We stayed there on the couch for a while, enjoying the simple pleasures of the warmth of the fire, the sound of the rain, and the comforting presence of loved ones. I was still amazed by how things were going with the the ‘household of three’, but the feel of Emmy leaning against my side and Angela draped across our laps, both practically purring with pleasure, reinforced the feeling that this was going to work out just fine.
“Leah,” Angela said, breaking me out of my reverie. “Are you sure you have to go back to LA on Monday? I wish you could just stay here with us.”
“I wish I could, too,” I agreed. “But I really do have to get back. I have a couple of meetings on Monday that I just can’t skip.”
“We will have to make the most of this weekend, then,” Emmy said, snuggling up against me even more than she had already been. “I will tell the boys that I am going to take the weekend off from recording so that I can spend the time with you. I am certain they will understand.”
“That’d be great,” I said, squeezing her against my side.
“I’m so glad you’re here now,” Angela said, as she lifted up the hem of my sweater and kissed my tummy. Tucking her head under the pullover, Angela said, “I’m just gonna stay here for a while.”
Laughing, I patted her head as if it were my pregnant belly. When I leaned forward to grab my drink from the coffee table, I felt Angela place a little kiss on the underside of my boob.
“Enjoying it down there?” I asked, amused.
“Very much,” came the muffled reply.
“This is perfect,” Emmy sighed. “Completely perfect.”
As perfect as it was, eventually our cuddle session by the fire had to end so we could go to bed. Angela had drifted off, comfy as she was on our laps, but Emmy and I needed to lie down, too. We roused Angela and the three of us made our way upstairs and to what I was now thinking of as ‘our bedroom’. Before we entered, though, Emmy stepped behind me and put her hands over my eyes.
“You must not look until I say it is O.K. to do so,” Emmy said.
“You know I’ve already been in the bedroom today, right?” I asked, amused.
“I don’t think she saw it,” Angela said, apparently speaking to Emmy. “At least, she didn’t say anything.”
“See what?” I asked as Angela took my hand and led me into the bedroom, Emmy’s hands still covering my eyes.
Emmy turned me to face a particular way once we’d entered fully into the room, then removed her hands.
I’m not sure how I hadn’t noticed it before, but hanging above the mantelpiece was an ornate gold-leafed frame holding a good-sized canvas. A painting of me, in all my glory.
“It is beautiful!” Emmy exclaimed, wrapping me in a big hug. “But of course it is- it is a perfect image of you!”
I stood there, staring at the painting, still at a loss as to how I’d not seen it in my earlier passes through the room. The painting had to be over three feet tall, and nearly as wide. I took up most, but not all, of the canvas. The background, I was surprised to see, wasn’t the East River and Long Island City in the distance, but rather a dark room, the details hard to make out. The pose that had been so uncomfortable did, in fact, look natural in the painting, and the dramatic shadows Luisa had painted both highlighted and obscured my body at the same time. All in all, it was sexy and sensual, but also made me look strong yet still feminine. Sure, I was nude in the painting, but I didn’t look embarrassed or ashamed in any way. In fact, I looked proud, confident in my bare skin.
The most immediately striking aspect of the whole thing, though, was the piercing gaze in the painted Leah’s eyes. She looked as if she were staring straight into the depths of my soul, peeling, me, the viewer, completely to the core.
“That painting is so incredible,” Angela said, looking at it with me. “The eyes- Luisa got ‘em so right…”
“Do I really look like that?” I asked, stunned.
“Luisa captured your essence perfectly,” Emmy confirmed. “She saw you as you truly are, my love. When I close my eyes and picture you in my mind, this is how you look.”
“That painting makes me look, I dunno, scary, I guess,” I said, still staring at it.
“You are scary,” Angela said. “You’re just about the scariest person I’ve ever known, in some ways. And I’m from Colombia,” she added.
“It is true,” Emmy confirmed. “You are… Not scary, but intimidating. Yes, that is the correct word. Intimidating. When you- when you focus your attention on someone, they know it.”
“Huh,” was all I could say in response.
