It doesn’t take long for the car to arrive. We’d already planned for someone to clean up the roof after we left, so I didn’t have to worry about that. We ended up making a much bigger mess than expected, though. Sex on the table will do that.
The drive is pretty quiet. Outside of a few pleasantries to the driver, no one says anything. Scarlet looks out the window, and Oliver is on his phone doing god knows what. Probably talking to Dad. He keeps checking in, wondering how the deal is going. I tend to not answer his messages quick enough, so he mainly contacts Oliver with questions. I’ll ask Oliver later if Dad’s being bothersome. This deal has driven him crazy. He wasn’t able to close it years ago, and now he’s placing the pressure on us to follow through.
As we arrive at the airstrip, the pilot is ready to leave, so we get into the helicopter and situate ourselves. It’s already late, and the ride up to Mt. Hood is much longer than our previous one to New York, so Scarlet ends up falling asleep. Her cheek rests on my shoulder, and she looks so peaceful almost like an innocent child. It does give me the chance to speak to Oliver, though. I turn the headset on so only he can hear me,
“Oliver? Was Dad texting you earlier?”
From his facial expression, I can tell I guessed right. He won’t admit it, but our father stresses him out. I don’t admit it, either, so I’m just as much at fault. Winston Blakesley was not the ideal father, but he wasn’t horrible, either. Truth be told, I don’t really know him that well. Since we’ve started working with him – or “for him” as he likes to distinguish – I’ve begun to gain a better understanding of who he is as a person. Our mother died when we were young, and our stepmom, Ginny, raised us. Currently, she and my dad are getting a divorce. She left a while ago but only now are they making it official. Oliver and I are in constant contact with her, so occasionally, Dad would ask us questions about her. I would never betray her trust, and she knows that, but it has been getting sparse lately. Sometimes I get the feeling there are things she wants to tell us about Winston, but something is holding her back.
“Yeah. He was asking about the deal. He wanted to know if we were any closer to sealing the deal.” There had to be more. He was texting for a while.
“Anything else?”
“He asked about Scarlet, Ginny, Rachel Red’s funeral, a bunch of stuff. He was away and wanted to be updated.”
The one thing Oliver and I don’t talk about is Winston. I don’t know what’s holding him back… or maybe I do. We don’t want to have to face anything unnecessary.
“So, he’s back in Coldgrove?”
Oliver nods. This might put a damper on things when we get back. He’ll want to insert himself into the deal. But it’s escalated more than a simple transaction. We definitely can’t let him find out about what’s been going on. “He can’t find out about all of this.”
“I know, Caden,” Oliver sighs. We end all Winston talk right here. Thoughts of him will put a black cloud over the weekend. We can deal with him when we get back to Coldgrove when he’s a more pressing problem.
“Do you think we’re doing the right thing with Scarlet?” I let Oliver know what I’ve been wondering. Scarlet is obviously wary. Every time something happens, she has a small freak out and pulls away. I’m surprised Oliver managed to convince her to come away with us this weekend.
He makes eyes with me, “I don’t know. Do you think we should stop?”
“That’s the last thing I want to do. It’s just- Never mind. It’s probably old anxieties. I’m worried about how this will all end.” If something goes wrong, it could go very wrong.
“Let’s tackle this weekend, and we’ll figure the rest out later.”
Oliver’s right. This weekend we should enjoy ourselves.
• • •
We arrive in the mountains of Mt. Hood, but Scarlet doesn’t wake up. I take the headset off of her and carry her to the car. After the drive and when we arrive at the house, Scarlet wakes up, and watching her wake up is a treat. She’s surprised to find herself in the car, and for a second she has no idea what’s going on.
“Are we here?” Scarlet lets out a yawn and stretches. She looks out the window, up at the cabin. As soon as she sees it, her eyes go wide, fully woken up. “Wow.” Scarlet steps out of the car to get a better look. Oliver and I follow her out. Her arms are splayed at her sides as she drinks in the cabin’s exterior. Surrounded by a thick blanket of white powder, hidden among snow-covered trees, sits a quaint multi-floor emerald green home with white-paned windows encircled by wide wooden balcony decks.
She turns back towards us with a smile on her face. “I can’t believe you guys. This is honestly too much.”
Oliver goes over to her and places an arm around her shoulder. “We wanted to treat you. And our reasons for bringing you here aren’t completely unselfish.”
They walk up to the door as I thank the driver. They’re inside once I’m done. I join them. Oliver’s watching Scarlet look around the first room. It’s a standard living room albeit it’s nicely decorated – high open ceiling overlooking a spacious area filled with authentic caramel-colored leather couches; vast windows looking out into the woods; intricate, regal gold hanging light fixtures; and a wood fireplace to tie it all together. We do like our comforts.
“You guys are honestly ridiculous.” Her smile fades as she bites her bottom lip. I can tell she wants to ask us something. “So, how is this… arrangement supposed to work? Do you… Do I…?” Her voice trails off. I find her uncertainty kind of adorable.
Oliver seems to have taken over explaining things, so I let him keep going, “We’ll let it move forward naturally. Whatever you’re comfortable with is what we’ll do. We want this weekend to be fun.”
Scarlet nods absentmindedly, moving towards the couch and taking a seat. She leans back and looks up at the two of us. “So, what do you want me to do?” Scarlet blows between reserved and bold. I can never tell which one she’ll be at any given point. This unexpectedness is sexier than I anticipated.
