Three Words: A Novella Collection (40 page)

“
You two know each other?”

“
We’re business partners.”

Nooooo
.
Seriously? It’s unbelievable enough that I’m attracted to two men
at the same time. Full stop. Without contemplating the fact that
they’re besties. It’d be just my luck.

Behind me,
Nicholas presses himself a little closer. His hands are on my hips
now, holding me gently to him as he speaks softly into my ear. It’s
only conversation but the effect is like he’s talking dirty,
telling me what he’d like to do. My blood pressure is rising. My
cheeks are getting hotter. It’s so not fair that his voice has this
power over me.

“
We’ve known each other since we were kids. Joel’s my best
mate. We work together, share a house.”

“
That’s a bit incestuous.” I can’t resist the dig.

“
Started out when Joel got kicked out by some girl he was
seeing. Ended up that we kinda liked being housemates. It makes it
easier to bounce ideas around in the middle of the
night.”

“
There’s this new fandangled invention called the telephone,
you know.”

“
Oh, smart mouth,
Ariel
,” Joel replies.

“
My name is Sadie.”

“
As if I’d forget,” Joel says, smiling at me. Gosh, his smile
is gorgeous.

“
Um, yes.” I swivel to face Nicholas. “Why are you here? I
thought you were working? You told me you were working.”

“
Meant to be. But we got side-tracked by this girl. We
couldn’t get anything done because Joel’s been on about her all
bloody day. He saw a bit more of her than is proper on a first date
and it set his little heart racing. Imagine my surprise when I
discovered it was you.”

“
Me?”

“
Yes, you. Seems you’ve flirted with one too many men and been
caught out, Sadie my love.”

“
I have not! I mean, I did not!”

Nicholas’
eyebrow rises ever so slightly.

Okay. Maybe I
did. But I would never
purposely
toy with two men at the
same time. It’s not in my nature. I find it hard enough to flirt
with one. “I didn’t do it intentionally.”

“
It was a holiday fling. I understand. I can take
rejection.”

“
Especially if she’s blowing you off for me. We both know I’m
the cute, irresistible one of this duo.” Joel smirks.

“
Not full of yourself either,” I retort.

He cups a hand
to my ear like he’s sharing a trade secret but talks in a voice the
entire restaurant can hear. He’s a stirrer, this one. I can tell.
“Nick was intending to jog up and down in front of your house until
you came out. Then he was going to pretend it was a coincidence
when he knocked you flying into the sand. He’s shy when it comes to
women. He doesn’t have many good chat up lines.”

Nicholas
reaches across to thump Joel on the upper arm. Joel returns the
compliment. I giggle. It’s funny that they’re sparring and telling
tales on each other like six-year-olds. It’s such boy stuff, not
what I’m used to at all having lived with only Mum my entire
life.

“
At least I had the sense to buy the girl dinner, man. You
watched her drown. What a loser.”

“
Hey! I wasn’t drowning!” I cry.

“
Not the way I heard it. Joel’s been known to stretch the
truth though. You probably weren’t even naked.”

I feel myself
flush. “That part’s true.”

“
Damn. And I missed it.”

I shove my
elbow into Nicholas’ ribs and he pulls me close again, my back
towards his chest. He doesn’t seem shy, the way Joel describes him,
but maybe that’s because I met him first. He wasn’t part of a team
then or being someone’s wingman. All he had to do was be himself.
And our meeting wasn’t about hooking up; it was about sympathy and
friendship. At least I thought it was.

As Nicholas
and I dance, Joel moves with us, his hips grazing my body every now
and then. We undulate and writhe as if we’re one entity and it
feels somehow natural that I am squashed, dancing between these two
men. Two pelvises are pressing ever so subtly against mine. Two
chests are brushing against me. Hands skim my sides but I’m not
sure whom they belong to, because I’ve closed my eyes and lost
myself in the sensations. My breathing escalates and my belly
clenches in a type of anticipation I don’t think I’ve
ever
felt. I would never behave like this back in the city. Even if I’d
been given the opportunity, I’d be too afraid of what people might
say. I’m way too straight for this saucy behaviour.

