Nellie and The Officers

Author's Note:

This is a stand-alone story that is part of a larger series about the titular character, Nellie. Each story that follows can be read on its own or together, in any particular order, though they will be posted in chronological order. The stories may fall under different categories, but all will tell tales of Nellie's various adventures.

In this adventure, Nellie and a friend meet three handsome men at a bar, and Nellie isn't quite sure which she should take home for the night... or if she has to choose just one. This story follows the events of Nellie & The Dodgeball Game.

Special thank you to OneAuthor and norafares for editing.

**

"To Jake and Veronica," I said bitterly.

Raising my shot glass, I clinked it against Sydney's before downing the cheap, oily whiskey in one gulp.

Sydney laughed, her face flushed already. "Sorry, Nellie, but this is probably the funniest thing I've ever heard."

She wasn't wrong. Looking back, it was hilarious. Jake had been my fuck buddy for a few months, but it was never going to be anything more than great sex. Veronica and I couldn't stand each other at first, but that had all changed with a steamy threesome in the locker room after a dodgeball game.

And really, even at the time, I was happy for them. Jake and Veronica seemed good together, and while I wasn't the monogamous type, I wasn't going to stand in their way. After our adventure in the locker room, Jake and Veronica had gone home together, and the rest was history.

Jake didn't tell me until a couple weeks later, but I figured something had happened when he'd slowly stopped texting me. Until that point, Jake and I had been hooking up nearly once a week. It wasn't quite enough for me—if I had it my way, I'd be getting laid every night—but it was great. Finally, one night he'd asked if we could talk.

"Let me guess," I said as soon as he walked into Lou's Pub. "You've met somebody else."

Jake looked startled. "I haven't even sat down yet."

I grinned. "Is it Veronica? You two still fucking?"

He told me the details over a beer. They'd gone home together after the dodgeball game. I knew that much. But he hadn't left the next morning, and they had ended up spending the weekend together. Then they'd had dinner together, and slowly realized that neither of them wanted it to end.

"I expected you to be upset," Jake said. "I didn't know how to tell you."

"I'm not upset." I took another gulp of beer before continuing. "So, just to be clear, this isn't like an open relationship or anything, right? Like, you two are together-together."

He smiled sadly. "She and I talked about it. She said she'd be okay with it since you and I were doing whatever first, but—"

"But she'd prefer if you didn't."

"She never said that. I just don't think I can do it. I'd feel guilty."

I smiled and finished my beer, patting him on the arm. "No hard feelings, Jake. But if you guys ever feel like a repeat of the locker room, well, you know I think your girlfriend's hot." I winked and left the bar.

I'd then called Sydney and asked if she wanted to go for a drink. We'd hung out a few times since playing dodgeball together, especially once we realized we lived in the same apartment building and had just never run into each other. She met me at a dive bar a few blocks from campus and listened attentively as I told her the story of the pyjama party and the dodgeball game.

"I'm sorry," Sydney said as she finished laughing. "I just can't imagine how they're going to tell people they met. 'Oh, we had a threesome with Jake's fuck buddy and fell in love.' Imagine telling a story at their wedding."

I laughed, signalling the bartender for another round. "I'm happy for them." Sydney raised an eyebrow at me. "No, really. It just sucks that I'm losing my regular source of dick. He was my own little unicorn. Non-committal, good in bed, hot as fuck."

I failed to mention I was mostly upset because I had half-jokingly asked Veronica to teach me how to squirt, and she'd agreed, but that the lesson had never happened.

The bartender brought us cheap whiskey mixed with Coke and Sydney raised hers to me again. "Well, on to bigger and better dicks."

"Cheers to that." We drank again. "So, what about that roommate of yours?"

Sydney shook her head. "Reid's seeing someone, I think." She sounded forlorn.

"Sad that someone's not you?"

I raised my hands in defense as Sydney protested. Clearly, I was right, but I'd obviously hit a nerve.

"Just kidding, Syd. Okay, what about that guy on the dodgeball team. Brandon?"

A mischievous grin flitted across her face. "Oh, I bet Brandon would be good in bed. He gives the best hugs. Isn't he kind of short for you though?"

I shrugged. "I never bothered caring about height."

Giggling, we plotted out how I would approach Brandon to see if he wanted to hook up. He was quite the opposite of Jake: shorter, broader, with a thick beard and wild hair. The more often our drinks were refilled, the more ludicrous the plotting got. Sydney had known Brandon for a couple of years, and knew he was a bit of a stereotypical nerd. Aside from video games and dodgeball, he was also really big into Dungeons and Dragons.

