Three's a Crowd

Still, she managed to get a decent night's sleep with the help of the pills. Dani wished she could manage to get to sleep without them, but it was either risk addiction or succumb to insomnia. A horrible choice considering she was coming up to four years clean now. Dani wished she could talk to Jake about this, but she knew her boyfriend wouldn't understand.

Or worse: take it the wrong way and think she hated it here.

Well... she didn't *like* it here... either...

"That's OK, babe," Jake said. He folded the paper he had been reading and stood up. "Going to the office again today?" When she nodded he quickly added "don't stay too late. Remember we'll be hosting dinner for the Farrows again tonight."

"I haven't forgotten, Jake," Dani said, feeling a little annoyed with his patronising reminder.

Perhaps that was a mistake, as Jake's smile dropped a little. "I don't like you spending time with that guy from the office, Dani," he said. Jake rarely used her name when talking to her. "I want you back by seven."

He walked out without giving her a chance to respond. Dani dropped the spoon into the bowel out of frustration, taking a small measure of satisfaction in how loud it clattered.

*****

"Your boyfriend sounds like a cunt."

Dani gasped, then playfully slapped Gareth on his arm. "Don't be mean!" She said, "Jake just... he's just looking out for me... that's all! I'll have you know he was very supportive of me when we first met. I wouldn't have made it through my first year without his help."

"Your first year of what?" Gareth said.

They were sitting at Dani's desk in the offices of Blue Ball. Though it was nearly four there was still lots of people working; artists dwarfed by their multi-screen set-ups as they relaxed on large ergonomic bean bags that moulded into your form as you sat upon them. Dani's was pink with a lot of white flowers, and she had been sitting at her desk so long it had begun to envelop her. A collection of half-finished images dominated her four screens; though her hand still manoeuvred the stylus over the touchpad resting on her knees as she spoke.

Gareth loved watching her create; the way her body almost subconsciously conjured up these amazing images while her mouth happily chatted about anything that was on her mind. Even if that subject was this boyfriend of hers that he'd not yet met. While he liked to consider himself a great artist - definitely the best out of his housemates - Gareth knew his talents were a drop in the vast ocean of Dani Cohen's potential. He didn't understand why she had moved away from a city she so obviously loved and that she used to help fuel her creativity, to some dead zone on the other side of the county, an hour away by train.

"Being sober," Dani said. The look she gave him was one of honesty, not meant to shame, but Gareth still found himself looking away out of guilt. Of course that was what she had meant. He knew she had a past with addiction problems; Dani had mentioned going into rehab in the first week Gareth and her had worked together.

"Sounds like he's been good to you," Gareth said. Not quite believing it; Dani spoke a lot about her boyfriend, Jake, and while he seemed like a decent sort there were a couple of red flags with his behaviour that had Gareth worried. This insistence on her coming back in a timely manner felt a little beyond loving boyfriend concern for her safety.

"He has," Dani said, though like Gareth (a fact obviously unknown to her) she didn't feel what she was saying was the whole truth. No, it was just complicated: Jake had indeed been there for her in that crucial first year after she started rehab. They had met by chance when she had left her fourth meeting; a cliche 'meet-cute' which saw them have a drink (hers was non-alcoholic; at the time Dani wasn't confident in herself not to swap drug addiction for alcoholism, something that she had since conquered and could drink socially in confidence) and talk for a while, before discovering a mutual attraction that saw him take her back to his place for the evening; Dani had discovered Jake's huge cock and drive when he fucked her silly for hours. But it wasn't just the sex that had kept her coming back (although the sex was great!), but Jake's ability to provide her support; a shoulder to lean on during the moments when she felt most vulnerable; without him Dani was certain she would have fallen off the wagon and been back shooting shit into her veins in the toilets of the more seedy nightclubs in Coytoss before that first year had finished.

"But still..." Gareth persisted, giving her a sympathetic look. "Ordering you to come back home before seven like you're a teenager-"

"Yeah, I know how it sounds..." Dani said, not sure how she could spin this in any way that he would find acceptable; Gareth definitely didn't trust Jake. "But we do have guests round tonight; Jake just doesn't want me to be late again."

"The Farrows again?" Gareth rolled his eyes. "Think that Albert's going to be a sex pest again?"

