Chapter 31: Nicole

"How's the thesis coming?" Josh asked. Promising not to be a pest, he'd moved in with me for a while. Frankly, I was delighted.

We were in the living room of my Boston apartment and had just finished dinner. I was sipping on a glass of white wine.

I grinned. "It's a doctoral dissertation, and it's ahead of schedule. My advisor is impressed."

"What's it about again?"

"The domain of microeconomic analysis applied to a wide range of human behavior and social interaction. I'm combining economics with social psychology, primarily related to urban environments."

Josh laughed. "I now know not one iota more than before I asked. Gobbledygook, that's what it is."

Are you making fun of what I do? I asked silently.

Not at all. I'm making fun of how little I know about what you do. I paint pretty pictures. Sandy uses wonderful, meaningful words to describe humanity and the worlds she knew way back when. I suspect what you do will have a more profound influence on humankind than what Sandy or I do.

That's for sure, buddy boy, Sandy said.

My telephone rang. I answered the call.

"Oh, hi, Collin," I said when I recognized my fuck buddy's voice.

"I'm at loose ends. May I drop by?" he asked.

I glanced at Josh. He shrugged. That's up to you, Nicole. If you want, I'll make myself scarce for a while.

That's not what I want. You know what I want.

Josh grimaced and kept his mind blank.

"Collin, may I call you back in a few minutes?"

"Sure."

I hung up and said, "Okay, out with it, buddy boy."

Josh laughed. "Since when did you start calling me buddy boy? That's Sandy's expression, one she usually uses when she's either miffed or tickled with me for some reason."

"Well, I'm miffed. You know I've been thinking about Collin joining us for some fun and games, but you're avoiding... no, you seemed to be downright opposed. Why?"

"I'm jealous."

"Baloney. I'm an empath, thanks to you. I'd know if you were jealous. Come on, spit it out or I'll start digging a tunnel through your mind. I know you enjoy it when Andy joins us, so..."

"I like Andy."

"Oh. What's your problem with Collin?"

"I don't have a problem with Collin; he has a problem with me. He thinks he's a better man for you than I am. It has something to do with the color of his blood. He believes it's blue."

Nicole laughed. "He is a bit of a snob."

"You refer to him as your fuck buddy, and that's all he is to you, but he wants more, Nicole."

I agree with Josh, Sandy said. Collin was fine with his fuck buddy status until Josh showed up and turned on Collin's need for dominance. It's a male instinct to dominate available breeding partners in the herd, or something like that.

Josh doesn't do that, I said.

Josh is a grownup, Sandy replied.

"Argh! Okay, I get the picture. Darn it, I was looking forward to a little two on one."

Josh laughed. "If that's what you want, let's go out and pick out a man acceptable to both of us. We'll go to a crowded place, read a few minds, dig into a few attitudes, and viola! Instant threesome."

Now that sounds like fun, Sandy said.

I picked up the phone and dialed Collin's number.

"Collin, it's Nicole. About your request, I've gotta say no, and Collin, it might be a good idea if you found yourself a new fuck buddy."

"You're making a big mistake, Nicole. I can give you more than that hick from the sticks you married. He ignored you completely for a while, made you so unhappy you cried on my shoulder a few times. You deserve more, baby."

"Collin, you couldn't be a pimple on my husband's cute ass. You're history. Don't call me again."

I hung up. "Fuck. I'm a telepath and an empath. Why didn't I see what was happening?"

Because Collin wasn't important to you in the total scheme of things, Sandy said. Now, if I were you, I'd take Josh out to a crowded bar and check out a few men. Pick a shy man that's hung like a horse but isn't too full of himself, unlike your ex-fuck buddy.

Josh laughed. If he's hung like a horse, I get your ass.

Why is it that you only want my ass when we're with another man? I asked Josh.

I don't know, but you're right. It's probably because I know you prefer a dick in your pussy to one in your ass, and if another man joins us your preference will be satisfied, and I can take advantage of your delectable backside without feeling guilty about it.

How about that one? I asked nodding toward a tall young man at the end of the bar.

Uh-uh, he's bi-curious, Josh replied.

What's wrong with that?

I'm not. I'm curious about something. Every man you've picked has been younger than you. Why?

I frowned. I hadn't realized I was selecting younger men. I don't know.

How about that man who just walked in? Josh asked.

Hmm, maybe.

He's older, late twenties, early thirties.

I scanned him. Twenty-nine.

He's single, horny, definitely not bi-curious, has been in a threesome with two woman, so he's probably good in the sack. Ah, he's also been in a threesome with a couple, a husband and wife, enjoyed the experience, too.

He's a lawyer, I said.

Argh, that's not good.

But he's never practiced law. He runs a family business.

Is he hung? Sandy asked with titter.

I dug into his memories. Almost seven inches the last time he measured it in his late teens, I said.

Josh, you and I need to do this sometime. It's fun! Sandy said. Is he good looking?

That's for you ladies to decide, Josh said. He's a blond with blue eyes, in fair shape physically. Wears his hair long and combed straight back. Six feet tall, maybe a little taller. Dressed casually, but expensively.

He's a hunk, Sandy. Oh, my! He lost his virginity to his first cousin, a girl three years his senior. She was his sexual mentor, a good one, too, I think," I said.

He's acceptable on the cruelty and evilness scale, Josh said. Let's talk to him.