But gosh, I’m
enjoying it.

Behind me, I
hear Nicholas in my ear. “I was so pissed off when I found it was
you he’d seen in the buff, I threatened to punch his lights out.
Couldn’t go through with it, though. He squeals like a girl. I
didn’t want to cause a scene.”

In my other
ear, Joel whispers, “Ignore him. He’s narky because I’ve seen you
naked.”

And at this
point I feel it’s time to clarify a few things. I take a step away
because I need for them not to be touching me. I can’t think when
they’re touching more. Or maybe I don’t want to think.

“
Look, I’m glad you two had so much fun discussing my
nakedness but I’m not some sort of prize. You can’t just come in
here and dance all sexy like and think I’m up for it because you’ve
seen my bum. I’m not some slutty chick who gives it out to anyone,
you know.”

“
We didn’t mean it to sound like that. Chill, Sadie. It was a
joke.” Nicholas almost sounds contrite.

“
And further more,” I say, my temper flaring just a little,
“I’m not in the habit of prancing around starkers. Nobody was meant
to see. If I’d known Joel was there I never would have done it.” I
glare at them but I have a sneaking suspicion my admission has
fallen on deaf ears. Possibly because they’re both laughing at
me.

“
She’s cute when she’s angry,” Joel remarks.

“
Very.”

Oh
puh-lease
.

“
I’m going to have my dinner,” I say and storm off in a huff.
“And don’t follow me.”

*****

I get to my
table and thank the waitress for saving it. I sit at the chair with
a view out to the beach and take a deep breath and a huge gulp from
the glass of water she’s poured me. I try to calm my ragged nerves
and think clearly and rationally about what just happened. Though
my brain appears to have suffered some sort of brain fade, I am
abundantly clear on three things.

Joel and
Nicholas know each other.

They are best
friends.

I’m very
attracted to them both, which is not good.

Though if I’m
admitting stuff to myself the idea of having two boyfriends at the
same time is rather hot. The logistics maybe not so much, I’d never
get a minute’s peace, but the concept? Definitely hot. This is the
stuff they make into romantic comedy movies. It would never happen
in real life. Apart from the fact that it’s reprehensible and
morally wrong there’s no way on earth they’d knowingly date me at
the same time. Is there? Is that what the dance floor flirting was
about? Are they wanting some little dating triangle thingy?

“
Would you like something else to drink while you look at the
menu?” The waitress totally interrupts my train of thought. Over
her shoulder, I see Joel and Nicholas approaching the table.
There’s a certain swagger about them, like a couple of lions out
looking for trouble. They nod in my direction and say something to
each other I can’t hear.

“
Tequila,” I say, realising alcohol may be the only way to get
through this evening. “Bring me the biggest frozen margarita you
have.”

“
The biggest one is designed for three people. It’s called a
Fishbowl. It’s the equivalent of six regular drinks.” She raises an
eyebrow in question.

“
Perfect. And hurry.”

Determined I
will not give them the satisfaction of acknowledging they’re there,
I sit and twiddle my thumbs in a ladylike fashion, wishing my drink
would arrive. I get out my phone and check my emails, finding of
course that there are none, and then my horoscope — which I’ve
never believed in but at least it makes me look busy. I contemplate
taking a selfie but settle for a picture of the view, which I post
to Instagram.

“
Lonely?” Joel is towering over me. Seeing his face from this
angle makes him appear even more attractive. His eyes are
soooo
brown. Intensely.

No! Stop
looking at him. Ignore him, I think. Let them find another girl to
tease.

“
Not in the least. I’m quite busy, as you can see.” I waggle
my phone in his direction.

“
Facebooking? You can friend me if you like—”

Geez, I could
punch him. Seriously.

“—
Though talking in person is way more fun.”

“
Mind if we join you?” Nicholas asks.

“
If you have to.”

No! No! I
didn’t say that. Did I?

Before I can
utter I’ve made a mistake Nicholas sits himself on one side and
Joel pulls up a chair on the other. My cosy table for one has
become a table for three. They’ve even brought their own cutlery,
probably pilfered from an empty table on the way past.

