For Research Purposes Only (2 page)

In a low voice, Jerry said, “Come on, man. That was a long time ago. And, Lacy's different.”

Marty picked up a picture of the three of them, taken during a trip to Australia. The three of them always had a great time together, no matter where they were. “I love her. And you know my feelings for you.”

“I do. So?”

“You know I left the door open a long time ago
.”

Ironically, he and Jerry both discovered they liked engaging in threesomes. An accidental discovery. Typical crazy college years. The memories immediately transported Marty back to one particular, eventful night.

 Along with everything else going on in Jerry’s life, his love life stank. After his latest breakup, he’d poured his heart out to Marty once again. And Marty, always being there for him, listened and gave the best advice he could at the time. They’d talked over a few beers at the local bar. Later that evening, they saw a woman they wanted sitting in the corner, and it didn’t take much convincing to get her to go back home with them where they had sex with her. Nothing shy about her either, she became an active participant.

But something happened between he and Jerry. They bonded even closer. They thought the few drinks played a part in it, so they did it again with another woman later—sober.

Same result. They just enjoyed sharing women. But there was still something missing. Marty and Jerry realized they were looking for a
particular
woman, a woman they could not only share themselves intimately with, but emotionally, too.

Although the women they’d slept with satisfied them both sexually, the emotional connection hadn’t. He and Jerry became more attached, bonded—not so much sexually—although they’d shared a kiss during sex once. But the women always became nameless figures after the act.

 “
Hey, Marty!”

“Huh?” Marty had forced himself back to the conversation.

“Still there?”

“Yes. Uh…like I said, the erotica Lacy’s working on is a ménage à trois. I just happened upon her notes, she’s hasn’t said anything to me yet. But I know she’s having trouble with it.” As if on cue, Marty reached into his pocket and pulled out one of Lacy’s discarded attempts. It opened with a woman on the beach and two men approaching her. They talked and went back to her place. Lacy had red lines all through it. Poor thing.

Jerry sucked in a breath. “Marty.”

“You’re right.” Marty stuck the paper back in his pocket. “Think about it. I have. I know how you feel about Lacy, and I know how Lacy feels about you.”

“She’s with you now, and in love with you.”

Marty nodded. “You’ll always have a special place in her heart.” That statement should have made the hair stand on his neck. But the words fell from his lips so naturally he didn’t bat an eye.

“But Marty, she’s not going there.”

“How do you know? I’m sure with just a little prodding…”

“Why are you so willing to share her with me, especially now after all this time?”

“I’m a scholar when it comes to your love life, have been ever since college. You haven’t been happy with any one woman yet.”

“Just not the right one.”

Marty shook his head. Jerry was either in denial, or afraid to come right out and admit his feelings for Lacy. “Exactly, but I know who the right one is.”

Another pause. “Suppose it’s true. She’ll never go for it.”

“Don’t be so sure.”

“And you?”

“I love you, Jerry, and I love Lacy. It was only a matter of time that the three of us got together. I left the door open for just this moment.”

“Look, before this goes any further, let me tell you what I originally called about,” Jerry said.

Marty chuckled. “Okay, man.”

“I’m experiencing serious burn out.” He sighed.

“Weren’t you the one behind that Rolls Royce ad?” The man was an advertising genius.

“Yep, and the client was never satisfied. That took me six months.”

“Damn. I’m surprised you haven’t run from there screaming.” Marty laughed.

“Almost. But I put in for a long vacation, that’s what I’m calling about.”

 “Well, Lacy would love to see you, it’s been a while. We’ll have a double date vacation. Are you still with…?”

“Uh, you have to change that. Nancy and I broke up.”

“What?” It figured.

“Don’t feel like going into it right now. Let’s just say it was all about her—in the wrong way.”

“You’re looking too hard. But the timing is perfect. You know who really loves you.” And it didn’t bother him one bit.

“Lacy. But she’s too good for me and she happens to be seeing someone. My best friend to be exact”

“Past transgressions. You need to forget them. She did.”

“I can’t give her what she wants.”

