A/N: This chapter continues with Sookie remembering events as she prepares to collect Tara from the airport later in the day.
CH is the rightful owner of the Sookieverse and all who inhabit it.
Explicit lemony actions contained herein. Sookie POV.
MariaTerese has generously reviewed and made corrections to this work. All remaining errors are mine.
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Woodside c. 1979, Graduation, Part II
Everything still felt so fragile. Wrapped in the arms of my husband with my back cuddled against my Lover, I was enveloped in the heady male scents released by the exertions of both men. While it was true that I was completely sated, all of my fantasies fulfilled, I was uneasy about the aftermath of last night's and this morning's events.
Five years ago, when I thought it was all over with Eric, I'd been heartbroken. Then three months ago I'd impulsively agreed to marry Sven. It was true I'd just learned Eric was happily married to Selah, but I hadn't felt I was settling for second best. Far from it.
But with the shift in his circumstances, Eric was no longer unavailable and I was going to be allowed to keep him close after all, courtesy of my possessive, dominant spouse, his brother.
Why would Sven agree to this arrangement? There had to be more to it. Now I had two unsolved mysteries, one for each brother, although the answer to one was a little more important to me than discovering the reason Eric had never called me.
Passion spent, we'd eventually left the slightly overheated sunroom, and its wool Berber carpeting, which wasn't as soft as the sheets we'd been sleeping on, to return to our upstairs bedroom. I was wondering if I should risk spoiling the closeness we were all feeling by asking my deferred questions, when Eric stepped in to fill the silence.
"So, what does this mean?"
Both Sven and I pulled apart from the group hug and sat up straight, weighing our responses when he continued.
"Is this a one-time thing? A 'pity fuck' for the soon-to-be divorced brother and ex-boyfriend?"
I was silent, and while I knew how I felt, I still could not entirely rationalize Sven's acceptance of the situation.
Eric waited; he was not pleased that his questions were not being answered. I wasn't certain if he was directing them to me or to Sven.
"Bro', I know what you said last night, but that was way before what actually happened just now. Are you cool with it or not?"
Eric was asking some of my questions for me. And, just exactly what had the two of them discussed last night when I was locked in the bedroom, watching the hours crawl by as I waited in vain for to return?
"I know what I told you last night, little brother."
What? What did they say to each other? Tell me, please!
"Maybe Sookie would like to know what you and I agreed to….with regards to a three-way relationship." Eric was pushing it, thank God.
Watching Sven's face, I suddenly saw just the briefest ghost of his vulnerable face. It was gone so quickly, if I had not spent so much intimate time with him over the last year, I might have missed it. Seeing it made me open my arms and pull him to my chest, pushing his face into the crook of my neck as I began planting kisses on his soft straight hair. I loved him. And I had not told Eric the same, yet. Sven snuggled against my body, holding his chest tight against my breasts that Eric had so recently been kneading to the point of pain. It didn't feel good. But it felt worse inside as I contemplated that fact that Sven was giving off signs of some internal turmoil. My stomach lurched as I thought about what had happened and the fact that we hadn't really talked it through. Maybe I'd forced Sven into this by my actions last night with Eric before he'd arrived home?
Slammed by the unexpected fear, I really felt like crap. Was this morning just Sven's way of saving face for a situation he had not been able to control? Had I screwed up the trust he and I had developed, even the love he'd shown me just to fuck Eric? Could I have acted any more impulsively? I gulped air in desperation. The coziness of the room, the bed, and the two naked men suddenly seemed suffocating. This was a backlash of guilt of absolutely phenomenal proportion.
"Guys, I feel sort of sick. Let me up, I need to use the bathroom. I want to splash some cold water on my face. I'm feeling lightheaded."
I curled up to roll off the foot of the bed, and caught a glimpse of the surprise registering on their faces.
My exit was neither all that was lovely nor gracious. I was embarrassed that the sounds of retching could not be masked and they had to know what I was about to do, if not exactly what I was feeling.