"He's just... a little handsy..."

"That's what they said about Harvey Weinstein."

"Gareth! Albert's not like that!" Dani said, though a part of her felt he had a point: Albert was not a man Dani wanted to be alone with. "He's just..."

"A little handsy?" Gareth said, grinning.

Dani elbowed him. "Stop that!" She said, although she couldn't keep from smiling either. Why was it so easy being around this guy?

They looked at each other, smiling, until Dani looked away; she realised she had been doodling something and now realised what it was: on the fields she was supposed to be enriching for this wellbeing app's advert she had added a couple lounging on a crudely sketched rug, arm-in-arm.

"I think that works better," Gareth said.

Dani was aware of how close he hand leaned towards her; it was certainly so he could get a better look at the main monitor, but a part of her wondered if he wasn't just using it as an excuse to get close to her, and she realised that she was kind of glad he had... it was... nice... having him so close to her... close enough that if she turned her head-

Their lips were barely an inch apart. Her eyes were so close to his; and for a few seconds that seemed to stretch like an eternity Dani gazed into his eyes, as Gareth did likewise to her.

"They want it to be an open field," she whispered, not wanting to look away back to the project she was working on.

"I say surprise them with this," he whispered back; not wanting to look away either. Her eyes held him captive: like the expansive grey sky outside the windows of the office. "I think it looks a lot better..."

She thought so too. Those two little figures added some humanity that should work better for a lifestyle app...

"Hey you guys! Going for drinks after we're done?"

They both snapped their heads away from each other at the sound of their colleague's voice. "I can't," Dani said, hurriedly. "My boyfriend's got friends round."

"Yeah... I got shit to do this evening," Gareth muttered, feeling the heat rise to his face. For one moment he felt all he had to do was lean forward just an inch and she would have reciprocated.

"Fair enough," Amanda Byron said as she carried on walking past the two; though she couldn't keep the smile from her face at how she had caught her colleagues looking at each other like lovesick teens. The gossip around the office was that Dani Cohen and Gareth Bates were in denial about how much they obviously wanted to fuck; the secret pool was that Dani would be hoping on his (supposedly) big dick sometime near the end of this month.

Completely oblivious to the gossip amongst their colleagues, Dani and Gareth made to look as if there was absolutely nothing between them; they were professional colleagues, that was all.

"I better make a move," Dani muttered, saving her work. "Sorry I can't hang out this evening-"

"Don't worry about it," Gareth said, giving her a warm smile. "See you tomorrow?"

"Of course!" Dani said, beaming like there wasn't a greater certainty in the world.

As she left the offices Dani paused by the TVs behind the reception desk, where a report on the latest developments surrounding TFE's proposed strikes suggested talks were in progress. With the next few weeks looking optimistic - train strike called off and the memory of her almost-kiss with Gareth burning bright in her mind - Dani smiled and began her long journey back home to Myle Hye.

Little did she know that the future would be a lot brighter than she could ever imagine...

*****

Gareth too kept thinking about that almost kiss; even when he arrived back home at the house he shared with three ex-students from the University of Eroshire: a modest semi-detached in one of the many post-war (now ex-)council estates that had been built on the ruins of where the Luftwaffe had thoroughly done a number on old Coytoss during the Blitz. His housemates were a decent lot, if just a little messy: Gareth sighed as he stacked dirty plates by the sink, having not even taken off his coat since he got in.

"Mate, I've got the dishes tonight," Harry Watts said as he walked into the small kitchen with a bottle of Peroni in hand. Harry was a tall guy (a good six inches taller than Gareth) with a thin frame that he refused to bulk up despite Gareth telling him some muscles would help score with the chicks. "What are you doing back so early, anyway?"

"Not spending time with what's-her-name?" Cathy Vern said as she leaned against the frame of the door leading into the living room (the house had no dining room, not that anyone cared; they either ate food watching TV or sitting glued to their PC screens). A slim woman of French descent, Cathay wore her long dark hair loose over a top that seemed a size too large for her.

"Dani," Harry said, smirking as he watched Gareth's reaction.

Gareth looked at his two friends. "First off: Dani has a boyfriend," he said. "Secondly: she has guests round hers tonight, so couldn't stick around for the evening."