"Think he'd want to role play?" I giggled into my whiskey and Coke.

"Oh, fuck, probably." Sydney laughed. "Would you do it, though?"

"Fuck yeah. Especially if I could get all dressed up." I grinned, picturing myself in an elaborate tavern wench outfit. "That would be pretty fun, actually."

The more I thought of it, the more I was getting excited about the idea of sleeping with Brandon. Granted, it was all hypothetical at that point. Brandon had no idea of the trashy fantasies I was sharing with Sydney, nor had he ever given any indication he would be interested. Still, prior to the imbibement of multiple highballs, Syd had said she'd be willing to get Brandon and me together for a couple of drinks. Maybe he'd be into it.

We were feeling pretty good, laughing and joking around when Sydney nudged me.

"I think those guys over there are checking you out," she whispered.

Trying to look nonchalant and failing miserably, I glanced in the direction she was talking about. Three men who appeared to be a little older than Sydney and I were seated around a table. They immediately caught me staring, laughing as I blatantly checked them out. Sydney smacked my arm as I shrugged, grinned, and jerked my head towards the bar to see if they'd come over.

"Nellie!"

"What?" I giggled again. "There's three of them and two of us. Take your pick, and I'll take the other two."

The three men hadn't heard me say that, but they did hear Sydney's peals of laughter as they sauntered over.

"Seems we missed a pretty good joke," said one as they came up.

My guess was that they were all late twenties, maybe early thirties. Certainly not the usual college-aged boys I usually picked up. Sydney and I were clearly students, wearing different versions of the same college hoodie and drinking the cheapest available liquor. Still, if they didn't mind, I didn't mind.

"Buy us a drink and maybe we'll tell you," I said.

"Forward little thing, aren't you?" he replied. "I'm Shaun. Shaun Taylor."

Shaun's reddish-brown hair was trimmed and tidy, and he had a strong jawline and nice eyes. He held himself with authority, shoulders squared and back straight, but his smile was wide and friendly.

"Nellie," I replied. "And who are your friends?"

"Greg Barry."

A man with a thin, serious face and thick hair extended his hand to me, shaking it formally. Greg's eyebrows seemed to naturally rest in a scolding frown. Besides that, he had a nice smile, though he didn't flash it as often as Shaun did.

"Darryl Alexander," said the last one.

Darryl's head was shaved and he had a bright smile beaming from his dark skin. He was the tallest of the three, though he stooped to lean against the bar.

"And, sorry, didn't catch your name there?"

Sydney smiled shyly and introduced herself. Her eyes seemed to linger on Greg, who shook her hand just as formally as he had done to me.

"So, what are we drinking, ladies? I want to hear that joke." Shaun waved at the bartender.

"Well, I said I might tell you," I teased. I had no intention of actually telling the men what I'd said, though I had already decided I'd be going home with one of them.

I didn't know a woman who wouldn't, frankly. I knew Sydney was as open as I was to hooking up with guys she'd just met, and I was sure that the three men could sense it. They were friendly and funny, but a competitive tension hung between them as they tried to determine which of the three would be left out of a one-night stand.

"So how do you three know each other?" I asked after our next drink.

"Co-workers," Darryl said casually. "And you ladies?"

"We played dodgeball together one time." Sydney smiled coyly. "Our captain Veronica was really impressed with how Nellie handled the balls."

"Not this again," I groaned. Even Greg cracked a smile. "I told you, Veronica screamed the whole time. It was Jake who liked my ball handling."

"Well, maybe you'll let us come see you play sometime," Shaun said. "I'd personally love to see these ball-handling abilities."

"Jake, hey? Is that your boyfriend?" asked Darryl.

"Nah." I took a large gulp of my drink, unsure if I should explain what Jake had been to me.

"I see. Unrequited crush or break up?"

"Why does it have to be one of those?"

"I'm good at reading people." Darryl was leaning a bit closer now, his eyes twinkling as he smirked. "Kind of a talent. And you're a bit of an open book."

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Oh yes. So, is this Jake kid someone you like, or someone who broke your heart?"

"If you're so good at this, you tell me."

Darryl laughed. "This is part of my job. I've been doing this for years."

"Well, Mr. Alexander, I've taken two psychology classes." I licked my lips and smiled.

