Peak of Desire Ch. 08

"What?"

"A threesome."

"Yeah, back in college."

"What was it like?"

"Overrated."

"Really?" Her voice was laced with amazement.

"Yep."

"In what way?"

"Well..." his voice tapered off as he contemplated a way to best describe it. "It's not that it wasn't enjoyable, but the aftermath was pretty awkward."

"How so?"

"When you do things like that, the dynamics of relationships change. And not always in the best of ways." A faraway look came into his eyes.

"Sounds like you regret it."

"Yeah, I guess you could say I do." The dreamy look on his face dispersed as he came back to the present moment, and he offered a little shrug. "Guess it's just one of those things in life that are better left as a fantasy." He encircled his arms around her waist, pulling her closer as he said, "And besides, one on one is so much better."

"Definitely."

He leaned in to nuzzle her neck, his breath tickling her skin as he breathed in her natural scent. Her lips brushed against his silky hair as she placed a kiss on the top of his head, then she began to speak.

"Guess we should put some clothes on. Your friend will be here pretty soon, won't she?"

"Yep." He murmured against her skin, then lifted his head and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

They both rose onto their feet and headed for the stairs which led up to the sleeping loft, and once they reached it, they slipped into some clothes. Glancing at the alarm clock on the bedside table, Erica saw it was nearing half past ten, and realized it was a mere few hours before she was due to show up at the bookstore.

"What time do you go to work?" She asked.

"Twelve thirty. You?"

"One, but I need to go home and take a shower first, as well as change, so it'd probably be a good idea if we got on the road soon."

He nodded. "No problem. Mia shouldn't be staying long, so as soon as she leaves, we can eat some breakfast, then I'll take you home."

"Sounds good."

She followed him down the stairs into the living area, and as they reached ground level, she made a right and headed down the hallway which led to the bathroom.

"I'm gonna just freshen up a bit."

"Take your time. And if you need a toothbrush, there's a brand new one in the cabinet beneath the sink."

"In other words, my breath stinks." She called out over her shoulder.

"Didn't say that. Just thought you might wanna know."

"Well thanks for the heads up," She said with a smile on her lips, continuing towards the bathroom.

Once she reached it, she pushed open the door, then closed it behind her. Although the bathroom was small, it was far from being cramped, and was kept fairly clean. The first thing she did was empty her bladder. Then once that was done, she checked out her reflection in the mirror.

Her face looked peaceful and well rested, but her hair was an entirely different story. It had a wild, untamed look going on, but that was pretty much to be expected, since she hadn't put it into any braids or twists before going to sleep.

Seeing that her curls needed rejuvenation, she turned on the faucet, then got her hands nice and wet. She combed her fingers through her hair to dampen the strands, then wet her hands once again and brought them back up to her hair. Once her curls had been reactivated, she reached into the cabinet beneath the sink to retrieve the toothbrush that Cody had told her about.

Having always been curious about what people kept in their bathroom cabinets, she took the chance to be nosy and see what types of objects he stored there. A bottle of mouthwash, painkillers, a couple bars of soap, and some toilet paper. Nothing too fascinating, she thought, but then she spotted not just one, but two bottles of baby bubble bath. Her lips curled upward at the sight of it, amused by the visual of Cody relaxing in a tub of bubbles.

Realizing she'd done enough snooping around, she shut the cabinet door and grabbed a tube of toothpaste from off the shelf above the sink. After spreading a layer of minty paste on the bristles of her brush, she started to clean her teeth.

Once that was done, she splashed some cold water on her face, then patted it dry with a fresh washcloth from the cabinet beneath the sink. It was nice having a clean face and fresh smelling breath, but the lack of makeup on her face left her feeling rather plain.

Suddenly remembering that she sometimes kept a spare tube of lip gloss on her, she reached into one of her pockets and retrieved a small tin of cherry lip balm. She'd just uncapped the container and was spreading some on her lips when she heard the doorbell chime.

A few moments later there was the sound of a female voice, followed by Cody's deeper one. Judging by the sound of their voices, they were carrying on a pretty animated conversation, and she found herself eager to get out there and join them.

After exiting the bathroom, she made her way down the hall, and as she entered the living room, three pairs of eyes turned in her direction. Despite the fact that there were two women sitting side by side on the couch, she zeroed in on one in particular, and knew without a doubt that the ethnically ambiguous female she was looking at had to be Mia.

