding me out."
Al leaned over and kissed her full on the mouth, and Rachel's arms slid around his back, and Lauren felt inspired to creep down between Rachel's legs and give her some oral reassurance. Soon Rachel was moaning into Al's mouth.
It felt luxurious, being with them like this in the middle of a work day. The opportunity had only presented itself when the judge had adjourned early to hear motions by both the prosecution and defence. The conspiracy trial against Carrie MacDougall to commit sexual assault against Lauren was running up against some difficulties, one of which was that the person with whom she was alleged to have conspired had shot himself in the head and could provide no testimony at the trial.
There was a lot of circumstantial evidence, like Ralph's phone records showing long conversations with her, but no texts with any specific instructions, so it might not be enough to convict her. It infuriated Lauren that she might get away with it, but she was consoled by the fact that Carrie MacDougall would be facing another trial soon after this one, out in the Fraser Valley, also conspiracy, and the co-conspirators in that case were singing like canaries once that fingerprint had caught the car thief and the dominoes had started falling. Mike Speares, they found, was also on the list of speakers against the rezoning, and Lauren's photographs of the two of them, coupled with the car thief's statement, meant at least two of them were busted, and it was in their best interests to turn in their friends for a lighter sentence, and it was only a matter of time before they pointed the finger at the ringleader.
With the culprits in the beating and robbery behind bars, the work on the development was finally problem free and proceeding on schedule, but the best thing to come out of it was that Lauren had gotten her sword back, and it was sitting once again in its rack in her office. The office had needed to undergo a deep cleaning, drywall patch and repainting after the bullet had been found lodged in the ceiling, but once all that had been finished you couldn't tell anything bad had happened there. The coworkers never entered her office, though, if it could be helped. For them the place was haunted, but only because of the violent nature of the death, not because any of them actually liked Ralph.
Lauren had been shocked to discover that she wasn't the only woman Ralph had had an unhealthy obsession with, and that she'd only discovered this after he died. It shook her faith in herself as an investigator, that she hadn't seen what had been going on under her own nose; her coworkers had never come to her, they'd claimed, because she was also a partner and they hadn't been confident she would take their side against a man they'd all thought was her friend.
That was also the reason the photo had been emailed to her anonymously, she supposed, because whoever had done it had feared blowback from Ralph even though they liked Lauren enough to help her; she only wished the person who'd done it would come forward so she could thank them and reward them properly. It made her sad; since she too was a victim of sexual assault, something she was receiving counselling for on an ongoing basis, she'd hoped they would have seen her as an ally, but perceived power structures, even between women, unfortunately hampered real communication and progress for women.
As for partners, now that Ralph was gone, Lauren was the only active partner remaining, and that was untenable. Gary Somers had stepped back into a more active role over the past month just so the firm wouldn't implode, but they'd both agreed they needed a new partner, and they'd immediately considered whom to promote in house. Whomever they offered partnership had to be able to buy out Ralph's widow, Liz, and Lauren wasn't even sure the woman would agree to sell her share, though she couldn't imagine why Liz would want to hold on to any connection with the place in which her husband had committed suicide. To Lauren's amazement, she'd seen Liz in the courtroom, perhaps attempting to understand the series of events that had led to her husband's horrible death. It was futile, but Lauren admired the woman's deep well of courage to be able to go there everyday. Maybe she hoped to look Carrie MacDougall in the eye and see the woman who'd caused this whole mess, but if the crimes for which she'd been blackmailing Ralph ever came to light, Liz might be forced to change her mind and accept that Ralph himself had been the cause.
Briefly, Lauren had considered offering Rachel the partnership, dreamily imagining a reincarnation of the Lawrence Street Detective Club in the adult world, where real money would change hands for real detective services. Reality had intervened quickly, though. She had no idea if Rachel was even interested, or if she and Al even had the funds to invest. She also knew she would have to consider other coworkers before Rachel, since she was a relative newcomer to the firm, and offering her the partnership would reek of favouritism. She and Gary had agreed that they would discreetly approach the longest serving employees first, and if there were no takers, Lauren privately determined she would at least see how Rachel felt about a partnership.
But that was in the future. The court case took priority for all of them. She, Rachel and Al had taken the day off work to give testimony, and the early adjournment made them feel like they were playing hooky. Joe couldn't attend the trial because he needed to work, and the kids were still in school and would be picked up by Lauren's parents. The three of them were expected nowhere and by no one for at least a couple of hours, and as if by some telepathy they'd all known what they wanted to do. Finally, they'd had an opportunity to be together again, and they'd almost run the few blocks from the Vancouver Courthouse back to Rachel and Al's apartment.
As soon as they'd stripped Lauren out of her clothes, they'd noticed the tattoo, but had waited to give comment on it until after they'd released all of their sexual tension. This moment had been months in the making.
Lauren had made sure to play by the rules. This was Rachel's bed, and Rachel's marriage to open. Though she'd wanted nothing more than to pounce on Al, she'd held back until Rachel had consented, and Rachel's consent had only arrived after she'd first had Lauren to herself, and then after she'd had Al to herself, as if to say, look, he's mine, and I get him first, but you can have him once I'm done.
