At work on Friday morning I realized that my schedule for the afternoon was open, and I had nothing on my calendar until Monday afternoon. Seizing the opportunity, I booked a round trip flight for New York for the weekend. Bolting out of the office at lunchtime, I hustled home, grabbed what I’d need, and made it to the Burbank airport with minutes to spare.
I hadn’t told anyone I’d be flying in- I wanted it to be a surprise. Sure, I was only going for three nights, but ten hours in a plane was a small price to pay for a weekend with Emmy and Angela. It wasn’t as if the ten hours were really lost, either- I had my laptop with me on the plane and had no distractions keeping me from plowing through my workload.
Landing at Teterboro, I was a bit dismayed by the weather. I hadn’t packed a raincoat, and it was absolutely dumping down outside the hangar.
Figuring there was nothing to do but get wet, I made a dash for the car when my Uber arrived.
“How about this weather?” Asked the driver as we left the airport. “Just came outta nowhere this afternoon. One minute it was beautiful, then cats and dogs the next.”
“I didn’t even pack a raincoat, either,” I said. “Or an umbrella.”
“How far you gotta walk when I drop you off?”
“Maybe twenty feet if you pull up right in front,” I answered, amazed at the amount of rain hammering the car’s roof and windshield.
“That’s not so bad then,” the driver said. “Coming home?”
“Yeah,” I agreed, not really wanting to get into the details.
“Well, welcome back to the greatest city in the world. The city that never sleeps. It might be the city that doesn’t go out tonight, though…” he said, turning the defogger up higher to keep the windshield clear.
After a few minutes, he asked, “Where you fly in from?”
“Los Angeles,” I said, looking out the window at the sidewalks devoid of pedestrians. “The weather was nicer there.”
“Yeah, I bet it was,” the driver admitted. “Seventy-five degrees and sunny, right?”
“Pretty much, yeah,” I said.
“I gotta get out there some day,” the driver said, a wistful note to his voice. “I ain’t never been.”
“You know what?” I said. “Don’t bother. I mean, it’s exactly like here. Except, well, completely different.”
Laughing, the driver pulled up in front of the townhouse. “This the place?” he asked, checking to make sure.
“This is it. Home, sweet home.”
“Nice place,” the driver said. “Have a good night, alright?”
“You, too. Drive safely,” I said as I stepped out of the car, then dashed to the shelter of the front door’s little awning. I’d readied the key as we’d gotten close, so it only took me a moment to slip inside and shut the door behind me. As I took a moment to let the water drip off me in the entryway, the inner door opened.
“What the heck?” Mia demanded. “I ran all the way up here and it was you?”
“I’m glad to see you, too,” I said.
“Don’t get me wrong,” Mia said, taking my overnight bag. “I’m glad to see you, but when the front door alarm went off I just about jumped out of my skin. I wasn’t expecting anybody. You could have told me you were coming. Hell, why didn’t you let Wally know so he could pick you up?”
Shrugging, I said, “I wanted it to be a surprise.”
“Well, it surprised me,” Mia said. “Are you hungry? You missed dinner, but there are probably leftovers in the kitchen.”
“Maybe a bit later. I want to say hello to Emmy first.”
“I’m pretty sure she’s up in the studio. They were talking about going out tonight, but then when the weather turned, they decided to bag it,” Mia explained.
“Angela?”
“She might be in the studio, or maybe in your bedroom. Sometimes she hangs in the library or the parlor, but I don’t see her here now,” Mia said, peeking in the library as we stood in the foyer, waiting for the elevator. I would have just walked upstairs, but since Mia was carrying my bag and I didn’t want to make her climb two flights with her bad leg, the elevator it was.
“Alright, I guess I’ll find her where I find her,” I said as I closed the gate behind us and punched the button for the third floor. Then, a moment later, I said, “Wow! The elevator guys must have been here. This isn’t nearly as frightening a ride as it used to be!”
“I know, right?” Mia agreed. “It took them three whole days of fucking around, but it’s so nice and smooth and quiet now you can hardly even tell it’s moving. I think it’s slower now, though.”