Her hair, which was cut into a pixie punk hairstyle with whispy sideburns and short bangs, perfectly complemented her exotic features. Aside from a bit of black eyeliner and a dab of lip gloss, her face was devoid of makeup. But when one had jutting cheekbones and flawless skin, she supposed that makeup served little purpose, except to cover up the beauty that was already naturally there.

As she reached Cody's side, he looped an arm around her waist, gently pulling her down to sit on his lap. "This is my girl, Erica. Erica, this is Mia, and her girlfriend Lauren.

Erica leaned forward from the armchair that she and Cody were sitting in, holding out her hand for Mia to shake. "Nice to meet you."

Mia's hazel colored eyes danced with amusement, and her full lips tugged into a crooked little smile. "It's good to meet you, as well." She clasped hands with Erica, revealing a tattoo on her inner wrist, which was of a date in roman numerals.

Erica briefly wondered not only about the look that Mia was giving her, but also about the meaning behind her tattoo. But she didn't have time to indulge any of her curiosities, because Mia's girlfriend was making eye contact with her, holding her hand out as she waited for Erica to shake it.

Turning her gaze on Lauren, Erica saw that she had deep brown skin and shiny black hair, which was worn in cascading waves over one shoulder.

"Nice to meet you, Erica."

"Likewise." She offered a friendly smile.

Without a moment's hesitation, Mia asked, "So how long have you two been together?"

"I'd say about three weeks." Cody glanced at Erica for confirmation.

She nodded, then said, "That sounds about right."

"And how did you meet?"

"I was doing some high rise work in downtown Burbank. We caught each other's eye and ever since then, we've been dating." He gave a brief pause, then offered his girlfriend a little smirk. "I guess you could say she fell for me."

Erica's lips tugged upward, her cheeks growing hot at the embarrassing memory.

Noticing the adoring looks they were giving each other, Mia responded with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "How cute." She was silent for a moment, simply observing them with her captivating eyes. Then she once again spoke. "So Erica, what do you do for a living?"

"I work in a bookstore, and I also have a mobile massage business."

"Oh, so you're a massage therapist. Lucky you, Cody." She gave him a little smile.

"Lucky is definitely the word for it." He tenderly caressed Erica's thigh with the palm of his hand, causing goose bumps to prickle on her skin.

Struggling to keep her focus, Erica decided to inquire about Mia's occupation. "What type of job do you have?"

I'm assistant editor for a magazine called Fever. I also dabble in fetish modeling."

"Sounds interesting. How long have you been doing that?"

"The modeling, or the editing?"

"Modeling."

"Almost a year. I originally did it just to make a few extra bucks, but turns out I'm pretty damn good at it. So I'm thinking about doing it full time."

"You must make pretty good money."

"Yeah, I do alright."

She gave a smile and nod, then turned her attention to Mia's girlfriend, who was silently observing the conversation. "What do you do, Lauren?"

"I'm a wardrobe assistant."

"Nice. Sounds like a fun job."

"Yeah, it's pretty amazing."

"That's cool. It's always nice to have a job that you enjoy."

"Definitely."

The sound of Cody's ringing cell phone caused him to lean forward and retrieve it from the coffee table. As he glanced at the display screen, he gave Erica a gentle pat on the thigh, urging her to move off his lap so he could stand up.

"I'm gonna need to take this call, honey. It's my mom."

"Oh sure, no problem." She rose up from his lap so he could get onto his feet.

Perhaps sensing her nervousness at his temporary departure, he offered Erica a few words. "Mom's not much of a phone person, so I shouldn't be too long." Then he turned his attention to Mia and Lauren. "Back in a few."

They nodded in response, watching him walk off. Erica's eyes followed him as he headed up the stairs for the bedroom, then once he was out of sight, she allowed her eyes to drift towards Mia, who was gazing back at her with a steadfast expression.

"Funny thing, Cody not mentioning he had a girlfriend. He usually tells me as soon as he starts dating somebody new."

"Well maybe he wanted to be certain about us before he let you know."

"I guess that's a possibility." She gave a short pause, then posed a question. "How old are you?

"Twenty seven. You?"

"I turn thirty one next month."

"Have anything interesting planned for your birthday?"

"I've got a couple things in mind. Why do you ask?"

