Ellis’ head jerked up. “What?”
Okay, he’d hold back a few details so as not to overwhelm Ellis any more than he already was and pray Ellis didn’t grill him for details. “Yeah. Twice it happened between me and her. It was like we were kissing. It’s okay.”
He wouldn’t count the blow job, since obviously that hadn’t been a hallucination even though they’d both thought it was at the beginning.
“We…we’re both having the same hallucinations? And how did you know about this morning?”
“I called her to talk to her and she told me.”
“Oh, crap!” He buried his head in his hands again. “She must hate me. Jesus, I wouldn’t blame her if she wanted to press charges against me.”
Brad fought the urge to snicker. “I thought you said it was a hallucination. How could she press charges against you for something that didn’t really happen?”
“I…I…” He let out a scream. “I don’t know what the hell is going on!”
Brad moved to sit next to Ellis on the stairs. He draped an arm around his friend’s shoulders. “How about instead of trying to explain it or categorize it or write a brief about it you just let it happen? She’s not fighting it. Why should we?”
Ellis stared at him, stunned disbelief painted across his face. He tried to speak a couple of times, stopped, then finally shook his head. Without another word he stood and climbed the stairs. He went to his room and closed the door behind him.
Brad sighed. “We’re still going tonight, right?” he called up. “We should leave by a quarter ’til to get there on time.”
He smiled as a muffled screech of disbelief drifted through the door.
“Yep,” he softly said with a smile. “We’re still going.”
One good thing Mandaline realized as she started preparing dinner around seven o’clock—she’d cooked more meals in Julie’s kitchen than Julie had. Julie wasn’t fond of cooking, so it wasn’t uncommon for Julie to buy everything and Mandaline would do the cooking there for one of their frequent evenings together.
It meant she already knew where everything was in the kitchen and wasn’t surprised by not having something she needed.
As the day had worn on, she’d worried Ellis might cancel their dinner. She’d thought about texting Brad to make sure everything was okay, but then decided against it.
Why tempt fate?
Definitely not something she wanted to do. Although from the look on Ellis’ face when he bolted from the store that morning, she suspected he might not even want to talk about what happened.
That was fine with her. She’d let him set the pace. Brad knew him far better than she did.
A few minutes before eight, Sachi knocked on the door to the stairwell before opening it and hollering up at her. “Yo, boss. You have company.”
Mandaline leaned over the railing. “Send them on up.”
“Will do. We’ll lock up when we’re done down here.”
“Thanks!”
She quickly surveyed the kitchen to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything as she heard the men walking up the stairs. She’d even had time to grab a quick shower and change clothes.
One tank top and skirt. No bra, so as not to add a level of difficulty. And non-granny underwear, thank you very much.
Her pulse raced as first Brad, followed by Ellis, emerged from the stairwell. Brad stepped over first for a hug. She mentally braced herself but nothing more spectacular happened than him giving her a kiss on the cheek. He also carried a fruit salad. “We didn’t want to come empty-handed,” he said, flashing her that sweet, playful smile.
“Thank you so much.” She took the bowl from him and set it on the counter.
Ellis looked hesitant to have any contact with her. Apparently fighting an internal battle, he finally leaned in and quickly hugged, her, angling most of his body away from her.
Nothing.
He looked relieved.
Scratch ignoring what happened. Ellis was obviously extremely uncomfortable. About what happened that morning, if she had to guess. “Ooookay, what’s going on?”
Sure enough, Ellis quickly shook his head. “Nothing.” His forced smile didn’t fool her in the least. “Nothing’s wrong. Just a long day at work, that’s all. Food smells great. What are we having?”
She glanced at Brad, who stood behind Ellis. He shrugged.
No help there.
Obviously, Ellis didn’t want to discuss it. If that’s how he wants to play it, fine. “Baked chicken, broccoli casserole, and salad. And fruit salad,” she added. “I have apple pie and ice cream for dessert.”
Ellis seemed to relax a little when he realized she wasn’t going to press him to discuss the morning’s events. His demeanor was a little on the manic side, overly cheerful and quick to laugh at the slightest provocation. When midway through dinner he excused himself to use the bathroom, she leaned in close to Brad.
“Is he okay?” she whispered.
“No. And it’s more than what happened between you two this morning. I can’t explain tonight. I’ll tell you tomorrow.”
By the time they reached dessert, Mandaline knew Sachi and the others had closed the store and left. They were alone in the building. Ellis seemed to have relaxed somewhat. She didn’t miss how he’d taken great pains to avoid any contact with her, or Brad, throughout the meal. She felt sorry for him, sensing his conflict and tension, the way his brow furrowed over his killer blue eyes. The way he nervously ran his hand through his blond hair.
At least he’d opened up a little, talking about his job, reliving funny anecdotes with Brad for her, and showing her another side of him. He truly did love his friend. As Brad had warned her, the current circumstances had taxed Ellis’ nerves.
Being in close proximity to both men during dinner had also revved Mandaline’s motor. And I can’t do a damn thing about it.
She got up to clear the table after dinner. “You know, if you aren’t busy Sunday, I could come over and start going through the house with my equipment then, if you’d like.”
Brad stood and grabbed dishes to help her. “That’d be great.” He glanced at Ellis. “Is that okay with you?” He followed her into the tiny kitchen.
“Sure.” Ellis also grabbed some dishes and followed Brad into the kitchen. Mandaline smiled at Brad and did a little close-quarters jostling with him to allow him to get to the sink, which left her pinned between the men’s bodies in the narrow space between the counters.
Ellis’ eyes widened as he found himself pressed up against Mandaline.
She felt it hit, even though they weren’t touching skin to skin. They were all three naked in her bed, with her sandwiched between the two men and in the middle of the best sex she’d ever had. Ellis had his cock sunk all the way inside her pussy while Brad’s filled her ass.
And in the vision, she was staring into Ellis’ blue eyes the way she was now.
Except that from behind her Brad murmured, “Let it happen.”
Apparently, that was enough to break the spell. They were all back in her kitchen and she suspected if he could, Ellis would crab backward until he was perched on top of her counter to get away from her.
She let him slide past her. He left the dishes on the counter and backed away from the kitchen, into the living room area.
Brad turned, his body pressed against hers, his hands on her shoulders. “Let it happen,” he softly said again.
She wanted to close her eyes and moan at how good his body felt against hers, even with his clothes on.
Ellis stared at them for a long time, eyes still wide. After a moment, his gaze narrowed and he jabbed a finger at her. “I don’t know what kind of fucking game you’re playing, but I’m not falling for it.”