Triplet Time: A Reverse Harem Stepbrother Romance Page 3

  “Hey, you can have this table.” The lady saw our tableless plight.

  “Thanks,” I replied. “You take your time.”

  “We’re ready to leave. We’ve already settled up. Sorry about the mess. The kids can’t eat anything without throwing half of it on the table.”

  After a couple of minutes we sat down at the freshly wiped table, and Sophie picked up the menu. The rest of us pretty much knew it by heart.

  I couldn’t complain about Carl sitting next to Sophie because I got to sit opposite her and the view from where I sat wasn’t bad at all. And I didn’t just mean out of the window.

  Sophie studies held on to a menu. “This looks fabulous. I can’t believe I haven’t been here already.”

  “We could have done this last weekend.” Ben cocked his head and looked sternly at Carl who in turn looked back defiantly.

  “Carl took me on a grand tour of art related places. We went to The Athena Gallery, Clinton Arts Center and a few other places where artists hang out and work.”

  “Did you go to the market along the river?” Ben asked. The weekly art market that ran alongside the river was one of our favorite places for a walk on Sunday morning when we first moved to the city so I could understand how Sophie felt about it. We didn’t often go there together anymore.

  Carl nodded. “Of course.”

  “Oh yes. Where local artists have stands and hang their work along the fence? That was a nice event. I loved how it felt like an open-air exhibition.” Sophie oozed enthusiasm. “The variety and quality of work was amazing. We have to go again.”

  A part of me wished I’d been there with her too, sharing her enjoyment of it for her first time. No wonder Carl looked a little smug.

  They must have had a great time together, and he had gotten a little closer to Sophie than Ben and I. In the playful competition between us for Sophie’s affections, so far, Carl was well ahead.

  “So you guys are really going to take me to the nightclub? What time will we leave? I wonder what I should wear. I don’t think I’ve got anything appropriate.”

  I nodded and smiled at her excitement. She reminded me of a kid talking about Christmas.

  “We’ll go shopping when we leave here,” said Ben.

  Most girls love shopping. I couldn’t help feeling both my brothers were making moves to build themselves up in her esteem. And feared I might be lagging behind.

  “To be honest, I can’t believe you’re a DJ, Adam.” She looked at me and I didn’t know what to say.

  Ben saved me by asking what was on my mind. “Why do you say that? It’d be a strange thing to make up, and you’ll see him at work when we go to the club.”

  “I’m not saying he’s lying. But you three are not what you seem. You are so different to what I expected, and full of surprises.”

  “Surprises?” I asked. “What surprises?”

  And judging by the confused expressions on my brother’s faces, they were as mystified as me.

  “Well, that you are a nightclub DJ, for one thing. It’s not the sort of part-time job I’d imagine for a man getting a business degree. And you’re from a wealthy family, so it’s not as if you need the money from a part-time job.” She bit her bottom lip, and a red flush climbed her neck. “I'm sorry.”

  What embarrassing thing was she thinking? “No, it’s okay. But what else?” I asked. “You looked as if there was more to say.”

  “Well, you’re all so good looking that I felt sure you’d have girlfriends or a stream of women visiting and stopping over.”

  Before we could respond, she rushed on.

  “And then you are all studying some kind of business degrees, which sound really boring.” She looked around, and none of us denied it. “But it turns out you guys aren’t the stuffy business-suit types. It’s like you are hiding different people under your shirts.”

  Ben stood up. “I’ll show you what I'm hiding under my shirt,” he said as he pulled up his top to reveal a few inches of his toned, washboard abs. Any excuse to show his six pack.

  Sophie’s eyes almost popped out of her head.

  “Put it away, Ben. You’ll put us off our food,” I snapped. He might be less inclined to do that after he’d tucked into the huge plate that he’d ordered.

  He grinned and sat back down. He was showing off for Sophie’s benefit and she seemed to lap it up.

  “I didn’t mean that,” said Sophie. “I meant, on the face of it, you three are doing what’s expected; you are all doing a sensible business degree. Even if it is combined with photography.” We all looked at Carl.

  He tapped his forehead.

  “So you can take up sensible business careers like your father expects,” Sophie continued. “But underneath the straight-laced facade, you all seem artistic. Carl, with his photography. You with your music and cooking, Adam. The two of you are so creative. As for Ben, well, I'm not sure what exactly, but I think I'm going to discover you write poetry or something.”

  “Oh, no,” Carl mumbled shaking his head. “Cue a poem.”

  As I could have predicted, Ben launched into an overly dramatic recitation:

  “Yet if hope has flown away

  In a night, or in a day,

  In a vision, or in none,

  Is it therefore the less gone?

  All that we see or seem

  Is but a dream within a dream.”

  Carl and I rolled our eyes and made tortured groaning sounds.

  With luck, he would end there.

  Sophie giggled and clapped when he paused. “What was that? Did you write it?”

  “No. I had to learn some Edgar Allen Poe a few year ago and haven’t been able to forget it. No, I'm not a poet. I just like to practice the art of love.”

  “Stop.” I put my hands up to signal my surrender and Carl placed his hands on his ears.

  Sophie giggled some more. Either she was being polite or found him more amusing than we did.

