TWO

The Commons, as the circle at the center of the village was called, throbbed with music and laughter. Most of the women in Paradise Village knew each other. They had a tightknit community. Even the women who didn't necessarily like one another tended to hang out together. It had become the way of things since the sickness decimated the population three centuries ago. Culture had changed and relationships had been one of the things most radically affected.

Sisterhood wasn't just a concept anymore. It was a tangible thing that saved Summer's sanity. In a world where women were so vastly outnumbered, it meant everything to be around other people who understood what it meant to be female.

So she stood out in the warm night under a blanket of bright stars, her hands up in the air, bouncing to the music, a smile on her face as her friends moved around her, sometimes pausing to hug her or lean close to say something.

Occasionally, a man would approach, respectfully nearly always. He'd hold out his hand and ask her to dance and she did. She loved to dance.

She looked back over her shoulder when one of her friends let go of her waist to move off toward the large tables of food. And that's when she saw Charlie. His gaze snagged on hers and he made his way through the crowd to her.

He leaned in to speak in her ear. "You look pretty. I love the dress."

And just like that, his rhythm clicked with hers as they moved their hips to the music.

"Thank you. You look pretty good yourself. Did you get checked in all right?"

He got closer, his arm sliding around her waist as he danced, her back to his front.

"It took forever, but yes, we're checked in and ready to go."

He felt really good against her. Warm and vibrant. His cock brushed against her ass and gave her an idea of what he had behind the zipper too. She definitely had no complaints.

She looked through the crowd as they danced. All the young people had gone off to bed and the space was now adults only. Over in a far corner a man knelt between a woman's thighs, his face buried, mouth on her pussy.

It wasn't unusual for a couple or a group to have sex in full view of others--with windows open, just off a well-traveled path, whatever--it was a way of sharing a thirst for life, especially in the villages.

It was hot to watch sometimes. But it was really hot to watch with someone else.

His lips brushed her ear. "Are you watching that?"

She nodded, switching her hips to brush from side to side against his cock.

He gave a muffled curse. "You're so fucking hot. Do you like that? Having a mouth on your pussy?"

She went hot all over. "Yes."

"One of my favorite things, eating pussy. Sweet, wet, slick, god I love it."

His palm splayed against her belly and hip, his cock hard against her ass and a wave of desire hit her with such force she nearly moaned.

How did this man get her so hot so fast?

The woman across the way let her head fall back as the man between her legs moved his face from side to side.

Every move Summer made brought sweet, slick friction in her pussy. Not enough to come, but certainly enough to get her hot.

The tip of Charlie's tongue traced the edge of her ear. The hand the woman had slid into the man's hair went white at the knuckles where she tightened it.

"She's close."

Another man came to stand behind the woman, his hands sliding down her shoulders and then to bare her breasts. He pinched and pulled on her nipples and Summer felt the answering tug in her belly.

The way they handled her was...it sent a shiver through Summer, through that dark part of her. She hummed her pleasure at the way the man at the woman's back moved one of his hands up into her hair, pulling her head back and dropping his own down for a kiss.

Even across several feet of a dance floor full of people, even in the dark lit by fairy lights and torches, Summer knew when the woman came. Could tell by the arch of her back, the thrust and roll of her hips against her man's face.

She swallowed hard but the groan came anyway.

Charlie had to count backward from thirty to keep from coming in his damned pants. Summer's sweet body brushing against his was enough to get him rock-hard, but it was the way she so unabashedly watched the threesome across the dance floor give each other pleasure, lips parted, her nipples pressing hard against the blouse she wore that pushed him into throbbing territory.

He spun her to face him. "I have to kiss you."

Her eyes went half lidded, her lips parted slightly. He took that for an invitation and slid his arms around her, holding her to his body, his mouth meeting hers, tongue tracing the juicy bottom lip before tasting her more fully.

Her skin was warm against the hands he splayed against her back, burning through the thin cotton of her dress. Her nipples pressed into his chest as she tiptoed up to kiss him more fully.

All around them people danced, moved, laughed and loved. Charlie fell into her mouth, fell into Summer like she was a feast and he'd been starving. No one but Hatch brought out this sort of hunger in him.

His fingers curled, as if trying to pull her closer, pull her into him. He broke away, resting his forehead against hers. "I want to talk. Take a walk with me?"

"Is your partner going to be all right with this? With me?"

"He should be here by now, actually. We did laundry earlier and he wanted to stop and grab the clothes before he came out." He kissed her again. "He knows about you. Wants to meet you. I wouldn't be doing this if he didn't."

Some male partners freely fucked around with women until they found their permanent third. Some never did. Some didn't want a woman at all. He and Hatch were on the same page. When other women came along, neither of them did a thing without the other man knowing. It felt wrong to do it any other way. He loved Hatch, respected him and what they had too much to go fucking it up by being dumb. The key to a working relationship was communication and knowing the rules.

