Chapter 7

"Well, this is interesting."

My eyes shot open and I looked over to the source of the sound. Terry was standing inside my room looking down at us, eyebrows up and a smirk on her lips. Eve was standing behind her in the doorway looking like she'd just smelled something really foul. We hadn't moved at all that I could tell and as I moved slightly in surprise Keelin stretched and looked back over her shoulder at the intruders. I couldn't see her expression but Terry certainly could and the smirk turned into a real smile. Eve just grunted and stomped away.

"Think we should talk about this?" Terry asked. She was talking to Keelin and acting like I wasn't even there.

"None of your business," Keelin responded lightly. "But I suppose we will anyway. Not right now though. I'm sore and I need a 'fresher."

"I'll bet you're sore." Now she was looking at the juncture of our bodies. I didn't think I would ever be able to blush again, but I'm sure I did. "Okay, later." With that she turned around and flounced out the door, leaving it open.

"Ah, Kee..." More brilliant conversation. She turned back and gave me a million-joule smile. I think my insides melted.

"Good morning, Toliver," she leaned down and gave me a quick peck on the lips. "I love you. Come on; let's get cleaned up." She jumped up, ah youth, and pulled me into the 'fresher attached to my room. I won't go into how long we took in there but I will say we were very clean when we got out.

I felt like a teenage boy who'd just been caught by his parents screwing his girlfriend in his bedroom. Actually I felt more nervous. I'd actually had that happen to me years ago and so I knew what that felt like. Terry was sitting in one of the chairs giving us that smirk again ― I really wanted to spank her right then ― and Eve was lounging on the couch looking angry.

"Kee, are you all right?" Terry asked.

"A little sore. Other than that, wonderful."

"So, asshole, you finally got a fuck toy out of this deal, didn't you?" Eve sneered.

I've seen plenty of people with military and martial training and you get so you can recognize it in how they move under pressure. Terry had it, some kind of training anyway. She moved fast, really fast. Which is a good thing because she almost didn't get there in time to stop a redheaded fireball, claws out, from connecting with the taller, beautifully aloof Eveta Delgado. God only know what would have happened if she hadn't!

"You God-damned fucking bitch!" Keelin was screaming and crying all at the same time doing her best to break free from Terry's arms and continue on to her target. "You fucking, cold-hearted whore!" Eve finally showed a real expression other than disgust on her face: it was horror laced with fear. Appropriate, I might add. Terry grunted with the effort at holding her back until I could get over there and gently wrap my arms around the trembling woman. When she realized who was holding her she stopped fighting all at once and latched onto me buried her head in my chest. I pulled us back until we could sit in the other chair with her sitting in my lap.

"It's okay, honey," I whispered. "She didn't mean it. Everything will be all right."

Terry turned back to the still dumbstruck Eve and hissed through clenched teeth, "We'll talk about this later. Now, shut the hell up or get out if you can't."

Walking over to us Terry squatted down next to the chair and reached out to stroke Keelin's hair. "It's all right, Kee, baby. Are you better now?" For a moment Keelin stiffened up but then she suddenly stopped sobbing, released me and sat up straight turned around and leaned back into me holding my arms tightly around her.

"Yes, I'm better now," her voice was flatter and to be honest much more dangerous.

"I am not only better, I am perfect," she continued. "I am exactly where I want to be, where I was meant to be. I love this man and now I'm his woman." The tension in the room was more heavy and thick than I've ever felt before. Leave it to Terry to take care of that.

"Damn, girl," she said standing up. "I thought I was going to be the first one to jump in his bed."

Keelin looked up at her friend and then shocked the shit right out of me. "We'll talk about that later."

"Okay," Terry said with a shrug. "I can handle that." I didn't get a say in this? Apparently not. Miss Keelin Orla Tiernay and I were going to have to talk about this later ourselves.

"And we are not going to talk about this after today. You can listen to what I have to say or not, I don't care. I have known you two ever since we started school together. You two are my best friends, my only friends. You know what I'm like: shy, always in the background, always the follower and never the leader. That was you, Terry: you've always been the one in the front, the one with all the ideas, our leader. That's okay, someone has to be and I know that's not me, never has been and never will be.

"Eve, you've always been there but never really with us. I don't know if we kept away the boredom or what, but I can see now we were just moons in your orbit as far as you were concerned, especially me. I know, I was just the little puppy following the amazing Teresa Dubois around and I'm well aware you made fun of me and cut me down to the other girls. Somebody to beat on or tease when there was nothing better to do. I forgave you; it was just the way you were and, to be honest, it's not like I could do anything about it. Well, I'm not that person anymore.

"When it came to sex I was always the backward one. It scared me, I admit it; it terrified me. For Terry it always seemed to be all about the fun; it was a sport. I couldn't do that. And you, Eve, you were the school slut. You'd fuck a snake if it bought you a pretty bauble or took you for a ride in its new yacht. I guess you weren't really the school slut, you were the school whore! I'll bet you never felt anything when they were between your oh-so-pretty legs. What'd you do while they were busy? Count up how much you were making?" Eve's eyes were round with horror. Her lips moved but nothing came out.

"Keelin," I said softly. I could tell she'd been hurt, probably for a long time but this had gone too far. "That's enough. It's over, finished. It won't happen again."

"Damn right it's over," she said turning to look back at me. "I was a useless little simpering nothing and when those assholes took me, raped me, I thought I was going to die; hoped I was going to die. But you saved me, Toliver. Saved us. What you said to me last night, what you allowed me to do ... I realized then that I was still a women, a desirable woman. I'm a good person and a good man could still want me. I love you, Toliver Nelson. I know you don't love me, not like I love you but I think someday you will. I hope you'll let me stay with you until you do."

"Wow," Terry exclaimed. "You go, girl!"

"Shut up, Terry." Both Keelin and I said it at the same time. It didn't faze Terry one little bit but as least she stayed quiet for a time. I turned back to Keelin.

"I don't know what to tell you, Keelin." As much as I hated to admit it, honesty seemed to be what was required here. "I don't know what I feel. I know I have strong feelings for you. I'm happy when you're near me, I enjoy being with you, but I don't know if it's love. I've never been in love so I don't know what it feels like."