Destined to Be Three (2 page)

Sliding deeper into the chair that molded to her body perfectly after years of use, Jaycee closed her eyes and let her mind drift. Visions of Gray, Cade, and herself floated in front of her eyes. In some, they were together and, in others, they were apart. One after the next, the images sailed across her consciousness.

She hadn’t realized how deeply she’d fallen into her personal fantasyland until something smacked her in the face. Her eyes snapped open, and she screamed.

In between fits of giggles, Shannon informed her it was a pillow, and Katie-Anne wanted to know if she’d been visiting with her brother, Cade, or both of them.

Jaycee grabbed the pillow from the floor and flung it. “Fuck you,” she snarled then flipped them the bird.

Jaycee clamped her mouth shut when their laughter only amplified. Her father had always told her if she found herself in a hole, she’d better quit digging.

After what seemed like an eternity, Katie-Anne finally gasped for breath. She grabbed her right side and stammered between huffs and puffs, “S–S–S–Shit, J. We’re trying to set boundaries for our game, and you’re over there moaning about God knows what. I know the whos, but I don’t want to know the whats.” Katie-Anne shuddered in revulsion. “There are some things I don’t need to know about my big brother.”

Shannon grinned, her face taking on a sinister glow. “From what I hear, Katie-Anne, there are a lot of things you don’t want to know about your big brother.”

Katie-Anne wrinkled her nose and shrieked, “Ewwww—”

Without thought, Jaycee cut her off, demanding, “What the fuck are you talking about, Shannon?” She slapped her hand across her mouth the moment she realized her faux pas. A woman who doesn’t give a damn wouldn’t be ready to scratch out her best friend’s eyes over an offhand comment.
Oops.

Katie-Anne and Shannon watched Jaycee with rounded eyes and slack jaws.

Jaycee knew she had less than two seconds to recover and repair. Schooling her features, she smiled with feigned sheepishness. “Sorry, it was a knee-jerk reaction.”

Katie-Anne cocked her head to the side, looking so much like her brother it was downright scary, and arched one dark-colored eyebrow. She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t have to. Jaycee heard the words she left unspoken.
You are so full of shit.

At the same time, Shannon dissected Jaycee with shrewd eyes, making her feel like a bug under a microscope.

Jaycee knew those looks. Neither of them believed the bullshit she was peddling. She should’ve admitted to them long ago she’d been living life in a hell of her own making. The only reason she hadn’t was she knew they’d pull out all the stops to get her back into the arms of the men she loved.

Well, the jig was up. She might as well lay everything on the table. It wasn’t like they could change anything, anyway. She’d walked out on Cade and Gray, they’d moved on, and that was the end of the story.

Jaycee sighed in defeat and confessed, “Fine. How am I supposed to stop caring? I’ve loved them since I was four years old, and I don’t know how to quit.”

Watching their faces, Jaycee was shocked to see the compassion filling their expressions. Shannon sighed. “Thank goodness, you’re finally coming clean.”

Katie-Anne nodded her agreement. “J, you know we’re here for you. We’ve wanted you to come to us so badly, but we knew better than to approach you. We’re pretty partial to our heads.”

Jaycee snickered softly. “You two are afraid of little ol’ me?”

“When it comes to my brother and Cade, hell yeah I am. You’re one scary bitch when they’re involved,” Katie-Anne retorted with a devilish gleam in her eyes. “I would hate to be the woman who got between you and them. She’d have to be off her rocker.”

Jaycee sat up, her spine as straight as an arrow and her head held high. She huffed indignantly, “I am above cattiness, Miss Blakemore.”

Katie-Anne stared at her manicured nails disinterestedly. “I think I shall call bullshit on this one, my dear.”

“Hey, J. Make sure you call one of us to help hide the body and the other to fabricate a rock-solid alibi,” Shannon advised her helpfully as if the situation was going to arise in the future.

Jaycee’s hands went to her slender hips. “You bitches.”

“Awww. Seriously,” Katie-Anne taunted cheerfully. “That cannot be all you’ve got.”

Childishly, Jaycee stuck her tongue out at Katie-Anne, who returned the favor.

As the only person acting like an adult in the room, Shannon quickly interceded. “Now, now, girls. Settle down. We were establishing the rules of the game before we got sidetracked, and I think we should get back to it.”

Jaycee saluted Shannon playfully. “Yes, Mistress.”

“I’m going to ignore that,” Shannon replied primly, crossing her right leg over her left as though she was on a job interview. “Now, Katie-Anne, please proceed.”

