MMF BISEXUAL ROMANCE: Phoenix Running (24 page)

A
shley stood
on the main deck and stared out at the ocean. He held up his camera phone so he could Snapchat this part of his story. Turning the lens to face him, he smiled. “You should be here!” He stopped recording and gave a satisfied sigh as he held onto the rails of the ship and went back to watching the sunset.

“Are you having fun?” Cee-Cee stepped up behind him and put her arms around his waist. He nodded. There weren’t words to express how fun the last two days had been. It would all be over soon, and that’s what he regretted most. Tomorrow they’d make port in another touristy island town, and they’d go on an excursion like they had done today.

He had pictures galore from the submarine trip in Barbados. They were planning on snorkeling next. But tonight, he was content to leave the adventuring for another day as he basked in the memories already being made. Everything was different here. This was escape. The sky overhead was overcast, which turned the choppy waves a stormy grey and rocked the ship like a mother’s hand.

“I can’t wait to get to sleep,” he murmured. Cee-Cee rested her head on his back and didn’t even ask about the NowIn app or talk about work. She was simply his here. Beside them, Phoenix threw his head back with a laugh at Ashley, the night owl, saying he wanted to get to sleep. The wind whipping through his hair made him look boyish to Ashley. “What? What is it?” Ashley asked, grinning.

“It’s only six in the evening, and you’re ready to turn it in? C’mon! There are nightclubs, casinos, waterslides. I normally don’t like cruises. Too many people. But this luxury liner is the life!” he intoned.

Ashley watched him halt himself and not do his normal scan of his environment to check that no one was watching.
Who cared if anyone was watching? No one knew him here.
Then, Phoenix leaned closer and kissed him gently on the lips. Here, Phoenix was simply his. Ashley stilled and exhaled deeply as their mouths intertwined. With Cee-Cee rubbing his chest and Phoenix kissing him, he felt like he was in heaven.

“Seven days isn’t long enough,” he murmured. Phoenix smiled in agreement.

They had dinner with the captain, a corny, stilted affair that started with long lines to be seated and ended with cruise ship food. It wasn’t the best, but it was made better by the fact they were all together in public for the first time since they met.

Cee-Cee laughed louder and more freely, was less methodical and serious than her usual self. Phoenix told jokes, when normally he’d be the one sitting back and listening with a half-smile, rather than taking center stage. Meanwhile, Ashley fell a little bit deeper in love with both of them.

As the speakers of the cruise ship emitted tinny classical music, he stared at his odd pair. “What would you change if you could?”

“About what?” asked Cee-Cee.

“Anything. The world. Us. This ship. Whichever. If you had a wish right now, what would it be?”

“I’d wish for mango frozen yogurt,” Cee-Cee replied, giggling.

“That’s two different questions,” Phoenix pointed out. “But if I could change anything…I’d change my profession. Had I known I would meet you, I don’t think I would’ve gone into politics. It makes this so much more complicated.”

Cee-Cee murmured, “It doesn’t have to be. You wouldn’t be the first politician to date someone of the same sex. Probably the first one to date someone as hot as Ashley.”

Ashley smiled and ducked his head. “Cut it out.”

“How’s your dad doing? Have you checked in on him today?”

Along with the luxury liner’s expensive Internet service, Ashley had purchased a phone card so he could stay in touch with his dad. “Now that you mention it, I haven’t. Why don’t you two finish dinner and meet me back at the room. I’m going to go give him a quick call.”

Ashley pushed away from the table and dropped his crisped napkin onto the white tablecloth, leaving to make the call. He would check in on his father, but first he needed to check in on Tam.

“How did you fare?” he whispered, eyeing the door. He was placing an Internet call to one of Tam’s throwaway cellphones so it couldn’t be traced back to him. His delinquent friend’s familiar voice sounded millions of miles away on the shaky connection.

“I got in and out without a problem, found the pictures. Got ‘em, burned ‘em. It was an easy job, compared to my old work. But, um, I told the wife. She wouldn’t have forgiven me if I hadn’t told her, and something had gone wrong.”