Sven followed me, held my head, and produced the cooling water on my face that helped my nausea. He was calming me, telling me I was fine, he was good, I'd feel better soon, just relax, and other mild sentiments designed to take my mind off the swelling fear that was consuming me.
When Eric shuffled into the room as well, asking Sven in low tones if he needed to do something for me, I had had enough. I wasn't going to lose it after all, maybe because I hadn't eaten anything since an early dinner the previous night.
"Let's get out of the bathroom, okay?" They nodded and helped me to my feet as I mentally thumbed my nose at my all-too-frequent porcelain buddy. I had to get a grip on the nausea; it was becoming a crutch for me when the bad stuff hit.
I guess I led the procession back to the bedroom, but I no longer felt like sitting on the bed; it was just too distracting. Maybe it was time to start the conversation that was missing before what had just happened. At least, a conversation that included me, as I wasn't sure what Eric and Sven had discussed last night.
Taking both of their hands, I dropped into the lotus position on the floor and pulled them down with me. Sven I had to tug harder on than Eric, and he wasn't ready to lie on the floor when the more comfortable bed beckoned. He relented and ended up sitting too close to me and I had to push back from him. I wanted air and space for what I had to say.
"Umm, I think what happened was inevitable, considering the history the three of us have together." Both of them nodded, prepared to let me speak without interrupting. Maybe I'd be able to finish.
"Instead of the one-on-one conversations with one partner we've been doing, the dynamic needs to change, and now would be a good time."
A not-so-subtle shifting of eyes told me I was right.
"Eric, no way this was a pity fuck. But, we should have talked it through first. Sven and I have spoken about you feeling the blowback from your divorce and how this might affect you. Maybe we rushed it?"
Sven spoke up. "Maybe we all have agendas we aren't sharing here."
Both Eric and I looked at him; I was now totally convinced he was hiding something.
Sven continued. "Both of you have next week free. I want the three of us to spend it together." He looked at us for confirmation that this was a good idea. I was suddenly excited by the possibilities. London? New York? Paris, even? But what about the obligations of his business, I asked, and was reassured that his partners could handle five days for him; he'd done it for them often enough.
Eric appeared to have no objections. He suggested Hawaii, but Sven shook his head.
"I'd like for us to spend the time together free from urban distractions. If you two are interested,I was thinking maybe Southern Utah, Zion National Park and Bryce, or possibly Lake Powell and a few days hiking in Canyonlands?"
While Eric was happy to acquiesce I was feeling anxious about tackling such rugged terrain on foot. Sven and I had spoken last year about taking a trip to the Grand Canyon and I'd agreed. But at that time, we'd talked about staying in relative luxury on the South Rim at El Tovar, and possibly hiking down into the Canyon via the South Kaibab trail. The other option he'd offered of riding a pack mule down the Bright Angel trail into the Canyon had sounded even better.
"Why not? It would be a break from all the shit I've been dealing with on the divorce front. Sookie, are you up for it?" Eric turned shining eyes to me.
Silently, I cursed the cinnamon buns I'd been happily munching over the last few months and wondered if it would make any difference if I spent the next twenty-four hours at Sven's gym doing legs lifts, sit-ups, and jumping jacks? Fuck no.
"Maybe it is a good idea to spend a big chunk of time together, Sven. Do you have a reason for choosing Southern Utah, besides the desolation?" Okay, that might have been a little too desperate, even for me.
I tried to make amends. "I've never been to the desert, you know. Since you and Eric grew up in Utah, I guess the desert feels like home to you both?"
Whatever hesitation I was trying to project to my newly expanded family, the male members weren't picking up on it as the testosterone surged amid a brief but enthusiastic discussion of boots, packs, knives, water skins, trail maps, mummy bags, camp stoves, lanterns, compasses, and other gear intricacies that only heightened my sense of impending doom. It was time to inject some reality if I was going along.
