Tingles
I hopped in the car with Maria and left after promising Weston I would text him when I got home. I left his house slightly amused but also confused. When I asked him what was going on between us, he was vague, just like Aaron, and I wondered briefly if they all knew each other. Even though my body was worn out, the need to have them was still there.
Maria smirked at me. “Did you get laid?”
I blushed, glancing her way as I leaned my seat back, then turned my head away from her to hide the redness in my cheeks. “That's kind of a personal question.”
“It isn’t personal if I'm the one picking you up after your party for two.” She had me there.
“Well,” I told her honestly. “Whatever you think happened, happened.”
“That’s my girl. You got yourself some. You're on fire!”
I scoffed, “On fire? Then why do I feel guilty? I gave my number to two other guys, and the third one I got in bed with.” I twisted to look at her. “Admit it Maria, I'm a mess.”
She took her eyes off the road give me a quick scan. “Looks to me like you’re completely satisfied, but…not. Are you still glum about not getting texts from those other guys?”
“Seth or Aaron,” I confirmed. “Is that crazy? While I'm getting out of the bed from one, I’m wanting the other two? It's crazy talk, Maria. Utterly crazy. Now, I have to go home, clean up, and figure out what—”
Maria interrupted, “Wait a minute. You don’t do anything. A hot guy that leaves you with a smile on your face, girl, you keep him. You hold to that hot bod and let him do wicked things to you, then you put a ring on it. The way he was with you last night, girl, he was into you. Anybody could see that. He came in, his eyes shot straight to you, and from there, he didn’t stray to any others.”
She went on and on about how I shouldn't take this for granted and count it as a blessing. He was a strong guy that could keep me safe. Hot and caring. I let her do all the talking on the way to her house.
Once there, we both got out and met in front of the car to hug.
Her arms tightened around me. “You should keep him.”
I smiled against her shoulder. “What about a skinny, rich guy?”
“Chica, when you have that kind of man, one who's like that with you, I say give him a chance.”
Smirking, I leaned back. “I did.”
“Mm-hm.” She nodded, looking me over. “And by the looks of you, he gave back.”
We let go, and she gave me a smile before heading off to her home. I got into my car, letting out a deep breath. She was right, but it didn’t make what I felt any easier. It was time to get back home to the Jameses, and they would be none the wiser.
***
And as luck would have it, as soon as I parked my car next to the Jameses house, my phone rang. Seth’s name popped up on my screen.
I groaned, putting my phone to my forehead. What could I say? I wasn’t the type of girl to play around with guys’ hearts. I couldn't answer his call. I couldn’t do that. Damn, I needed to think things through!
I let the phone call go, and it beeped, signaling a missed call. Climbing out of my car, I noticed the other two cars were gone and relief swept through me. The Jameses were gone. I opened the door and went inside just as my phone beeped once again.
Dang.
In my bedroom, I shut the door, throwing my bag onto the bed. I went to my dresser and dug out a pair of lounge pants and an old T-shirt.
I needed a shower. I smelled like Weston, which gave me a sense of pleasure, but I knew if I could smell his masculine scent on me, others might be able to as well.
I headed to the bathroom across the hall and into the shower. Turning on the water, I lathered up my body, and it came alive once again as all the sensitive places registered, remembering how his mouth felt on my skin. How he touched me, caressed me, and those strong voice commands.
My body responded to the memory, and I groaned, reminding myself I had three releases this morning and didn’t need anymore. I was fine. I was done. I didn't need another one. What I needed was a bottle of water and a movie to watch. Then, I could gain some courage to answer the text Seth sent.
I finished up with my shower, dried off, and threw on my lounge pants and the baggy shirt. Heading back to my room, I shut my door and climbed on my bed. I found the remote and turned around in a huff, leaning back against my pillows. Flicking on the television, my lips twisted into a frown when I found nothing on to watch. My phone beeped again from the confines of my bag. I glared at it. It rang, and I let the voice mail get it.
Then, I gave in and listened to the message.
