I wavered back and forth on my outfit for tonight, cramped into the tiny closet in my apartment. After much debate, I finally decided on a simple black sundress with skinny black straps. I thought the guys would like it, and I feel comfortable in it. It doesn’t skin my curves, and it’s not tight, but it flatters my figure in a way that still leaves something to the imagination.

I think Elliot will be slightly more appreciative of it than Mark will be. I think Elliot likes a more subtle sexiness. Mark would want me to answer the door in just lingerie and heels.

I swallow thickly and look at myself in the mirror hanging above my dresser. I can’t help but smile. It’s absolutely crazy that I am getting dresses to please two men. I haven’t put any thought into my appearance in a while. The last time I got dressed up was when I found out Carlo was throwing a surprise party for me at the alley, so I wanted to wear something nice for that event. There were no guys there for me, just me and Carlo and the rest of my staff, but getting a little dolled up and indulging in some self-care did boost my self-confidence. I felt myself standing up a bit straighter, smiling a little bit brighter. I felt as though a little bit of weight had been taken off my shoulders.

And now, here I am, getting ready for a date with two men. And I can’t help but smile and shake my head at the delicious craziness of all of it.

I think back to the night I first met the boys. I wasn’t expecting them to walk into my bar at all. I wasn’t expecting them to look the way they did, to dress the way they did, to have the sexy confidence they exuded right away. I didn’t count on becoming intrigued by them right away; I didn’t anticipate developing feelings for them so quickly. And what started as intrigue and desire and insanity in the back of their car where I was able to let them take me so freely and let go of my inhibitions for once in my life, for once in a very long time, has so quickly become something more. It’s still the giddiness of getting to know someone, of discovering their history and learning about them, but it’s also feeling that someone has your best interests at heart, even when you don’t know exactly what you need or want.

And lucky me, instead of that special someone, I have two of them.

Mark and Elliot. They are so easy to be around, and they clearly care very deeply about each other in addition to me. I know they have a bond that is stronger than I will probably ever be able to fully understand, and they’ve welcomed me into their lives, taken me along for the crazy ride.

At the same time, it is bittersweet. Even though we haven’t explicitly discussed our relationship yet, I know how they feel about me. Or at least, I think I know, and I am willing to put myself on the line to tell them how I feel. I wouldn’t be able to stop myself if i tried. I need to tell them how I feel, and I need to tell them tonight. With that, comes something else I need to tell them. It’s something I’ve had to face for a long time, and they’ve helped me and given me the little push I need to have the confidence to finally do it.

I’m going to sell the bowling alley to them, and I know they are going to do good things with it. I trust them. I know they have its best interest at heart, even though they might be able to make more money with it if they turned it into a shopping center or even just a parking lot.

I know they will take good care of it just like I’ve tried to. And I know they won’t be able to love it as much as I have, but they will do a better job at nurturing it and making it shine like the diamond I know it is under all its layers of dirt.

I glance around my apartment. It’s just one room. The bed is three feet away from the refrigerator, but it’s not a bad apartment. I love this apartment. I love the smell of fresh bread coming up through the radiators from the bakery downstairs. But I can’t live here forever. I am going to want a family one day. I am going to want more than this. I can’t achieve more if I allow myself to continue to be stuck in the past.

Unsure of what the boys have planned, I sit on the corner of the bed to wait for them. They should be here any minute. I’ve learned about them that they are never too early or too late; they are always just on time.

I expect them to text or call me to tell me to come downstairs when I hear a knock at my door.

My heart flutters in my chest as I hop off my bed to answer it.

Looking through the peephole, I see Mark and Elliot standing there outside my door with a bouquet of red roses.

“Hello,” I say, opening the door with a bright smile pulling at my cheeks. I step aside to let them in and they pass me, and I feel instantly dizzy at the scent of their cologne.

“Scarlett,” Mark says, taking my face in his hands, “you look stunning.”

Elliot hangs back and holds the flowers, a sexy expression of want coloring his face. His eyes lock with mine and his eyes drag down to my lips, and I feel a dull ache beginning inside me.

“You should have told me you were coming up,” I say, “and I would have had something prepared for you. A coffee cake or something. I’m not used to having guests in my house and not having anything to offer them.”

“Stop with the manners, Scarlett,” Mark says, tracing his thumb along my jaw. “You’re too proper.”

“Except when you aren’t,” Elliot says.

I swallow and inhale deeply, Mark’s intoxicating cologne making me feel dizzy enough to collapse into his arms.

“We want to take you out on a nice date,” Mark says, “but first we want to discuss something important with you.”

Elliot crosses my small apartment and takes a seat on my navy blue sleeper sofa in the living room area, even though it’s only a few feet from everything else in the apartment.