"Although I can understand the fascination with a run to the Army Surplus Store for more gear, what about stuff like coyotes, Gila Monsters (I shivered), rattlers, scorpions, and heat prostration, among other things?"
Both of them looked at each other, finally alerted to the grim realities I felt needed mentioning. It wasn't going to stop them, I knew, but at least we could be prepared for what could morph into a disaster at any time. Sven let loose with a chuckle before he bent at the waist, and unexpectedly tackled me, pushing me back against the floor as Eric bent over me and started gently pinching my ribs. I could feel it coming. I was going to be tickled by them and I was going to be helpless to fight back. I started giggling in anticipation. The mood was broken by Eric's murmuring my name as he began to tickle my waist and Sven starting to kiss me, a soothing caress of my lips that wasn't meant to lead to any passion.
"A Desert Virgin!" Letting go of my waist, Eric had eased up on the tickling to reassure me. He was the newly returned Livingstone to my Royal Geographical Society audience. "It's warm in late March, but heat prostration isn't a problem, Lover. And Gila Monsters never grow much bigger than my forearm, or at least the couple I've seen. Don't touch'em and you'll be safe. Neither of us will let anything get you. Coyotes won't enter camp unless they have rabies, of course."
Sven jumped in, Henry to his David. "Rattlesnakes can be dangerous, but they'll avoid you if they can. I'll give you a snake stick. Just don't place your hand on any rocks you cannot see, or sit on ledges that could shelter a snake. And scorpions might crawl into your hiking boots, so shake them out in the morning before you put them on. You'll be fine, my love." He was grinning in anticipation of the delights to come.
"Let's take her out to pick up some boots and other gear this afternoon. Want to take off Sunday morning?" Eric was a man with a plan.
"It's been a long time since we've taken a road trip together, little brother, maybe since that time we drove out for a certain holiday weekend to the Midwest." He wiggled his eyebrows at me. "Let's leave in a few hours and drive out to the Salt Lake house. Can we take your Volvo? We'll pick up the extra gear at home, including the packs. Sookie, call Mia and tell her we are coming for the night. And start packing. I have some calls to make. And I brought home some gifts; they are in the back seat of my Porsche. Eric, this new technology will change your world. Go grab some cassettes." Sven stood and headed for the garage. I wondered if he remembered he wasn't wearing any clothing.
"I want a shower, guys. And I still think we need to talk about…everything."
Sven said over his shoulder, "I'm about to spend eight hours crammed into the front seat of Eric's Volvo with you two. We'll talk or we'll go insane."
I wondered where Sven had stored my suitcases from Barbados, and started to think about the shorts and t-shirts I was going to be wearing for the next week. I'd pack for Sven as well. Eric could do his own packing. I realized my days as a desert virgin were numbered.
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The drive out of the Bay area on I-80 wasn't fun on a Saturday afternoon. We passed through Oakland, had a breather before we had to fight our way through Sacramento traffic and then made the climb into the Sierra foothills, but the 'gift' from Sven had us buzzing. It was a handheld, portable cassette player than was to be marketed in the summer by Sony. Our version was the Japanese release, a Walkman. Eric had exclaimed his pleasure, barely listening to Sven's detailed explanation of the device and its potential in the US and other markets before immediately cranking up his Rolling Stones 'Some Girls' tape, popping the headphones over my ears for the lyrics to 'Miss You' and squeezing me as Mick Jagger wailed:
I've been holding out so long
I've been sleeping all alone
Lord I miss you
I've been hanging on the phone
I've been sleeping all alone
I want to kiss you
Well, I've been haunted in my sleep
You've been staring in my dreams
Lord I miss you.
He then yanked it back, joking with me to get my own Walkman as he began packing a box of his tapes of Heavy Metal bands, reminding Sven we'd need more batteries for the week ahead. Sven wasn't paying attention, as he'd found and was listening to a new release, 'September', from Earth, Wind & Fire's latest recording. I could hear the lyrics through his headphones.