Seth’s husky voice filtered over the line. “Hey, honey, sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to you. I had some things to take care of. You up for going out tonight? Shoot me back an answer. I’d really love to see you again.”
No way, I thought to myself. I just got out of someone else's bed. There was no way I'd be going out with Seth tonight. Probably not any other night, either. I couldn't do that. So I didn't respond, and my phone beeped again.
It was a text.
Aaron: Hey, you up for doing something Monday night? I know a sweet little place we could go and get some drinks.
I threw the phone onto the bed. Why was this happening to me? All I wanted was to find one guy. Maybe start a relationship. Now, I had three of them! I wasn't sure what to do.
Then Weston called. I didn't answer him, either, and afterward, he sent me a text.
Did these guys have some sort of psychic ability? How did they know to text almost one after the other? His text stated clearly he wanted to see me again, tonight if possible.
In my head, I knew that was a big fat no. I needed time. He was good in bed, with the right kind of touch and intensity that revved me up. He had one up on the other two.
Okay, maybe five up from the other two… But, I still couldn't get past how they all felt with me. How I felt with them. That same sensation, that same feeling, and I wanted answers.
So, I begrudgingly texted Aaron back and asked him one question.
Amber: What do to the tingles mean?
His response came quickly.
Aaron: You mean between the two of us?
Amber: Don't be so taciturn. You know what I'm talking about. Why am I this way with you?
It took him a while, but he finally texted back. And while he texted me, the others stayed silent.
Aaron: This conversation is meant for more time and not over the phone. Come out and have dinner with me tonight.
Amber: Can’t
Aaron: Why not?
Amber: I slept with someone. I'm sorry, it just happened, and I don't think we should be talking anymore.
I waited for a text to come back with his anger, but it never did.
He called.
I sighed, wanting to get this over with, and picked up the phone. “Hi.”
“Honey, we really need to talk.” He sounded serious.
“I just told you I slept with someone and you're telling me we need to talk?”
“Yes, we really need to talk.”
“I'm not sure that there’s much to say,” I told him, going on the defensive.
A new voice came on the other line. “Babe, Aaron says we need to talk, we’re going to talk.”
Shock speared me. They knew each other? I knew it! Those dirty, little rotten…
“Babe?”
I hung up and scrambled back like the phone was on fire. They knew each other!
Did Weston come to the bowling alley, making a point to look for me? Because he knew about me? Was this all some game?
I didn't want to consider that. It made my heart hurt. I didn't know what to do. My mind went a million miles a minute with all sorts of messed up ideas, but it all came back to that sensation I had with them. I wasn't in a storybook. This wasn't some novel. This was my life, and it was turning into a roller coaster.
I stayed holed up in my room and called Maria, asking what I should do.
“It’s all messed up, but you should talk to them, see what they want. Have them explain it all.”
I curled my knees up to my chest. “I just want to go out to Pete’s Bar and get my favorite drink. Something to soothe this crazy day.”
She sighed. “I wish I could be there with you, but I’m currently sitting in a salon chair with foils in my hair. Tell you what, when I’m done we’ll go dancing. That should pick you up a bit.”
“We’ll see. Talk to you later.” I turned off my phone and popped in a sappy movie.
***
The movie was almost over when a knock came from the front door. I ignored it.
A few moments later Maria came through my bedroom door. Mrs. James must have let her in. I didn’t even notice they had come back. She rifled through my closet, threw clothes at me, and told me to get dressed. “We’re going out.”
I noticed her new low lights and grumped, “Your hair looks nice.”
The clothes she threw at me were some I hadn’t worn in months. Tight blue jeans and a sleeveless, emerald-green top with a neck that drooped low.
She turned her pearly whites on me. “Thanks.” Then, she pointed to the clothes. “Get dressed.”
Doing her bidding, I got dressed and slipped into some semi-decent sandals, throwing on the only necklace I owned. It was a chain necklace with a pink sapphire in the middle that the Jameses got for me on my birthday. Well, the birthday they gave me.
I grabbed my phone, ignoring the texts and calls I’d been receiving since I silenced it an hour before, and let Maria drag me out to a club to go dancing.
