Chapter 15 - Lily

Saturday arrived at last. Avett came to pick me up and we drove through the pelting rain to my new favorite place in the world. The whole way there I badgered him to drive faster. He finally said, “Calm down, Lily, goddamn. Misha’s not good in the rain and I need to get you there in one piece.”

I calmed down slightly, but still bounced up and down in my seat with nervous energy.

“Do you need to go potty?” He asked in the same tone one might use when speaking to a toddler.

“No!” I stopped bouncing.

I’d been sure to dress appropriately for the weather. I was wearing jeans with a soft turtleneck sweater under my favorite yellow raincoat. Sir hadn’t requested I wear anything in particular, but he had told me to braid my hair in two pigtails. Apparently, the hairstyle wasn’t too immature for him, after all. I smiled to myself, stroking the braids with my hands. I looked just how he wanted and I loved it; it was like a little secret between the two of us.

“I love the rain,” I sighed. The fall colors shifted and melted together through the streaks of water rolling down the window.

Avett made a noise of indifference. “It reminds me too much of Seattle.”

“You’re such a sourpuss today,” I said, reaching to unzip my overnight bag. The part of the day I was looking forward to the most, by far, was that I was allowed to sleep over. “This will cheer you up. Look who I brought.” I retrieved Edward from my bag and presented him to Avett.

“Put that thing away!” Avett complained, shielding his eyes in exaggerated horror. “It creeps me out.”

“Oh, don’t listen to him,” I told Edward, folding down his floppy ears. “He’s just mad he doesn’t know what the surprise is yet.”

“So, tell me then, why don’t ya?”

I shook my head and zipped my lips tight. “Nope.”

“You’re such a little brat.”

I giggled innocently. “I know.”

“Hm.”

We finally pulled into the driveway, where glimpses of the house flashed through the trees. I’d first seen it in the sunlight, looking like something straight out of a storybook. Now, framed by the dark clouds hanging ominously in the sky, it looked like a haunted house in a Halloween film. I immediately loved it even more.

“Race you inside!” I grabbed my door handle, but the door wouldn’t budge. I tried again, confused. I turned to Avett. “Did you just use the child lock on me?”

He just smirked. “Whatever,” I said, and began to crawl into the backseat to exit that way. In a swift movement, he grabbed me by my waist and pulled me into his lap, wedging me between him and the steering wheel. “Hey!” I yelped. He caught both of my wrists in one hand and pinned them behind me. “What the heck?”

“Tell me what the surprise is, Lily,” he said. His eyes were intense, and his face so close to mine I could count his every freckle.

“No,” I giggled nervously. I tried to squirm free of his grasp, but it was useless. He was so much stronger than me.

“Tell me.” His tone echoed the one he’d used on me back in the sex room. It was sort of terrifying, but also made my stomach twist with desire and my panties wet with a drop of moisture. “Stop putting yourself in unnecessary danger, Lily,” he said. “Adrian’s not here to save you now.”

I swallowed hard. “Fine, I’ll tell you.” My voice was incredibly small. I hated how easily I gave into him, but I feared if we kept this up a moment longer, we’d get ourselves in trouble.

He studied me expectantly, with a cock of his head. “Well?”

“Um, well, Sir said that we could all play my questions game today,” I admitted, trying to ignore the pounding of my heart. With a huff, I asked, “Happy now?”

His face softened, as did his grip on my wrists. “Ecstatic, darling.” His eyes dropped to my braids, loosely hanging near my chest. “These are adorable,” he said, and batted one of them with his hand. How quickly he reverted back to his usual, carefree self. He was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

His gaze grazed up past my lips and met mine once again. “So, what are the answers to the questions?”

“That, I’m DEFINITELY not telling you!” I flung myself out of the driver’s side door, tugging my duffel bag in tow.

“I hate you,” he grumbled, climbing out after me.

“I hate you more!” I called, already running up the drive to the front door. I threw my bag down in the foyer and sprinted up the stairs. “I’m going to see the fish!” I shouted to no one in particular.

At the landing, I ran smack into a warm, firm chest. “Woah,” Sir said, grabbing my shoulders to steady me.

“Sir!” I yelped, before blurting out some mishmash of a greeting, halfway between “sorry” and “hi.”

“Someone’s out of sorts.” Pulling me back in for a hug, he said, “Calm down, kitten.” Like magic, I instantly relaxed.

“Avett was being mean to me,” I murmured into his chest.

“I plead the fifth,” Avett called from the bottom of the stairwell as he hung his own slick raincoat on the coat rack.

“Shall I get you the kitchen knives?” Sir asked, making me laugh.

“No, that won’t be necessary quite yet,” I said. “I’ll let you know if I change my mind, though.”