“As stated before, we must go sequentially. The order will be determined by a game of chance. Rule number two, the dare must be completed within one month of its issued date. Rule number three, if one of us goes back on our challenge, then the other two will determine the appropriate reparation. Rule number four, none of us can talk to anyone about the game.” Katie-Anne stood up and walked over to Jaycee’s desk. She pulled out a sheet of blank paper, a pen, and a clipboard. “Are these okay?”

Jaycee and Shannon mumbled their approvals.

“Good.” Katie-Anne sat back down and jotted down the rules on the blank paper.

“She
would
make us sign a damn contract,” Shannon remarked affectionately.

Turning toward Shannon, Jaycee covered her mouth as if she were going to share a delicious secret and mock whispered, “Wonder if she is going to require blood
this time
.”

Absorbed in her task, Katie-Anne didn’t pay any attention to them.

Jaycee and Shannon laughed softly, waiting for Katie-Anne to finish. When she had finished, she signed the bottom of the paper before handing it to Shannon, who signed it as well, then passed it to Jaycee.

After Jaycee signed the paper, Katie-Anne stood and took it out of her hand. “Now, we must complete the pact. You know what that means, girlies.”

“Hell,” Shannon half said, half groaned as she got to her feet. “Is she serious?”

Winking at Shannon, Jaycee got to her feet. “I think she is.”

“I’m deadly serious,” Katie-Anne affirmed. “No loopholes for anyone. Come on, you wimps.”

The three women stood in a close-knit circle, each of them extending their pinkies to the others. They tangled them together and sang,
“’Cause I’ve got friends in low places, where the whiskey drowns and the beer chases my blues away and I’ll be okay. I’m not big on social graces, think I’ll slip on down to the oasis. Oh, I’ve got friends in low places.”

Reaching the last line of the verse, they screeched out the final note and held it for far too long. Jaycee knew dogs had to be barking somewhere in town, howling in harmony with their dying cat imitation.

They turned to their right, each of them leaning forward and kissing the other’s hand. The covenant was complete. They were in this together, for better or for worse.

* * * *

Exactly six days later, Jaycee stood in her bedroom and gawked at the three objects Katie-Anne had tossed on her bed. “Are those…Wait, what are those for?”

“Oh, Jaycee, I think it’s pretty self-explanatory.” Katie-Anne smirked. “Those babies are for our game of chance.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Shannon said in shock. “You want us to draw
dildos
instead of straws?”

Katie-Anne nodded with a sly smile. “Yeah, I thought it would make things more
interesting
.”

Jaycee snorted, picking up one of the sex toys and inspecting it. “Nice choice. Do I get to keep one?”

Rolling her eyes, Katie-Anne asked, “What if those are used?”

“Sure they are,” Jaycee replied sarcastically. “And pigs fly, too.”

“I didn’t know that
used
was in your vocabulary, Katie-Anne,” Shannon teased, grabbing one of the other dildos and playing with it.

“Kiss my ass,” Katie-Anne snapped, her cheeks flushing. She snatched up the last phallus from the bed. “Let’s just get on with this.”

“Whoa,” Shannon said. “Who pissed in your Cheerios? We were kidding.”

“It’s fine,” Katie-Anne retorted coldly, letting everyone in the room know that it wasn’t. “Okay, look underneath the balls. They are numbered.”

Jaycee flipped her dildo upside down and cursed when she spotted the number one. “Son of a bitch.”

“Looks like you’re up first, J,” Shannon announced smugly as she turned over her fake cock. “It figures. Katie-Anne comes up with the fucking game, and she gets to watch us suffer first.”

Katie-Anne smiled, some of her sparkle returning. “Sucks to be you two.”

“Bite me,” Shannon growled with a playful wink. “So, what are we going to dare Jaycee to do?”

Jaycee closed her eyes and held her breath, waiting for Katie-Anne to respond.

“Jaycee Dalton, we dare you to have your fortune read by Shannon’s personal psychic,” Katie-Anne declared.

Surprised, Jaycee’s eyes popped open. “That’s it? That’s my dare?”

“Easy, huh?” Katie-Anne asked as she tossed her sex toy to Jaycee, who missed it. The dildo fell to the floor with a thunk.

“Damn it,” Jaycee muttered, bending to pick up the man-made phallus. “Just my luck.”

Shannon squatted down, snagging the silicone cock before Jaycee could, and handed it to her. “I have a feeling your luck is about to change, my friend.”

I wouldn’t bet on it.