What am I
going to do? I don’t think I have the strength to resist them both.
In fact I know I don’t. I hate myself for this. I do. But I can’t
say no. I’ve never been able to say no. I’m hopeless at letting
people down. I think way too much about freakin’ feelings.
Dammit.

The waitress
brings me my drink. She notices that I have not only the company of
Nicholas but also his extremely delightful sidekick. The expression
on her face changes from pleasant to looking like she’d like to
prick me with very long, very sharp pins. The vibe, as she slams my
vase full of tequila in front of me, is icier than the drink. And
twice as tart.

“
You ready to order?” She looks from Nicholas to Joel and then
me, obviously wondering how the hell I garnered the interest of not
one but two such men. It’s a pity she doesn’t know the answer. I’m
rather bemused about it myself.

“
Enchiladas please. Beef,” I say, too scared to ask if they
come with salad in case she shoves the menu up my nose.

Joel gives her
a cheeky grin and she appears to melt a little in front of my eyes.
At least it’s not only me. That charisma is seemingly unstoppable.
“I’ll have the same, thanks. Extra cheese,” he says.

“
Seafood burritos for me,” says Nicholas. “And a
beer.”

“
A pint?”

“
Thanks.”

The waitress
leaves, mumbling to herself and I stare at our tiny table. My
fishbowl of alcohol, with three blue striped straws and a pink
paper umbrella poking from the top, is taking up most of the space.
I have no idea where we’re going to fit food and another drink the
same size. Rather poor planning really. I groan, the size of my
beverage suddenly overwhelming. “There’s no way I can drink this.
I’ll be on my ear.”

Ignoring me,
Joel chuckles, swiping the paper umbrella and tucking it behind my
ear. “Cute.”

“
Very,” Nicholas adds. “Do you want some help with your
margarita before the other drinks arrive?”

“
Or anything else?” Joel says. He waggles his eyebrows in a
comic fashion.

I groan into
my drink. The ice is beginning to melt and I take a long, slow sip
letting the lemony tang linger for a minute in my mouth. This is
dire. There’s not enough tequila in the world to dampen the
feelings I’m having for these men. Both of them. At the same
time.

Oh geez.

Chapter 5

I. So. Drunk.
Am.

Yes, I am so
drunk that my lips cannot string a sentence together in the proper
order. And I don’t think the boys are much better. Not knowing them
that well, it’s hard to tell, but if I were to go by the clues I’m
getting — such as the uproarious laughter at everything I say even
if it’s not funny and the schoolboy toilet humour — I’d say they’re
hammered too. I can’t recall the last time I was this drunk but the
giggling and hair flicking and general letting down of my hair are
a good thing.

Definitely a
good thing.

Despite my
original misgivings, we’ve had a fun night. I’ve laughed at Joel’s
jokes and felt myself flush at the subtle brand of flirting
Nicholas is doing. Every time I glance in his direction, his eyes
are on me, holding my gaze for a second longer than is necessary or
he’s running his fingers through that mass of hair which sort of
makes me want to as well. He’s definitely flirting. I’m not that
out of it I can’t see the signs.

As the night
progresses and the three of us get drunker, Joel stands and
announces. “I’m going to stretch my legs. Anyone want anything
while I’m up?”

I look fuzzily
into the remains of our last margarita. “I think I’m okay. Maybe
water?”

“
And chips,” Nicholas adds. “I could eat the leg off a rag
doll.”

“
You just ate a huge plate of burritos and half my
enchiladas.” I snort. “How the hell can you… what do
you…”

God, I’m
drunker than I realised. That thought has totally slipped from my
head, mid-sentence.

Nicholas
shrugs and smiles but doesn’t answer. We watch as Joel walks
sloppily to the bar. He’s doing a funny jogging sort of walk that’s
happy and jaunty and a little bit pissed. Everyone is staring but
not in the he’s-so-sad-and-pathetic way. They’re as mesmerised as
me. He’s utterly adorable.