Sweet Thursday (4 page)

“Well, Doctor Lily. It would appear you’ve come to the right place.”

She looked at his friend, grinning seductively. “Oh? Why’s that?”

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Sweet Thursday

Justin placed his hand on her chin, claiming her full attention, and Killian knew exactly what was coming. Knew he wouldn’t stop Justin, even though he should.

“Tonight, we’re going to take you for a walk on the wild side. Show you the ropes.

Serve as your tour guides.”

27

Mari Carr

“Tour guides?” Lily looked from Justin to Killian and back again and Justin had to fight back a grin at her obvious delight in his proposition.

Killian put his arm around the back of her chair and Justin noticed the slight hitch in her breath as she realized she was in very close proximity to both of them.

“He’s kidding,” Killian said shortly and Justin frowned at his friend’s comment.

“No, I’m—”

“Lily Watterson?”

Justin looked up at the balding, overweight man hovering behind Lily’s chair and fought back a growl. Talk about bad timing.

“Chandler?” she asked, standing and smiling.

Justin studied the man more closely. Dear God, she was right. It was Chandler Watkins, the poster child for bullied victims in high school—a chubby boy with acne, too willing to please and too often the butt of all the jokes. Poor Chandler hadn’t aged well.

The man’s grin grew when it was clear Lily recognized him. “Thank God. Someone who’s managed to remember my name.”

Lily laughed. “I’m not likely to forget my competition.”

“Competition?” Killian asked.

She nodded. “Yes, don’t you remember? Chandler and I were neck and neck for the valedictory honor. But don’t let that fool you, we were pretty good friends too. He plays a mean game of chess.”

“I have to confess I was relieved when the valedictorian role went to you. I hate public speaking. Standing up at graduation and delivering a speech would’ve killed 28

Sweet Thursday

me.” Chandler tugged at his dress shirt and Justin suspected the man was suffering with the tight neck as it was buttoned all the way up to support his tie.

Lily narrowed her eyes good-naturedly. “You know, I’ve often suspected you threw the race. I mean, a B in keyboarding? Really?”

Chandler waved his chubby fingers in her face and laughed. “Still employ the hunt-and-peck method to this very day. You won fair and square.” He turned his attention to the men. “Justin Porter. Killian Collins. Great to see you both again.”

“You too, Chandler,” Justin replied. They each took turns shaking the man’s hand.

“Been a long time, eh? Ten years.” Chandler smiled widely as Killian asked him what he did for a living and he launched into some long-winded description of his real estate law practice.

As they made small talk, Justin’s mind drifted back to one Friday afternoon during their freshmen year. A few assholes had cornered Chandler in the hallway and were shoving him around. Killian had taken one look at the situation and plowed into the midst of the circle of bullies, bending over to pick up Chandler’s backpack and leading him away from the other guys.

The response had been so typically Killian that Justin hadn’t even given it a second thought until this moment. Now as he watched Chandler talking to Killian with something akin to hero worship in his eyes, Justin felt the familiar twinge of remorse that had been niggling at him lately. He’d spent his entire life drifting from one place to the next without ever really living in any of the moments, content to follow in Killian’s wake and see where they landed.

As he approached thirty, one fact was making itself painfully clear to him—he’d merely existed in high school, in the army and in civilian life. He’d moved from place to place waiting for something special to happen. But it never did.

You were a skater, Justin?

Yep. Complete with the long hair and indifferent attitude.

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Killian’s words had stung with their accuracy. His father had called him a drifter once, frustrated by his son’s apathetic approach to life. It was a fight they’d had since Justin had learned to walk.

He ran a hand through his hair, pushing the thoughts aside and forcing himself to focus on Lily’s face instead. He grinned. Enduring all the bullshit at this reunion had been worth it, simply because he’d found her again. Her comments about wanting to be naughty were the answer to a prayer. Life had been too dull lately. And he’d be a fool to refuse the offer she was making.