“But it’s part of why you’re so sexy,” Angela said. “You give off this, um, aura of danger. It’s like the panther at the zoo. She looks so beautiful, so sleek. You look at her, and think that it would be amazing to cuddle up with that giant kitty cat, but you can tell that she can kill you in an instant if she wanted.”
“And that’s what you find sexy about me?” I asked, flabbergasted.
“Yes,” Angela and Emmy answered together.
“It is true,” Emmy said. “You are like a beautiful jungle cat, terribly beautiful, and terribly frightening at the same time.”
“Which am I right now?” I asked.
“Terribly beautiful,” Emmy replied. “And I want to cuddle up with you.”
“I might bite,” I warned.
“I do hope so,” Emmy said with a sexy little smile.
I felt a little odd with painted Leah watching me as I undressed, as silly as that sounds, and still couldn’t understand how I’d missed the big painting hanging in a place of prominence in the room. I tried to ignore it, but still, I faced away when I stripped off my underwear.
Angela and Emmy snuggled up on either side of me in bed, both wanting to hold me close. I was O.K. with that- I wanted to hold both of them, too, so it was a win for everybody. Angela fell back asleep fairly quickly, but Emmy, used to her night owl schedule, stayed awake for a while.
“Is Angela sleeping?” Emmy whispered.
“I think so,” I confirmed.
“I am very happy that you are here, Leah, very happy. Very happy, also, that you are O.K. with our ménage à trois. I was very concerned that you might be… resentful that I was with Angela, and I do not want her to ever be a wedge between the two of us.”
“No, Em, I’m not. I’m happy that you have somebody when I can’t be with you, and when the three of us are together, well, it’s good then, too. Are you O.K. with me being with Angela when you aren’t around?”
“Very much so,” Emmy replied. “I want you to have somebody when… when I cannot be with you.”
Not knowing how to respond to that, I kept quiet and let Emmy continue.
“Have you come to love Angela?” Emmy asked, her voice still so low I could barely hear her.
“I think I have, yes,” I admitted. “She’s super sweet.”
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
“I have, too. Angela is a pleasure to be with- spending time with her is relaxing and enjoyable. I have come to feel that her emotions are true, and she does love us as well,” Emmy whispered.
“I think so, too. She’s a lovely girl, and I think that she makes a good addition to the family.”
“I love you so much, Leah. I want you to be happy forever, even when I cannot be the one who it is that makes you happy.”
At this point it was obvious what Emmy was hinting at, if not saying outright. Emmy’s Moon Kissed life was likely to be much shorter than mine, and she was laying the foundations for a life for me after she was gone.
“Em, we really need to figure out- to find the right doctors…” I replied, keeping my voice as quiet as I could and still make my point.
“Oh, Leah,” Emmy sighed. “We must talk about this later, when we have some time and can speak freely. Not now.” With that, Emmy once again slammed the door on a conversation we really needed to have.
We fell silent, retreating into our own thoughts. Before long, Emmy’s breathing became slow and steady as she drifted off, but I couldn’t turn off my brain quite so easily. It was a long time before I joined Emmy and Angela in slumber.
Angela woke up early, unintentionally waking me as she slipped as silently as she could out of bed. I followed her into the walk-in closet to get dressed for my morning run.
“What were you guys talking about last night?” Angela asked. “It seems like you were up for a while.”
“Actually, we were talking about you,” I replied as we both dressed for our respective morning workouts. “We talked about how we both hope that you felt the way we do and want to be in this family for the long haul.”
“Really?” Angela asked, her face lighting up. “You guys want me, like, this is a permanent thing?”
“Yeah, we do. We want you with us forever, if that’s what you want.”
“I do. I really do,” Angela replied, positively glowing with pleasure at the idea.
“As much as I hate to say it, but the three of us need to have a good, long, serious talk sometime soon. There are some things we need to tell you, and our various positions to sort out. I want us all to start from a place of honesty and understanding,” I said.
“You sound so serious!” Angela said as she turned so I could straighten the multiple little criss-crossing straps of her sports bra. “All I really need to know is that you guys want me as much as I want you two.”