Ashley muted a joyful exclamation. “Quickly, Tam. Tell me everything.”

“Your mark kept the photographs in a safe in his closet, but it was a shitty safe. Cracked it in no time. He won’t even know anyone was there until he goes looking for the pictures. I left no trace of my entry.”

“Are you certain?”

“Positive. I hacked into his security alarm system and disabled it. After that, it was a lock pick away. Now, I’m about to dispose of this phone, and this is the last we speak of it. Understand? Consider my debt paid,” he chuckled.

Ashley’s gaze flew to the door again when he heard Cee-Cee and Phoenix’s voices just outside. “I owe you so much, old friend. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you, but I sent you a little something. Check your mail and put in your account. Call it a late wedding present.”

He ended the call and picked up the room phone to call Reginald Harold as he had told his friends he was doing. By the time the two entered, laughing and talking animatedly, Ashley had the nurse on the line and was finally asking after his father.

“So he’ll be done with all his chemotherapy by the time I get home?...Wonderful. Thank you so much. I’ll be calling to check in tomorrow as well.” Breathing a sigh of relief, he turned to Phoenix and Cee-Cee.

“He was well?”

“As well as can be expected. The nurse said he’s soldiering through his chemo like a champ.”

With the news of Tam having destroyed any evidence of Wallace Briton’s photographs, Ashley felt hopeful for the very first time in this relationship. This cruise was another sign. It was possible for all of them to be together without anyone getting hurt. He smiled and pulled Cee-Cee down onto the bed with him. “Now where were we?”

“Eating dinner,” she giggled.

“And yet I’m still hungry for you…”

He reached for Phoenix, who wriggled out of his grasp with a laugh, stepping into the bathroom for a shower. “Not until after I get out of this suit. I’ve had enough of formal wear for a while.”

T
he open portholes
allowed in moonlight that splashed across the full-sized bed where the three lovers came together. Cee-Cee, naked and womanly, opened her legs wider with a cry of abandonment as both men went down on her. Ashley and Phoenix dove velvety tongues into her pussy, kissing each other intermittently as they struggled for the right to taste her.

She couldn’t tell whose mouth was giving her thrills. As she clenched the sheets in both fists, her hips pressed forward and swayed. Ashley licked and sucked her clit as Phoenix slipped a finger inside of her to stroke in and out with the slow precision that made her body hum tight as a bowstring. She was wet and tight around his digit, which made him want to penetrate her to the hilt and feel that awesome sheath squeezing around him.

Groaning, Phoenix licked her juices from his fingertips. “You’re addictive,” he murmured. “You’re both so goddamned addictive.” Ashley chuckled low and deep in his throat. The vibrations against her clit made her tremble. He reached over and glossed his palm over Phoenix’s erection in a teasing caress, and Phoenix shuddered.

When he transitioned to sucking her breasts while Ashley finished the skillful act of cunnilingus, she felt like her skin was afire. Cee-Cee tangled her hands in each of their hair, pressing them closer. “Yes!” she cried jubilantly. Her moans were erotic songs of praise, and it was all the coaxing Ashley needed. He couldn’t get enough of her taste. The rocking motion of the cruise ship added to the frenzied dance.

Phoenix rolled the pebbled nibble between his teeth. He jerked off against her thigh as she pressed her leg between his, and the silky heat of her skin drove him wild. He rubbed his hardness along her inner leg. As he came up for air, their gazes met in the moonlight.

“I’m glad you came,” he whispered.

“I think I love you,” she said at the same time. Phoenix pulled back in surprise at the admission. Cee-Cee covered her mouth, eyes wide. “I mean, this. I love this.”

“You think?” Ashley murmured against her dewy labia. “Well, I’m not afraid to say that I love you. I love this.”

“Stop talking with your mouth full,” Phoenix chuckled. He stared down at the two of them as Ashley rolled over onto his back and pulled Cee-Cee onto his face.