"Too morose to head out and bag yourself a distraction fuck?" Cathy said. "That's what I would do if the girl I hopelessly fancied was having dinner with her boyfriend and friends."

"Yeah... I'm not in the mood," Gareth said. There was something about having meaningless sex to take his mind off of Dani and how close he had come to kissing her that didn't sit right with him. Which was odd because just under a year ago that would totally be something he would have done. "Gonna Netflix and chill tonight. Literally."

"So lonely," Cathy teased. Though she gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder. "One day."

"Don't tease."

"I'm being serious," Cathy said, draping an arm around his shoulder as they both left Harry to the dishes (much to his annoyance). "I see your face when you talk about her. You really fancy the fuck out of this girl, don't you?"

"She's great," Gareth said, knowing how dorky he must be looking right now with the dreamy smile creeping across his face. "She's just your type, actually: tats, tits and talent."

"She bi?"

"Might be. Tell you what," Gareth said as they parted at the base of the stairs, "if - and I mean if, 'cause this is all as unlikely as fuck - if I fuck her I'll ask Dani if she's up for fucking you too."

"Good boy," Cathy winked at him as he walked up the stairs.

"You know it's not going to happen!" Gareth said just before he disappeared from her sight.

"I have faith!"

Smiling at his friend's confidence in hook-ups that would never happen, Gareth walked into his room and closed the door behind him. Collapsing onto his bed his mind returned to that kiss that never happened. The feeling of being so close to her; the scent of Dani as she was right next to him... feeling his hard-on Gareth pulled off his shoes and socks and unbuttoned his flies. His huge eight inch cock sprung out, sticking up towards the ceiling; fuelled by how charged that one moment had been a few hours earlier.

As his hand vigorously flew up and down his long, thick shaft, Gareth recalled being so close to Dani, but in his mind that moment hadn't been interrupted by Amanda; they had kissed. Finally. His imagination created the taste of her lips. The feeling of their tongues intertwining.

In his mind the office had been empty, and they had torn their clothes off in lust. He saw what her huge fake tits would look like without clothes in the way; skin so pale and so soft as his hand squeezed them. She moaned in his imagination as Gareth gasped with the pleasure he was giving himself: his hand flying up and down his considerable length as his mind's eye saw him fuck her on that huge pink bag chair thing she always sat on. He imagined her riding his cock for hours before he pumped his thick load inside her warm, tight cunt. He imagined them fucking on all of the desks, the chairs, the staff room sofas and pool table; Gareth imagined them fucking on the rooftop garden; the sun shining down on them as moved from position to position, moaning and gasping as they fucked like university students. He filled her with his cum again and again. Dani screaming his name as he made her cum; harder than that controlling boyfriend of hers could.

His real life orgasm interrupted this fantasy of his: Gareth quickly grabbed a sock and stuffed it over his cock as he felt the first load of cum travel up from his balls. He watched the fabric of the sock expand as he pumped his hot gunk into it, until white goo began oozing through the soft wool and all down his hand. His other hand grabbed another sock and swapped it over, though it didn't take long before that was swollen with his gunk.

Tossing the socks aside Gareth held his cock as it sprayed jets of gunk across his room, hitting the door five times before his cock finally stopped ejaculating thick white gunk.

Lying on his bed, smelling the odour of his own copious cum, Gareth sighed, and began to beat his meat once more: his cock barely softening despite cuming so hard and so much.

"Fuck my life," he muttered. Knowing how sad he must look masturbating to a woman totally unavailable to him. He'd fucked girls before who had been in relationships, but they had been in shitty relationships, and Gareth had been only too happy to be the outlet for their frustrations.

Dani obviously loved her boyfriend, and he very much doubted she would ever fuck him; even though there was so much energy between them. Their sex would remain entirely in his mind.

Fortunately for Gareth, events would soon prove him wrong...

*****

The train ride back from Coytoss was always a surreal journey for Dani: getting on at Coytoss Main Street would see her fighting for a seat in the eight-carriage reject from the 80's, but as the train made its ponderous journey past the next two stations servicing the outskirts of the city a strange transformation took place; at first half the train would empty at the next stop, and Dani would often be able to grab a seat (but not always!), then the next station would see half get off again, then half again at the next stop, and so on for the next five until, after fifty minutes or so, the train would terminate at Myle Hye's short platform, where the ticket barriers were overseen by a single attendant: an old man often asleep on a chair beside the ticket machine. By that time Dani was often the only one left in the carriage.