He held me at arms’ length to look at me. “I like your hair,” he complimented with a wink.

“Thank you, Sir.” The sensation of his title rolling casually off my tongue felt divine. I fit right in with my boys, who always used it so comfortably. Sir looked so scrumptiously cozy, too, with his usual work attire now replaced by soft-looking jeans and a wool sweater. “Hey, we match!”

“We do, don’t we?” He bent to brush his lips ever-so-gently against mine, and my knees went all wobbly.

“Hey!” Avett said. I figured he was about to demand his own kiss from Sir, but instead he asked, “When do I get to kiss Lily?”

“Maybe later, Avett,” Sir dismissed coolly, and helped me remove my damp coat.

Suddenly shy, I stammered, “Um, where’s Adrian?”

“He’s upstairs,” Sir said. “He expected that you’d want to see the fish right away.” Folding my coat over his arm, he stepped aside and gestured for me to go ahead.

“Sure you don’t need the potty first?” Avett asked, still lingering obnoxiously in the foyer.

Ugh. “No, Avett. I’ll be fine, thank you,” I said, very maturely. Asshole, I mouthed when Sir turned his back, then flounced up the stairs.

In the rec room, the overhead lights were off and Adrian was sitting cross-legged on the other side of the aquarium with his nose nearly touching the glass. He grinned at my entrance, his face distorted through the tank and the purple glow. Wordlessly, he patted the carpeted floor beside him.

I crept over and took my own seat. Behind the glass, a tiny, snakelike creature hovered between some rocks.

“See the eel?” He asked in a whisper. “He barely ever comes out.”

“So cool,” I whispered back. “I missed all these little guys.”

“We missed you,” Adrian breathed. I couldn’t tell whether he meant he and Avett, he and the fish, or both.

“Me too,” I said anyway. I leaned into him. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, breathing in the scent of my hair. He was wearing a short sleeve t-shirt, which was rare. “Your arms are bare,” I commented absentmindedly. It was probably an odd thing to point out, but it was just so noticeable because he was usually covered head to toe. I wondered if he could tell just how much I liked looking at his arms.

He nodded, seemingly not finding my remark odd in the slightest. “Yeah. Sir told us each to only wear three articles of clothing.”

“Oh.” I giggled.

He prodded his lip ring with his tongue. “I sort of figured it might have something to do with your guys’ surprise.”

He was spot on. “Are you scared?” I teased.

Blushing, he said, “I guess, a little. I’m not sure exactly what to be scared of, though.” He laughed. His laugh was throaty and boyish, and sort of made me want to climb inside of him. He seemed immune to the weirdness of my thoughts, so I decided to share that one, too.

“I wish I could climb inside you,” I said.

He looked down at his chest. “I think there’s probably room for you in my ribcage,” he said.

I started headbutting his chest like I was fully intent on getting in, and he laughed again.

At that moment, Avett barged into the room and said, “I know you’re a virgin and all, Lily, so you may be unaware, but that’s not how sex works.” The little eel instantly darted into a cave.

“Hey,” Adrian complained. “You scared off Hemingway.”

I giggled. “Ooh, that’s a great name, Adey.”

Avett just narrowed his eyes, looking pissed at me for some reason. His arms were also on display, but I couldn’t fully appreciate them because my eyes were being assaulted by the puke-colored pattern of his paisley shirt. I should’ve never insulted his style; now I was doomed to look at repulsive patterns for life. His hair was up in a small bun again, though, so perhaps my compliment had actually flattered him.

“Sir wants us all in the living room in TWO MINUTES,” Avett announced pompously, and left after shooting me a little smirk. Was it time for the “surprise” already? I suddenly felt exceedingly nervous about the whole thing. Not about undressing the boys; that part I had been looking forward to all week. But knowing that my own clothes would be coming off, too, was a fact that I had yet to fully come to terms with. Especially seeing as I wouldn’t get a chance to change my underwear first.

Adrian took my hand as we descended the several flights of stairs to the ground floor. Sir and Avett were already in the living room. Sir was sitting back against the large sectional couch with his foot up on an ottoman. “Lily.” He gave me a warm smile. “Ready for the game?”

“A game?” Adrian looked at Avett. “What are we playing?”

Avett held his hands up like, don’t look at me. “No clue,” he said. God, he was an infuriatingly good liar.

“Almost,” I told Sir. I went to retrieve something from my duffel bag, returning to the living room with a couple of only slightly crumpled papers that comprised my list of neatly handwritten questions.

Sir glanced at my list, looking impressed. “Ready!” I said, trying my best to hide any lingering apprehension.

“Great,” he said. “Come sit on my lap.”