“Perfection,” Ashley breathed. Phoenix slid to the foot of the bed and hungrily wrapped his lips around Ashley’s swollen shaft. His tongue tingled as he licked the tip, and as he slid his lips down the erection, his lover moaned deliriously with pleasure. Back to the tip, he swirled his tongue and vigorously sucked. “Ah, Phoenix! If you don’t stop, you’re going to make me…”

He couldn’t control himself. Ashley pumped into Phoenix’s mouth. His powerful thrusts made Phoenix pin his hips to the bed and keep going. He was so close. “Not yet,” Phoenix ordered.

Moaning, Ashley's tongue dipped into Cee-Cee’s body to give her the same torturous delight. She clutched the headboard and blindly stared skyward as more x-rated pleas filled the room, coming from both of them. As Phoenix made him growl, he made her hit high notes, made her wriggle and writhe against his lips trying to chase the lightning. Ashley squeezed her heart-shaped ass, gently inserting a finger to heighten the pleasure.

As Ashley’s rigid member disappeared into his mouth, Phoenix felt his cock harden. He reached down to stroke himself while he worked. Something about giving them pleasure turned him on past the point of no return. He needed this. He had to feel them.

Ashley pushed Cee-Cee away and jackknifed into a seated position when the first wave of his orgasm struck. Trembling, he clutched his cock and bathed Phoenix’s lips with his love. He whined as Phoenix sucked him back into his mouth to draw forth whatever was left. Ashley thought he would come undone. He felt like he was unraveling.

He stared down at Phoenix, who boldly watched him as he came, and when he could finally breathe again, he sucked in a breath to moan his name. Ashley dropped onto the pillows with a satisfied sigh. “How do you do this to me? Why do you make me feel like this?”

“Because you make me.” Feverish with desire, Phoenix clasped Cee-Cee around the waist and dragged her on top of him. He scooted his back to the headboard and let her ride him the same way she’d been riding Ashley’s face.

With a whimper, Ashley clutched himself and tugged, squeezing. “Mmm, fuck her!” he hummed. He couldn’t move. He was weak with ecstasy. Aftershocks and tremors shook him, but he drank in the sight of Cee-Cee getting the same reward.

“There! Don’t stop! Uhn!” she yelled. It was like magic, what they did to her. Her pussy was tight and slick, ready and aching. She reached for Ashley, and he leaned toward her. Frenzied lips pressed to his. Her cries of pleasure flowed into his mouth. Her climax powered through him as she kissed him harder. Ashley clasped her chin and stared into her eyes to watch the fireworks.

“Yes, that’s it,” he soothed.

Phoenix wrapped his arms around her shivering body and continued the deep, steady thrusts that had made her come. He rocked her in his arms. He could’ve said it back. He could’ve told her he loved her, but he didn’t say the words. He showed her. When the last of her thrill was gone, Phoenix gently pressed her back onto the bed and climbed over her to start again.

“You love this?” he teased.

Cee-Cee nodded dazedly. He flicked his tongue into her navel and dragged his lips lower to tongue-kiss her between the legs. Phoenix spread her thighs to kiss her from top to bottom, and when she was wet enough, he beckoned for Ashley.

They sandwiched her between their hard bodies, taking their time getting her back to peak excitement. From fondling her breasts to touching her erogenous zones, they primed her. And when she was ready, Ashley guided his erection between her cheeks to penetrate her ass at the same time Phoenix filled her vagina.

Cee-Cee gasped as she clutched Phoenix’s shoulders and closed her eyes. She rocked back and forth, body filled to the brim. The fullness made her skate closer to the abyss of bliss, but each time, they pulled her back. Slow. Deep. Volleying the methodical thrusts until she begged them to let it happen. Cee-Cee clawed at Ashley’s leg in an attempt to make him thrust faster, and he chuckled against her shoulder as he pressed his forehead to the back of her neck.

“Don’t rush it,” he murmured. “You have to just let it happen.”

So, she did. She let it happen again and again that night. They had sex until their bodies gave out and their tired minds shuttled them off to sleep in a tangle of arms and legs with the moonlight lighting their way to dawn.

