Elle smiled at us. “Peace on Earth”
The girls were only passing through, having thrown on some pyjamas and keen to go relax in the formal lounge where they could make coffee. This left me and their friend standing with our hands on our hips; looking each other over.
“You smell of sex,” she declared, making me blush.
“I–”
“No, I expected it… All the signs were there.”
Caught out, it didn’t seem like I was going to have to defend our relationship. Amanda seemed remarkably cool for someone facing the reality of my romantic relationship with the girls.
Smirking, Amanda asked, “So, which one is it?”
“Both,” I replied.
Now, the blonde’s eyes went wide, and she showed the first signs of shock. “Both?! At the same time?”
“Usually,” I confessed. “Actually, always…”
“Wow!” Amanda exclaimed. “No offence, I kinda expected it from the blonde chick. She has a slutty vibe. I didn’t expect it from the brunette, though! What’s her name again? Alicia?”
I realised we hadn’t been talking about my sisters at all. Whether that filled me with relief or regret, I wasn’t quite sure. The fact I could maintain the secret of our incestuous relationship was a good thing, but now I’d dragged Alicia and Skylar into a lie. I knew they’d be good sports and play along if it came to it. Still, I hated putting them in those positions.
There and then, I decided it was a lie I couldn’t go through with. My sisters had wanted to tell their friend about us for a while. If they trusted her, why couldn’t I do the same?
Taking a deep breath, I made a decision.
“Let’s go talk to the twins…”
• • •
Amanda kept rubbing her neck as if the repetitive sensation of her palm against her skin could soothe her racing thoughts. Her eyes had been narrowed since the moment we started talking — hiding their usual steel-blue.
She was shocked, of course… But this was still the first time we ran into someone who truly disapproved, and she made that disapproval apparent.
“You’re a bastard,” the young woman declared, looking straight at me. “You’re abusing them.”
Shuffling to put an arm around her friend’s shoulder, Tecla was pushed away. As Amanda repeated, “You’re a bastard!”
“Look, Amanda–”
“Don’t try to justify this crap! This is unforgivable… It’s disgusting!”
Elle started making an argument for us. “Mandy, don’t be like this. This is all consensual; believe me. No one is being abused, or coerced, or hurt… We’re happier than we’ve ever been.”
It seemed Amanda’s real soft-spot was for Elle. She listened, sucking in her lips as she did. But one small speech wouldn’t be enough to convince her. She wanted details — plans and safeguards — to make sure her friends weren’t involved in some horrible cycle of manipulation and assault.
Together, we explained how things started and where they stand. The relative openness of the relationship piqued her interest; making her dislike me a little more as she realised that the deal didn’t go two ways. Still, throughout, I could tell that my sisters were convincing her. For my part, I tried my best to be silent, knowing that any argument from me would be automatically met with hostility.
Eventually, it was clear the best place for me was outside that room — waiting somewhere for the girls to finish their discussions. I made my excuses and got up, winking at Tec to make sure she knew I had faith in them.
Amanda was their friend. I knew she wanted the best for them. For now, she thought I was the worst (or at least not good enough). It was important that my sisters had a friend like that, and I trusted them to work things out between them.
• • •
I filled the rest of the morning with calls to business associates, Natasha, and my mother. The last of those was brief; hello, goodbye, and nothing else. Meanwhile, I’d make a pass of the lounge now and then; always to find the girls still in deep conversation. There were tears, laughter, more than a little shouting… The whole range of human emotion finding expression through all three 18-year-olds.
About four hours after starting their summit, the dust settled between the girls, and Tecla came to see me in my bedroom. “Done.”
“Done-done?”
“We convinced her,” my sister declared. “She says you run a sex cult and that we’re idiots, but she isn’t completely horrified any more. I think she just wants to support Elle, and she can really see her friend blossoming in the relationship.”
I nodded appreciatively. We’d won yet another person to our cause. Kinda.
“How does it make you feel?” I asked my sister.
“I’m not jealous, if that’s what you mean,” Tecla assured. “Amanda has always liked Elle more… It’s latent lesbianism.”
Laughing, I pulled Tec into a hug, thanking her for the hard work. “Latent lesbianism, ey? Now, that’s something I’d like to see…”
Playfully pushing me away, my sister punched my shoulder. “You know, Amanda may have a point… You have started a little sex cult, dedicated the worship of Big Brother.”
Pouting theatrically, I made my sister giggle. “I can live with that.”
“Me too,” she purred, pulling me closer again so she could whisper to me. “I’m a fanatic, but Elle is a prophet… She’s got a vibe going.”
“Yeah?”
Tecla nodded, playing with my collar as she spoke. “Your little sister wants to bring you a present…”
“What kind of present?”
Tec leaned into my ear and spoke, “Your very own cheerleader — hand-delivered.”
Stepping away, I shook my head. “As you keep pointing out, I don’t even like Amanda.”
“She has a tongue-piercing…”
“I hadn’t noticed–”
“Bullshit,” Tec grinned. “You really haven’t noticed?”
“Nope.”
My sister kissed my cheek. “You’re the best, Olly! But, seriously, Elle wants you to fuck Amanda.”
“She wants it?”
“She needs it,” Tecla clarified. “Imagine she’s your housewife, and she prides herself on cooking nice meals for you. Except, instead of food she’s serving up babes.”
“What if I’m not hungry?”
“Men are always hungry,” my sister answered. “Plus, a good husband always eats all of his wife’s cooking, and we’re officially married as of this morning… Well, unofficially… Unless El Presidente wants to issue a certificate?”
I shook my head, smiling at Tec’s cheekiness as I gave her an appreciative peck on the lips.
In a way, my sister was right about men and about me. Don’t get me wrong, the words ‘tongue piercing’ did cause a stirring. Plus, Amanda was Hot with a capital H. But, I had moved beyond such simple-minded impulses around the age of twenty.
Added to that, I knew both Elle and Tecla’s ‘cooking’ was about more than feeding me. It came back ’round to me being a little older, and to them being young women.
I realised there was a real need, and that this wasn’t all about sex. As I left, Tecla asked where I was going.
“To go speak to my dinner,” I winked.
• • •
Knocking on Amanda’s door, I found the blonde sitting on her bed. She’d discovered a copy of Das Kapital in Spanish somewhere in her room, which seemed to infuriate her.
I knew she couldn’t read the language, but the name ‘Marx’ translates easily enough.
“You really don’t like the bloody commie bastards,” I teased, standing in her doorway.
Amanda shook her head. “It’s not funny… Your sisters may have convinced me that you’re not an awful guy, but the people you associate with…”
I searched my memory for signs of Amanda’s fervent political opinions. While I hadn’t spent much time with the twins’ friends, because of them being much younger than me, I felt I would’ve spotted something. In fact, Tecla used to complain that no one in their circle liked talking about the news.