Myrna waited for Brian to unlock the front door of his apartment. She didn't know what to expect when he pushed the door open, but a large, tastefully decorated foyer and expansive, clean, and comfortable living area would not have been her first guess.
"What do you think?" he asked, looking at her with that approval-please expression she'd come to recognize.
"It's great, Brian." She kissed his jaw and crossed the threshold. "I love it. Did you decorate it yourself?"
He laughed. "No. Sed had a thing with an interior decorator for a while. She maxed out his credit card, but we got great digs at his expense. If you think this is nice, you should see his place. It's amazing."
Myrna set her purse on a marble-topped, cherry table next to the front door and ventured further inside. Brian dropped their suitcases inside the door and locked it behind him. The furniture was heavy and inviting. Neat and masculine. Dark woods contrasted with sage green, taupe, and ivory upholstery. Matching pillows, rugs, and abstract artwork tied everything together. She could picture Brian enjoying the soothing colors, but the décor didn't seem to fit his roommate's style at all. And the place was spotless.
"How do you keep it so clean? Doesn't Trey live here with you?" She was constantly on top of Trey to pick up after himself on the bus. She couldn't imagine his behavior being much different at home.
"Maid service, baby."
"Ah, that explains everything."
She turned to find him standing directly behind her. "Thank you," he murmured, taking both her hands in his and staring into her eyes with sincerity.
"You're welcome," she said, "but what are you thanking me for?"
"For what you did with my dad."
She smiled and squeezed his hands. "I was just trying to make up for insulting him and for hurting you. I don't know why I got so mad when he criticized you and the band."
"I think I know why." He kissed her tenderly.
"I guess I'm just a fan girl, after all."
The front door opened. "Honey, I'm home," Trey called and tossed his keys on the table beside the door.
A tall brunette with big boobs, bigger hair and an almost nonexistent skirt followed Trey into the apartment. She scowled when her eyes landed on Myrna.
"When you said Brian would be here, you didn't say anything about him having a woman with him," she said to Trey.
"Hey, Carly," Brian murmured. Myrna's head snapped up to look at him. He knew this…this woman ? Was she an old girlfriend of his? Brian toyed with the button at the top of Myrna's suit jacket, his face red and body tense as he stared at his fiddling fingers.
"I didn't say he wouldn't have a woman with him," Trey pointed out.
"I was hoping to be involved in one of your famous threesomes tonight," Carly said, "but everyone knows Brian doesn't cheat."
Famous threesomes? Myrna's eyes widened and her breath caught.
Brian's hands moved to cover Myrna's ears. "Will you get her out of here? We were having a moment," Brian's muffled voice carried through his hands.
Trey said something Myrna couldn't make out. Carly grinned brazenly, grabbed Trey's belt buckle and led him down the hallway. As soon as the bedroom door closed, Brian dropped his hands.
"Sorry you had to see that."
"Famous threesomes?" she sputtered.
" Really sorry you heard that." He turned and headed toward the kitchen off to the side of the main living room. "Are you hungry?"
She trailed after him, stumbling over the edge of an area rug because she wasn't watching where she was going. "Don't change the subject, Brian."
"I'm starved. There should be something in here to eat. Wanda knew we'd be home tonight and she's always good about stocking up for our return."
He opened the refrigerator and leaned inside.
"Did Carly mean… that you and Trey and… and a…" She swallowed. "…a woman have…" She touched her cheeks with cool fingertips. Why was her face so hot? "H-have…?"
"Fucked like maniacs?" He tossed a store-bought package of refrigerated tortellini onto the counter. "Yep, that's what she meant. Red sauce or white?"
Myrna leaned heavily against the breakfast bar. "A three some?"
"Myrna, calm down. It was just sex. All in the past. No big deal." He tossed a plastic tub on the counter next to the pasta. "I think red sauce sounds better."
She'd never been involved in anything even remotely as exciting as a threesome. "Have you done that often?" she asked, her voice at least two pitches higher than usual.
Brian shrugged. "Not recently. Trey and I used to share everything. And I do mean everything. We've grown up a lot in the past couple of years."
"Damn," she muttered under her breath.
Brian dropped a pan. It clattered across the floor, but he didn't retrieve it. He gaped at her instead. "Did you just say 'damn'?"
Her eyes widened and she shook her head vigorously. "No." She smoothed her skirt, licked her lips, and lowered her gaze to the floor. "I said pan. You dropped your pan."
"I dropped it after you said damn."
Her flushed face flamed several degrees hotter. "Oh."
His boots entered her line of sight. "Would you be open to something like that?"
Her eyes darted to his face and then back to his boots. "I don't know."