“
H
ey
, Ashley. What’s the Internet password? I need to check my email.” Cee-Cee flipped open her laptop and tilted the screen so that the brilliant sunlight beaming down on deck wouldn’t cause a glare. Dressed in a white bikini and floppy sun hat, work was the furthest thing from her mind, but she really needed to see what was going on back home.

Ashley murmured the code, and she quickly keyed it in. Phoenix handed her the pina colada she had ordered. “I don’t want to see that thing,” he teased, pointing at the laptop.

Cee-Cee rolled her eyes and continued pulling up the necessary windows. “Oh, shit. I’ve got about a hundred messages.”

“Don’t look at all of them. We need you,” Phoenix whined.

“You two still have each other!”

Ashley chuckled as he playfully pulled Phoenix into his lap. They were on an isolated part of the cruise ship where only a few other adults were taking advantage of the privacy, and Phoenix didn’t bother pretending he wasn’t enjoying himself. He straddled Ashley’s thighs and pushed him back onto the lounge chair.

It was a novel position with Phoenix on top. He braced his hands to the side of the chair and leaned forward to kiss him. Cee-Cee stirred, aroused. After the night they had shared, it was a wonder her body wasn’t completely sated. She forced her gaze away and scanned the list of emails again.

One name stood out, and her heart dropped to her feet as she read it again. “Oh my goodness, I think…” She shut her mouth, not wanting to get her hopes up, but she clicked the mouse to open the email as fast as she could. Reading through the short message, she let out an excited squeal. “He wants to buy it! He wants to buy my app!”

Cee-Cee felt lightheaded at the news. The numbers! The sum of money he was willing to pay could buy her dream house a dozen times over. Her eyes widened as she tried to process the news.

Phoenix and Ashley turned to her. “Who?”

“Well, who else? Mark Zuckerberg! He expressed interest in it months ago, but he needed me to get him more data on how much of a demand there’d be, and we did it!” Launching herself out of her chair, she threw herself on top of the lovers' pile, and Ashley chuckled as he wrapped one arm around each of them. She felt like she was drowning in Ashley’s grey eyes when she looked at him and saw mirrored back the same joy at her accomplishment.

“I’m so proud of you,” he murmured. Ashley gently kissed her lips.

“You got the exposure you needed, thanks to this guy. You’re about to be the big-time success you always dreamed of being. I’m glad we took this cruise now. Otherwise, I’d probably never get you alone again, my tech girl genius,” Phoenix replied. For a moment, his chocolate eyes went dark, as if he wasn’t exactly happy about the news, but then he patted Ashley’s chest and looked at him. “I say the three of us go
celebrate
before it’s time to disembark for our excursion.”

Cee-Cee chuckled, thinking back to their first date. Phoenix Briton played as hard as he had promised. Her body ached to be his toy again, but she had to take care of business before pleasure. Pushing up out of her lovers’ arms, she moved back over to her lounge chair. “I have to tell Uncle Bryan. This’ll just take a sec, and then we can get back to the room and party!”

She grabbed her glass and took a sip from her pina colada to calm herself. Her racing heart made her feel lightheaded and giddy. She could barely believe everything she had worked toward had finally paid off.

Cee-Cee opened her laptop to send off the mind-blowing news to her uncle at PR-ISM, but when she tabbed over to her work email, Gina’s handle caught her attention before she could compose a note to Bryan Friedman. “I wonder what she wants.” She curiously opened the message.

“Just thought you’d like to see this,” read the email. The attachment was from the local newspaper. As Cee-Cee stared at the social column’s front page image of Gina with a hand intimately placed on Phoenix’s thigh inside what looked like the Yellow Lounge, all the excitement buzz died to silence within her.

The headline read, “Is Phoenix Briton on the Prowl Again?”

Gina looked amazing in a black cat suit. Even in newsprint, her glossy red hair was stunning, and her face looked magazine ready. They were sitting together on the pink couch.
Their
pink couch! She was smiling up at him so wantonly, and Phoenix was giving her his characteristic cool glance, but Cee-Cee read volumes in that look.

Her eyes flew to Phoenix, but he was too busy rubbing on Ashley, and it grinded her gears. He had gone out with Gina without telling them, or did Ashley know? Why would he do that, and why would Ashley keep it a secret? He had to know this made her look like the jilted ex.

