Chapter 4: Chapter 4

JAKE

I grabbed a rag and wiped the grease and sweat from my face while I tried to figure out where the leak was coming from in the old Corvette.

I’d checked the valve covers, the oil pan, the oil gauge hose, and the timing chain cover.

Some of the cars people brought in to have restored were beyond salvaging. But if the customer was a sentimental old bastard with deep pockets, we did it.

That’s what we were known for. Bringing back old cars from the grave.

Grave to Road Restorations was a huge success. People shipped cars to us from all over the world.

Our shop had the capacity to hold two hundred vehicles at a time, employing over three hundred people, including mechanics, body technicians, painters, upholsterers, sales representatives, and office staff.

We even had a human resources department and a health and safety crew.

I was in charge of all the mechanics, but I wasn’t the type of guy to sit in an office.

Just because I was the boss and part owner didn’t mean I had to stop fixing cars. I worked in the shop every day.

My phone vibrated in the back pocket of my jeans. I wiped my hands off before fishing it out. I skimmed over the text from Evan.

Evan

Come to my office. We need to have a meeting and come up with some strategies to solve the Vada issue. We’re running out of time.

I sucked in a big gulp of air, inflating my cheeks before I released my breath slowly. A week had passed since Chris dropped the bomb on Vada. She hadn’t spoken to any of us since that morning.

With only ten days to go before we left on the trip, it wasn’t looking too promising.

“You okay, Jake?”

I glanced up at my shop manager. Leon was a longtime employee and friend. But he wasn’t aware of my lifestyle.

The only people privy to that information were friends who also shared women. It was better that way. Most people outside our social group wouldn’t understand.

“Oh yeah,” I laughed. “Just frustrated with this bucket of bolts. I can’t figure out where the oil is leaking from.”

“Want me to take a look?”

“Yeah. That’d be great. I’ve got a meeting to get to.”

“No problem, Jake.”

I headed inside and made my way to Evan’s office at the far end of the corridor. Garrett was already there, his feet propped on Evan’s desk.

Evan was scowling at him, which was exactly why Garrett put his feet up there in the first place. He enjoyed doing things that he knew irritated Evan.

They were polar opposites. Evan was uptight, and Garrett was laid-back. I fell somewhere in the middle.

“Shut the door,” Evan instructed.

I kicked it closed and flopped into the chair next to Garrett.

“We need to convince Vada to come on the trip,” Evan said, tapping his pen on the blotter on his desk.

“I agree,” I said. “But I have no idea how to do that.”

“You’re gonna pay her a visit, Jake,” he informed me.

“I could probably do that.”

“You can’t leave until she agrees to come on the trip,” Garrett said.

“What do you want me to do?” I laughed. “Hold a gun to her head?”

“Turn on the charm, Jake,” he suggested. “She has the hots for you. Give her a little preview of what she could have.”

“What?!”

“You can’t sleep with her,” Evan warned. “We have rules. No sex until she’s agreed to be with all of us.”

“I’m not going to have sex with her to convince her to marry us.”

“Well, get going,” Evan said, waving toward the door. “Times a-wastin’.”

***

I parked my bike in a visitor spot and removed my helmet with a heavy sigh as I gazed up at the high-rise condo building where Vada lived.

What if she wasn’t home?

I should’ve called first. But that would’ve given her the chance to say no to my visit. I needed the element of surprise on my side.

“Good afternoon,” I said, nodding at the unfamiliar doorman. I guess it had been a while since I’d come over to Chris’s place.

“Who are you here to see?” he sneered, his eyes doing a condescending sweep over my jeans and leather jacket. He wrinkled his nose, staring at my helmet with disdain.

“Where did you leave your bike?”

“In the visitor parking,” I replied. “And I’m here to see Vada Collins.”

“Oh. Okay.” He pulled out his phone, rolling his eyes as he muttered to himself. “That explains it.”

“Excuse me?”