Walking back from Myle Hye train station was an easy route following a curving road, where it seemed most of the village's houses could be found; several smaller roads leading off ended with bulbous cul-de-sacs and large detached houses of the type not even Jake's salary could afford. A quiet road; Dani had only passed about five people on the pavement since moving here.

The quiet was practically suffocating her by the time she walked up to her front door.

"Hey babe," Jake said as he kissed her on the cheek. Taking her coat from her, Dani eyed him cautiously as Jake then returned to the kitchen: so far her boyfriend seemed in a good mood. "I got that nice dress out for you. The red one. I think you'll look beautiful in it."

Dani actually hated the red one - bought for her by Jake a year into their relationship - but she had never mentioned it to him for fear of offending. She'd hoped hiding it at the back amongst all the other clothes she rarely wore these days meant she wouldn't see it again, but it seemed he had dug deep and unearthed it. "Thanks babe," she called out to him as she headed upstairs.

One reason why she hated the red dress was how it collected and pushed out her tits. She felt a little bit like a prostitute when she wore it (not that Dani had ever been a sex worker, although she did have a few friends who were), and she was certain it wasn't appropriate attire for their guests (although Dani was certain Albert would appreciate the view).

Still it was what Jake wanted her to wear...

"You look beautiful," he said when she came back down into the kitchen.

"Are you sure this is appropriate?" Dani said, pushing her tits together slightly; looking at how the plunging neckline seemed to show off a lot of her pale flesh.

"Of course," Jake said, seeming baffled by her comment. "Why? Do you not think so?"

"No! I mean yes! I mean of course this is fine!" Dani blustered. "It's a lovely dress, thank you."

"Not sure why you haven't worn it since I got it for you," Jake continued to talk as he cooked whatever was bubbling in the large saucepan on the stove. "Don't you like it?"

"Of course!" Dani said, very quickly. "It's lovely!"

Jake smiled at her. "I'm glad to hear it." Returning to his cooking, Jake focused on the sizzling meat in the pan. "Tonight should be good for us. Felicity is not only happy to recommend us for the town committee but she's also looking to switch legal representation from Hoffman and Stye to H&F."

Dani wasn't surprised to learn Jake had been courting the Farrows to join his law firm. From the little she had been able to squeeze out of him regarding his life at Hills & Follett it seemed to her that Jake was quite career-oriented, and moving an affluent couple like the Farrows from a rival law firm like Hoffman & Stye to H&F would probably be quite the feather in his cap.

So she would need to be on her best behaviour-

"I need you by my side, Dani."

-and not fuck it up-

"Whatever they say, just smile and be amazing." Jake looked over at her. "I know you can do it. You're an amazing person, Dani. You'll do this for me, won't you?"

"Of course," Dani said. She stood close to Jake, an arm around his waist. "I can see this means a lot to you. I'll be on my best behaviour." What? What was she saying? She was apologising like she was a child to her parents. Not a twenty-eight year old woman who'd done nothing wrong!

She stepped away from Jake; somewhat horrified by her thoughts.

"Best behaviour, Dani," Jake said. This time there was no humour in his words. No teasing: his eyes were cold and regarded her with a sense of dominion that made Dani feel as helpless as she had the day Zehra had dropped her off at the rehab clinic. Only there was no Zehra here to hug her and whisper that everything would be OK. That she just had to be strong.

Be-

The doorbell sounded.

As if a switch had been pressed in his head at the sound, Jake's eyes were suddenly filled with a compassionate warmth that made Dani question whether she had even seen that coldness just a moment ago. "Can you get the door for me, babe? I've almost finished the chicken."

"Oh... sure," she said. Her head was spinning. Dani felt trapped, but she didn't know how, and what by. Just an overwhelming feeling that she was constrained by something she couldn't see. It all felt surreal, and Dani wasn't sure how it had come to this. Wasn't moving out here her idea in the first place? She wanted space? Somewhere to concentrate on her art because it wasn't...