“We’ve drawn up a contract, and we want to ask you to review it. We are not trying to pressure you into anything, Scarlett, but I want to be honest with you. Our investors are becoming impatient with us and they are looking for us to close this deal by the end of the week. Again, we don’t want to rush you, and we do know this is a very important decision. We know what The Gutter means to you. But let us help you help make it into something thriving, something bursting with life. We know we can do it.”

Mark and I sit down on the couch with Elliot, as Elliot hands me a folder. I open it and find a contract, about thirty pages, with the name of their firm and my name emblazoned on the first line.

“I want to tell you something too,” I say, closing the contract and placing it on the small round coffee table in front of us. “You don’t have to convince me to sell. You don’t have to tell me all the reasons it’s the logical choice or a smart business move. I have already made my decision. I am going to sell. I think I decided it before I even met you, but I couldn’t admit it to myself.”

“We know how hard this is,” Elliot says, putting his hand on my knee. “We know the history you have with it. We know what it means to you.”

“That’s why I’m so happy I met you guys,” I say, my heart beating faster, but with a calmness coming over me. “I feel so confident in my decision. And I couldn’t have done it without you. You are the perfect buyers for The Gutter. You share my values. You are going to do right by me.”

“There’s something else,” Mark says, “we want to bring you on as a consultant. After the deal goes through, we want to have a contract with you, renewable every six months, to have you act as our advisor. You wouldn’t be working for us. You’d be working with us. And we will compensate you very fairly, because you have a wealth of knowledge, a lifetime of experience, that all the business and finance classes in the world wouldn’t be able to teach.”

“It’s in your blood, Scarlett,” Elliot says, “and we need you right there with us going forward.

I feel my heart pounding inside my chest as my mind spins with the news.

“I don’t know what to say,” I whisper softly, looking between Mark and Elliot.

“You will have your own office at our new workspace if you want it, or you can continue working from the bowling alley. Whatever you choose,” Mark says. “As I said before, you would not be our employee, so even if you elect to work within the same offices as us, you would still be an outside contractor, with all the autonomy as you’d have if you continued to work from your private office.”

“Have you seen that office?” I say, beginning to get choked up. “I think I’d like to relocate.”

“I have to admit our office has a better view,” Elliot says, putting his arm around my shoulder. “So what do you say? Do we have a deal?”

“Yes!” I say, throwing my arms around both of them. “Yes, of course. Yes. This is wonderful.”

Instantly, I feel enveloped in warmth, a safe, protective energy around me. The men - Mark and Elliot - embrace me in a swirl of desire and love.

Love - is it possible? I turn the word over in my mind as I feel myself being taken over by their strong, firm hands. And I realize it could be love. What I am feeling could really be love. And what they have done for me - well, if it isn’t love, that’s okay. Because I feel safe and cared for and wanted. But I think it might be love on their part, too. Crazy as I feel to imagine they could both love me, I do think it might be love.

I close my eyes as their hands slide over my body, taking in my curves, exploring softly.

“That feels nice,” I whisper, “that feels so nice.”

Mark pulls me onto his lap and I feel his hardness pressing against me, and I arch my back instinctively, grinding against him. His hand comes around me, snaking along the swell of my breast, and finds its way between my legs. Eliot’s lips crush against mine as he takes my face in his hands, strong and silent as he tastes me.

“You are beautiful, Scarlett. You mean so much to us.”

I melt onto Mark’s body as his fingers find their way to the edge of my panties. I am already so turned on and ready for them. Both of them.

“God, you are so fucking hot,” Mark says, nipping my earlobe with his teeth. I feel my eyebrows knit together as Elliot kisses me, stifling the moan coming from deep inside me.

Elliot’s hands wrap around my body and he pulls me toward him as Mark helps him maneuver my body. They are able to toss me around together like I weigh nothing at all, and it makes me feel so sexy and hot for them.

Mark pushes my dress up my back as Elliot pulls me toward him. I straddle Elliot’s waist easily, and I feel him, just like I felt Mark, hard and stiff against me. Both men put their hands on my hips and I begin to grind slowly against Elliot, my clit burning between us, still covered up but aching to be touched.

I feel Mark pulling my dress up higher, and he and Elliot pull it over my head.

“Beautiful, beautiful,” Mark says, pressing me into his chest. His hands are broad and steady against my back, and I arch my back again as Elliot puts his hands under my ass, kneading my flesh, turning me on even more. Parts of me that have never been touched are being caressed and taken, and the delicious newness of it all is positively intoxicating.

“Have you ever taken it back here, Scarlett?” Mark growls, his fingers teasing against the edge of my panties.

“No,” I gasp, “never.”

“Oh baby,” his lips come down on the back of my neck as he drags his tongue along the column of my neck, up to my ear. He pushes my hair behind my other shoulder and Mark takes it in his fist, exposing the line of my neck.