“Miss Collins tends to have some colorful visitors.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” he mumbled. “What is your name?”

“Jake Edwards.”

He lifted the phone to his ear. “Miss Collins, there is a Jake Edwards here to see you. Shall I let him up?”

“Go ahead,” he said to me.

I walked over to the elevator and pressed the button. At least she let me in. That was a good sign.

I took the car up to the eighth floor. I realized I’d never been to Vada’s condo. She’d lived there for three years, but I’d never had any reason to visit before.

She was waiting in the hall when I stepped off the elevator. How come I’d never realized how sexy she was until her dad asked us to marry her?

I guess I still saw her as a little girl. And you don’t think shit like that about your friend’s daughter, even if she is a sexy little siren. But I had permission now.

And Vada was no girl. She was a beautiful woman. Her pink spandex pants hugged her pussy, conjuring up dirty images in my mind. I couldn’t wait to get between those sexy thighs.

“What are you doing here, Jake?”

“I’d like to talk to you.”

“You ever heard of a phone?”

“Don’t be rude, Vada.”

“Wow,” she said with a cynical laugh. “I haven’t even said ~I do~, and you’re already telling me what to do.”

“I’m not trying to tell you what to do. And I don’t think I’ve done anything to deserve being spoken to like that.”

“Yes, you did.”

“Do you really wanna discuss this in the hall?”

“No,” she huffed.

“Then let me come in.”

“Fine.”

I followed her inside the condo, cringing inwardly. It was a write-off! Clothes were draped haphazardly over the furniture, shoes scattered everywhere.

The coffee table was covered in empty water bottles and pizza boxes.

“Are you coming in?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder.

“Uh, yep,” I said, debating whether I should take my boots off. I opted to keep them on.

I glanced to my right at the kitchen. The sink was stacked with dirty dishes, the counter littered with more empty bottles and recycling.

“Don’t mind the mess,” she said. “It’s not usually like this. I was away for a few days. My roommate is a slob.”

“Where did you go?”

“Up to Daytona with some friends.”

“I see.”

“Do you wanna sit down?”

“Not really,” I said, laughing nervously.

“We can go to my bedroom,” she offered. “Considering I’m your betrothed, I guess it’s not inappropriate.”

“I don’t recall you accepting our proposal.”

“It was a joke, Jake.”

“Did your roommate stay in your room while you were away?” I muttered, shaking my head at the chaos in her bedroom.

“No, Jake,” she sighed, grabbing the heap of clothes on her bed and tossing them in an overflowing hamper in the corner. She yanked up the pink bedspread before sitting on the edge.

“Have a seat.”

I sat next to her, trying to figure out how the hell to accomplish my mission. She was so angry.

“I was wondering if we could talk some more about the proposal,” I said quietly, tapping my fingers on my jeans.

“I’m not interested in being a fuck toy.”

“It wouldn’t be like that, Vada.”

“Is sex part of this arrangement?”

“It wouldn’t be an ~arrangement~. It would be a marriage.”

“Not a legal one.”

“It would be a real marriage in every sense of the word. And we would have a wedding ceremony with a minister.”

“How?”

“Because we have a large network of friends and acquaintances who have polyandrous marriages.”

“There’s really that many people who do this?”

“Yes,” I said.

“Why me?”

“We all like you, Vada. It’s not easy for three men to come to an agreement on a shared wife.”

“Aren’t you supposed to love the person you marry?”

“Of course. And that comes over time.”

“How would this even work?”

“Well,” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. “We’ve never shared a woman for more than one night, but we’ve talked a lot about it and gotten tips and suggestions from our friends.”

“Hold on,” she said, raising her hand. “You guys have done this with one-night stands?”

“Well, yeah.”

“How many times?”

“I don’t know, Vada,” I sighed. “We’re in our forties, so you have to realize we’ve been with lots of women.”

“When did you join the sicko club?”