He needed to get Killian on board. One look at his friend’s face proved that would be a challenge. He wondered why Killian was resistant to Lily’s blatant interest. They’d shared women before, so the concept wasn’t new or even uncomfortable. They’d started experimenting with threesomes back in high school, making out with a girl at the same time. At the beginning, he suspected it was a lark, horny teenage boys’ attempts at doing something wild. But sharing had felt…
right
. And as they became adults, the experiments had gone quite a bit further.

He looked at Lily when she smiled at something Chandler said and felt a slight lurch in the vicinity of his heart. No, it wasn’t the sharing that was different. It was the woman.

“I was wondering if I could drag you away for a moment, Lily. I’d love for you to meet my wife,” Chandler said.

“I’d like that. Will you guys excuse me for a few minutes?”

They nodded and Justin watched Lily cross the room with Chandler. They stopped before a petite woman in a wheelchair and Justin felt guilty for not making more of an effort to befriend Chandler in high school. While he hadn’t participated in the bullying, he hadn’t expended any effort to get to know the guy either.

“Nice guy, that Chandler,” Justin said when they were alone.

“What the hell are you doing?” Killian asked.

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Sweet Thursday

“I was about to ask you the same thing. Were you not sitting at this table and listening to the same things I was? Lily wants to release her inner bad girl tonight…with both of us! This is the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Killian narrowed his eyes, his nostrils flaring with anger. “Opportunity? You think thrusting Lily into a ménage is an opportunity?”

Justin put his hands on his hips. “That’s a rhetorical question, right?”

“Goddamn it, Justin. This is Lily you’re talking about. Not some hook up from a bar. You can’t seriously think she understands what she’s agreeing to?”

“I think she just made it pretty clear she’d jump both of us in a New York minute if we offered the ride.” His words had come out more callously than he’d intended, but he was fighting back some serious demons tonight and Killian’s holier-than-thou attitude was tweaking his nerves.

“You prick.”

Killian’s fists clenched and Justin wondered if his friend would actually hit him here. They’d fought before. He had a fierce temper, while Killian’s tended to be a slow burn. On occasion, they’d both reached the boiling point at the same time. Mercifully those times were few and far between, since they were pretty evenly matched in a fight and they suffered for their anger for days afterward.

“Takes one to know one.”

“You’re an insensitive motherfucker sometimes.” Killian’s words were spoken quietly, but the malice was clearly there.

“Watch it, K. I’d hate to mess up your nice clothes but if you throw a punch, I’m fucking bringing it.”

Killian looked around the reception hall before closing his eyes and Justin imagined he was counting to ten in his head. When he opened them, Justin knew the heated moment had passed. He often wondered how Killian was able to pull himself together like that—so quickly, so effortlessly.

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Mari Carr

When he spoke again, his voice was calmer, reasonable. “It’s Lily, Justin.”

“I know!” he replied hotly, then repeated himself, his cockiness fading away. “I know.”

“You know it’s Lily and yet you’re still willing to involve her in a ménage. I don’t give a shit how sexy she looks or how much she flirts with us, she’s still innocent.”

Justin considered his friend’s words. “I don’t think she’s as innocent as you believe.

And even if she is, she was serious about taking a walk on the wild side, K. I figure she can do that with
us
or she can find a stranger or two—who might not be as careful with her as we would.”

“No.” Killian shook his head. “We’re not going there. Not with her.”

The adamant look on his friend’s face took him aback. “Why not?”

Killian frowned and dropped back down into his chair. “Jesus, Justin. You know, at some point you’re gonna have to face the fact that there are consequences to every action.”

Justin sat on the edge of his chair, Killian’s words running through him like sandpaper. “I don’t need a fucking sermon from you, K. I get enough of those from my father. I just don’t see why giving Lily a night to explore her fantasies would have any other consequences than we’d all get laid and be happy.”

“I don’t picture Lily as a one-night-stand kind of girl.”

“You heard her, Killian. You heard her say she wanted to have a little fun. Fine.

We’ll lay it all out on the line for her. You can issue your gloom and doom and dire warnings and we’ll let
her
decide. She’s an adult. Regardless of who she was to us a decade ago, she’s changed. You’re protecting the memory of the shy girl she was. Why not try to get to know the woman she’s grown into?”