"Two psychology classes and you think you're an expert?"

"Nah, I just think it makes me qualified to determine that you're full of shit."

Darryl was a good sport, laughing along as Shaun razzed him about my response.

"Okay, all right," Darryl said as the laughter petered out. "Come on, Nellie. Was I close?"

I thought for a moment. "You were half right on one of them."

Shaun looked intrigued. "Half right? So it was a requited crush?"

I shook my head as Sydney giggled.

"You dumped him?" Darryl guessed. Again, Sydney laughed as I shook my head. "Shit. What's your guess, Greg?"

"Jake had a crush on Nellie." Greg still looked serious, but I noticed he had inched closer to Sydney and that she was leaning against his arm.

"Nope!" Sydney blurted. "Nellie and Jake were hooking up casually but he got together with Veronica after—"

"After I urged her to tell Jake about her feelings because she had a crush on him," I finished quickly.

Not that I was embarrassed about hooking up with both Jake and Veronica, but I didn't think our new friends needed to know that right off the bat.

"I would have never guessed that," Darryl mused.

"Should have taken a couple more psychology classes." I grinned as Shaun dissolved into laughter again.

As the night wore on, it became clear that Greg had made a claim on Sydney. A few drinks later, she was practically sitting on his lap, and even the crease between his eyebrows had relaxed a bit. This left me in the slightly awkward yet incredibly flattering position of having Darryl and Shaun compete for my affections.

Frankly, I didn't know how I was supposed to decide between the two of them. Darryl's deep voice and dark skin were intriguing and seductive, but I also wanted to rest against Shaun's broad shoulders as he grinned that goofy smile of his. I wanted to know if Shaun would keep smiling while I sat on his face, but also what Darryl's smooth head would look like nestled between my thighs.

"Nell?"

Sydney's voice broke me out of my contemplative pondering. I looked at her attentively.

"Sorry, didn't hear you."

"I said I need to go to the washroom."

"Ah yes, the mysterious ritual of tandem bathroom visitation," Shaun quipped.

"It's not that mysterious." I slid off my barstool and hooked my arm through Sydney's. "We're going to go talk about you."

We sauntered to the bathroom, giggling as Darryl made fun of Shaun. I was sure their eyes were on us as we walked away, and I knew that most girls would face forward and let them ogle. But playing games like that wasn't something I did. Just before we rounded the hallway to the bathroom, I glanced over my shoulder. Sure enough, all three men were watching us, and I smirked as I caught Shaun's eye.

The bathroom was lit harshly in comparison to the dim bar we'd just left. It was reasonably clean, considering we were in a dive bar, but two of the three stalls lacked toilet paper and the door to the other was hanging slightly askew. Stark fluorescent lights glared down at us, making me blink rapidly to adjust my eyes.

Sydney did a small dance and looked at me, her eyes lit up. "Okay, what's the plan?"

"Plan?"

"Oh, come on. I'm absolutely ready to fuck Greg." She leaned against the bathroom counter, then jumped back, realizing it was wet. "I figured I'd take him back to my place, so if you know which one you want to hook up with..."

As she trailed off, I ran a hand through my hair, adjusting it in the hazy mirror. "I don't know," I finally said. "I like them both."

Sydney pursed her lips. "That is a dilemma. They are both incredibly hot."

"I thought you had eyes for Greg," I teased.

"Oh, completely. He's a teddy bear behind that stern face. And I've been sitting in his lap. I am not ending this night without seeing what he's packing."

"Well, if you want to take off—"

"No way. We stick together. Sexy as they may be, I'm not leaving you with two strangers in a dive bar."

"I can handle myself," I protested. "I don't want you to miss out on Greg just because I can't decide whose dick I'd rather suck."

Sydney shook her head. "Nope. We walk home together, with or without those boys."

On a quick side note, it was that moment in the bathroom when Syd and I really became best friends. I had a lot of friends, good friends, but not one of those platonic soulmates who seem to pop up in every girl's life. Drunk and horny in a dive bar bathroom, Sydney declared she wasn't willing to leave me alone with strangers and would give up a sure thing just to make sure I was safe. That's what friends did, I supposed, but wasn't something I'd ever experienced before.

Smiling, Sydney and I plotted out the rest of the evening. We knew she was going to take Greg back to her place, but needed to figure out what we were going to do with Shaun and Darryl. Once we did, we strolled out of the bathroom, arms again linked.