Do you remember the 21st night of September?
Love was changing the minds of pretenders
While chasing the clouds awayIn the key that our souls were singing.
As we danced in the night,
Remember how the stars stole the night away
Our hearts were ringing
Say Do You Remember
Dancing in September
Never was a cloudy day.
I'd squealed in excitement at the gift and found my own tape of Bonnie Tyler's 'It's a Heartache', a song I'd played obsessively last fall when I was slowly falling in love with Sven. Which made no sense, then or now.
Consequently, we three were mostly quiet, enthralled by the new gadgets as Eric threaded his way through the sea of cars full of occupants who were as focused as we were on reaching the summit and surviving the drive. Warning of our late arrival, I'd spoken only briefly to Mia about our trip. She'd promised to start digging out Eric and Sven's stored gear in preparation for our stay-over. She had refrained from asking me about any sleeping arrangements, and now as I listened to Linda Ronstadt singing 'Tumbling Dice' on the Walkman's skinny headphones, I wondered what we would do about it tonight. I hoped Ander was out of town, but doubted I'd be that lucky.
Maybe we were all being quiet for a reason other than the Walkmans, I thought as I lay curled up under Eric's North Face jacket in the back seat of the Volvo. It was just too crowded to be comfortable in the front seat with two 6'4" men for a long drive.
To take my mind off of the very real possibility of finding icy roads in the mountains, it being late March, I leaned forward, and running my hands through Eric's thick, shiny locks, I began brushing out his hair as I'd been dying to do for months. He rolled his shoulders to signal his appreciation of my efforts and I took my time, massaging his scalp with the boar bristle brush. When it was silky smooth, I indulged a desire I'd had from the first time I'd seen him pull up at our boat dock, and parting his hair down the middle, began dividing his hair into thirds, preparatory to braiding it. It was so heavy that I decided to double-braid it, a warrior style I'd seen on some photos of century-old carvings in a book on Scandinavian culture in Sven's study. He would have two braids hanging parallel in close proximity down his back. I'd even brought some ties in my purse as I'd anticipated I'd finally be able to play with Eric's hair. When I'd finished, he reached one of his large, beautiful hands back to cup my jaw and murmur his thanks. I gave a sigh of contentment as I prepared to do the same to Sven's much shorter locks, starting first with brushing and then beginning the braiding much higher on his head, placing kisses on his neck as my fingers twisted and caught his hair in several braids. He ended up looking more Gaul than Viking, which suited his coloring more anyway. When we pulled into Truckee for gasoline, Sven climbed into the back seat to work on my hair, as he wanted us all to look the same and for the next hour, brushed and fussed with my hair until he was satisfied. And we three maintained our self-imposed silence, barely speaking, our Walkman headsets firmly in place, the plastic bands for the headphones hanging under our chins with the cords trailing to the small blue and silver box clipped on each person's belt.
The sun had set as we left the mountains behind, the Interstate much less crowded. Sven took over the driving so Eric could stretch out in the back. I'd moved into the front seat with Sven and watched the miles slip away as we headed towards Winnemucca. I recalled the last long road trip I'd taken with Sven when we'd driven out to Las Vegas without telling anyone of our plans. Maybe Mia could get us all talking about what was going on in our heads when we'd had a night to recover from the drive. ________________________
I'd fallen asleep, as had Eric, when Sven pulled into the secluded property that was Ander and Mia's primary residence. I learned later Celia had been given a separate wing she could use when she wasn't staying at her house in Sandy. When I saw the house and the entrance, I was glad I hadn't met his family when we first started dating or I might have been too intimidated by it to continue seeing Sven, or Eric, for that matter.
The house, really a mansion, screamed 'money'. I'd thought Sven had a large house, but it was as a peanut compared to this place. Several families could have lived here quite comfortably, I thought, perhaps a little meanly. This was where Eric, Sven and Tara had grown up?