“Yes, you can. We both can
.”

Marty reflected on their college days some more. It was inevitable this would happen. He shook his head in disappointment. He’d hoped Nancy would help his buddy settle down. Jerry had it rough, and he needed a good woman and stability in his life. If one wanted to see a train wreck, Jerry’s relationships didn’t disappoint. Looked like things hadn’t changed. That’s why a setup between him and Lacy would be perfect.

During college, Jerry’s life was going downhill, Marty pulled him up and straightened him out. He knew Jerry never forgot that. At that time, Jerry wanted to be the big man on campus, Mister Popular. That came with a price. Drinking, womanizing and who knew what other vices.

Marty had the luxury of being independently wealthy. His uncle had passed and left him a mint. He went on to college anyway to study engineering; something that always fascinated him. That’s when he met Jerry and Lacy. Marty hated seeing such a brilliant mind like Jerry’s go to waste. So, after a few fistfights over his drinking, suspected drug use, and an intervention, Marty kept on top of him like an older brother. He felt he owed it to him, and he really didn’t mind, especially since Jerry had been man enough to let Lacy go, and steered her his way.

Marty wanted to be the man for Lacy. He’d done everything for her. Bought her anything she wanted and took her to exotic places during summer vacation. Lacy didn’t bite; she’d still had a crush on Jerry. Then out of nowhere, they clicked. They became soul mates during one of their summer vacations overseas. They were staying in Venice, shared a hotel room as usual. When he came out of the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his waist, she couldn’t control herself. Neither could he. It was as though they’d been lovers for a lifetime. He’d hoped he wasn’t a rebound for her, but it turned out they’ve been inseparable ever since.

He and Jerry remained tighter than brothers because of what Marty had done for him. Maybe that’s the kind of friendship women had between each other. Whatever the explanation, he’d give his life for Jerry and Lacy. Now the opportunity arose where he could share something precious with the two people he loved.

Marty often doubted Jerry would never find the right woman. Maybe the only one for him
was
Lacy. Like he’d said, he left that door open. Would this be a permanent arrangement? That remained to be seen. One step at a time.

When Marty discovered Lacy’s latest book project—a threesome—everything clicked, sort of. He didn’t ask Lacy her thoughts on the matter. She was already freaking out just trying to
write
on the subject matter. To ask her to participate? That would take some finagling. He would do anything to please Lacy, emotionally, financially—sexually. If she wanted to try a threesome for the sake of research, she wouldn’t get an argument from him. To be honest, he wanted to know just what her reaction would be.

“Marty?”

He turned toward the deep, sultry voice of his woman. How would she sound with two men pleasing her? “Yes.”

“Um…I…uh….”

He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. A tongue-tied writer. 
How ironic
.  “Go on, honey.”

“I don’t know how else to put this.”

“That’s funny. Maybe if you write it down, you can give it to me.”

She put her hands on her hips, narrowing her eyes at him. Even pissed, she still looked sexy. “I would get mad at that if it weren’t so true.”

“I’m sorry, honey. What’s the problem? Nothing serious?”

“I’m not sure.” She sighed.

“Huh?”

“Listen.” She sat at the breakfast nook and started playing with the salt and pepper shakers. “When we were talking upstairs about my problem, you mentioned I should do some research.”

“Uh huh.” Marty joined her at the nook, sitting across from her.

“You also mentioned Jerry in the same sentence. Now, I know you didn’t mean anything.” She laughed nervously. “I mean, those were two different thoughts, separate subject matters. Right?”

Oh, yeah. 
Her thoughts ran along the same lines as his.
Now, just a little push.
  “Wrong.” He wasn’t sure what to make of her deer in the headlights look.

Chapter Two

The teakettle went off just as Marty spoke. Maybe the sound of the whistle confused her, but she must have heard him correctly.

“You better tend to that.” She pointed toward the stove.

“Of course.” He got up and removed the kettle from the burner.

She watched him pour water into their cups. The smell of raspberry scented the air. He brought the cups over to the nook and sat back down.

“Now, where were we?” he asked.