“I wish it really was that simple,” I said with a sigh.
“It is,” Angela said, far more sure than I was.
That morning I opted to run through Central Park rather than Roosevelt Island. In some ways it was a refreshing change, but since I was getting a later start than usual it was a lot more crowded than my usual route. This made it harder for me to slip into my typical meditative groove, at least until I got to the South Gate of the park and away from Manhattan’s crowded sidewalks. In the more open footpaths and roads of the park I could open up my stride.
I was running south past the reservoir on my return leg when a voice called out from behind.
“Hey, girl! What’re you doing here in New York?”
I glanced over my shoulder and saw a familiar face on the cyclist catching up to me.
“Kerry! Long time no see!”
As my old college teammate matched my speed she reached out and we fist bumped our greetings.
“Damn! Look at you! When did you get so- so buff?” Kerry asked.
“College, Ker. I got this buff in college.”
“I saw you guys won the Nationals two years ago. Good job!”
“Yeah, after we got rid of the deadwood, it was an easy cruise,” I teased.
“Bitch!” Kerry replied. “See what I get for taking you under my wing?”
Laughing, we continued along in companionable silence for a while.
“So, seriously, what are you doing here in New York? Last I heard you and Emmy were gonna move to Los Angeles after graduation,” Kerry said. “And also, why are we goin’ so damned fast? When did you join the track team, anyhow?”
“Sammy talked me into running sophomore year, and I just kinda took to it, you know? I’ve gotten to like the feel, too,” I replied.
“Quit avoidin’ the question. Why are you here in Central Park, running like some kind of… Ethiopian marathoner or something, on some random Saturday morning?” Kerry demanded.
“Emmy and I bought a place here,” I said. “She and her band are recording their next album here in New York.”
“You guys bought a place. Let me guess- it’s some sort of Park Avenue penthouse or something.”
“Something like that,” I said with a laugh. “It’s a pre-war townhouse near the UN. But close enough. What are you doing here in New York? Last I heard, you were in the graduate program at UNC?”
“Ugh,” Kerry groaned. “I’m interning at Bellevue. I swore I was never coming back to New York, but here I am. At least I’m in Manhattan, though.”
We were approaching the south end of the park, so I asked Kerry, “Which way are you going? This is my exit coming up.”
“I gotta do a couple more laps,” Kerry replied. “You still have the same phone number? I’ll call you- we could grab a bite and catch up,” she suggested.
“I go back to LA Monday morning, so call me this afternoon!” I said as I waved goodbye.
Mia was sitting at the kitchen table reading the Times when I stopped in for a drink and a light breakfast.
“Hey, tall, blonde and sweaty,” she said as I grabbed the pitcher of OJ from the main fridge. “Got a minute?”
“Sure,”I said, pouring myself a glass. I held the pitcher up in an unspoken question, but Mia shook her head.
“I’m trying to cut back,” she joked.
Once I’d loaded a plate with a couple of croissants I sat down opposite Mia so we could talk.
“So, I’ve been talking to my dad,” Mia began. “He told me what happened in Chicago.”
“What, exactly, did he say?”
“He told me about the fight, and how it went down. He also told me about this Boss character and how he’s just vanished.”
“Alright,” I said, taking a bite of my pastry. “Sounds as if you’re all caught up.”
“He mentioned something sorta offhandedly that I thought was interesting,” Mia said. “He told me that the locals there are even more terrified of you than they were of The Boss.”
Nearly choking on my croissant, I took a sip of juice to wash it down. “He said what?”
“He said that word got out that you killed six of The Boss’s heavies without even breaking a sweat. He said that everybody there thinks you’re, well, you kick ass and don’t bother with names.”
“Six guys? All by myself?”
“Yeah, that’s what Dad said. You actually do that?” Mia asked.
“No, that’s not what happened at all,” I told Mia.
“So you didn’t kill six guys in hand to hand combat in a dark warehouse in Chicago’s South Side?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Only four. Your dad got one, and the others got the rest.”
