Chapter 9

I awoke to the sound of a cell phone ringing. That shook me for an instant. I didn't get reception here. Especially not the 1st floor down.

It was quiet, but definitely there. I craned my neck to note the piles of clothes on the floor. One of them...

It didn't seem right to immediately leap out of bed and hunt for it. Not with two beautiful women in bed with me. Two women I had just had...

I had done it. A threesome. I'd dreamed about this for years, but every time I had tried before, it had resulted in disaster. This time, I just let it happen, and it did. It had been wonderful, magical, and ... I almost wanted to jump for joy, but that also probably would have wakened Trish and Julie, and I really didn't feel like being an asshole. Besides, they looked so cute together, Julie with her arms around Trish's waist, both of them softly breathing.

Lesley ... I felt for an instant ... The presence was gone. No voice, no feel of love. Nothing. For a moment, I was disappointed. But she had her own reasons for doing things. Her own reasons for acting.

The phone suddenly went silent. It wouldn't be too hard to crawl out of bed without waking the girls. I was curled up behind them, their warmth a comfort. If only I could get my arm free...

A thought about coyotes crossed my mind for a second before my arm easily came free. Trish had opened one lazy eye, and then raised her head. As soon as I was clear, she smiled, then lowered her face to nuzzle at Julie's hair.

Damn it was romantic. I suppose this was the point I was supposed to get extremely jealous, if this was a bad rom com of course. Sorry, Hollywood. No sale. I had to pee, And check my messages.

It was chilly as soon as I slid my bare legs out of the bed. For an instant, I contemplated hunting for some clothes, but I realized I'd just have to take them off again as soon as I got to the shower. Besides, the cold had the added effect of sharpening my awareness slightly. I was aware of the pleasant sensations which still coursed through me. A little soreness too, to be fair, but it would pass.

For an instant I raised my fingers to my nose. I couldn't resist. The smell of woman immediately greeted my brain. It was a lovely scent, and a sweet reminder of what we had done the night before. We had done so much ... lovemaking.

And that really was the word. It seemed so cliche, I reflected as I tiptoed across the floor, not as much to avoid making noise, but rather to deal with the fact the floor was cold.

Steam in the bathroom came instantly when I turned on the hot water. It flowed out of the tub in a cascade, and I dipped my fingers in the water to wipe the last remnants of sleep from my eyes. Weird. Everything seemed to have more depth to it this morning.

Yeah. It had definitely been "That Kind Of Evening."

When I finally got around to hunting through the piles of clothing for my cell, Julie and Trish had finally awoken. They weren't saying anything, just holding each other as they relaxed and looking at me quizzically.

"Henry..." Trish's voice broke the silence as I finally found the plastic hunk in the pocket of my discarded pants.

"Yeah?" I glanced over to see her sitting up in bed pensively.

"I'm ... pregnant."

"I ... yeah, I know." I mumbled out. Lame, Henry, Really fucking lame. You know that you goddamn did it to her, and you...

" ... and?" Julie said her voice taking on a dark cast. "That's it? No, Oh my god, that's wonderful, or I love you or anything?"

"It's..." What the hell was I going to say. I didn't fuck you, I fucked a ghost in your body? "What do you want me to say?"

"Don't be mean, Trish" Julie said quietly. Her arm was still around Trish's waist, and her hand had come to stroke gently at the soft skin of Trish's belly. It was cold this morning, and Trish had not bothered to cover her breasts when she sat up. The effect was clearly visible.

"I'm ... Look, reality just hit me, OK?" Trish said, some of the anger draining, to be replaced with concern. "I'm pregnant, and I chose to be that way, dammit. I chose to let Lesley fuck you, I even didn't take the morning after pill when I should have..."

"I'm not going to abandon you, Trish." I said. I still hadn't flipped open the cell, and was trying hard to fight an erection that wanted to grow. The fact that I was only in a towel at this point made it even harder.

"I'm really confused right now, Henry." She mumbled. Her eyes glanced to Julie, and then back to me. "I don't even know ... I kept seeing ... Eimear when we were having sex last night. You know, not YOU, but you. It's weird."

"You too?" Julie asked, slowly sitting up so that her head was against Trish's shoulder. "I didn't think about it much, but I did keep thinking how cool it would be if Henry was that woman..."

Fucking Lesley. It had to be her. It had to be. I didn't know whether to be furious with her for getting me into this situation or grateful for the fact that I had just had sex with and possibly impregnated two beautiful women.

"I ... I'm not gay." Julie breathed, her face a mask of confusion. "I'm not in love. I'm not..." She rubbed her cheek against Trish's shoulder...

"Who are you trying to convince, Julie?" Trish asked, reaching her hand to brush a strand of hair out of her own face.

"I'm not trying to convi..." Julie began, before the reality of what she was doing at that very moment silenced her.

"Just ... oh fuck it." Trish groaned, and tilted up Julie's face. She paused for a second, before a smile creased her lips. Then she kissed Julie. Full on. Deep.

I just watched as the to of them sank into it. It was a romantic kiss, passionate, and loving. I watched Julie's hands begin to roam across Trish's body.

I also very clearly lost my battle to avoid sporting an erection.

I glanced down at my hand. Message waiting. No bars. Weird.

"I'm gonna take a quick walk outside." I commented to the women who were not paying attention to me in the slightest. "You want anything while I'm..."

"Not now..." Julie murmured out of the corner of her mouth, before delving into another deep kiss. Her fingers slid up to tweak one of Trish's nipples.

I smiled, and rapidly yanked on a pair of pants and a shirt. I suppose I could have taken the time to find some shoes, but it was just a quick walk up to the road. The creak of the french door and the pine needles underfoot were a welcome sensation as I opened the front door.

The fog had come in overnight, and in the morning light it made the whole place seem moderately sinister. I shrugged, walking along the patio, and opening the gate. A few more steps ... there ... signal.

I didn't recognize the number, but I knew the voice instantly when the message began to play.

"Henry, stop fucking with me and Raven. If you ever come near our apartment again I will have you arrested." The message ended with an abrupt sound of slamming.

I checked the number. Didn't know it. I hadn't gone near Jess. I didn't know where she was. I didn't...

Before I even thought about it, I hit the call button. I needed...

"... 'lo" was the one word answer in a male voice.

"Hi, uh, is Jess there?" I asked casually. I didn't know the voice, and wasn't sure what.

"She doesn't want to talk to you, jerk. Let me tell you something, you messed up big time, brother." The voice sounded like it was trying to menacing. It really wasn't working.

"Uh, she called me, and I..."

"Stay the FUCK away from our apartment, asshole! Does you get that? Do you understand what a felony is? Huh?"

"I don't even know where you live, uhm ... Raven, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, right, then how the fuck did you slash my tires if you don't know where I live?" The voice was accusatory. He was convinced that I had done something to him.

"Look, I didn't do ... you know what. I want to talk to Jess." I was tired of dealing with this idiot. It was clear that he was going to just keep yelling at me until he got what he wanted, which of course, I had no idea what it was. Except maybe for me to hang up.

"She doesn't fucking want to talk to you, asshole! Is it a revenge thing? Look, anything that's happening to you is just Karma! Your fault, and YOUR choices. You don't get to just..."

"Ok, what the fuck are you talking about? And put me on speaker, I know Jess is listening." That last part, I wasn't completely sure of, but I had my suspicions. It was one of Jess' old tricks. Whenever she had someone she was angry about she would have had me play shortstop, ensuring that I would be the one to get the blame for whatever she had to say rather than her. Apparently Raven wasn't familiar with the game yet.