"I'm sure Trey would go for it."
She could scarcely hear him over the blood rushing through her ears.
He touched her chin and when she found her courage, she looked up at him. "We'd make you feel real good," he murmured. His hands slid over the curve of her ass and he tugged her closer. "Real good."
He seemed as turned on by the idea as she was. And she was at full throttle.
"Wouldn't it make things weird between us?" she asked.
"Between us?"
"Me. You. Trey. All of us?"
"It doesn't have to. Trey never equates sex with emotion or conquest. He'd think of it as nothing but a good time. Otherwise, I wouldn't let him touch you." He brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "I'll let you think about it. No pressure."
She nodded. She already knew she wanted to do it, but she was afraid that Brian would think poorly of her. My God, this would make her the biggest whore on the planet. I love to fuck you, baby, but if you don't mind, I'd like to fuck your best friend at the same time.
"I prefer red sauce, too," she said absently.
He burst out laughing, and then bent to pick up the pan he'd dropped. He went to the sink and filled it with water before setting it on the stove. "Talk about subject change. Red sauce it is."
Myrna continued to lean against the counter. She watched Brian burn his fingers several times before she took over the cooking. Seriously, the man couldn't even boil water without causing himself harm. He sat on a stool on the other side of the breakfast bar and watched her cook with a giddy expression.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked him finally.
"You're in my home. Cooking on my stove."
"If you ask me to get barefoot and pregnant and put on a frilly apron, I'm going to clobber you."
"You can wear shoes."
She rolled her eyes at him. "Why, thank you. How generous."
"Vegas is only a four hour drive from here, you know."
She brandished a slotted spoon at him. "Don't go there, Brian."
"Or you could just move in with me."
"I have this job I'm rather attached to and I've heard the commute from Los Angeles to Kansas City is a killer."
"You could retire."
"Retire?" She gaped at him. "I'm thirty-five years old. How do you expect me to support myself?"
"I'll support you."
"I told you not to go there, Brian. You're going there."
"Then I'll move in with you. When I'm not on tour or in the recording studio, I'll call Kansas City my home."
"Okay, you totally went there."
"Is it so wrong that I want to be with you?"
No, it was wrong that she was starting to agree with him, which she knew was a huge mistake. "This week apart will do us both good."
He dropped his head to the counter and rubbed his face over its surface. "Don't say that. I already miss you and you aren't even gone yet."
She sighed and turned off the pan of pasta. Why did he always have to be so sweet to her? He was making it awfully fucking hard for her to keep him at arm's length.
"Do you have a colander?" she asked.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"A strainer. To drain the pasta."
"There you go, changing the subject again."
"Would you prefer I leave? I'm feeling very crowded by you at the moment."
He sighed heavily. "In the second drawer, next to the refrigerator."
Silence hung between them as she finished fixing the meal. He eventually climbed from his stool and set two plates and sets of silverware on the breakfast bar.
"Will Trey and Carly join us?" She glanced at him. He was pouting again.
"Doubtful."
When they sat down to eat, she took his hand. "You know my job is important to me, don't you?"
"I just wish I was important to you."
Her heart twanged. "I never said you weren't important to me. That's not why I need this week away from you. I have to do well with this research project, Brian. If I don't publish some compelling results by the end of the summer, I'm not going to have a job for much longer."
"What? Why didn't you say something?"
"I'm not proud of the position I'm in. I don't really like doing research in the first place, but I love to teach. I wouldn't trade that part of my job for anything." She sighed. "The University requires I bring in a certain amount of outside funding to keep my job and I lost my big grant a couple of months ago. I don't have tenure yet. That means I have to make myself financially valuable to the University or they'll let me go. This summer side project is enough to keep me there for another year, hopefully, but I don't know what I'm going to do after that. I don't want to give this job up. I worked too hard to get where I am to throw in the towel now. That's why as much as I love having fun with you and spending time with you, I've got to get my work done. Do you understand?"
"Yeah, I think I get it. By pressuring you, I'm pushing you away."
"Exactly."
He squeezed her hand and smiled. "I'm glad you told me, Myrna. I feel a little better about you being gone for a whole week."
She released his hand and picked up her fork. It felt good to confide in him. She didn't have anyone in her life to share her worries with. It was nice in an unexpected way. "Maybe I'll get caught up with my work faster than I ever thought possible and come back early."
He grinned hopefully. "Yeah?"
She shrugged and took a bite of her tortellini. "We'll see."
"So do you want to arrange that threesome with Trey before you go or when you return?" He winked at her.
She paused with her fork halfway to her mouth. She wasn't sure how she could be calm when she said, "Surprise me."