“You’re not tired?” Oliver raises an eyebrow, obviously intrigued.
Scarlet shakes her head and Oliver turns to me. There’s a wicked glint in his eyes. He goes to stand behind Scarlet, her eyes following him. Leaning forward, Oliver reaches over the couch to place his hands on Scarlet’s shoulder then slowly runs them down her body. He whispers something into her ear, and Scarlet’s eyes dart directly into mine.
“Do you want me to do something, Caden?”
I wonder what Oliver said to her. He probably thinks I’m being too passive. He probably wants me to show her I’m not just some shy guy. I instruct her,
“Pull up your dress.”
Scarlet gives me a seductive look before pulling the hem of her dress over her ass. I didn’t expect her to be so compliant so quickly. Oliver has proceeded to massaging her breasts, and I can see her fighting back a moan. My dick hardens in my pants, and I can’t stand being so far away. I take a seat next to her. I place my hand on her upper thigh and squeeze. “Should I keep going?”
“Yes.”
I originally planned on asking her to play with herself, but now I want to touch her body. My hand creeps up her leg until I’ve reached the edge of her panties. I move them aside and stick my finger into her folds. I watch her as she watches my hand move. Her breathing becomes shallow once I’m inside, and she spreads her legs further apart to give me better access. Scarlet leans her head back, and Oliver starts to kiss her. I move my fingers with more ferocity, which causes her to gasp into his mouth. I think I understand Oliver’s intentions and keep going, pushing Scarlet as far as she’ll let me. When she goes over and orgasms on my hand, Oliver muffles her moans with his mouth. I slowly slip my fingers out and give Scarlet a moment to regain her senses. Oliver kisses her on the cheek then takes a seat on the other side of her.
Scarlet looks at the two of us while pulling her dress back down. “So… where’s my room?”
An abrupt change, but it seems the night is coming to a close and Scarlet wants her space. We all rise from the couch, and she follows Oliver and me to the stairs. As we climb up, Oliver and Scarlet walk a couple paces behind me, talking about something I can’t quite catch, but I don’t want them to think I’m trying to force myself into their conversation. I know Oliver wouldn’t do anything with mal intent. Still… I can’t help but feel… something. I do my best to brush it off. We soon reach the room, and I open the door, moving aside, so Scarlet can step inside. Oliver stays by the door with me, watching Scarlet wander around the room. She carefully runs her fingers along some of the surfaces as if she’s hesitant to even be touching it.
After a little while, she turns back to us and rubs her hands together, anxious I’m guessing. “I’ll see you two tomorrow?”
I find it odd that she’s framing it as a question. Of course she’ll see us tomorrow.
“Of course,” Oliver answers before me. The fact is… I overthink to the point of few responses, but only now am I beginning to reevaluate it. I’ve barely spoken to Scarlet, and I have no one to blame for that but myself. Oliver keeps having to fill the awkward silences I leave. I want to rectify all this non-communication, but tonight appears to not be that time. We say goodnight and leave Scarlet with herself. Walking away from her door, I think I’ll be turning in for the night, but Oliver asks, “Do you want to have a drink?”
I actually could use one, so I respond, “Yeah, sure.”
It’s been quite the day and I could use some relaxation. We head back downstairs to the living room, and Oliver grabs alcohol and two glasses. I spy that it’s strong whiskey, our drink of choice for a heart-to-heart, brotherly talk. We should probably talk about Scarlet, the house and our father. There is way too much going on, and we do need to deal with it all, sooner or later.
“Soo….” Oliver drags it out for a while, ending on a question, raising his eyebrows while sipping his drink.
“A lot has happened, Oliver.” Since he effectively called this meeting, I want him to jumpstart the conversation.
“What are we going to do, Caden?”
I honestly don’t know. The situation we’ve created is a clusterfuck.
“I mean, what if Dad found out?” he gazes into the void of alcohol in his glass.
“He probably already has an idea.” And I’m thinking he’s scheming a way to use it all to his advantage.
“Ugh, don’t say that. It’s too creepy.”
It is weird, but our father tends to know just about everything. He says that it’s in his best interest, but he simply has an overbearing need to be in control. After a small pause, Oliver adds, “You’re probably right, though. Why don’t we avoid talking about the house? Let’s just have fun this weekend; business would ruin the mood.”
So, it looks like we’ve gone with dealing with this later. It’s not a decision I’m against, because he does have a point. Putting off our problems isn’t the most healthy choice, but a few days of respite would be nice.
I take a long swig from my glass, “Why not?”
We’re in agreement. As we finish our drinks, the conversation remains light. I’m calming down and starting to feel just how tired my body is. “I think I’m ready to turn in for the night,” I let my brother know. I stand up and stretch.
Oliver stands up with me and grabs the two empty glasses, “We’re going to have a lot of fun.”
I nod and smile, thinking about the possible things we can do with Scarlet. It’ll be a weekend to remember. Oliver goes to the kitchen, and I head upstairs. It dawns on me I still haven’t fully wrapped my head around what has transpired… or more like what is transpiring. Then again I also haven’t been thinking clearly lately. Hopefully, a good night sleep will help. Stripped down to my boxers and a T-shirt, I slide into bed and try and get some sleep.