“You said you meant to make the connection between my story and Jerry, in so many words.”

“Yeah. How do you feel about that?”

“You mean an actual threesome. Marty, I thought you and I had something.”

“We do. I love you. Would this question be a problem if the threesome included Jerry?”

Good question. Jerry had to be the sexist man on the planet, next to Marty, of course. When Jerry walked into a room, women and some men’s jaws dropped. Tall like Marty, his presence took one’s breath away. Where Marty had long, dark hair, Jerry’s was medium length and a deep golden honey color. She’d never seen anything like it. His gray, soulful eyes made her melt. His lips begged for a woman to touch, kiss, and even lick them. When he smiled, his cheekbones became even more prominent. And he had a voice like a sultry caress. He could be talking about the weather and it made her panties wet.

Oh, God.
  She realized that she’d been paying way too much attention to Jerry. But she couldn’t still be attracted to him like that. Could she? She just found him
attractive
,  two different things. Right?

“Well?” Marty’s voice snapped her to attention.

“Huh?”

“You were thinking about Jerry, weren’t you?” He smirked.

Damn! There he goes again.
  “Um…just thinking about this book.”

“The hell you were.” Marty took a gulp of tea. “Come on, Lacy, we’ve never kept secrets from each other. It’s okay if you find Jerry attractive. It’s okay if you feel a little something for him still. It’s okay if you think about both him and me—with you.”

Lacy had her cup to her lips, about to take a sip, when she stopped. “You’re kidding?”

“No. It’s only natural. Look, you’re writing a book on threesomes. I tell you that our mutual friend is coming by, a mutual friend who happens to be attractive to every straight woman on earth according to your friend Edith.”

Lacy had to snicker at that. Edith did make it a point to let Jerry know the sun rose and set with him.

“I’m not upset, if that’s what’s worrying you,” Marty continued.

“I’m not worried…anymore. I’m more confused now.”
Confused?
  What an understatement.

“Understandable. The man you’ve been dating for some time just told you he’s not ticked you’re thinking of another dude, a mutual friend at that.”

“Duh!”

Marty reached over and took her hand, sending an electrical pulse to her soul. Pair that with his mesmerizing glare and she’d have sex with him in Times Square with the CNN news cameras going. Did adding Jerry to the mix make it any different?

“We can talk about this later. Jerry won’t be here for a couple of days.”

“You’re serious.” She couldn’t believe it.

“I didn’t actually offer Jerry to you, or agree to anything. I’m just letting you know I understand if you have, let’s say, unconventional thoughts about the three of us.” Marty got up with his tea and left the room.

Unconventional thoughts. Goodness
. This wasn’t thinking about having sex in the elevator. This was about bringing another person, another man, into their bed. Just went to show, no matter how long you’ve known a person, you’re bound to be surprised.

Lacy got up, leaving her tea, and raided the fridge. She needed food to get her brain cells functioning again. She grabbed the previous night’s fried chicken, not bothering to heat it up, and a soda. This would hold her—for at least another two hours. She made her way to the hall to go upstairs, when she bumped into Marty.

“Sorry, with all this talk about threesomes, I forgot to get you something to eat.” He glanced down at the chicken she had in her hands. “I see you managed.”

“Just something to tide me over. You can still whip me up one of your classic Spanish dishes.”

Being half Spanish, and the rest mutt, as he liked to put it, Marty embraced his Latin side, and it showed in his cooking. He made a mean Paella Valenciana.

“Deal. Going back to face the blank computer screen?”

“If I can just get an opening sentence, I’ll feel better.”

“I’m sure you’ll come up with something. You’re too clever not to get any ideas.” He kissed her on the mouth. Not a peck, but a deep, hungry kiss. A kiss that said
I want to fuck you on the kitchen floor
. But when they broke it, he sauntered on into the kitchen and began looking for his ingredients. Lacy shook herself and immediately went back upstairs.

Half an hour later, she stared at three sentences on the screen, and none of them were attention-grabbing. How did other writers do it? She wondered if they were writing from first hand experience.