“Yeah.” Lily’s voice drifted down from above them. “Why not get to know me now?”

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Sweet Thursday

Justin looked up and wondered how much of their conversation she’d heard. He’d expected to see anger on her face, but instead she simply looked…beautiful. Christ. He tried to ignore the small voice in the back of his head that said he really was a heartless bastard.

She smiled serenely and took her seat between them again. “Still trying to protect me, Killian?”

Killian shrugged. “I’m not sure you know what you’re asking for, Lil.”

She looked at his friend, reaching over to take Killian’s large hand in her own. “I know exactly what I’m asking for, and I knew before I came here tonight that if there was the slightest chance of capturing your attention, I’d take it.” She glanced over her shoulder to include Justin in the “your”.

“God, K. I don’t think you understand how much I want to do this. I’m sick of coloring inside the lines all the time. I want to grab hold of this opportunity to be free and wild and uninhibited—for just one night. I don’t want to look back at my life in fifty years and realize I never did one daring thing. I’m tired of regrets.”

“If we do this—” Killian started.

She placed her finger over his lips. “
When
we do this,” she corrected.

“
We
call the shots. We decide what your limits are. If you can’t agree to that, then no deal.”

Justin fought the urge to contradict Killian’s threat. “We’ll give you what you want, Lily. We’ll take care of you.”

She ran a manicured hand through her long, dark hair, pushing it behind her shoulder, and his breath caught at the way the movement thrust her breasts forward.

Where the hell had this Lily come from? Her every movement seemed to scream sex and seduction.

She’d been with him and Killian throughout their teen years and he’d always thought she was cute, but
this
woman? Holy crap. He’d never approached her sexually 33

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in high school because she was too sweet, too innocent, too…well, unavailable. She hadn’t been kidding about the ever-watchful eyes of her parents. To say they kept her under their thumb was an understatement. Plus, the younger Lily had given off some serious untouchable vibes, where this older, more mature Lily was sending up a beacon he’d have to be a blind man to miss.

“I can take care of myself.” Her voice was low, husky and sure, and Justin grimaced at the ever-growing tightness in his pants. Damn zipper was chafing his cock. This was the last time he went commando.

Killian sighed. “Yeah, well, I don’t know why you’re so sure we’re your ‘wild side’

guys. It’s been ten years, Lily. Don’t you think there’s a chance we’ve changed a bit?”

“I know we haven’t seen each other, but I’ve read your letters, your emails over the years. I think I know exactly what kind of men you are.” She ran her hands along her thighs nervously. “I’ve missed a lot of opportunities in my past and I regret that fact. I want to be someone different and I figure tonight could kick off my new future in style.” She thrust out her breasts and fluffed her hair, feigning sex appeal with her quirky sense of humor. “Besides, I bought this new outfit, got a fancy haircut, practiced walking in these damn heels—all just for you two.”

They laughed, but her words touched something inside Justin. If there was one thing he could understand, it was regrets. It was as if she could see inside his head. She was a good friend, but regardless of the fact she was dressed to kill, she was treading on unfamiliar ground.

Rather than acknowledge how much her comments touched him, he reverted to form and made a joke. “Jesus. Twenty-eight years old and you’re still doing your homework.”

Lily grinned, leaning forward and giving him an eyeful of her cleavage. “Do you have a problem with that?”

“Hell no,” he said, expelling a breath on the words.

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Sweet Thursday

“You know, it’s a far cry from us being friends to us being willing participants of a ménage. What makes you think Justin and I would go for something like that?”

Justin narrowed his eyes at Killian’s comment.

“I was your friend in high school,” she said. “And I’ve never been an idiot. I heard the rumors, the whispers of the other girls in the locker room.”

Justin leaned back for a moment and considered her answer. She’d heard about them. All these years, she’d known about their penchant for sharing.

Killian’s hand moved from the back of her chair to her face. He cupped the back of her head, forcing her to look at him.