I hid my blush behind a few loose strands of hair and crossed to join him on the couch, where I lowered myself into his embrace. He made a fantastic chair; I relaxed instantly into his chest when he wrapped his secure arms around my waist.

Moving one of my braids behind my shoulder, Sir spoke to the boys. “Today we’re going to play Lily’s wonderful questions game.”

“Wonderful?” Avett introjected. “But you said—”

Though I couldn’t see his face, I could practically feel Sir shooting daggers at Avett with his eyes, and he stopped mid-sentence. “Sorry, Sir,” he said. “Please continue.”

“I’d like you boys to each grab some notecards and a pen and then stand in the middle of the room,” Sir said, nodding to a stack of writing utensils on the coffee table. “To make this as fair as possible, you’re each going to write your answers to Lily’s questions on a card and reveal them at the same time. That way, nobody can complain that they’re getting harder questions.” I smiled. Sir had really thought of everything. He continued, “Otherwise, the rules are the same. For each question you answer incorrectly, you will remove one article of clothing.” To me, he said, “Each boy has three strikes because they are each wearing three articles total: a shirt, pants, and boxers.”

“Actually, Sir,” Avett interrupted again. “I’m not wearing boxers. As you can see, I have opted to wear one sock instead.” He held up his single socked foot, wiggling the toes to demonstrate.

Sir blinked at him for a moment, unamused. “Fine. Regardless, three incorrect answers results in a loss.”

“And what does the winner receive?” Avett asked. He stood confidently in the middle of the room with his pen at the ready. Beside him, Adrian studied the floor, standing with one foot angled inward so that his toes rested partially on his other foot. The poor thing looked so bashful I almost wanted to let him win.

“Lily?” Sir said expectantly. “Would you like to do the honors?”

“Um,” I squeaked, then cleared my throat. “The winner gets to take my clothes off,” I blurted out.

The boys both looked at me, surprised. They sure liked THAT idea.

“Oh, you’re going down,” Avett told Adrian, who just blushed and looked away again.

“It’s anyone’s game,” Sir told them patiently. “Any questions?”

“I have a question,” Avett said, waving his pen around as if to get Sir’s attention. “What happens if there’s a tie?”

“Then nobody wins,” Sir said simply, and I grinned. Sounded like a win for me. He gave me a quick squeeze.

“Okay. Don’t ... Tie...” Avett said, pretending to take notes on his card. “Got it.”

“Lily, would you please read the first question?” Sir asked.

I nodded and looked down at my list. The first question was easy; meant only for a warm-up. I read aloud, “How do I take my coffee?”

“Too easy,” Avett scoffed at once, racing to jot down his answer. “Don’t overthink this one, Adey.” Adrian just ignored him, focusing on his own writing.

“Answers, please, boys,” Sir said, and the two flipped their cards around.

BLACK

black

“Very good,” I said, delighted even though I knew they’d both get it right. “Let’s try a little bit of a harder one.” I scanned my list, having way too much fun. “Let’s see ... What’s my rabbit’s name?”

They wrote quickly and silently.

“Answers?”

Edward

edward

“Correct,” I said.

“God, I hate that guy,” Avett muttered, tossing the card over his shoulder.

I needed a question that would stump at least one of them. “Hmm ... Here’s a good one. Who’s my favorite director?”

Avett furrowed his brow. “Unfair! You’ve never told us that.”

I laughed. “I said it the first week of film class. Just like everybody else.” He narrowed his eyes. “I remember yours,” I taunted.

“Write an answer, boys,” Sir prompted. He was loving this.

Hitchcock

r. wiene

“Do I get partial points for writing your LEAST favorite director?” Avett asked.

“Nope!” I laughed. To Adrian, I said, “Good guess, but also incorrect.”

“Who is it, then?”

“Coppola, of course,” I said. “Sofia, that is.”

Avett rolled his eyes. “Typical girl choice.”

“Looks like you’re each down a shirt,” Sir said. Without complaint, they both removed their shirts. I allowed myself a moment to take in the eye candy before me. Adrian’s torso was pale and wiry, with his hip bones dipping enticingly into the waist of his jeans. Avett’s flesh was perforated with lean muscles, especially in the arms that could easily confine me. He caught me looking and wiggled his eyebrows. Irritated, I returned to my list.

Hmm. I assumed the next question would stump Adrian, but I was still curious to ask it. I said, “What did the note Avett leave me say?”

They both looked up, confused. “What note?”

I shifted in Sir’s lap. “Um ... The one in the pocket of Adrian’s shirt?”

Avett laughed. “I didn’t write that. It was Adrian’s shirt, doll.”