“So you’re telling me you’re a pussy and only killed four guys in knife fights? Not six after all?”
“Sad but true,” I agreed. “But I only actually knifed two of ‘em. The other two I kicked to death.”
“JFC, Leah. That’s next level shit, you know that? I know hardened fucking Special Ops guys that could never lay claim to something like that. And you’re so, well, casual about it. It’s like…” Mia trailed off, at a loss for words. “Seriously, it’s no wonder everyone is terrified of you. Luisa told me about the night you guys went out and you took out that mugger as cool as a cucumber, like it was no big deal. I figured she was just exaggerating, you know? But then my dad says you faced off and almost single-handedly wiped out a bunch of Night Children bad guys in an unlit warehouse in the middle of the night and never flinched once.”
I shrugged and said, “We all have our failings.”
Mia gave me a long stare, finally saying, “She’s a stone cold killer, but at least she’s our stone cold killer.”
After finishing my first croissant, I asked, “So what’s going on with our mystery night visitors?”
“Well, they’ve been stopping by about every week and a half, and it’s always the same. Guy number one and a rotating cast of helpers. I did what we talked about and covertly installed a series of wireless cameras down the street to see if I can figure out where they come from and where they’re going back to. I’ve managed to track them to the subway entrance at Lexington and 53rd, but every camera I place inside the station gets removed before too long.”
“Do the visitors follow a regular enough schedule to place a camera right before they come through?” I asked.
“I wish,” Mia said, with an exasperated look on her face. “Like I said, it’s roughly every week and a half, but plus or minus three or four days. I suppose I could just get lucky, but that’s what it would be- dumb luck.”
I took a moment to think about it, finally saying, “Let me see what I can do. Sometimes money solves problems.”
“What are you thinking?” Mia asked, curious.
“Not sure yet,” I admitted. “Maybe hiring somebody to hack into the transit authority video network? Maybe super high tech spy cameras that the transit authorities won’t find? Heck, maybe something low tech like having my best guy follow the two of them. I’m open to ideas.”
“Any one of those ideas might work, alright,” Mia admitted. “I was thinking about ways I could slip a GPS tag in their pockets or something.”
“How would you do that?” I asked.
“I couldn’t think of a way,” replied Mia. “But I haven’t totally given up on the idea, either.”
We sat there, neither of us saying anything, just pondering possibilities, when Lee and Jen joined us in the kitchen.
“Hey, Leah, Mia,” said Lee.
“Morning, babes,” Jen said. “You guys look totes serious, all lost in thought and shit. What’s up?”
“The usual,” Mia replied, completely deadpan. “Just plotting on taking over the world.”
“Ha!” Jen barked with laughter. “I’ve always known Leah was planning on becoming a Bond Villain.”
“I’ve been practicing throwing my hat at people,” Mia admitted.
“The funny thing about this conversation,” Lee said, “Is that I’m not convinced you’re joking.”
“Hey, did Wally bring bagels this morning?” Jen asked, looking hopeful.
“Croissants today,” Mia replied.
“Ooh!” Jen said with pleasure. “Even better!”
Making my goodbyes, I went up to our floor to see how Emmy and Angela were doing. First I checked the gym, finding Angela in the middle of her workout.
“Morning, Ange,” I said, leaning down to give her a kiss.
“What? Just a kiss?” Angela demanded, setting down the weights. “Has the spark gone out already?”
Laughing, I took her into my arms and planted a long, passionate kiss on her lips, while my hands roamed her back side. She returned both with ardor, making it clear that she was completely on board with the whole ‘kissing girls’ thing.
“That’s more like it,” she said when we finally parted. “Now go wake up the pretty one while I finish my workout.”
Laughing, I swatted Angela’s butt as I turned to leave. Emmy was right- Angela was really easy to be around.
Emmy was still asleep, but she woke easily enough when I gave her a kiss.
“Leah- you are here. I was afraid I had merely dreamed that you came to New York.”
“I’m here, babe,” I said with a smile. “And in about two minutes I’ll be in the shower. Care to join me?”