She wanted to rage, but her heart felt dead in her chest. They hadn’t discussed exclusivity, and she knew when she had agreed to be his girlfriend that he was only doing it to quiet any questions about his sexuality.

Cee-Cee had been duped into thinking he actually cared about her, but she’d been wrong. The three of them were friends who slept together. Friends with benefits. Her mistake for thinking it was more.

Without saying anything about what she had discovered, Cee-Cee closed the laptop and stuck it into her bag, preparing to leave.

“Ready to get to the room?” Phoenix asked.

“On second thought…I think I’d rather stop by the spa,” she murmured.

“No, honey, you don’t have time for that. We’ll be docking in about an hour,” Phoenix reminded her.

“Don’t call me honey,” she replied without feeling. There was a lump in her throat that felt suspiciously like the threat of tears. She had no reason to be so upset. Clearly her relationship with Phoenix was one crafted by image builders and campaign men. If they thought it helped him to look like a playboy, that was the route they’d go, and if this had made the paper, Gina had had a hand in it.

Which meant Uncle Bryan had to know. Cee-Cee swallowed a sob. The whole town knew now that Phoenix was moving on. She was the last to find out. Of course, logically, the situation with Gina could be as fake as her relationship with him was. Whatever, it hurt. It hurt far worse given the location and the good times, the awesome sex and the pleasant company.

Ashley noted her mood change and sat up with a look of concern. “You okay, Cee-Cee?”

“Yeah. Seasickness, I think. You know, I’ll probably just stay back here on the boat while you two go on the excursion. I hate that you wasted the money on it, Phoenix. I’ll pay you back.”

He laughed. “Okay, millionaire, but you don’t have to pay anything back. This is my treat. And, we can go snorkeling anytime. I’d rather stay back and take care of you. Come to the room. I’ve got some dramamine for the nausea.”

“Thanks but no thanks. You guys go ahead. I want to be alone for a while.” Cee-Cee admitted to herself the thing that she had been avoiding saying out loud as she walked away. She didn’t look back to see how her delivery made them each lift a brow and stare after her with worried frowns. She was in love with him. She was in love with both of them, and there was nothing she could do about it.

Unlike her career, it didn’t matter if she showed she was the best and brightest for the role of being the woman in Phoenix’s life. Love had no guarantees. She swallowed the lump and hardened her heart. This was precisely why love was a bad risk. You didn’t get out what you put in.

It didn’t matter that she was about to be millions of dollars richer. One email had opened up new horizons for her and another had closed the one door she most wanted open.

Cee-Cee breezed through the automatic doors and walked along the brightly colored carpeted corridor, passing travelers sharing some of their happiest moments. Through the gaily-lit casino with its chiming sounds and blinking lights, she walked. Someone shouted gleefully that they had won, but the excitement wasn’t catching. Cee-Cee felt dulled. She trudged past restaurants and shops, past nightclubs and up the stairs to a quieter place on the ship where there were fewer people.

She pushed open the smooth wooden doors and glided into a different world where the walls were bland white in comparison to the rest of the ship. She was met by a young smiling international with a name she couldn’t pronounce. Cee-Cee rested her elbows on the front desk and rubbed her temples, trying to drum up a smile.

“An hour-long massage, please,” she whispered to the receptionist.

“Right away! You look like this cruise is getting the best of you.”

“No,” Cee-Cee murmured, smiling. “It’s not the vacation. It’s my love life.”

“Aw. We’ll see what we can do to make you feel better. Come with me.”

She hoped they could massage away the raw ache, but she had a feeling this pain wouldn’t be so easily assuaged. They had four more days to go on this vacation, and then she never had to see him again. She wouldn’t cut off Ashley completely, but maybe it was best if they went back to being platonic friends.

She’d buy that house she wanted and move on. She would quit her job and focus solely on making and developing apps until she acquired her degree and got hired on a job that was in her career field. She would put this crazy nonsense behind her, because that was exactly what it was. Nonsense to believe three people could live happily ever after together.