They wanted a woman to be their third. That third would be a person they both desired and clicked with, who felt that in return. Three had enough angles to worry over without adding any unnecessary ones.

"Will you walk with me? At least to get away from the noise so I can hear you."

"All right."

He took her hand and they stopped to load a plate with some food and grab a mug with some ale on their way. That's when he caught sight of Hatch and smiled.

"There he is." Charlie guided her to a picnic table away from the noise. She put her things down, turning with a smile in Hatch's direction.

Hatch came out of the shadows, his gaze on Charlie for long moments before he turned to the woman at his side.

He pulled up to a stop, his mouth dropping open. "Summer?"

"Hatch?"

Joyous at the sight of her, he stepped close and pulled her into a hug that turned into a quick twirl as he held her, breathing her in.

And like no time had passed, his mouth found hers in a kiss tinged with desperate happiness and longing. Her taste, god, he'd pretended he'd forgotten it but it settled right back into him, in a place that had been hers all along.

"You're here like I dreamed you up," he murmured as he broke the kiss.

She opened her eyes and looked right into him. At first she was soft and sweet but then her gaze narrowed and he stepped back a little, but kept a hand on her hip because he was afraid if he stopped touching her she'd disappear like smoke.

"I take it you two know each other?"

"Our parents are New Earthers. Summer was my first real friend. My best friend for most of my life." And then it had been more. "We became blood siblings. You know you slice your palms open and clasp hands? Which sort of sounds weird because things weren't so brother and sisterly later on. Summer was my first love."

"And then we moved to Portland."

"And I followed." He grinned but she wasn't smiling.

"And you left again two years later. And here we are, four years after that." Her voice was flat. Charlie looked back and forth between them, confused.

"I'm so glad to see you." Hatch stepped closer to touch her face. "I've missed you a hell of a lot."

She swallowed hard. The emotion was all over her face. She'd never had the ability to hide her feelings from him. He'd hurt her deeply and the dam he'd built around his emotions, the way he'd left and stayed away began to crumble.

"I should go. I have to get up early in the morning for work."

"There's a story here." Charlie cocked his head as he brushed the hair away from her face.

"Everyone has a story or two. It was really nice dancing with you."

"Wait. You can't just leave." Hatch slid his hand into hers, linking his fingers with hers.

"Funny, I said the same thing four years ago." She pulled her hand back and turned, walking away.

They both followed. Charlie gave him a look as they did. "I'll explain later." After a few stunned moments, Hatch paused, turning to Charlie. "I was in love with her for most of my life in one way or another. Do you want to pursue this?"

Charlie smirked. "You neglected to tell me any of this?"

"I didn't hide it. But I shoved it so far down I pretended I forgot about it because I didn't know what else to do with it. I guess in the end, right now I need to ask you the same thing about her. Do you want to pursue her? This is complicated. I have deep feelings for her. A long history." Hatch searched Charlie's face. "What we have is important to me. I'm not willing to fuck with it."

Charlie put his hand in Hatch's, squeezing. "You know my general opinion of fate, right? What were the chances she'd be here? That I would have been so totally attracted to her from the moment I caught sight of her? This is meant to be."

Hatch sighed. Charlie. So sweet and sentimental. But maybe right. In any case he was happy the answer was yes because he wanted her. More than he had when he'd driven away from Portland. Wanted her with Charlie.

Ahead they watched her turn the corner into a small group of permanent cabins and caravans on solid foundations. She approached what must have been her place. Fairy lights lit up the front where a wooden deck had been built. A small container garden fronted the space. She'd made a home for herself in Paradise Village.

She had already opened her door and gone inside so they went to her porch and knocked.

"Please?" Hatch asked as he knocked.

"Please what?" she asked from the other side of the still closed door.

Charlie broke in. "I don't know the whys of this, Summer, but I do know we--all three of us--have something together. I saw the way you looked at Hatch. I saw the way he looked at you. Don't you want to see what could happen? Or at the very least listen to him?"

She opened the door but remained blocking their entry. "Is that what this is about then? You want to double team fuck me?"

Hatch's mouth twitched but he held back a smile. Because holy shit, yes did he want that. But they had other things to work out first.

"I think we have some things to work out before we get to that step."

The hardness around her mouth faded and she stepped back.

And closed the door.

"I can't, Hatch," she said from inside.

Charlie blew out a breath.

Hatch shrugged. "For tonight we'll do it your way. But I'm here and I know you're here. You're my forever, sweetness. No time apart can erase all that's between us."

"Fuck off. Go away."

Charlie laughed. "See you soon, Summer." He jerked his head toward the walkway. "Come on, baby. Let her have some space."