Kelly awoke on Wednesday morning to her alarm clock ringing beside her. The tiny hammer ricocheted between its two bells atop the round clock face, blurring into an invisible cacophony. She clamped her hand over her nightstand three times before she found the clock and flicked the lever to silence the alarm. The hammer stilled, and the silence hung heavy over her blankets.
Her bedroom was still dark. No light came through the window despite its open curtains. She stretched beneath her blanket, pointing her toes and reaching her hands against the headboard, arching her spine until the cramps hit. Her body snapped into a fetal curl, clutching her pajama top against her lower stomach.
Kelly yawned against the back of her hand as she swung her legs over the bed and into her fluffy white slippers. The lavender pajama top and pants offered warmth, and she enjoyed how the smooth cotton swept against her skin. She stood, pulling on her robe from her chair beside the bed. She tied the sash, using the pressure to grant her comfort, and made her bed.
She grimaced as she bent over her mattress but pushed through. Kelly knocked on Katelyn's door and then opened it to peek inside. Katelyn wasn't there. Panic spiked through her, but when she turned, she saw the TV illuminating the living room. The DVD menu for Fellowship of the Ring played on a loop. She shuffled into the room, spotting Katelyn on the sofa.
The poor girl had fallen asleep watching the movie. She had her left arm in its sling, pink pajama booty shorts, and a too-short spaghetti strap cami for a top. She'd had a blanket, but it fell to the floor during the night. Her right hand was upturned on top of it, her legs akimbo, with her right ankle over the back of the couch. Her head was on one of their throw pillows, with her face turned toward the TV to watch.
Kelly wouldn't have been comfortable sleeping that way, but the ganglier Katelyn seemed comfy. She snored with her mouth open, and Kelly smiled.
She padded silently around their sofa and covered Katelyn with her blanket once more.
Katelyn mumbled something in her sleep, a thank you, and cuddled into her covering as the warmth washed over her. She rolled to her right side, facing the sofa's back.
Kelly glanced toward the kitchen. No home-made smoothie this morning. She couldn't run the food processor or the blender while Katelyn was asleep. Why had she watched the Lord of the Rings? That didn't seem like Katelyn's usual movie. Granted, there were lots of hot guys, but Katelyn had never seemed into elves, dwarves, or high fantasy before.
She shrugged and turned off the TV, leaving the remote within reach of Katelyn on the coffee table. Kelly found Katelyn's almost dead phone on the floor beside her. She plugged it in, charging it for her. With Katelyn taken care of, Kelly got ready for the day.
Katelyn was still asleep when Kelly left the bathroom. The menstrual cramps had settled into a dull roar, but working out today was going to be a bitch. Still, she had to show up. The girls were waiting for her. Hopefully, she could get away with 'coaching' more than 'working' today.
She wore thick black yoga pants to the gym, her black sports bra, and a loose blue sleeveless t-shirt over them that hung to the bottom of her butt. A chipped and fading print of Rosie the Riveter covered her chest. Her "We can do it!" word bubble faded into the V-neck she'd cut and stitched into the collar. Her duffel bag carried her change of clothes and shower supplies, her backpack contained her books and laptop, and her purse had everything else she might need.
She locked the apartment and drove to campus with a podcast playing to keep her company. She switched to earphones when she parked, listened to her "Pump Up" playlist, and strode straight to the athletic center's smoothie bar for breakfast. If she couldn't make one at home, she'd buy one instead.
Standing in line, waiting to order, she felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Thalia smiling at her.
"Hey!" Kelly said, pulling out her earphones. "How did the shoot go?"
"It went well." Thalia said. "Very well. We had fun and lots of sex."
Kelly's eyebrows rose. "Oh, well, good for you! I guess."
