Chapter 2
Jack stood by the window,hands on his hips,probably glaring outside at Brandt.When he heard her,he turned and,after a moment,gave her a disarming smile.He was tall and lean,dressed in a denim button-down shirt that hung open over a tan T-shirt tucked into his battered jeans.The big belt buckle and the cowboy boots he wore gave him an easy,laid-back aura,but Lori knew he could get riled up over the littlest things.Not with her—never with her—but something about Brandt always seemed to set him off.
His smile softened his rough features and crinkled his bright blue eyes,taking years off his appearance.He wore his hair loose and long—it fell from his crown like a curtain on either side of his face.Once a rich brown,the soft strands were now threaded through with gray,making him look older than he was.Both he and Brandt were just shy of forty,Lori knew;she herself had celebrated her thirty-third birthday last year,and at the time she thought she’d waited too late to settle down.Then I met these two big lug heads and the rest,as they say,is history,she thought.
Returning Jack’s smile,she asked,“What’s going on up here?”
Jack waved a hand around the room.In one corner sat a desk stacked high with boxes filled with her craft supplies—scrapbook paper and washi tape and glitter glue,yarn and crochet hooks and knitting needles,embroidery floss and cross stitch kits,felt and fabric,needles and thread.Her sewing machine was hidden beneath a protective cover she’d quilted herself.More boxes held craft books and projects in progress,as well as things she’d completed that she hoped to display at some point.All her hobbies were hidden away so neatly at the moment in one little section of the apartment,finally out of the storage unit she’d been renting since Jack and Brandt had asked her to move in with them.
The rest of the room,though…it was,in short,a mess.
Paint cans sat in an unused tray,a couple of roller frames and brushes on the floor nearby.Lengths of wood lay strewn about like a giant’s game of pick-up sticks.Two workhorses were set up with a large board across them to form a makeshift table,where Jack’s iPad rested,along with a hammer,some nails,a level,a carpenter pencil,and a fat tape measure.More tools cluttered the floor by the base of the workhorses—hammers and nails,screwdrivers,a drill,brackets,a jigsaw,even some little metal pieces Lori had no name for but were scattered across the carpet,where they had obviously fallen victim to Brandt’s tantrum.
On the walls,the potential shelves were marked off with blue tape.One bracket had been set into place,but apparently things had deteriorated after that,because everything else lay in ruins at Lori’s feet.
“What’s it look like?”Jack asked,his smile twisting into a sardonic smirk.“I’m building you a craft room,that’s what’s going on up here.”
Lori took a tentative step into the room,but she was barefoot and afraid of stepping on something she shouldn’t,so she leaned back against the door jamb and crossed her arms over her belly.“I meant with you and Brandt.”
With an exasperated sigh,Jack ran a hand through his hair to push it out of his eyes.It felt back into place to perfectly frame his face.“The same ol’,same ol’.Why the hell he won’t listen to me…”
He trailed off and propped both hands on his hips again as he surveyed the room.
Lori waited.She knew his anger was fleeting—they never stayed mad at each other for long.But it could get so tiring when they were in the middle of a fight.
At least it isn’t over me,she thought.They fought before they knew me,and thank God they don’t fight over me,so at least there’s that
Jack crossed the room and reached for her.She kept her arms wrapped around herself,but he caught her biceps and leaned down,kissing her forehead as he said softly,“Don’t worry about it,babe.You know how we get.”
“And somehow I love you two anyway,”she murmured.
He grinned and planted the next kiss on her lips.“Make-up sex is the best sex.”
Her response was a noncommittal,“Hmm.”
“Just you wait and see,”he promised.“When Brandt comes back—”
“Aren’t you ever afraid someday he won’t?”she asked.
Jack looked at her as if she was crazy.“No.Why wouldn’t he?”
With a sigh,she started,“If you piss him off enough—”
He silenced her with another kiss.“Trust me,that’ll never happen.We’ve been together too long.He always comes back.”
Lori wasn’t so sure.In the time she’d known them—two months living together,eight months dating before that,and the few weeks between when they first met and when they started considering themselves a threesome—she’d seen her fair share of arguments and fights.Nothing physical,thank God,but lots of yelling and bickering and sniping at each other.At first she’d thought it was cute,then she tried to step in to stop it.When she realized she couldn’t stop it,she tried to curb it,or at least smooth things over.Nothing worked.The two guys continued to gripe and bitch and moan,more like a pair of siblings than lovers.
But Jack was right,the sex afterwards was always amazing.Not to say that sex any other time was bad,because it wasn’t.She’d soon grown used to waking up sandwiched between two gorgeous men in the king-sized bed they shared,arms and legs twined together,someone’s hand on her backside and someone else’s on her breast.A mouth on hers first thing in the morning,a stiffening cock between her buttocks,the gentle movements of the three of them blending together in one glorious,orchestrated release.Or evenings spent falling asleep satiated,tangled all up in the sheets,not knowing where one began and the others ended.
And when she wasn’t in the mood,she lay on her side and watched her men make love,turned on by the tenderness they showed to each other,amazed at how loving they could be when words didn’t get in the way.Most times she eventually join in,aching to take part,and she’d wait until Jack came in Brandt before climbing between them to guide Brandt’s dick into her wet pussy so he’d come in her,too.
Maybe Jack could read something of her thoughts in her eyes,because his grin softened and he murmured,“Don’t fret your pretty little head,baby.You know he’ll be back soon enough.”
Lori nodded.Yes,she knew.
Jack ran a finger down the cleft of her chin.“Now,did you say something about lunch?”