"Welcome back," Darryl said. "We were starting to think you climbed out a bathroom window to escape."

"Actually, we were talking about just how hungry we are," Sydney said.

Greg made a strained face. "I think they have a food menu here, but—"

"Ew, no." I shook my head. "We were going to go back to my place and order a pizza."

"Damn, pizza is, like, my favourite food in the world," said Shaun, grinning.

"Oh, is that so?" I fluttered my eyelashes innocently. "Well, would you gentlemen like to come back and split one with us?"

"Absolutely," Shaun said. "I do, anyways. I know that Darryl absolutely hates pizza so maybe he wants to head home."

"Fuck off," Darryl grumbled. "I like pizza."

I touched Darryl's arm. "Well, you're invited whether or not you like pizza."

Shaun's face fell just slightly as Darryl grinned.

"You too, Shaun. I can't deny a man his favourite food."

Sydney was practically hanging off Greg as we closed our tabs and headed out. As we walked home, they trailed slightly behind, Sydney's laughter loud through the quiet streets. Shaun and Darryl flanked either side of me, unabashedly competing for my attention as we walked. Even with a quick stop to pick up pizzas from the place closest to our building and beer from the liquor store next to it, we were back at my apartment in almost no time.

"You'll have to excuse the mess," I said as I led everyone into my apartment.

It was a habit of mine to say, though my apartment didn't look half as bad as it usually did. I had cleaned the kitchen earlier that day and there were only a few pieces of clothing scattered through the living room, instead of half my wardrobe. A stack of textbooks and notes were strewn across my coffee table, and I put the pizzas on the counter while I got plates and napkins from the cupboard.

"Damn, are you sure you're a student?" asked Darryl. "This is a pretty big apartment for one person."

I laughed awkwardly. They weren't wrong. My apartment was a two-bedroom, two-bath with a balcony overlooking a park across the street. Sydney's apartment was in the same building, but her roommate had already graduated and gotten a job, and faced the other side of the street. Sydney knew why I had such a nice place, but it wasn't something I was especially proud of.

"She's definitely a student." Shaun started clearing up some of the books I'd left on the coffee table, while Darryl cracked beers open for everyone. "Forensic psychology, hey?"

"No shit?" Darryl looked at the textbook, then back at me. "What did you say you're doing at school?"

"Forensic Science," I said.

"Gonna be a cop?"

I shook my head. "I want to be a crime scene investigator of some kind. I haven't decided completely yet."

Shaun burst out laughing and I frowned, deciding Darryl was slightly ahead in their competition now. "What, is that a problem?"

"No, we just..." He shook his head as he continued chuckling.

Greg had settled himself into my armchair, and Sydney had settled herself onto his lap.

"Why are you laughing at her, then?" she asked. "What, are you drug dealers or something?"

That time, Greg burst out laughing. The sound startled Sydney and myself, and I nearly dropped the pizza boxes as I carried them to the now-cleared coffee table.

"What is so funny?" I demanded, starting to get annoyed. "It's not because I watched CSI and decided I'd base my career off a TV show, if that's what you think."

"No, no," Darryl said quickly. "You just never asked what we do for a living."

Sydney and I exchanged glances. They had said they were coworkers, but neither of us had asked further.

"I assumed you were all male strippers or something." I took a piece of pizza and started eating.

"Well, Shaun used to be, but not anymore."

"Wait, really?" I whirled towards Shaun. "Did you actually?"

He nodded. "Paid the bills while I went through recruitment."

"Recruitment for what?"

Shaun grinned. "Well, the recruitment and training process for the police takes like two years."

"You're cops?" Sydney said incredulously. "Yeah, right."

"We are!"

"Prove it," I challenged.

Shaun and Darryl laughed as they pulled police badges out of their pockets.

Sydney's eyes were wide. "Why didn't you just tell us earlier?"

Greg took the piece of pizza she handed to him, as he was unable to get it himself with her on his lap. "A lot of people don't like cops."

"Well, I think it's sexy."

Sydney wiggled on Greg's lap. His expression flickered momentarily from its usual seriousness to one of lust, and I didn't think it would be long until Sydney insisted he walk her home down the few flights of stairs to her apartment.

I nodded in agreement as I drank my beer. "Yeah, that's cool, but I need to hear more about this stripper business."

Darryl rolled his eyes as Shaun grinned.

"Well, I can show you," he teased.