  Ben shrugged. “Okay, I’ll admit my artistic skills are limited to martial arts.”

  Carl rolled his eyes.

  “Oh yes. Tae kwon do, I hadn’t thought of that as an art,” said Sophie.

  “One day I’ll show you my moves.” It seemed Ben really had perfected the art of corny lines to woo women. “My best moves are on the dance floor, of course. These hips were made for dancing.”

  “You’re so funny.” She giggled again. “Why don’t you come to the nightclub with us, Carl? It’ll be fun.”

  Carl looked across diagonally across the table at me for a moment.

  Triplets did not share one brain or communicate telepathically despite what some would suggest. Nevertheless, having lived in close proximity for over twenty years, sometimes we sort of knew what each other was thinking.

  At that precise moment I felt certain all three of us knew, when it came to Sophie, it was game on. Her stepsister status wasn’t going to deter any one of us. We all liked her too much.

  And if we didn’t then she’d date some other guy.

  Why should we watch her date other men without being in with a chance ourselves?

  Sophie was too good a women to let her slip by the three of us.

  Slowly, Carlos shook his head. “Um. It’s not my scene. The three of us might look the same, but underneath the three very similar handsome dashing exteriors, we are quite different.” He waved a hand across the table. “Those two got the musical and dancing talents along with the capacity to stay awake after midnight.”

  “Carl doesn’t like nightclubs, loud music, or any music composed after 1950,” Ben explained.

  We all laughed. Ben was right.

  “Oh yes, we went to a jazz cafe last week for lunch. I didn’t think about it at the time. Is that your kind of music?”

  Carl nodded. “Jazz, among other things.”

  “Oh, I like that cafe, the Clinton Jazz Cafe,” said Ben. “To be fair, they do play some good music. And they have live bands quite often.”

  CHAPT
ER FIVE

  SOPHIE

  By many people’s standards, we arrived at the nightclub very early in the evening. Nevertheless, there was a small crowd of people gathered near the door. I assume they intended to go in and were perhaps waiting for additional friends to turn up.

  The doors were open, and we could hear the thumping bass from the sidewalk.

  Like giant bodyguards, Adam and Ben were on either side of me as we approached the gray building.

  “If you’re the first DJ of the evening, who’s playing the music now?” I asked Adam to my right.

  “At this time of night, the club is practically empty, and nobody dances, so they just play a pre-recorded mix. They figure there’s no point paying a DJ to stand in a booth when the club is just opening and there are no customers,” he replied.

  Ben placed an arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him. “You’ll see. There might be ten people in here right now, but it will fill up quickly over the next hour.”

  He must’ve sensed my apprehension, and he kept his arm around me as we approached the door.

  Despite Adam’s earlier assurances, I remained concerned that I might not be allowed in. It would be embarrassing, and I’d have to make my way back home alone. I couldn’t expect Ben to come with me. He’d already hung out with me all day.

  I feared that when we got to the door, someone would want to check my ID, but we sauntered past the short line and entered without a second glance from the security guys.

  It turned out, Adam was correct. He should know what he was talking about as he did one or two DJ sets at this nightclub each week.

  Inexperienced and naive small-town girl that I am, I’d never been to such a venue.

  Fake ID was easy enough to come by, so I heard; that wasn’t the issue. A lack of opportunity had been the problem. There simply wasn’t a nightclub for miles in any direction near the small town in which I’d grown up. The nearest nightclub was in the city, which was simply too far away.

  Just inside, Adam approached the lady at the register and spoke with her while I hung back with Ben. I could smell him, faintly. His cologne smelled nice. His arm around me made me feel looked after and wanted. I knew it was a brotherly arm, just as he might place it around the shoulders of a male friend or one of his actual brothers.

  The three of us went through a second set of doors where stairs descended toward the sound of the music.

  Inside the club, the bright spotlights revealed a cavernous, almost empty, space. I found it difficult to reconcile with my image of a nightclub full of dancing sweaty people. As it was, I could see dark silhouettes moving around the edge of the room. There were a few people there but not many.

  “You won’t recognize this place within an hour, it will flood with people,” Ben whispered in my ear.

  I wondered if I’d run into anyone from my course. The thought lasted a moment before I remembered, like me, most of the classmates were too young to get in.

  Adam led the way across the club and Ben let his arm drop from my shoulder. When we reached the other side of the room, Adam tapped a code on a keypad and opened a door marked private. To be honest, the door was black, and I expect it mostly people wouldn’t notice it there.

  We entered the staff area.

  The dark space was the size of a cupboard; it turned out to be an Adamechamber. In contrast, the room beyond was brightly lit, and the sound of the nightclub merely a muffled background noise. When my eyes adjusted to the bright light, I realized this wasn’t just one room; I could see open doors suggesting a suite of rooms.

  “Welcome to the very unglamorous staff area where people come to take a break.” Adam spread out his arms and turned around.

  It reminded me of a waiting room with uncomfortable chairs and a grubby carpet. Not a place you’d want to stay and relax in for any longer than necessary. “There are lockers through here.” He led the way into the next room, and I followed. Like a gentleman, Ben hung back waiting for me to go first.