"No special reason. Just making conversation."

Hoping to reduce the uncomfortable tension in the room, Erica's eyes shifted towards Lauren so that she could be brought into the conversation, but to Erica's disappointment, she saw that Lauren was only paying attention to the object in her hands.

Her nails made a clicking noise as she fervently pressed the keys on her cell phone, hair partially obscuring her face as she stared down at the screen of her blackberry. Realizing it was impossible to use Lauren as a buffer zone, she shifting her attention back to Mia, who was apparently unwilling to avert her eyes for even one short moment.

"Not trying to be rude, but just what exactly do you and Cody have in common?" Mia asked.

"You want me to make out a list?"

Her perfectly arched eyebrows rose, as if she'd found herself surprised by Erica's sassy answer. "I was only asking a question."

"And I was only answering it."

A small smile played at her lips, as if she found their tense exchange amusing. "Well I'm sure you guys have sex in common, that's pretty obvious. But besides that, what else is there?"

"We enjoy each other in a variety of ways beyond just the physical. And not to be rude, but I really don't think it's any of your business to question me about it."

Still engrossed in her blackberry, Lauren continued to quickly depress the keys, seemingly oblivious to the increasingly heated words that were being shared between the two women. Erica could hear the faint sound of Cody's voice floating down from the bedroom upstairs, but other than that and Lauren's texting, there was a lingering silence between her and Mia.

"Fair enough. But I still don't think you can handle him," Mia said.

"Well thanks for your opinion, but it really doesn't mean a damn to me."

"It should, because I know him a whole lot better than you do."

"I'm sure you do, but that doesn't make it right for you to try and destroy the relationship we're building."

"Relationship?" She shook her head, then continued to speak. "Oh sweetie, he's completely wasted on you. He needs a different kind of woman to hold him down."

"And let me guess, that woman is you."

A light chuckle passed her lips. "You're joking, right? In case you haven't noticed, I'm not into dicks. Never have been, never will. So this isn't about me wanting him for myself."

"Then what is it about?"

"I'm trying to warn you, to save you from a broken heart. Cody conquers, he doesn't commit. And if he does happen to get into a relationship, it usually doesn't last very long."

"Well thanks for the concern, but I'm sure I'll be just fine. So I'd really appreciate if you'd stop sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."

Mia remained quiet, offering nothing in return except for a steely gaze. Erica returned it with one of her own, matching the intensity. They could have remained like that for several minutes, but the sound of Cody's footsteps caused both women to avert their eyes, and redirect their attention towards him.

"So, how are you two getting along?"

"Famously." Mia's voice was thick with sarcasm.

Cody cocked an eyebrow at her, then glanced at Erica, who offered no words in response. As he reached the armchair she was sitting in, Erica got onto her feet and let him sit down, then plopped down on his lap.

"Alright, what's the deal?" His attention was directed at Mia.

"Nothing's the deal. We just aren't clicking, that's all."

Cody glanced at Erica, giving her a look that silently expressed his curiosity about the tense energy that hung between the two women.

Placing a hand against his chest, she offered it a light caress. "It's cool babe, no worries."

"Yeah babe, it's cool." Mia mockingly parroted.

Erica threw her a look of annoyance in response, and her eyes narrowed slightly as gave the other woman a death glare.

Hoping to disperse the heated energy between them, Cody turned a serious gaze on Mia, then said in a firm tone of voice, "Be nice. Erica's my girl, and I don't want you treating her badly."

Erica guessed that Cody's stern words must have had a stinging effect on Mia, because she quickly averted her eyes from Erica's, then got up from the couch. "I need my climbing gear. Where is it?" She asked in a cold tone of voice.

"Where I always leave it, in the closet next to the front door."

As Mia turned and headed for the closet, Erica noticed that she had a vertical tattoo of interesting looking symbols beginning at the nape of her neck, and continued southward. Although the fabric of Mia's tank top obscured the remainder of the ink, Erica imagined that it probably trailed at least halfway down her spine.

As Mia reached the closet, she pulled it open, then began rummaging around inside, noisily throwing various objects out of the closet as she searched for her belongings.

Having been silently engaged in a texting marathon for nearly ten minutes, Lauren suddenly came to back to the present moment and asked, "Mind if I get something to drink?"

"Help yourself, there's soda and juice in the fridge," Cody said.