Lauren didn't mind. Their time together mimicked that first wonderful evening, and maybe that was the winning formula for them. Anyway, she liked being second in line for Al's attention because, after coming relatively quickly the first time with Rachel, it had taken him a lot longer to finish with her, and she'd enjoyed a nice long fuck session with him, getting nice and sweaty before they'd finished.
She'd decided that this time there would be no Amazon position for her; it had just been something to try once, to see what Joe found so fascinating about it, and though it had been pleasurable, she'd decided there were other positions she liked better that gave her just as much pleasure. Al had appreciated that he wouldn't be curled into a ball again, and he'd appreciated more being able to lie back and recharge while enjoying the sight of her riding him in simple cowgirl position, and even more when she'd swivelled around for reverse cowgirl; she'd felt his hand trailing down her new tattoo while she'd ground herself into him, and it had made her shudder as if hit with fifty thousand volts, and when his hand had slid from her back to her clit, it had completed the job and made her come nearly instantly.
What she liked best, of course, was when he'd finished on top of her, and she'd felt his weight pressing her into the mattress again, and she'd felt like she could absorb him completely, and grip his hair in her hands and wrap her legs around him, and clench his cock in the way that so amazed him, as he'd pounded her for the finale.
Now Rachel was the focus of both of them, and Rachel seemed to enjoy the attention, feasting on Al on one end while Lauren feasted on her at the other.
After they both took turns orally pleasing Rachel, Al and Lauren lay on either side of her as she panted and grinned like a fool. "Okay," she said, "I think I can like this. Maybe that first night was a little too new, and it was a little too jarring to share Al with you and you with Al. Now it's more familiar, and if we can keep it regimented like this I can be good with it."
Lauren met eyes with Al across Rachel's chest. "I can be good with it too," she said to please her, even though days or weeks from now she might begin to fantasize about being alone with him again. That Sunday a month ago, when he'd been arrested speeding to her rescue, she'd been hoping to have him just that way. She knew, though, that he was trying to be good and faithful to his wife, so she resolved not to pursue it for now, hoping they'd simply have another opportunity like this soon. Maybe another early adjourned court day? They'd have to go out to the Fraser Valley too for a second trial. Maybe a hotel room for the three of them? Not if Joe or Johnny came for that trial. They'd just have to see.
"I can too," Al said.
"So, what does this mean for our shows?" Rachel asked. "I still like them, and even though I don't want Joe for myself, I love to watch what he does to you, babe."
Lauren felt herself flush and said, "We can still have our shows. I know we haven't had any for a while because Joe was injured and we were still all awkward from that first time together, but just because the three of us are enjoying each other doesn't mean we have to stop our shows. I mean, how often will we really get to do this? We'll always have more access to our own spouses than to opportunities like this, so the shows will satisfy us until the next time we can get together."
"True, and maybe now that we'll be closer to you and Joe, other opportunities might arise," Al said.
"You have no idea how thrilled I am about that," Lauren said. Their apartment was now on the market, and Al and Rachel had found a townhouse in the Brentwood Mall area, very close to Lauren's house, with an extra bedroom and even an extra bathroom for roughly the same price they were paying for this one downtown. The three of them could commute downtown together every day! She'd drive, of course, even though Al's membership with Modo, and Rachel's ability to book cars, had been reinstated after the judge had given Al probation due to it being his first offence and the circumstances had mitigated its severity. He'd been given community service because the judge hadn't wanted to let him completely off the hook, but he was almost finished, and he enjoyed serving at the soup kitchen at First United Church in the Downtown Eastside. He also had demerits on his license, but as long as he drove free of traffic violations for the next couple of years they would disappear. There were fines and insurance premiums he had to pay, but he was clear to drive Modo cars again.
"Well, you might be getting panicked phone calls from me in the near future," Rachel said, "if I have a parenting crisis that needs your advice, or if I need you to come over."
Lauren ran a finger down Rachel's jawline and smiled. "You'll make great foster parents. The two of you are the bravest, most stable and together people I know. Whoever comes to stay with you will have a good life for as long as they're there."
Rachel's eyes shone with tears, and Al reached over her and stroked Lauren's hair. "Thanks, buddy," he said.
When Lauren arrived at home with the kids, Joe wasn't home yet. Lauren decided to break the news to the kids first that Auntie Rachel and Uncle Alistair were moving closer to them.
"I can go for sleepovers more often!" Naomi squealed, clapping her hands. She'd had one full day already at Al and Rachel's apartment, feeling the trip downtown to be the grandest adventure, and when Auntie Rachel had taken her to get their nails done and have afternoon tea at the Hotel Vancouver, just the two of them, she'd felt like a proper grown-up. Rachel had even told her that Al had taken the couch while Naomi had slept in the bed with Rachel (Samson had made no concessions and slept between them as usual). They'd been so intuitive to Naomi's needs that Lauren just knew they would make good foster parents. Lauren had almost felt guilty picking Naomi up the next morning, taking her from the cool aunt back to the hum-drum life of school and grandparents she was used to. Tosh had been overjoyed to have her back home, having missed her all night and having a hard time sleeping because of it, but it had only seemed to make Naomi grumpier; Lauren was well aware Naomi was getting older, and pulling away from her brother, and though it saddened her, it was probably natural, and Tosh was just going to have to get his own friends, his own enthusiasms. It was too bad he didn't glom onto a cool uncle like Al or Sunny. Only his grandpa and namesake commanded the same kind of fierce loyalty in him.