I wasn't sure if I'd like it or not, but I guess I was about to find out.
***
At the club, lights flew all around, colors everywhere, and loud music pumped as the two of us got onto the dance floor. I danced with Maria, having a little bit of fun, but it seemed like only seconds later that tingles rushed through my body. They were here.
I didn't bother to look. Instead, I closed my eyes as the music pulsed through my body. The guys could come and find me.
A hand met my hip, a body at my back and another on my side. A hand curled into mine, and I felt them. We danced. One of them twirled me around to the other, and I opened my eyes to see Seth’s intense features staring down at me. He leaned in and kissed my lips quickly before spinning me to Aaron.
Aaron grabbed me and held me close. If they wanted to talk, there was no way we could do it here. It was too loud. Our hips moved together, body swaying. Aaron leaned down and kissed my forehead, then my temple and my cheek.
His lips went to my ear. “We need to talk,” he voiced loudly. “Preferably not here.”
I turned around to find Seth behind me, waiting, and I realized Weston was gone.
Seth leaned in. “Tell whoever you came here with that you're headed home. That you’re not feeling well, and you got a ride.”
I swallowed, not knowing what was next, but nodded. They let me go. I found Maria at the bar with a drink in hand. She patted the seat next to her. “Sit down, have a drink, ah wait, you don't drink. Have something nonalcoholic. Have water.”
I brushed off her suggestion and worked up my excuse. “Look, I’m not feeling all that great. I’m going to head home.”
Her eyes widened, and she took a hold of my forearm. “No, no, no. You’re not getting out of being here that easy. You got your heart shattered, you need this.”
“I-I—” I licked my lips and shrugged. “I really need to go.”
Her face dropped, now concerned. “Okay, alright. Just let me finish up this last one, and we’ll go.”
I shook my head, pulling away from her. “No, you stay. I…already called a cab. It’s here, now. I just wanted to let you know.”
She reached for me, her eyes filling with concern. “Hey, hey, is everything alright? No one messed with you, did they? You didn’t drink anything?”
I shook my head. “No, I didn’t drink anything.”
She tugged me closer. “Let me see your eyes. Make sure they’re not dilated.”
I let her look into my eyes for proof, feeling the edge of keeping the guys waiting until she was satisfied.
She sat back and relented. “Fine, but you have to call when you get home.”
I nodded in agreement and hugged her goodbye.
“Get better, we’ll do this next weekend. At least, I got you here,” she called out as I left.
I went back to where Aaron and Seth waited for me. They escorted me out of the club and into a waiting car where Weston sat in the driver’s seat. I climbed into the back, and Seth slid in beside me as Aaron got into the passenger seat.
I was nervous about being in the car with the three of them, but they said they wouldn't hurt me. And they hadn’t so far. For some reason, I felt safe with them, but the three of them knowing each other made me uneasy. I shuddered as my mind raced with how wrong it was that I willingly left with them. But they had answers to my past. Something I desperately wanted.
We drove back to the hotel, and Weston led us back to the same room I left only this morning. We all squeezed into the tight quarters, which made me slightly uncomfortable. I didn't know what to think, so I walked over to the desk in the corner with the only chair and sat. Seth took the bed closest to me while Aaron and Weston stood, blocking the entrance.
“What is it that you want to tell me?” Crossing my legs and folding my arms, I waited.
“Where to start?” Seth dragged a hand through his hair.
“How about how you all know each other.” I pointed to each of them. “And why we have this tingling sensation with one another?”
Aaron stepped up to the confession plate. “Honey,” he eased, putting a hand out. “It wasn't supposed to be like this. You see, we’re part of a team.”
“In the Army,” I added, and he nodded.
“What we’re going to tell you is top secret. You can't tell anybody. Not a single soul. If you do, you put their lives in jeopardy.”
My eyebrows furrowed not completely understanding. “Okay?”
“We’re part of a secret organization within the Army that is genetically altered by a serum called H-15. The serum enables us to have special abilities. Speed, good health, and some of us developed special talents.”
