Trifecta by Kim Carmichael Page A

shook his head.  "Maybe mixing all her stuff up so she would have a hard time unpacking if she chose to move away was a bad idea since we wanted her to stay.  Now we have to deal with the aftermath."
    "See, there's the black rain cloud."  He held up the panties again.  "It's Saturday night and all we found for her to wear is this."
    "You do have a point." Russell shrugged his shoulders.  "But what happens now?"  He mirrored Lauren's question from before.
    His best friend's insecurities poured out of him, but at least he wasn't backing out.  "Now we join her in the bathroom."  Russell shocked the hell out of him when his neat-freak friend sent Lauren into his prize bathroom to clean up.  Russell's bath boasted a deluxe whirlpool tub.  He guided Russell to their destination.
    "Do we just go in?"  Russell held his hands out, shielding the door.
    Jason patted his skittish friend.  "We slept with her last night, we're going to sleep with her again tonight.  You sent her in here.  You even found bubble bath and put it in the water for her.  I personally checked the temperature and found a towel.  I think we've earned the right to see the efforts of our hard work."  He reached around Russell, gave one warning knock and turned the door handle.
    He opened the door a crack and tried to spy Lauren in the reflection of the mirror, but everything was steamed over.  "Can we come in?"  He raised his voice trying to sound inviting.
    "Okay," Lauren called.
    "Jackpot."  He turned back to Russell, grinned and entered.  At first his plan was to charge in there, disrobe and jump in the tub and convince Russell to do the same, but he stopped at the vision before him.  If he needed any inspiration, it was right here with Lauren in the bathtub.
    The copious amount of bubbles hid yet revealed her form, and her slicked back wet hair allowed him to focus on her face. Even with no makeup she was a beauty, and the heat in the room made the color rise in her cheeks.  The blue of her eyes stood out, sparkling against the white tile around her.  Her lips seemed especially lush, and perfectly pink.
    He cleared his throat.  If he tore his gaze away from her face, he could take in the curves of her leg.  Only one dew dropped leg snuck out from the mounds of bubbles.  He wondered if she just shaved. His creativity flowed like the water from the faucet. 
    "Are you okay?"  The water splashed around her.
    "It's kind of hot in here."  He swallowed.  No, he wasn't overwhelmed with the need to jump in the water.  He was just overcome with the need to be near her.
    "I think it's perfect."  She smiled and lifted her leg a bit higher, resting it on the tile wall.
    He licked his lips and glanced over at Russell.
    Russell swallowed, his Adam's apple traveling up and down his neck twice before he took off his glasses, wiped them on a towel and returned them to his face. 
    The three of them didn't say a word, only stared at each other.
    "Do you want to scrub my back?"  She lifted a washcloth out of the bubbles.
    "Yes!" they said in unison and rushed to the edge of the tub.  Their race ended in a tie, and they both reached for the cloth as if they were begging for a scrap.
    "It's my bathroom."  Russell set his jaw.
    "If we share a bed, we share a bath."  Jason wouldn't be bested by his best friend because he had the best bathroom in the house. 
    Lauren bit her lip.
    "I am the one who had to open fourteen boxes to find the scant clothing she has now."  Russell put two fingers on the wet washcloth.
    "Is she here in this bathtub now offering us the opportunity to bathe her?"  He mimicked Russell's actions.  "The box sculpture worked."  He winked at her.
    Her gaze ping-ponged between the two of them, following the banter.
    Neither of them budged. 
    "We are going to have to figure this out." This could easily turn into a competition and that wouldn't work, but he couldn't surrender.
    "How about you both do it."  Lauren reached around