"I feel like I've broken something and I haven't," Cashmere says.
"Don't be silly you're fine," Anne assures her. "Just a nice place is all."
Cashmere, Anne, and Nick are finally here, and they're in the foyer taking it all in. I probably had the same look on my face as they did when I first came here. Nick doesn't seem as impressed as the other two, and its a bit odd, but he's a weird man anyway.
"Y'all can get a tour of the house after I show you your rooms," I say. "It's up the stairs."
"I am so tired, I don't want to go up that," Cashmeme says.
"We got an elevator," I reply.
Now Nick looks impressed and nods in approval. I take them up the elevator, which even has elevator music that Kyle chose himself. When we get to second floor, I take them down the right end to where all the guest rooms are. Little signs hang on each one and I am excited to show it off.
"Kyle helped me get some stuff to make it special for each of y'all. Check it out," I tell them.
Anne runs off into her room and squeals in excitement. It has a pink electric guitar I bought for her on the bed and she runs to it.
"Charlie you're wonderful," she says.
"I know."
She walks over to me, stands on her toes, and gives me a kiss. Her chapstick smells like cinnamon and now I want everyone to leave so I can taste more of her. Nick is flushed and has that look I adore. He's not doing a good job of hiding it because Cashmere is glaring at him for some reason.
"Let's go to our rooms Nick and give these two some alone time," Cashmere says.
"Oh. Yes."
They leave and the moment the two of them are gone, Anne is like a wild animal. She puts the guitar on the ground and grabs me by the end of my shirt. She drags me over to the bed and crawls on top of me, ready to pounce on her prey.
"They're gonna hear us," I say.
"No, they ain't."
"What about Nick? Shouldn't he be here?"
"Why??"
"Isn't this...cheating?"
Anne snorts and laughs and I twist my face at her rudeness. She runs her fingers through my hair and tells me I'm being silly.
"Silly man," she says. "This ain't cheating."
"Shouldn't we always do this together," I ask.
"Charles, why do you keep talking about cheating?"
I look away and she knows.
She knows what I have done.
"Charles Wolfe. What have you done?"
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"Not a thing. I swear."
"Then look at me."
I can't.
"Damn it, Charlie, why are you doing this," she asks. "Just tell me!"
I tell her about William and it just pours out. I can't stop. I've been thinking about telling her because I just know I did something wrong. I always feel like I've done something wrong, even when I never have. She stops me when I start telling her about the chain of flower shops he owns, and lays her head on my chest.
"Don't tell Nick," she says.
"Don't tell him about William? Why?"
"He won't understand Charlie. He won't understand that you have to do what you gotta do sometimes."
"Are you telling me-"
"I'm telling you that maybe I might have kissed Lilah, and maybe it was to get more lines. Just a hypothetical."
"Jesus, Anne."
"I wasn't dating either of y'all," she says. "Remember the night I came back to town? When the set came to the bar?"
"Yeah," I say.
"Earlier in the day I spent some time in her RV. Maybe we kissed a little, maybe a little more, just a hypothetical," Anne says.
I sit up a little and for the first time ever I think I am interested in girl talk with Anne. I have been around Star too much, and he's rubbing off on me.
"Don't tell anyone about Lilah," Anne whispers. "But she has a you know what."
"I already knew that," I laugh. "Lilah doesn't hide it from nobody."
"You knew!?"
"How do you know that, Anne?"
She looks away and now it is my turn to pester her.
"Butt stuff doesn't count Charles," she says.
"Yes it does Anne, we've been over this."
"I'm just sayin' sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!"
"Was it worth it," I ask.
She nods yes and blushes. I feel jealous thinking about Lilah kissing her, her hands all over Anne's body, being inside of her. I grab Anne by the waist and kiss her neck and she giggles.
"You ain't angry," she asks.
"I'm a little jealous."
"I don't want Lilah," Anne says. "I just wanted more scenes. And I got what I wanted, and she got what she wanted. When the summer indie festival comes around I'll get more exposure."
"You got plenty of exposure with Lilah."
She punches me in the chest and I pretend like it hurts. I flop over dramatically on the bed, screaming in agony.
"Help," I shout. "I'm bein' murdered!"
Running footsteps come thudding and the door swings open. Nick has a heavy dictionary in his hand and is looking for the pretend murderer. He glares when he sees us flirting on the bed and I start to believe I am cheating on my boyfriend with our girlfriend. He shuts the door behind himself and shakes his head.
"You two are ridiculous."
"You wanna know what's really ridiculous," Anne shouts.
"Anne don't tell him about-"
"Charlie here thinks if it's just the two of us then it's cheating," Anne says.
I'm relieved she didn't tell him about William, but what would be there to tell if nothing happened? Charlie laughs and gets on the bed with us and my heart starts to race. He leans in close and whispers in my ear.
"Charles, do you think using your left hand is cheating," Nick asks.
Anne howls with laughter and I push her off of me. She's crying while laughing and can hardly breathe. Nick chuckles and gives a small grin.
"You guys are always teasing me, now it's your turn," he says.
"I ain't strong enough for it," I admit.
"Don't worry, I can fix that."
He kisses me, and Anne is grumpy because they both want their missed doses of Charlie. We kiss each other until I can't take it anymore and unhook Anne's bra. Nick's mouth is on one of her tits while I'm grabbing the other and kissing her from behind. Her soft moans echo in the room but she goes quiet when a knock is at the door.
She quickly pulls her shirt down and Cashmere walks in, none the wiser.
"I know this is going to sound so funny, but I do not know how to use the robot toilet in the guest room."
Oh thank God she didn't hear us.
"I had the same problem when I first moved here, don't worry. There's a manual under the sink."
She gives a quick thanks and returns back to her guestroom. Once she's gone we all look at each other and know that we can't keep this up forever.
"I got an idea," Anne says. "What if we took turns?"
"She just left Anne, jeez, calm down," I reply.
"CHARLES! NO! I mean we can take turns seeing each other. This way we don't get caught, and also you can stop believing that being with only one of us at a time is cheating.
"I like that idea," Nick says.
"How about tonight I get to be with Charlie, and tomorrow I can go out with Cashmere for some shopping and you can spend some time together?"
"Why can't I spend time with him tonight," Nick asks.
"I can be with you tomorrow night," Anne says.
"I like this idea much more now."
He makes the face that I adore again and promises he'll be patient, but Anne says she isn't.
That night I have my fill of her and then some.