The bedroom door was closed, and I would have just barged right in, but Mia knocked first. Getting no reply, she opened the door and set my bag down inside.
“Hey,” I said as Mia turned to go. “Let’s get caught up on the security situation in the morning, alright?”
“Copy that,” Mia said as she left.
Slipping out of my wet work clothes, I wandered into the bathroom to take a quick shower to warm up, only to find Angela soaking in the tub, idly scrolling through social media on her iPhone.
Startled, she sat up, only to realize it was me.
“You gave me a heart attack!” she complained.
“I’m happy to see you, too, babe,” I said as I leaned down for a kiss. “Is there room in there for me?”
“I’m not sure,” Angela said, doubtfully. “Maybe on top?”
“I’m good with that,” I said as I lowered myself into the tub, straddling Angela’s overly toned legs. Laying my upper body across hers, I said, “Very good with that.”
We kissed for a while, just enjoying getting reconnected.
“Emmy never told me you were coming,” Angela said as we paused for a moment, her voice husky.
“I never told her I was,” I replied, laying my head on her chest and slipping my arms around her middle. “It was a spur of the moment thing. I just decided this morning.”
“How long are you staying?” Angela asked as she gently stroked my hair.
“Only until Monday morning.”
“I wish it could be longer,” she said, kissing the top of my head. “I’ve missed you. Emmy’s missed you. It just isn’t the same without you.”
“More room in the bed, though,” I said.
“Too much room in the bed,” Angela countered. “The bed is too big without our giant cuddle buddy.”
We lay like that for a while, not speaking. The feel of Angela’s heartbeat and the rising and falling of her chest lulled me into a sort of pleasant drowsiness. It would have been easy to simply drift off into sleep like that, but eventually I did sit up, breaking the mood.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“What have you been doing with your time while Emmy and the boys are in the studio?” I asked.
“Well, they sleep in ’til noon most days, so I get up and use the gym in the mornings. After we all have lunch, sometimes I go out shopping in the afternoons with Jen. Sometimes I take a siesta, or work on my socials. We have dinner around eight most nights, and sometimes I’ll watch them in the studio, or read by the fireplace with a nice fire going…”
“You’ve been making Emmy come to bed at a reasonable time?” I asked.
“I don’t know how reasonable midnight is,” Angela said. Then, remembering something, she asked, “You told me to ask her why’s she stays up so late and has a hard time getting up in the morning.”
“Did you?”
“I did,” Angela said, her eyes wide. “She told me all about the Night Children, and how they’ve hidden for all this time.”
“What did you think?”
“I thought she was trying to fool me, you know? But she proved it to me. She can see in the dark!” Angela said, her face showing her amazement.
“Yeah, she can,” I agreed. “It’s all true.”
“So she told me that her people naturally sleep during the day and are awake at night, like, um, jungle cats or something,” Angela said. “That’s why she has a hard time waking up in the morning.”
“She used to be better about it, but the last few years she hasn’t had any reason to get up early,” I said. “But I’m really happy you’re keeping her from staying up all night.”
The water was turning cold by this time, so we got out and made a fun little game of drying each other off before getting dressed. I threw on some casual clothes, just a pair of jeans and a pullover sweater, not even bothering with shoes.
Angela looked adorable in the oversized (for her) Stanford Volleyball team hoodie and loose shorts that didn’t even hang below the hem of the sweatshirt.
“My hoodie looks good on you,” I said, thinking of the photo I had of her in that exact outfit.
“It’s not your hoodie any more. It’s mine now,” Angela said with pride.
Laughing, I swept her into my arms and kissed her, my hand sliding up the back of her thigh and onto the bare skin of her firm butt.
“I guess it is,” I agreed.
Hand in hand, we left the bedroom and went in search of Emmy. As predicted, the red ‘Recording’ light was on above the studio door, so we slipped into the adjoining producer’s booth where Lee was fussing with the controls of the mixing board as Emmy and Jackson played guitars in the adjoining space.