  There were indeed many lockers, some of them locked, others left open with keys in the doors.

  “If you want to leave your stuff in here, your jacket or anything, this is the place to put it. Of course, you can use the club coat check, it’s only a few dollars, but there’s always a long line.”

  Adam pulled a key out of his pocket. “I left my equipment here yesterday.” He opened a locker door and pulled out a headset. “Apart from getting this, I don’t need to come here because I'm just doing one set then I’m finished for the night. And everything I need is here.” He pulled a memory stick out of his pocket.

  I had no idea what being a nightclub DJ involved, but I was quickly getting the idea. “Do you leave your headset here all week?” I knew he only did one or at most two nights a week, and always the first shift.

  "Not usually, no, just sometimes overnight.” Adam fished his free hand into his other pocket and pulled out a pile of coins. At least I thought they were coins. He handed them all over to Ben. “Next stop the bar and then the DJ booth.”

  “Drink tokens,” Ben replied to my questioning expression without any further explanation. “Okay, let’s go. Um, first, I'm going to leave my sweater here. Do you want to put your jacket in a locker too?”

  I did. We shared a locker. Adam slipped the key into his pocket.

  It seems they didn’t trust me with much. Or they were looking after me like older brothers. I could choose which way I wanted to interpret their actions.

  We must have only been in the staff room for five or ten minutes, but when we came out the club was already noticeably busier.

  The three of us made our way slowly to the bar.

  Slowly, because everyone wanted to stop and talk to Adam and Ben as if they were celebrities in this place.

  Adam worked here, giving everyone a good time, so that I could understand. Ben, however? Perhaps it was because they looked alike?

  I’d gotten the hang of telling them apart when I saw them every day. I guess here in the dark of the club, most people probably couldn’t tell who was who so they showed a flattering interest in both of them.

  A part of me was thrilled that my roommates and stepbrothers were so popular.

  Another part of me felt protective of them. Well, jealous, if I was honest. I didn’t want to share the brothers with their admirers. I wanted to keep them for myself.

  And many of these people were admirers. I could tell by the way both men and women looked over the hot bodies of my two men. I hadn’t found out if they were gay or straight yet. Perhaps the fact that they hadn’t responded to my comment about having a stream of girlfriends meant they were gay. All three of them? They hadn’t had a stream of boyfriends back to the apartment either.

  When we finally reached the bar, Ben asked me if I’d like a bottle of water. Water? He must have seen the surprise on my face because before I could question his sanity, he explained that they both drank water when they were here. Well, if it was good enough for my older brothers, then I didn’t mind doing the same.

  “Right, I'm taking off to the DJ booth. You two come up and see me when you’re ready,” Adam said when Ben handed him a bottle of water.

  “Will do,” I said and watched him walk away. Again stopped by everyone in his path, I wondered how long it would take before he got there.

  “Why water and not something more exciting?” I asked Ben when he passed me my bottle and stepped away from the bar.

  He reacted with a tentative smile. It couldn’t have been a strange question, but he took a while to answer. Finally he said, “It’s healthy; it’s kind on your teeth; how many reasons do you want?”

  At each comment, I felt my eyebrows raise a little higher as if they had a mind of their own. “One good reason would do.”

  He held up his hand with his fingers spread. “No calories. No hangover. Good for hydration when dancing.” And he counted them off. “There are three reasons straight off.”

  I felt a little childish as if
I’d assumed that alcohol became a compulsory part of a night out for people over twenty-one.

  “We might come out at night, but we don’t stay out all night. We go home at a fairly reasonable time and by drinking water, we can get up and function the next day.”

  “We. We. We.”

  “Yes. Me and Adam. Although Carl’s much the same. He doesn’t drink much either. We haven’t got the time to spare to lose it to a hangover.”

  “I meant you always talk about yourselves, you and your brothers, as a group. You say we a lot when other people might say I.” They all said “we” a lot. I couldn’t imagine many brothers in their twenties living together by choice and being as close as the triplets.

  “I do? Or do we?”

  “All this talking about wee and drinking. I’ve got to go use the ladies’ room.”

  “Oh, right.” Ben laughed. “I’ll come with you. Not like, um, completely come with you into the bathroom. But I’ll show you where they are and hold your drink.”

  Just as well we set off in plenty of time as it turned out the bathrooms were not handy. We had to go out of the bar and up some stairs and along a corridor. It seemed as if we were going into a different building. And all the way people stopped to talk to Ben.

  Not just people.

  Specifically women.

  Women with flirting smiles, and roving eyes, and roaming touches.

  And he smiled back.

  Jealousy flared within me because I wanted to keep his flirty attention to myself.

  I’d gotten so comfortable with the triplets that I wasn’t nervous around them any longer. It was as comfortable as if we’d been friends for years.

  After living with them for a while, I could tell the guys apart at a glance, but I still found each of them attractive, each in his own way. Much as I tried to bury it, I had to admit to myself that I fancied each one of them like crazy and I wouldn’t want to choose between them. When Ben bared his stomach in the diner, I practically purred. I could imagine running my fingers over it and stroking that thick treasure trail that ran central and downward into his pants.