"You could," Lauren said, "but remember, they're going to start fostering soon, so there may be a new person in their home, and that person may be having a hard time and not feel up to having visitors."
"So, are all foster kids sad?" Tosh asked, still astounded that there were children out there who weren't under the constant care of two loving parents, who needed a place to stay because their parents weren't necessarily the best people to look after them.
His question made her sad. "Well, a lot of the time, yeah, because they're usually being moved from a place they were familiar with to a new place they're not. I mean, can you imagine being made to stay with strangers?"
Tosh shuddered and shook his head, tearing up at the very thought.
"Will the new kid have their own bed?" Naomi asked.
"Yes, because Al and Rachel's new place will have an extra bedroom and bathroom."
"Then they'll have nothing to worry about," Naomi said rather confidently for a near twelve year old. "I'll sleep with Auntie Rachel, and Uncle Al will have the couch just like last time."
Lauren couldn't help it. She laughed, and couldn't stop laughing. Poor Al, she thought. Naomi really mustn't like him if she could so breezily cast him out of his own bed every time she stayed over.
The text from Joanie eventually cooled her down.
This Sunday evening okay?
She sighed and texted back. Okay.
When Joe came home, he was in a good mood, and he lifted her to him for a kiss. "Mmmm, you smell good, babe," he said. "Did you shower when you got home?"
Lauren blinked and said, "Yes," glad that the kids were in the living room and couldn't overhear the lie. She had, in fact, soaked with Al and Rachel in their big tub, which had taken so long to fill that Rachel had made sure to get the water running before they'd even started on the bed. She'd almost fallen asleep in the warm, foamy water, so spent had she been from their escapades, but their wet, slippery bodies had aroused them again, and soon they'd been grappling and wrestling and pawing each other, splashing water everywhere and making the bathroom floor a slipping hazard. "The courtroom was hot and stuffy," she added.
"Oh yeah? How's the trial going?"
She made a noncommittal noise. "Without Ralph it's going to be hard to prove. She might get off."
"That sucks."
"Well, there's still the other trial."
He took another sniff. "It's not your usual scent," he said.
She thought quickly. "I'm trying something new. Who's the detective now?"
He chuckled and said, "I guess I like your old scent better. Fruity agrees with you more."
"I'll throw the new stuff out. Oh, by the way," she said, itching to change the subject and deflect from the evidence of infidelity. "Joanie texted me. She wants this Sunday."
He nodded and said, "Is that all right with you?"
She made sure to stare at him for a moment and let him squirm before she answered. "It is. Poor Johnny, he must be feeling left out lately."
"Well, he sent me to a beating over his own dog, so he can suck it up. And anyway, they have a new dog to play with now, so he'll be busy."
Lauren gasped. "They got a new dog?"
"Yup. They have come to accept that Charlie is never coming back, and have adopted a new dog from the pound. A black lab named Callie."
She squealed in delight and said. "I want to see her as soon as possible!"
He smiled and kissed her again. She was still in his arms, as light as a rag doll to him. "We will," he said. "We're family. Family can never avoid each other forever."
"Hey, I have other news!" she said when he put her down. "Al and Rachel got a condo in the Brentwood Mall area. They'll be only a hop, skip and a jump away!"
"Well, that's just fine. Is it bigger? An extra room?"
She nodded. "They can foster now."
"Huh. Rachel and Al. I still can't imagine them holding hands with a kid someday. A new face we'll have to get used to, and more than once, I'll bet. Maybe it will even be a teenager. Are they ready for this? Are we ready for them to be ready for this?"
She smiled and gripped his massive arms. "Nobody asked us if we were ready to be parents. They're our friends, and I believe in them, and I think they'll appreciate if we all believe in them."
Joe thought about that and nodded. "We're the LSDC, right? We've faced danger before and lived to tell the tale. How much trouble can a foster kid cause in comparison?"
Lauren's smile fell as she considered Joe's words. She didn't like them. She felt like Joe was challenging the fates, and when the fates were challenged, in her experience, they always accepted.
"They'll do just fine. That kid will be loved. You'll see."
He nodded, and smiled. "Let's tell the kids about Callie."
She nodded, took his hand, and led him into the living room, where Joe announced the good news, and for the first time in months the future looked bright for everyone.
Thanks for reaching the end! If you liked what you read, hit the "Vote" button and leave a comment!
As you can probably tell, the last few lines were hinting at a third novel in the series. Al and Rachel finally foster, and their indiscretions with Lauren finally catch up to them, but before they can deal with the fallout, another mystery has the LSDC caught up in a web entangling their fosters. Use the link below to check out the third novel in the Terribly Acronymed Detective Club series, "Err on the Side of Violence."
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top