With his headphones on, Lee was unaware we were even there until Emmy glanced up and saw us through the glass.
“Leah!” Emmy squealed with delight, pulling off her own headphones and setting down her guitar. We slammed into each other in the hallway as we met each other halfway, kissing and hugging and laughing.
“I did not know you were coming!” Emmy exclaimed. “I am so happy to see you! I have missed you terribly!”
“I just decided this morning to come to New York,” I said when I had a chance to get a word in.
“How long can you stay?”
“My flight back is on Monday morning, early,” I replied, setting her back down on her feet.
“I wish you could stay for longer,” Emmy said with a pout.
“I do, too,” I said.
“Wait a moment,” Emmy said. Ducking her head into the production room, she told Lee (and Jackson, through the intercom) that she was done for the night. “I am sorry, but I have not seen Leah for over a week, and I need to spend some time with her.”
“No problem,” Lee replied. “Maybe we’ll go out tonight after all.”
“Have fun!” Emmy chirped as she stepped out into the hallway to join Angela and me.
“Have you had dinner?” Emmy asked. “Are you hungry?”
“No, and yes,” I said. “I heard there might be leftovers?”
“Luisa made stuffed peppers. They were very good,” Emmy said, taking my hand and pulling me towards the elevator. Once inside and on our way down, Emmy asked Angela, “Did you tell Leah about…?”
“No, not yet,” Angela said, shyly. “It’s yours- you should show it to her.”
“I will do that,” Emmy agreed.
Curious, but unwilling to give Emmy the satisfaction of me asking what she was talking about, I let it slide.
In the kitchen, Angela grabbed the leftovers from one of the big fridges and served a plateful, then topped it with tin foil and slid it into the oven, setting the timer as she did so.
Emmy took out a bottle of sparkling water and poured three glasses, setting one down for Angela and two in front of me. This puzzled me until Emmy parked her butt on my lap, so the two of us occupied only one chair.
Nuzzling her face into the side of my neck, she murmured, “I am so very happy you are here, Leah. The bed feels too empty without you.”
“At least you’ve had Angela to cuddle,” I said.
“I want you both,” Emmy said, kissing under my ear. “Is that too much to ask?”
While I was eating my late dinner, Lee, Jen and Jackson found us to say that they were headed out and would see us in the morning. After they left, Emmy got a pensive look on her face.
“Leah, Jen and the boys will be gone for a few hours at least. Luisa is visiting her mother tonight, so she is gone, also. Mia keeps to her room or the security office at nights, so we have the house to ourselves. How about we go to the parlor and have some drinks by the fire? Angela and I have some things to talk to you about.”
“Sure, sounds good,” I said, wondering what they wanted to talk about that Emmy didn’t feel she could mention there at the kitchen table.
After I ate, Angela and I went to the parlor, while Emmy went upstairs to change into something ‘more suitable’, whatever that meant.
I mixed a Manhattan for Angela and an Old Fashioned for myself. While I was doing that, Angela got the fire started. At some point in the distant past all the fireplaces had been converted to gas, but with our recent remodel we’d upgraded the plumbing and installed realistic fake logs, making for a believable effect.
Just as I handed Angela her drink, Emmy breezed in, now wearing long pajama bottoms and a fleecy top. “Could you pour me some wine, please?” she asked as she settled down into the big, overstuffed couch facing the fireplace.
I found an opened bottle of Chablis in the wine fridge and held it up for her approval. Getting a nod, I poured her a glass, then joined her on the couch, setting the glasses down on the coffee table. Angela, satisfied the fire was going correctly, set her drink down by ours, then lay down across our laps on the couch.
“Well, O.K., then,” I said, amused.
“I am so glad that you came to New York, Leah,” Emmy said, pulling Angela’s legs into a better position on her lap. “I am happy that you are here.”
“Mmhmm,” Angela agreed, looking up at me from where she lay. “Thanks for being here,” she agreed as she wriggled herself into a more comfy spot and took my left hand in hers. She kissed my palm, then held my hand to the side of her face. Prompted, I gently caressed her cheek, then ran my fingertips along the curve of her ear, eliciting a satisfied sigh.
