Chapter 21

With all the preparations for the grudge match race and such, we had sort of lost focus on the “Cascade Classic” and keeping our group together to train for it. As a result, Meredith, Anne and Lizzie hadn’t ridden much at all since then end of the STP. Melody, Jane, and Beth had ridden with their club team, as well as with me, so they seemed to have things pretty much in place, but I was worried about the others. Turns out they had done all the worrying necessary. The sound of the phone ringing brought me out of my reverie.

“Nate?” said a voice I recognized was Meredith’s.

“Yeah, what can I do for you, darling?” I said.

“Well, are you sitting down?” she asked.

“I am now, is something wrong? Are you okay?” I said.

“Whoa, big fella’, put that testosterone on hold and listen for a minute! We’re all just peachy, but we’ve been talking, and we think it’s time we involved you in our plans for world domination by horny women.” She gave a throaty laugh, followed by her best (worst?) evil cackle. I could hear laughter in the background now. “Do you have a few minutes to come over to Anne and Lizzie’s place and chat?”

“Uhh, sure. I can be there in about an hour from now, that work for the three of you?” I said.

“Okay, big boy! We’ll be waiting, but I have to warn you, it’s not a good idea to make us wait too long, you know?” and Meredith hung up the phone to laughter on the other end as well.

Anne met me at the door less than an hour later. I had had a few things to take care of, but as Meredith had pointed out, it doesn’t do to keep a lady waiting.

“Nate, good to see you, it’s been a bit, hasn’t it?” Anne said as she led me to the living room.

Lizzie and Meredith were sitting on the couch, sipping on cool summer drinks, and Anne resumed her place in one of the plush armchairs, leaving the other armchair for me.

“Can I offer you a drink, Nate?” Lizzie said with a glance toward Anne.

“No, thank you, Lizzie. I’m fine, if a little puzzled. Meredith said we needed to talk, so here I am...”

“Well, Nate, we’ll try to keep the mystery to a minimum, and not stress you out, poor dear boy...” said Meredith with a gleam in her eyes.

“Yes, Nate. We’ve decided not to ride the Cascade Classic next month. And before you start to raise a fuss, I have already sold my registration to Beth, and Anne and Meredith are going to donate theirs to the cause or to another rider if one appears.” Lizzie said.

“Look, we know this whole riding thing is important to you. If we didn’t know it before, we do after the races. We started this as a chance to get in a little exercise and meet men. Well, we more than met you, and though we loved having you,” and she smiled in a way that left little doubt about how much they had enjoyed it. “We really need to move on now. You have your three women, and though we don’t usually mind sharing, we do mind sharing when it might hurt someone. And believe me; those three women are seriously in love with you!”

“Nate, love?” Anne said, and I looked over at her and took in her, for once, serious mien. “Listen, you need to take care of these three, especially Beth. I get the feeling that she is a little fragile right now, and you need to have a serious little chat with yourself and the three of them individually and as a group to figure out if you want to make this work. I think you are a good man. Hell, if I was at all interested in something permanent I’d be fighting for you too, but still ... you really need to find out if you are willing to work to make this happen, if they are willing to work with you and each other, and most importantly ... what do you really want?”

“Ladies, I truly loved being with each of you. You are all special in your own unique ways, and I would be honored to count you as my friends. I would gladly offer my services to you in any way that one friend offers them to another.” I said, and meant every word of it.

“Anyway, you silly man, we wanted you to know early, so you can plan accordingly.” said Anne with a hint of a tear. “Now off with you! You have three very special women you need to take care of, and you better take good care of them. We’ve already had this talk, so they know why you’re over here. Now get!” Meredith said as she stood and held out her arms.

I hugged and kissed each of them goodbye, and there were a few tears mixed with the hugs and best wishes. I sat in the jeep for a minute to compose myself, and then headed back to the house to think. I hadn’t really expected things to last forever between all of us, but losing the three of them, since they had been the first, seemed to take a heavy toll on me at the moment. I agreed that it was probably for the best, but still.

The next morning, after a restless and lonely night of soul-searching, I wasn’t any clearer about what I wanted, but I knew I needed to talk to Melody and Jane first, and then to Beth and finally to all three of them as a group. Now, how to make that all happen? A light tapping at my front door brought me out of my cloud and into the moment. When I got to the door, Melody and Jane were standing there looking at me as if gauging my reaction. Hmmm. Note to self: Never ever underestimate the power of women.

“Come on in,” I said, “I was just trying to figure some things out and how to get the two of you over here to talk about it was on the top of my ‘to-do’ list, and here you are. Yes, I already had my chat with Meredith and company, so you can stop looking so concerned. Can I get you a latte?”

“Thanks, Nate, that would be grand!” said Jane as she and Melody walked with me back into the kitchen. Both of them bestowed gentle kisses on my cheek as we sat down.

Once everyone was settled around the kitchen table, I said, “Okay, since I’m way too new at this whole thing, where should we start? I mean, do I just ask if you’re happy with the way things are? Do I just shut up and listen? Someone give me a clue, okay?”

“Nate, it’s not like we have some sort of female ‘great big book of everything’ that we’re consulting about this, you know. I don’t have a clue about how to do this either?” said Jane with a grin.

“Look, all I know is that I, or should I say, we, love you very much!” said Melody with a breathtaking smile. “I know that I love you in a way that I never ever thought I’d ever love a man. My experience hasn’t been very vast; I mean you were my first and, so far, only lover! And I have no intention of going back to my old life now. Hell, I’m changing schools just to stay with you and Jane, and I hope Beth too...”