“Oh,” I said, sheepish. I had always just assumed Avett wrote it. He was the trickster, after all. Adrian smiled at me with his arms crossed around his waist. I didn’t know I was dealing with two tricksters! “Fine. I’ll choose a different question,” I said, shuffling my papers around.

“Hold on,” Sir said. “What’s this note about?”

The three of us all looked at each other, each expecting somebody else to answer. Finally, Adrian said, “It was just a dumb note that said, ‘we know you’re a virgin’. Can I get a point for answering?”

“No,” Sir said firmly. “And both of you, stop referring to some nonexistent point system. Lily, next question please.”

“Okay,” I said slowly. “Here’s a doozy. Which rule is the hardest for me to break?”

“The HARDEST for you to break?” Avett repeated.

“Mm-hmm.”

They both thought for a long time before beginning to write.

“Answers, please,” Sir said, impatient.

4

rule 12

“Incorrect!” I exclaimed, smug. “It was rule seven. Guess you have to take off your pants now.”

“Oh no, we have to take off our pants,” Avett said placidly, and make a big show of dropping his jeans before stepping out of them and twirling them around his head like Magic Mike. He was indeed not wearing boxers. My eyes shot at once to his crotch, which, for lack of a better description, was hard to miss.

“Oh,” I said. “You’re uncircumcised.”

“Aren’t you observant,” he countered sarcastically. “Want to touch?”

“Avett,” Sir warned.

I peeled my eyes away from him and looked at Adrian instead. He was in dark gray boxers, carefully folding his jeans onto a chair.

Sir was more interested in what I’d said. “Why did you pick rule seven?” He asked. He’d removed my braid that had been coming undone and was gently fixing it, with his nimble fingers expertly twisting my strands of hair. His attention was both physically and mentally focused entirely on me, and it sort of made my head swim.

“Well, uh ... Because it’s hard for me to, you know...”

“Orgasm?” Avett said. His hands were on hips like he didn’t have a care in the world.

“Even when you’re by yourself?” Sir asked gently. I looked at the carpet. Did we really need to continue this conversation now? Especially with Avett’s ... appendage staring at me like that? Slowly, I nodded, and squeaked, “Yes, Sir.”

Sir tied off my immaculate new braid, which left no more loose strands to hide behind. “That’s okay, sweets,” he reassured me, and wrapped his arms once again around my waist. I sank into him, feeling small but immediately safe when he rested his chin on the top of my head. “Let’s finish the game,” he said. His deep voice rumbled in his chest and throat. “The boys only have one strike left.”

I looked back to my list. All I needed was one impossible question, then they would both lose and it could all be over with; and I might not even have to undress. Finally, I said, “What’s my favorite flower?”

“Uh-oh,” Avett said. “Must be a trick question.”

The boys thought for a long time. Adrian wrote something, crossed it out, then turned to a different card to start again. Avett just scratched his head and chewed on the end of his pen. “Five seconds, boys,” Sir said. They both scrawled quickly. “Answers?”

ROSE

honeysuckle

My stomach dropped. Why, oh why did I pick such a common favorite? All eyes were on me. “Um ... One of them is correct,” I said.

“Which one?” Sir asked. I shifted awkwardly in his lap. “Tell the truth, sweets.”

“ ... Avett.”

“YES!” Avett whooped, throwing his cards in the air in triumph. They all fluttered to the floor. “That was a total guess! TOLD YOU you were going down, Adey!”

“Don’t be a sore winner, Avett,” Sir said. Adrian set his cards back on the coffee table, and without further ado, slipped quietly out of his boxers. He folded them onto the neat stack of his other clothes and turned back towards me, arms crossed.

“Oh,” I murmured. I’d made such a blunt comment about Avett I sort of felt like I owed him one, too. “Is it ... you know...?”

“Don’t be fooled, Lily,” Avett said with a smirk. “You may have given him a semi, but that’s only a fraction of Adey’s true power. You haven’t seen nothing yet.”

Adrian just rolled his eyes. He didn’t seem very nervous about being naked at all anymore, especially now that Avett was. Well, except for the sock.

I let my eyes traverse him. I might as well get a good look. “Oh,” I said again. There was a metal barbell hooked under the head of his penis. “Woah! Did that hurt?”

He laughed lightheartedly. “Not nearly as much as the lip piercing did. It healed so much faster.”

“Yeah, ‘cause you couldn’t exactly stick your tongue in your pants to poke at it all the time,” Avett said. I had a fleeting fantasy in which I pictured myself on my knees, doing just that. I shifted in Sir’s lap again, remembering what Avett had said about Adrian “doing me.” I could barely stick more than even a single finger inside myself, but now I saw what I was truly up against.