“Would you like to?” Elliot asks.

I feel myself clench up at his words, the insides of my thighs becoming wet and sticky with my desire.

“Yes,” I say without hesitation. “I want to try it. I want everything. With both of you.”

“Good girl,” Mark says, “but we are going to be gentle with you. We are going to start slow.”

“Oh god,” I moan, “I just want you to take me now.”

“At the same time, Scarlett? Do you want us to fuck you at the same time?” Mark growls into my ear, sending a shiver down my spine, punctuating the growing ache between my legs.

“Yes,” I moan. “That’s what I want. Please.”

Their teasing is delicious and making me so hot with desire, desperate for their touch, their tongues exploring my body, hitting every untouched part of me, every part of me I didn’t know I was saving for them.

The men maneuver my body so I’m lying down on my back, and Mark moves between my legs, his fingers teasing the edge of my panties.

“These are pretty,” he says, smirking at me.

“Please,” I moan as his lips come down on my covered slit. “Please.”

“You beg so nicely, baby,” he growls as he pulls the black lace down slowly. He takes my panties off and I bend my knees as he puts his arms under my legs, spreading me open to expose my wet, aching clit.

I look down and watch as he makes a long, slow stroke with his tongue up my slit, swirling it against my clit.

“Fuck,” Elliot says behind me, moving his hands under my back to unclasp my bra. “That’s fucking hot.”

He tosses the black lace bra away and takes my breasts in his hands, pinching my nipples softly and flicking his fingers against them as Mark licks my clit.

I feel myself barreling so fast toward an orgasm, nestled between their bodies, they hands and mouths all over me. My breathing speeds up and I want them both inside me, desperate and needy, and my pussy tenses up as Mark licks me, his lips nestled around my clit, sucking and licking wildly.

“You keep eating her,” Elliot says, his mouth on my neck. I feel his breath on my skin, his lips kissing me tenderly as he massages my breasts, and the sensation when he finally pulls my nipples with a little more force threatens to send me over the edge.

“That feels so good,” I moan, “please don’t stop.”

Mark keeps his mouth on me as his eyes flash up to mine, then he presses his fingers to either side of my clit while he keeps licking me wildly, taking my clit between his lips and sucking on it hard.

“Slip a finger into our girl,” Elliot groans, gliding one hand down my body as the other flicks my nipple.

Mark groans seductively and I feel the vibrations against my clit. His eyes close as he keeps eating me, one of his hands snaking around my body and under me, where he takes his mouth away from me quickly, dips two of his fingers into his mouth, and then latches back onto my clit while slowly forcing two fingers inside me.

“Oh god!” I cry out, unable to take it much longer.

“You are so nice and tight, aren’t you?” Elliot says, both of his hands on my breasts. “And your ass? Did you keep your virgin ass nice and tight for us?

I moan loudly, filling my apartment with sounds I’ve never heard myself make before. I feel intoxicated by Mark and Elliot, and when I think I can’t take anymore, Mark starts fucking me with his fingers, making my pussy squeeze up as I cum.

“Oh god,” I moan, “I am cumming. Please don’t stop!”

Mark holds onto my hips as I start rolling them, grinding my pussy against his face as he eats me, and I feel my body exploding with the most mind-erasing orgasm I’ve ever felt.

And they don’t stop. They don’t let me breathe for a second. Like they know exactly what I want and need, Mark takes his mouth away from my clit and keeps fingering me hard, curling his fingers up inside and making me feel so tight and stuff, and Elliot sits me up, pulling me into his lap.

“You wanna be stuffed, don’t you girl?” Elliot growls into my ear.

“Please,” I cry, “yes. I want to feel both of you at once.”

“It’s not enough for us to swap her back and forth,” Mark says to Elliot, “she wants both of us. What do you say?”

“We’ve never done this before,” Elliot says darkly. “And I never want to do this with any other girl. Ever. You are perfect for us.”

I melt into them and close my eyes as Elliot spreads my legs open in his lap. Mark’s fingers keep fucking me, and I feel myself close to cumming again.

The heat inside my body is so intense, and the buildup is so fast, and I feel absolutely lost in these two men at this moment. Elliot shifts gently but keeps me in his lap as he takes his jeans off, pushing them to the floor.

I’m riding the edge of an orgasm from Mark’s thick, manly fingers, and when I open my eyes, the sight of his strong, muscular forearms is nearly enough to send me over the edge again.

But then he takes his hand away from me, takes me by the hips, and stands me up in front of him.

“I need to get you ready,” he says, taking my face in his hands. He crushes my lips to his and our tongues swirl together, and I taste myself faintly on him.

“Ready for what?” I moan as Elliot steps behind me. I feel his thick hardness against my ass as he slips his hands around my waist.

“Ready for us to take you at the same time, baby,” Elliot says.