The exterior of the house, well-lit for our arrival, was 'mountain lodge'. It was dark, but I could see it was surrounded by evergreens of many shades and needle shapes. The setting for the house had been cut out of the forest. We were not in Salt Lake proper, but in the Little Cottonwood Canyon area. The unseasonably warm weather was impacting Utah as well, as the snow that might have been on the ground around this popular ski area had mostly melted. It appeared spring had arrived early if the green grass in front of the house was any indication.
Mia and Celia both were waiting in the entrance for us. They left the front porch as soon as Sven had parked the car. I was so pleased with the warmth of their welcome I immediately snapped out of my sleep-induced fog, elated at finally being with them on their home turf.
We five entered the house, Eric with both arms around the shoulders of the two women, leaving Sven and me to hold hands as we followed after them. Yes, the décor was definitely rustic mountain lodge, but the furnishings were the 'real deal' instead of the standard 'knock-offs'. It was so authentic it was almost magical, as if we'd stepped back in time to the early 1900's. Well, a very opulent 1900's. I heard the crackling of the fireplace before we entered the great room. The natural stones climbed the wall to the fourteen foot high ceiling, the width spanned a good twelve feet or more, and the recess opening where the pile of logs was glowing was tall enough for me to stand up in, had I so chosen. We all moved closer to the fire as the night air had been cold, and then found seats on the Native-American print-covered chairs and sofas scattered around the great room. Eric had not chosen to sit by me and Sven on the couch, but since there was room, I looked at him and patted the open space beside me. He hesitated, and then rose to hunch his way over to sit stiffly beside me, a good boy visiting his parents air about him. No way.
Squeezing Sven's shoulder, I turned my head and upper body towards Eric, and wrapping my free arm around his shoulder, moved my face to within an inch of his lips. He couldn't resist and leaned forward for his kiss, which I made sure could not be mistaken for a friendly brother-in-law peck, although without any obvious tongue-swallowing. When we broke from the embrace and I turned back to Sven, I saw Mia and Celia had trained their eyes on Sven, no doubt to check for his reaction to this display. He sighed, and looking at them, said:
"If I didn't ask you any questions when I was growing up, I'd hope you extend me the same courtesy just now, Mom." He paused. "You, too, Celia."
Other than raising their eyebrows, they made no comment on his remark. Celia did speak, though, to inform us that Ander was asleep after a long drive back from some ranch property they were trying to sell around Vernal. We'd see him in the morning. How long could we stay? I hadn't known what Sven would decide when I'd called to advise them of our plans, and didn't wish to disappoint them with false information.
Sven's only response was that we'd sort it out in the morning, but maybe now, it being after two a.m., we could call it a night and discuss it over a late breakfast. After a little bit of parental grumbling, and some pointed yawning by Eric and me, we were herded upstairs to the bedroom wing of the house, me unable to stop exclaiming over the continued lodge themes of stone, dark woods, native rugs and vibrant prints, and shown two adjacent bedrooms, evidently their rooms when they had been living at home. There was a connecting door between the two rooms, I discovered. Each room had its own shower, so both Eric and Sven dropped their bags where they entered, and immediately fired up the hot water, preparing to wash the grime of the road, minimal I thought, from their bodies. I knew they were just using the two showers as an excuse to put off making any decisions about the sleeping arrangements, perhaps hoping I'd decide for them by choosing one bedroom or the other. The un-favored brother would then end up sleeping alone. I so wasn't going there. Wrong way to start off, and something I'd hoped we'd have sorted out today during the mostly silent trip along I-80.
I didn't wish to be the only unclean member of the trio, so after a moment's thought, I went naturally to Sven's shower and climbed in for a quick rinse. He let out a contented growl when he saw me, perhaps thinking I'd chosen him tonight. But he was wrong.
Putting my mouth against his dripping hair and speaking softly into his ear as I soaped up his chest and moved my hands down and over his hips to caress his more sensitive skin, I made my position clear. "If we don't all sleep together, I'm sleeping alone on the floor." I was now soaping his balls and rolling them in my warmed fingers, and he unconsciously moved his hips to give me better access to him. I stopped speaking, and fastened on his nipple, carefully licking the dark-hued circle before nipping it as I waited for his decision.