What's his family business? Sandy asked.

Stocks, bonds, real estate. He's loaded, I said. He's also leery of gold diggers. He had a bad experience with one not long ago.

Go to the ladies room, Nicole. I'll strike up a conversation with him. After I establish a baseline for truthfulness, I'll check out his honesty and integrity. If he passes my tests, I'll let you know.

As I freshened my lipstick, Sandy said, Stocks, bonds, real estate, huh. Is he a man of the world? My biological clock is ticking. I'll need to find my man soon.

I chuckled. Sandy, you're only twenty-four. You've got a lot of childbearing years in front of you.

Twenty-five next month.

Hey, that's right, and Josh will be twenty-three. I should plan a birthday party for y'all. Should it be a guest party, or a getaway for just the three of us?

Hmm, let's have a guest party this year. In our compound in Scottsdale. That way we can invite my parents. Josh and I have been ignoring them. I'll give you an invitation list, and Josh will do the same. You'll be the hostess, so invite your friends and family, too.

I wonder if we can get Pierre to cater the party?

What a good idea!

Nicole, Josh said, he passed my tests with flying colors. I like him.

Okay, I'm on my way.

I'm jealous, Sandy said.

I laughed. No, you're not, and you'll enjoy him as much as I.

As I walked up to Josh, he rose from his chair. So did the man we'd selected. Hmm, he has manners.

"Nicole, I'd like you to meet Darren Caldwell. Darren, this is one of my wives, Nicole."

Caldwell's eyes widened but he remained focused on me. "I'm pleased to meet you, Nicole. Please join us. Your husband ordered a white wine for you."

The men took a seat after Josh helped me into mine. Caldwell turned to Josh, and said, "Okay, you managed to shock me, and I'm not easily shocked. Did I hear you correctly? Did you say Nicole was one of your wives?"

Josh flashed his boyish grin and I melted. "Yes, my other wife is Sandy Johnson, the novelist. Perhaps you've heard of her. Her last novel made the best-seller lists."

Caldwell chuckled. "Yeah, I read her book," he said quietly and shook his head. "The last time I checked polygamy was illegal."

"Still is," Josh said. "We had a private ceremony, not a legal one."

"Love makes us married, Mr. Caldwell," I said. "Although Josh and I have a piece of paper that legally declares that we are man and wife, I'm just as married to my wife as I am to my husband, piece of paper to the contrary."

He smiled, and I melted. Sandy, his boyish smile is as sexy as Josh's.

You've got to be kidding, Sandy said.

I kid you not. Made my panties wet, that's what it did.

I've gotta meet this man.

"Please call me Darren."

"All right, and I'm Nicole."

Darren turned to Josh. "You're a lucky man."

Josh grinned. "I agree."

"Are you married, Darren?" I asked.

"No. I haven't found the right woman, let alone two of them. Josh tells me he's an artist. What do you do?"

"I'm a student."

"Harvard?"

"Yes, I'm a doctoral candidate. Hopefully, I'll qualify for my degree in a few months. Defending my dissertation at my orals scares the pants off me."

"What field?"

"Economics."

"Beautiful and smart, an unusual combination."

I beamed. "Thank you."

Darren shook his head. "Amazing. A best-selling novelist and a Ph.D. in economics. You must be a very good artist, Josh." Or hung like a stallion, Darren added as a thought.

"I'm still learning. I haven't sold anything yet, but I managed to snag an artist's agent a few weeks ago. She's setting up my first one-man show in Manhattan sometime soon. She's a greedy wench and gets paid only if I get paid, so I'll probably make some money."

I laughed. "Which he doesn't need. Josh made a fortune in real estate before he was twenty-one, Darren. When he was eighteen, he helped me make my first million. Until then, I was as poor as a church mouse, a country bumpkin from a small town in Nevada." I gave Josh's hand an affectionate squeeze. "I'm boasting about him, because he won't, and if he's still learning to be an artist, I'm still in grade school."

Let's use showing Darren your paintings at our apartment as an excuse to get out of here, I suggested.

All right.

"In fact, I have a few of his paintings in my apartment. Would you like to see them?" I blushed purposefully. "I'm sorry. Perhaps you have plans for tonight."

"No plans. I'd like to see your paintings, Josh." I want to get to know these people. They're the most interesting characters I've ever met.

"Hmm," Josh said, "the three of us won't fit in your little Lexus, Nicole. Why don't you ride with Darren so he doesn't get lost, and I'll drive your car?" Give him some hints of things to come, Nicole, but don't scare him off.

Josh, you don't qualify to give Nicole advice on how to seduce a man, Sandy said with a mental chuckle.

Darren drove a Cadillac Escalade. "My wife has an Escalade," I said as Darren pulled out of the parking lot, "but it's much older than this one. She hardly ever drives it, keeps it in our compound in Scottsdale, Arizona."

"Compound?"

"Yes, well, at least that's what we call it. It's a walled-estate kind of property." I chuckled. "A high wall because we run around nekkid a lot of the time."

"That's a sight I'd like to see."

"What, our compound?" I teased.

"You know what I meant, and I apologize. That just slipped out."

"No apology necessary. If you want to see me nekkid, that can be arranged. Our marriage is based on love, Darren, not sexual fidelity."

"Ah."

"Ah, what?"

"Just ah. I take it you have an open marriage."