I struggled to understand how this involved me. “Is that the reason I can feel each of you? Why I know when you're near?”
“That's one of the reasons, yes,” Seth said, picking up the conversation. “But you have to have it in your system, too, in order for that to happen. That's one of the reasons why you could feel us, but the main reason is that it only happens when people with this special serum connect. And when they connect, Amber, it’s for life. It's happened to a few of the others in our unit.”
My eyebrows scrunched up, unsure what he was talking about. “What do you mean, connected for life? Like, I can feel you and the sensation for life?”
Aaron answered. “Love, we need to be near one another. We can't hurt you because we're uncontrollably, undeniably falling in love with you. We’re incapable of harming you because we want you safe and in our possession. You, and only you.”
“To make you ours,” Weston answered.
“That's why we weren’t upset,” Seth butted in. “When you told Aaron that you slept with Weston. If it was anyone else, then we’d be upset, but even then, you're incapable of wanting to do that with someone else. You won't have those feelings for anyone but us. You do feel that way, right? The sense of wanting us to be with you, to touch you, to just be close?”
I felt that way toward them, yes, but maybe they were wrong. Maybe I wasn't who they wanted me to be.
I waved a hand in the air at how wild it all sounded. “So, you're telling me I belong to the three of you?” I pointed to each of them.
Weston shifted, his mood irritable. Seth seemed relaxed, and I couldn’t discern Aaron’s mood. It all seemed so unreal.
“So, if I have the same drug in me, will it run its course and get out?” I was trying to understand. “Wait, then do you guys know who I was before?”
“Yes,” Aaron stated. “You’re Amber Myter.”
My eyes widened. “So, my first name’s right. I was right about that.”
Seth shifted on the bed to straighten with a small grin. “It seems so.”
Eager to find out more, I asked, “So, do I have any family?”
I leaned forward, anxious to know more about myself, about who I was.
“Sadly, no.” Aaron came near and stopped by my side.
Weston followed suit but went farther as he swooped down to pick me up and turned to sit in my spot, putting me in his lap.
“No, babe,” he soothed, putting a hand on my head, urging me to rest it on his chest. “Your mom died when you were young. Your father died a few months ago and you”—he pushed back a stranded hair like he always seemed to be doing—“You were dying in the hospital. You had cancer. There's something we haven't told you, that you need to be strong when you hear.”
Frightened, I nodded, trying to find courage. The other two came closer, surrounding us to show me I was safe as Weston continued. “Someone that we trusted took the serum from our compound. We believe he injected it into you and another woman. The serum can heal. So whatever happened to you from the time you were in the hospital to the time you woke up with amnesia, he had you. We know you have a life here, but that man, Amber, he’s still out there.”
“And we think he knows where you are,” Seth stated.
I tensed. “What do you mean, ‘you think he knows where I am’?”
“You got away from him, and I bet all I have he’s been searching for you. Wanting you back for whatever he had planned. To finish what he started.”
My heart jumped as I recalled the day I’d been found. I swallowed heavily. “The day the Jameses took me to the hospital—”
“We know all about that,” Aaron butted in.
Surprised, I stared at them. “You know I was pregnant?”
Silence filled the room before Weston spoke, his voice coming out harsh. “What do you mean, pregnant?”
“Pregnant?” Aaron echoed.
“Fuck,” was Seth’s response.
I jumped and tried to get off Weston’s lap, but he curled his large arms around my waist, preventing me from standing. “Sorry, babe,” he said in a softer tone. “We’re just shocked. Will you explain?”
I stayed stiff in his arms. “I don't know.” My voice trembled as I dipped my head onto his chest, embarrassed and ashamed. “I don't know how I got that way. I don't know why, but I lost the baby.” I sniffed. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know why this is happening to me.” My body shook uncontrollably as emotions surfaced. “Why me?”
Weston picked me up and laid me across the bed, crawling in beside me. Aaron came up behind me and curled into my back, both of them whispering to me, soothing me. I heard Seth leave the room on the phone, talking to someone.
My life was messed up before, but now... I was royally fucked.