“I’m happy I’m here, too,” I said, leaning over to kiss Emmy. “This? Right here, right now, this is the best thing in the world.”
“It is, now that you are here,” Emmy said, snuggling up to my side. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, and the three of us just stayed like that, cuddled up on the couch, enjoying the warmth of the fire and the sound of the rain on the windows of the adjoining sunroom.
“Can it be like this forever?” Angela asked.
“Nothing can be forever,” Emmy replied softly, stroking Angela’s bare legs. “So we must enjoy it as much as we can, as long as we can.”
Understanding that Emmy meant that for me, I kissed her forehead. “It will never be enough.”
“No, it can never be enough,” Emmy agreed, and I could se her eyes were moist with incipient tears, matching my own.
Wanting to change the subject, I asked, “What was it you wanted to talk about?”
Emmy quickly wiped her eyes and gave me a grateful smile. “Angela and I have had plenty of time to talk-”
“And have sex,” Angela added.
“And we have had plenty of time to make love, too,” Emmy continued. “And we have discovered some things about ourselves. Things we might not have realized, or taken much longer to realize, Leah, if you had been around.”
“It isn’t bad,” Angela said, taking my hand in hers again.
“No, it is not bad,” Emmy agreed. “It is good, I think, for all three of us. I think that what Angela and I have discovered about ourselves will help strengthen our relationship, our love for each other.”
I’d be lying if I were to say that alarm bells weren’t ringing in my ears, but I kept quiet, giving the two room to say what they wanted.
“For one thing, I have discovered that I definitely like strong, fit women,” Emmy said. “I had thought that I simply loved and adored you, so my infatuation with your muscles was a reflection of my love for you. But now that I have had a chance to explore Angela’s physique, I have come to realize that the feel of a washboard stomach, or strong, hard shoulders, legs made of iron… These things excite me. Of course, you and Angela are not built alike, but still… I want to feel those strong legs wrapped around me, those strong arms holding me tight.”
Chuckling, I gave her a squeeze against my side. “And here I thought you loved me for my girlish charm.”
“I do,” Emmy said. “And your Amazon build.”
“I have to admit, I’ve come to realize that I have a type, too,” I said. “I’m not saying that soft, curvy women can’t be attractive, but I tend to like lean, firm butts and elegant dancer’s legs.”
“Is it my turn?” Angela asked, looking at Emmy. When Emmy nodded she was ready to hand over the metaphorical microphone, Angela spoke up. “I know it’s fast, and we haven’t known each other for very long, but I am very, very in love with both of you, and having the two of you, both so different, but both of you caring for me in your two different ways- it’s so much more than I could ever get with just one person. I want this. I want this so much I can’t even say. I want Emmy, so bad it hurts when I think about it. And I want you, too. I want your arms around me, your kisses on my neck. I want to ride in your car. I want to listen to Emmy sing. I want…” she said, trailing off to kiss my hand again. “I want this to work for the three of us, and I will do anything I can to make the two of you as happy as you make me.”
“Ange,” I said, stroking her cheek again. “It has been fast, that’s true. I did have my doubts at first, too. I didn’t see how this was going to work. I’m still a little worried that feelings might get hurt somehow, but so far, that hasn’t happened.” I turned to look at Emmy. “When I was in San Jose, I realized that I missed sleeping with both of you. I wanted to feel you both in bed with me. Em, I missed your laugh, your smile. But I also missed Ange’s smile, too. I think this can work, if we want it badly enough.”
“You were not jealous that I was here with Angela?”
“No. I wished I was here with both of you, but I didn’t resent either of you being with the other while I was alone.”
“I hated leaving you alone,” Angela said. “I felt really guilty about coming to New York with Emmy.”
“Don’t,” I said. “I’m happy Emmy had you here to keep her company, since I couldn’t be here. Stay here with Em when I go back to LA. She needs you here.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely,” I confirmed. “But I do really like the video calls…”