Slowly, I opened my eyes and blinked rapidly, trying to adjust to the brightly lit room. Turning onto my back, I stretched my arms over my head and twisted to the right only to realize Shannon was staring at me. "Good morning, sweetheart." No cocky, smart mouthed comments coming from his perfect mouth this time.
"Morning." I felt lost and confused about my actions last night and even more so about the prospect of facing Jared again. Guilt weighed heavily on my shoulders this morning, but I was certain that if given the opportunity to do it all over again, I'd make the same choice. I thoroughly enjoyed last night and I knew for sure that one time with Shannon could never be enough. He leaned forward and placed a kiss on my cheek before rolling to the side of the bed and getting up. His bare naked ass was the perfect view for me this morning. He glanced back at me as he neared the door. "Do not leave that bed."
The door closed and I pulled the covers up, swiftly tucking them under my arms. Laying back against the pillows, my mind began racing, recalling Jared's words about getting together to talk over our situation. What did that mean? I did what they asked, what more was there to discuss?
Shannon emerged a few minutes later, wearing a smile and a pair of boxers. Stepping toward the bed, he leaned over me as his hand caressed my cheek. "You hungry?"
"A little." Who was this guy? Sweet and caring wasn't what I expected from him first thing in the morning, but I was pleasantly surprised.
He kissed my nose and then my lips. "Good, I'll be back in a few, but I meant what I said, don't get out of this bed." I watched as he once again walked out the door and pulled it closed behind him
His bed was so comfortable, but I was getting bored and the aroma of something baking made its way down the hallway, and invaded the bedroom. I picked up my phone and turned onto my side, scrolling through my messages. One from Kim, one from Sara, and a missed call from Jared.. wow, wasn't I the popular one? Shannon peeked his head in the door. "So, are you a coffee, juice, or milk drinker in the morning?"
"Definitely coffee."
He grinned big. "Definitely my kind of woman." He exited again, only to return minutes later with a tray. Croissants, eggs and hash browns filled the tray along with butter, jelly and two cups of coffee. I knew the red rose came from the bunch in the vase in the kitchen. Placing the tray on the end of the bed, he carefully sat down next to me. "Breakfast in bed for you beautiful."
"Thank you, but Shannon, I'm perfectly capable of walking to the kitchen."
"I didn't say you weren't. I just wanted to do something nice for you." Picking up the flower from the tray, he brushed my hair back and placed it behind my ear. "Eat up babe, you are going to have to go home and change so that we can meet with Jared for dinner."
I wasn't certain how I felt about that, but what choice did I have? Putting it off certainly wouldn't change things. I know that I love Jared, there's no doubt about that, but was he having reservations about me being with both of them? I hope not, because if he was, it was too late now. The weird part is there's a familiarity to Shannon, like I've known him intimately for years, and I wanted to explore it further.
After sharing breakfast with Shannon, he suggested that I shower while he cleaned up from breakfast. I stepped under the hot water, letting it ease my sore body while facing the tile and bracing myself against the coolness of it. There was something so calming about a shower to me. The way the scalding water seemed to dissolve my worries and relax me completely. I had no idea how long I had been standing there with the hot water raining down on my back when I felt his chest press against my back.
"Where's that cocky man who taunted me so badly last night?"
His lips moved along my shoulder blade and up to my neck. "Trust me, you aren't ready for him to come back. He can be a harsh and insensitive bastard sometimes, besides, I'm enjoying this way too much for him to show up and ruin it." He allowed just enough room between us for me to turn around. Picking up the expensive looking black and white bottle of shampoo, he poured some into his palm.
My first thought when he began to shampoo my hair was, how silly, I can wash my own hair, but the way his fingers massaged my scalp felt so good. "I could so get used to this."
"Don't get too used to it, I think Jared may miss you." I glanced upward, my mouth pursed, but slightly open and loose, like I was going to say something, but stopped myself. I did miss Jared, and had every intention of being with him again, but should I say that here, in front of Shannon? Did they have jealousy issues? He pulled his fingers away and started on his own hair.
A few hours later, I was on my way home. Thankfully, Shannon let me borrow some of his clothes so that I didn't have to go home wearing that stupid coat and my underwear. God, I still couldn't believe that I had the nerve to execute that.
Once home, I was able to get a few things done around the apartment and finally sat down with the laptop. I just had a few hours before I needed to get myself ready. Shannon was picking me up and we were going to Jared's to have dinner.
No matter how I struggled to concentrate, I just couldn't. My mind drifted back to Jared and the look on his face last night. What was he going to say tonight? How was this whole situation going to work out? Would things be the same between us now that I had been with Shannon? And what about Shannon? What exactly was our relationship?
I closed the laptop and lay there. Fuck, life hadn't been this complicated in years. Picking up the remote, I became lost in a few episodes of friends.
When the last one ended, I finally peeled myself from the couch to go and get ready. Shannon picked me up on time and after an awkward kiss, we headed over to Jared's. My legs started to shake the closer we got to Jared's house and Shannon took notice. "Don't be so nervous, it's just Jay," he laughed. That was easy for him to say, I was the only one in the dark about this whole mess.
He pulled into the driveway, behind Jared's truck and got out. He raced around to open my door for me like a true gentleman. With one arm around my waist, he guided me through the gate and up to the doorway.
Shannon didn't knock, he just opened the door and called out. We could hear Jared answer from upstairs, saying to come on in and get comfortable. I sat down on the couch and Shannon walked into the kitchen only to return a few minutes later with a glass of red wine. "This may help settle those nerves."
I accepted the glass from his hand as Jared entered the room with a smile on his handsome face. "Hey baby, you look beautiful tonight." He moved toward me, leaning down and giving me a kiss. "Follow me." Holding his hand, he led the way to the dining room table and we all sat down.
They became immersed in a conversation about the food and how amazing it smelled, but I was focused on my glass of wine. Jared cleared his throat and gave me that very intense glare that got my attention. "So, as you know I've asked both of you here so that we can discuss a few things. If we are going to do this, there are going to have to be certain rules that we all must agree on. I've come up with some and I know you have as well," he gestured over to Shannon.
I instantly felt insulted and couldn't stop myself from speaking up. "Rules? What am I, like five? What do you mean rules, aren't we all adults here?"
Shannon's stared over at me and Jared leaned forward, resting his chin on his folded hands. "I can assure you that we both take this very seriously and you should too. This is not a game Carrie, and we only want to make sure that the three of us agree on EVERYTHING. Now, can you handle this or did we make a mistake?"
