Beautiful Triad (4 page)

“Yeah, well, he didn’t buy that place on a university salary.”

Drew capped the water bottle and set it aside.

“True enough. I want to say the guy is some sort of psychologist. I can’t remember his name off the top of my head, but I don’t think he’s owned the house very long.”

“The boathouse is larger than my condo.”

“I’m sure it cost some bucks.”

It was true. The structure by the elaborate dock was two stories, with three bay doors for the boats undoubtedly inside, and the exterior impressive. It looked as deserted as the rest of the lake.

“I wonder if Lauren is awake.” It was a neutral comment. “She’s an early riser usually, but she was still sound asleep when I got up.”

Rob said nothing, piloting the boat back toward their dock. The wind ruffled his dark hair and his face held no expression at all.

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26

Kate Watterson

That was a big part of the problem, of course. They were both being so careful about it, so deliberately indifferent to each other, and if he hadn’t seen that moment the night before, Drew might even buy into it.

The act of handing a plate to another human being wasn’t significant usually. People had more physical contact on the subway each day and it meant nothing, but the look Rob and Lauren exchanged over a barely touched plate of steak and potatoes had been telling.

He wasn’t even sure when he’d first noticed something was up.

Yes, they double dated often enough with Rob and whoever was his latest girlfriend because he and Rob had always done that, since before college. Through various girlfriends for each of them there had never been a conflict of interest before, but he had the feeling there sure as hell was one now.

Lauren was upset over the attraction, and since Drew knew Rob almost as well as he knew himself, it was clear there was an ethical dilemma there as well. Neither one of them would ever do anything about it. Drew was as sure of it as he was the sun would come up the next morning.

The good news was, he knew Lauren meant it when she said she loved him.

Desire wasn’t an unhealthy emotion. It just depended on how the parties involved dealt with it. Some cheated, but that didn’t apply to this situation. Just what did apply was the question.

Lauren
was
awake, he saw, and must have heard them approach because she walked out onto the long dock just as they berthed the boat. Drew took in the scenery with pure male appreciation, her dark blue bikini revealing a great deal of smooth flawless skin, her long hair loose and shining down her back. The rich color was accented by the sunlight and the light breeze tugged a silky strand across her cheek. She pushed it away and smiled. “Any luck?”

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Beautiful Triad

27

He felt pretty damned lucky at the moment. As she bent to set down a beach towel, bottle of suntan oil, and a paperback novel, her breasts swayed provocatively under the thin, barely there material and he got a bird’s eye view of a great deal of enticing flesh.

“We caught a few small ones.” Rob turned to start carefully tying up the boat with a line around a post.

So he wouldn’t get caught looking with that unguarded expression on his face?
That
was an educated guess.

“It’s a beautiful morning though.” Drew vaulted out to secure the other line. “Perfect for getting a little sun and maybe a swim.”

“My thoughts exactly.” She sank down and picked up her book, folding her long, slender legs underneath her.

“After we take our gear back up to the house, I may change into my trunks and come down for a bit.”

“I’ll be here.” She flashed them both another smile and then flipped open her paperback.

They gathered their poles and took the path up toward the house, the sun warm on Drew’s back. Rob seemed in one hell of a hurry for someone on vacation, a good two yards in the lead right off the bat. It was an easy enough assumption his friend’s goal wasn’t so much where he was going as it was getting away from Lauren with all due speed, and Drew stifled an expletive.

He really didn’t know exactly how to handle this, but he wasn’t going to pretend all week long he didn’t notice the tension. It wasn’t his style, and besides, this problem wasn’t limited to the next six days either.

Drew stowed his fishing pole on the porch and followed Rob into the cabin. He leaned against the counter in the kitchen, and declined a glass of iced tea as his friend rummaged in the refrigerator. Finally he simply said, “We need to talk, man. Now seems as good a time as any with Lauren down by the lake.”

Rob glanced up from dropping ice cubes in a tall glass. “Talk about what?”

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28

Kate Watterson

“I bet you could give it a good guess, Rob.” Drew lifted a brow.

“You know how I hate bullshit and as far as I know you aren’t into it either, so let’s cut through it, okay?”

“What particular bullshit are we referring to?” Rob gave him a level look, but there was a grim set to his mouth.

“I get the distinct impression you want to fuck my girlfriend.

That’s about as blunt as I can be.”

There was an antique clock hanging above the fireplace in the great room. In the ensuing silence, Drew could hear it tick with startling clarity.

Rob said nothing at first until he exhaled and ran his hand down his face. “There are times I wish we didn’t know each other so well.

For the record, I don’t want to fuck her. Make love to her maybe, but it’s different. I wish you’d never noticed anything, because I swear I’ve tried to just ignore it.”

“Yeah, well, Lauren isn’t doing too great a job in keeping it under wraps either.”

“Lauren?” Rob’s hazel eyes took on a glitter.

“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed she seems uptight around you, too. I know I have.” Drew groped for the right words. “Look, I am not interested in losing her
because
of you anymore than I’m interested in losing her
to
you. She isn’t the kind of person who would easily live with the idea she put a strain on our friendship. Already she feels guilty as hell for being attracted to you and it’s a problem.”

“She hasn’t cornered the market on guilt.” Rob seemed to remember the pitcher on the counter and lifted it to pour tea into his glass with a hand that wasn’t quite steady. “I feel like an asshole. I wish I could tell you why I can’t go for Karen, who’s gorgeous and smart, or any other girls I’ve met lately instead of thinking about—”

“…Lauren all the time.” Drew finished the sentence. “Don’t forget, I know exactly what you mean. I’m in deep with her. Deeper than I’ve ever been.”

