The doorbell rang.
“That would be Maizy. Be right back.” He disappeared down the stairs, leaving me to imagine what she might be wearing when she entered the room, and what she might be wearing underneath it.
As they mounted the stairs, I could hear her laugh getting nearer. Christ, the effect that woman had on me. My dick was already starting to come alive.
“Anson!” she said, running toward me with open arms. She was stunning as usual, with a sexy dress tied at the waist, which swung around her legs when she walked. She planted a big one on my lips, and when she hugged me, I took a deep inhale of her hair. God, she smelled great—classic, maybe Chanel?—mixed with something clean and fresh.
There was clearly no ice to break, there.
Brade went behind the bar and popped open champagne for Maizy and a couple more beers for us.
“Maizy, Anson tells me you work for his sister-in-law,” Brade said.
Maizy rolled her eyes. “Yup.”
“Yeah, Maiz, how’s the old evil Eva? Still tormenting you at every turn?” I asked.
“God. You know it. Today she told me she didn’t like my shoes.”
Brade’s mouth dropped open. “Get out of here. Your boss can say things like that to you?”
“Well, I don’t know if she can. But she sure does. She’s a piece of work. I can’t imagine what she’s like at family gatherings.” She pushed her glasses up on her head and looked over at me.
“You do not want to know. Let’s just leave it at that,” I said, thinking back to a few choice holiday dinners that were memorable, and not in a good way.
“So, Maizy, why don’t you tell us why you called us together?” Brade asked.
She cleared her throat. If I didn’t know better, I would have sworn she was nervous.
Actually, I was nervous, myself. I had no idea what the hell to expect.
“Well, I’ve never been in this situation before, but I am dating some wonderful men.” She paused to look both of us in the eyes. “I feel very lucky. But I am having a hard time knowing which one I really belong with—and which one wants to be with me. So I thought, if everyone were open to it, I’d bring us all together, and we could get to know each other that way.”
“Cheers to that,” Brade said. “Sounds kinda kinky, and I like kinky.”
They looked to me. “It’s unusual,” I said slowly. “But I’ve actually done something like this before.”
“Like what?” Brade asked.
“Dated a woman who my best friend was also dating.”
Maizy looked surprised but Brade was unfazed. I guess when you’re a rock star, you’ve seen everything.
“Yeah,” I continued. “We both dated her until she decided she was more into him. They’re still together. They’re happy.”
“That must have been rough, that she left you,” Maizy said.
“I knew it could happen, going into it. I was happy for them.”
“That’s what I call love, brother,” Brade said, extending his hand for what I call the guy handshake. “That you could look at their happiness and get happiness from it. That’s what life’s all about.”
I hadn’t really thought of it that way, but I guess he was right. And it had been a while since I’d shared a woman.
“That…is very interesting,” Maizy said. I could tell the wheels were turning.
And I had a woman in front of me right then who I was dying to share.
“C’mere, baby,” I said to Maizy. “Let me massage some of that worry out of your shoulders.”