"Thanks." She rose up from the couch and headed for the kitchen.

Once she was gone, he turned his attention back to Erica, speaking in a lowered voice so that only she could hear him. "Sorry about Mia. I really was hoping you two would get along."

"Yeah, so was I. Don't know what her problem is, but she hates my guts."

"Give her a little time. She'll come around." He cupped her cheek in his hand, stroking it tenderly with his thumb.

"I very much doubt that."

He gave her a little smile, tenderly brushed noses with her, then placed a gentle kiss to her lips.

She looped her arms around his neck and returned his oral embrace, caressing her lips firmly against his. She willingly lost herself in the sweet, languid kiss, and would have happily remained sealed to his lips for a lot longer, but Mia's impatient voice rudely broke them from the moment.

"We're leaving now. Not that you would care or anything."

Both Cody and Erica turned their heads to see Mia standing hand in hand with her girlfriend. She was holding a climbing harness and some ropes in her other hand, and was giving the couple an irritated look.

Although she would have gladly remained on Cody's lap, she knew that he'd want to see his friend off, so she rose onto her feet and allowed him to say his goodbyes. She followed behind him, not because she had any intention of offering Mia any parting words, but because she didn't want to appear rude to Lauren, who had remained perfectly civil and friendly towards her.

As Cody approached her, Mia asked, "You going climbing this weekend?"

"I don't know. I may be doing something with Erica, so I'm not sure just yet."

A look of disappointment crossed her face. "Okay. Well if you decide to go, give me a call."

"Yep." He turned to Mia's girlfriend, who was sipping on a bottle of cream soda. "Nice seeing you again, Lauren."

"Good seeing you too, Cody. And thanks for the soda."

"No problem."

Erica offered her own goodbye to Mia's girlfriend. "Nice meeting you."

"Likewise. Hope to see you again soon."

Purposely addressing only Cody, Mia said, "See ya." Then she headed out the door, with Lauren following behind her.

After shutting the door behind them, Cody pulled Erica into his arms and gazed down at her. "Sorry again about Mia's behavior."

"It's cool, I can handle her." She brought her hands up to rest on his shoulders.

"Yeah, I know. Small but tough, I like that about you."

She smiled up at him, gliding her palms over the hard plane of his chest, then allowing them to graze over his muscled biceps. "I wonder what her deal is."

"She's fiercely protective. I'm one of the few people she's really close to, so I think that's made her pretty territorial over me."

"Well I understand her caring about you, but she could have at least taken the chance to get to know me as a person."

"I know, I agree." He smoothed a palm over her curls, then said, "It may take a little while, but she'll eventually get used to you."

"She's gonna have to, cause I'm not going *anywhere.*"

"Darn right you're not." He leaned in to claim her mouth with a searing, open mouthed kiss, then pulled back from her lips. "Now what do you say we get some breakfast?"

"Sounds good, what's on the menu?"

"How about bagels and cream cheese, with scrambled eggs on the side?" No sooner had the words left his mouth, did a realization come over him. "Oh wait, you can't have eggs. You're a vegetarian."

"Yes I can. I'm an ovo-lacto."

"An ovo what?" His brows crinkled.

She laughed lightly. "It means I can consume dairy."

"Oh. Well why didn't you just say that?"

"I did."

"No, you used a fancy term for it. Trying to impress me, huh?"

She playfully snorted and shook her head, then gave him a light poke in the side. "My stomach is growling. Get to it, already."

"What am I, your man slave?"

"That's right."

"Do these slave duties also involve kinky sex?"

She smiled in response and lightly chuckled, then took his hand and led the way towards the kitchen.

* * * *

Half an hour after eating breakfast, Cody and Erica pulled into the driveway next to her Airstream trailer. After he put the car in park, they both released their seatbelts and exited the truck, heading towards the trailer door.

Erica unlocked it and pushed it open, then stepped inside with Cody following behind her. The bamboo floor creaked under the weight of his large boots, and he eyed his surroundings with curious eyes.

"Nice little place you got here."

"Emphasis on little, right?" She grabbed a jar of M&M's from off the kitchen counter, then unscrewed the lid and grabbed a handful.

"Actually the size doesn't bother me at all. I could get used to hanging out here." Spotting the large aquarium tank where her tarantula was housed, Cody walked over to it, then bent down to have a look through the glass. "Where's your spider?"