"We are all tired tonight, my love. Maybe we should wait until tomorrow?", he offered as I felt his leg muscles tighten in response to my pulling on his lengthening member, watching it grow thick and ready in my hand in spite of his obvious fatigue.
"I'd like a vote, Sven. And my vote is that we stay together from now on. Besides, we are all three so tired I don't believe we will have any trouble sleeping soundly. And either bed is so large, we won't feel too crowded to be comfortable." I'd laid out my arguments very carefully, I'd thought.
And was still surprised when he sighed and nodded his acceptance, choosing to concentrate his flagging energy on what I was doing with my hand, stroking him to his tip and squeezing the sensitive bulb just enough to create some skin pull that gave it a little kick.
"Suck me off and I'll agree to anything, which you know, don't you, vixen?" He teased me as he pulled me around to his front, pushing on my shoulders to make me kneel and accede to his request. I wanted to, so not much persuasion was necessary before I had him positioned over my open mouth, and swallowed as much of his excited rock hard member as I could handle. I began carefully sucking him down and releasing him, and he moaned his agreement to just about anything I wanted if I'd only continue. I'd forgotten all about Eric, but he hadn't forgotten us, as out of the corner of my eye I caught his shape behind the shower door, and saw Sven open the door and hold out his hand. My heart nearly stopped at the idea of their dual naked, wet, dripping, hard male bodies crowded into the smallish shower space with me. I wrapped my hands around Sven's straining, muscled thighs and increased the pace of my licking and sucking. He evidently pulled Eric up behind me again as he started rising to the balls of his feet as his need for orgasm accelerated. His moaning increased and I darted my eyes to his face to see desire engraved on his features, his eyes closed and long water-bejeweled lashes brushing his olive cheekbones, his mouth forming an oval shape as he began grinding his hips forward as much as I would let him, clearly lost in the sensations he'd been craving for at least the last few hours.
Eric bent down to kiss my shoulders as my mouth worked over Sven, and then he whispered a deep, guttural, "Hello, my Lover" in my ear, before rising up and driving his hard, pulsing muscle against my upper back. The shower floor was starting to dig into my kneecaps, and Eric must have noticed, because he stopped his erotic action to drop a wet folded towel on the tile and push it under my knees. I felt much better and continued, dropping one arm so I could fold my palm over the top of Eric's foot which he'd placed beside my thigh as he returned to resume rubbing his hot, aching flesh against my back and neck, his palms at first flat against the sides of the shower and his own moans echoing those of his brother.
I was so wet with desire, I would have taken either brother without caring to identify who it was, and then Sven reached his release with a loud groan, amplified in the small stall as his hot semen poured down the back of my throat. I felt myself close to orgasm as well; Eric had started using the braid of my wet hair as a noose around his erection, pulling hard on it one-handed to increase the friction of it sliding over his satiny length. I felt him stiffen, then pump hard a few times before he came over my hair and shoulders, the milky substance quickly rinsed away by the force of the beating water. The action ended my swallowing of Sven. He pulled back and bent over to begin suckling my water-heated breasts, forcing me to rise to give him better access as his fingers slipped inside my heated core and began working my tender spot. I came almost instantly, crying my orgasm into Sven's shoulder and had both of them pressed against my body in response, the three of us making a tired, fleshy bundle of sated male and female desire. It was way past time to dry off and go to bed.
No argument this time as we made our way into Sven's bedroom, the doors carefully locked behind us, not that we had any secrets left, we thought. It seemed natural for me to climb in between the two of them, and in almost no time, their twin gentle snores were the lullaby that accompanied me into a dreamless sleep.
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A/N: These events continue in the next chapter but offer a different POV.
Both songs are copyright protected by the respective members of the bands named.