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Beautiful Triad

29

“The difference is you
have
her. I don’t. I know it, don’t get me wrong. I’m even happy for you, because she’s not only beautiful, but terrific in every other way. This whole situation isn’t something I wanted to happen, believe me. If you’re pissed, I understand, but it wasn’t intentional. I’m the miserable one.”

Since the misery wasn’t all one sided, Drew could not agree. He was apprehensive over the future. Lauren felt uncomfortable for thinking about another man. Rob was frustrated and guilty.

Surely there was some way to work this out.

He could only think of one.

“She’s fantastic in bed.” He said the words softly, as if testing himself, vocalizing the idea. “She loves sex.”

Rob’s mouth tightened into a caustic line. “Thanks for sharing. I suppose I deserve that, but I just told you none of this was because I want to interfere in any way in your relationship, Drew. If you hadn’t said anything, I was more than willing to never talk about it.”

“Are you jealous of me?”

“Don’t
you
be an asshole over this, Fletcher.”

“I’m not. Answer my question.”

Rob made a helpless gesture with his hand. “Yes. I’m jealous.

There. Can we drop this?”

“Are you jealous of me in the way you’d like to rip my guts out, or are you just jealous I have Lauren?” He added with emphasis, “The question has a purpose, so just answer it honestly.”

There was a pause and then Rob said, “The latter. Like I said, I’m happy for you. Why?”

“Good. Because if you were sleeping with Lauren, I’d feel the same way. Maybe it’s something to consider if we both can handle it.”

* * * *

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30

Kate Watterson

Rob stared at his friend, not certain he’d heard the words correctly. Drew’s expression wasn’t overtly hostile considering the context of their conversation, and he had to give him credit for it. “I think you just lost me.”

Drew rubbed his jaw and his smile was rueful. “I really can’t believe I’m about to suggest this, but here goes. You want Lauren, right? So do I. She seems to be in the same predicament when it comes to the two of us. There’s a logical solution.”

Maybe it seemed logical to Drew, but he was having a hard time figuring it out. “Come again?”

“Is there some reason she can’t be with both of us?”

Is he fucking serious?

Rob gave a shaky laugh. “I could swear you just suggested I sleep with the woman you tell me you’re in love with, Drew.”

His friend’s good-looking face was serious, not even a hint of his usual humor in evidence. “I
am
in love with her. As far as I can tell, so are you. I’ve seen you around a lot of women. You look at her in a different way.”

Was it love? All he knew was how he felt was unique in his experience. It rocked his world. Rob muttered in protest, “She’s yours.”

“For now. Until the situation makes her so unhappy she decides to forget it. The equation is pretty simple. If she continues in a relationship with me, she’ll have to see you at least now and then. The way things are, I don’t think she’s going to be able to handle that in the long term. If the only issue was how you felt, it might be different, but this is a mixture of how I feel about her, about you, and how she reacts to both of us. Maybe I should be threatened, and if it were anyone else I would be, but I don’t think the idea is a bad one.”

Sharing the same woman? Rob wasn’t sure he could wrap his mind around it. A three way relationship? It certainly had been done before, but he’d never pictured himself in the middle of one.

But if I could be with Lauren, even one time…

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Beautiful Triad

31

“She won’t go for it.” His tea glass slapped on the counter with a wet sound as he set it down too hard. “I’m trying to imagine her agreeing to this, and no way. Women want a committed relationship, not to shack up with two different guys.”

“I’m committed. She can have anything she wants from me. How about you?”

How about you?
The question hung in midair, like some sort of damned test.

Rob looked out the wall of windows toward the lake. He’d thought about her way too much in the past few months, and spent more than a few lonely nights because he couldn’t touch the woman he wanted, so he didn’t touch anyone. It affected his whole life. He’d even come up with the not-so brilliant idea of using the cabin instead of letting Drew take her off to some tropical paradise because it was just too tempting to get to be around her for a full week. Oh, hell yes, he’d known it would be torture, but he’d done it anyway.

With difficulty, he said, “I’d do anything she asked of me, even if it was to get lost. Considering how I feel, that says it all.”

“You’ve been tested lately, right? She’s gone on the pill so we wouldn’t have to mess with condoms. One of the things she’s discovered she likes is to be spontaneous.”

Rob still felt an incredulous sense of disbelief over the conversation. Lauren liked to be spontaneous…Jesus, was Drew trying to kill him? “I’m perfectly healthy, but—”

Drew interrupted, his expression reflective. “It’s a relief for me to finally get this out in the open. If you feel the same, I imagine she will, too. Only you’re right, it sounds a little crazy. There’s really no way I can think of to say to her I’m okay with the fact she is interested in you too. Not for a minute do I want her to think I’m not into her one hundred percent. If I
wasn’t
so worried about her being happy I wouldn’t ever have thought of encouraging her to have sex with you if that’s what she wants.”

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32

Kate Watterson

The idea of getting permission to screw someone else’s girlfriend wasn’t exactly an easy one for Rob to swallow either. “This isn’t just about having sex.”

“Hell no, it better not be. If I thought you just had a hard-on for her, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” Drew’s mouth tightened. “As someone who is neck deep in the middle of this, who knows you both really, really well, I can tell she senses you are emotionally involved, Rob. She’s thrown by it, I’m going to guess by what I’ve seen, intrigued, and then confused over how she could think about you when she’s in a good relationship already.”

He
was
emotionally involved. And somehow the idea of both of them in love with the same woman wasn’t all that surprising in retrospect. They were pretty alike in some ways and always had been.

There were also some very different aspects to their personalities that made them compliment each other. It was part of the reason they got along so well.

Rob cocked a brow. “You sure about this?”