“Please don’t call it that. It’s a lifestyle. Nobody is underage. It’s always consensual. We aren’t swingers. The children grow up normally. They benefit from having four parents instead of two.”

“Did you say ~children~?” She stared at me with her mouth hanging open, her gorgeous green eyes going wide with shock and horror.

“Don’t you want a family, Vada?”

“I don’t know!” she cried. “I’m twenty-four!”

“Nobody said you had to have any right now.”

“So, what?” she scoffed. “You three fuck me, and it’s like a contest to see who has the fastest swimmers?”

“No. When everyone agrees it’s time to make a baby, you only have sex with one of us until you get pregnant. We’d each like at least one child.”

“~At least~?”

“Look, Vada,” I said. “I don’t want to overwhelm you. I didn’t come here expecting an answer.

“All we’re asking is that you come on the trip. Then you can make an informed decision after spending time alone with us. There’s no pressure. We can take things as slow as you like.”

“You never answered my question about how it works.”

“You’d live with us, obviously,” I explained. “But you would have your own room.”

“Is that why you have a pink bedroom, decorated with things I like?”

“Yes.”

“How long has that room been like that?”

“Only a few months. We haven’t been planning this since you were a kid. We’re not pedophiles, Vada.”

“I certainly hope not,” she muttered. “What about the sex part? How does that work?”

“As I said, we can take things as slowly as you like. You’re in the driver’s seat.”

“I meant how does it work when the three of you have sex with a woman at the same time? Or is it a one-on-one, take turns type of thing?”

“With the other women we jumped right into a foursome, but it would be different with you.

“We’ve talked about this a lot. And we decided that we would each take turns, without the others present, until you were ready for all of us at once.”

“So, like, you’d keep a schedule on the fridge?”

“I don’t know,” I laughed. “That seems a bit disturbing. Don’t share that idea with Evan. That’s something he would definitely do.”

“But eventually you guys would want a foursome?”

“Yeah. We enjoy that.”

“Isn’t it weird to see each other naked?”

“No.”

“You guys don’t, like, do each other, do you?” she whispered. “’Cause that would be a deal-breaker.

“I don’t have anything against gay men. I have gay friends. They’re great people. But that doesn’t mean I wanna watch them fuck.”

“We don’t perform sexual acts on each other,” I said.

“Would I be allowed to lay down my own ground rules?”

“Of course.”

“Can one of them be no sex with Evan?”

“No, Vada,” I chuckled. “We’re a package deal.”

“He might be a deal-breaker, Jake.”

“Evan is a good guy.”

“We don’t get along.”

“That could make for some hot sex.”

“I don’t know about that,” she said with a fake shiver. “I can’t picture him, you know, dipping his tongue in my honey pot.”

I threw my head back, roaring at her metaphor. She joined me, our laughter shaking the bed.

“He usually gets good reviews,” I informed her.

“What about you, Jake?” she whispered, her eyes dropping to my mouth before heading south of my belt.

I leaned in close to her ear, my lips grazing her earlobe. “I’m very skilled in all areas of the bedroom, sweetheart.”

She blinked, swallowing noisily while she squirmed around like she had ants in her pants.

“Okay,” she said. “I’ll go on the trip.”

“You won’t regret it, Vada.”

“I’m not agreeing to anything else.”

“Fair enough,” I said softly, tracing her bottom lip with my thumb. “I should probably get back to the shop.”

We walked out to the foyer in silence.

“Thanks for stopping by, Jake.”

“I’m just glad I was able to change your mind about the trip.”

She gazed up at me, a sly grin spreading across her plump lips. “I have a feeling ~you~ won’t have much trouble talking me into anything,” she said in a breathless whisper.

“Is that so?” A strangled laugh escaped my throat as I ordered my cock to behave. He didn’t listen, of course.

She leaned up on her toes, pressing a soft kiss on my lips. “You’re not the only one skilled in all areas of the bedroom,” she murmured before opening the door. “See you later, Jake.”