She hadn't meant for her tone to sound as surprised or disappointed as it did. Rani wouldn't let an opportunity like Thalia pass by unfucked. She'd wondered if Arthur would be interested, but apparently, he had been. Thalia'd slept with him, or him and Rani. Kelly didn't know how to feel about that, but the jealousy she expected didn't rear its head. The initial surprise faded quickly, replaced by curiosity that might erode her disappointment in missing out. The lack of jealousy was interesting, but Rani had been there. She trusted Rani. The chances of either of them losing Arthur to someone else were slim, even someone as hot as Thalia, but both of them? She didn't have to worry. Still, she hadn't hidden the frown on her lightly freckled face.
Thalia frowned. "They said it was okay. That you had rules, but--"
Kelly raised her hand to stop her. "It's okay. You just surprised me. It's early. I haven't even had my energy smoothie yet." She motioned toward the counter.
Thalia nodded, relaxing. Like Kelly, she dressed for the gym, but the sweat stains on her cropped, sleeveless v-neck Pendleton Wolves t-shirt suggested she was finishing rather than starting.
"Good workout?" Kelly asked.
"Yeah." Thalia nodded. "Not as good as last night." She smirked. "Though it was mostly oral sex with the Desi."
"The..." Kelly's confusion returned. She didn't recognize that term and wondered if it was a Greek noun.
"Desi. The Indian woman." Thalia said.
"Oh." Kelly said, laughing at the mistake. Thalia's memory of names was good, but Rani wasn't a common name at the University, so it made sense that she might not remember it correctly. "No, her name's Rani."
Thalia laughed and stretched her neck. "I missed you, though. Maybe next time you, me, and the Desi can have fun and leave the boy at home."
Kelly giggled. She didn't hate the idea, but she wanted Arthur there, too. "Honey, if you saw him in action, you know he's all man."
Thalia rolled her eyes. "He is better than most men, but he is a sex nerd. He makes it boring."
The person in front of Kelly in line glanced behind them, eying Thalia.
"Boring?" Kelly asked. "Just because you don't like men?"
Thalia shrugged.
Kelly raised an eyebrow in inquiry. Sex with Arthur was many things, but never boring.
"Do not misunderstand. He is good. He pounded that Korean schoolgirl so hard she will have trouble walking. But he was not up for what we tried to do and wanted to do research." Thalia rolled her eyes again. "Not sexy."
That didn't sound like Arthur. If Thalia wanted to try something Arthur didn't want, she must have pushed for something in the outer stratosphere of kink.
"What did you want to do that he wanted to research first?" Kelly asked, surprised. Arthur couldn't know everything about every sex act, but he was experienced and knowledgeable. Lori, Kelly's old roommate, put him through the paces of sexual experimentation. Her adventurous nature gave him first-hand experience with most kinks and knowledge of more. What had Thalia wanted that Arthur didn't have experience with?
"We uh..." Thalia glanced around, but it was Kelly's turn to order her smoothie. "Eh, I will let them tell you." She shrugged. "This is not the place. But you and Rani have my number. Call me if you want to play."
Thalia waved goodbye, leaving the line for the locker rooms. Kelly had thought she was getting a recovery drink, but apparently not.
She ordered her strawberry energizer smoothie and drank it on her way to the locker room. She stashed her things, finished her smoothie, tossed the cup, and entered the gym. The early morning crowd was thin, but dedicated. The smell of cleaning supplies, leather, padded mats, rubber weights, and salty sweat mingled together and filled the enclosed space.
Arthur and Brad were walking on the treadmills while Selene showed Mindy yoga poses on the mats. Selene's graceful transitions between the warrior stances to the downward dog and cobra made it a dance. Mindy's transitions were far less smooth, and her balance was much more wobbly, but she was just starting.
Mindy's outfit was modest. A large, tucked-in t-shirt and black yoga pants identical to Kelly's. Judging by how little her chest moved as she almost fell out of position, Kelly could tell she'd doubled her sports bra, wearing two to contain her large breasts.
By comparison, Selene's outfit was obscene. Her sports bra was more like a bralette with thin straps. If she'd had Katelyn's breasts, it would have been fine. Instead, her round c-cups stretched the thin black fabric to its limit, turning it fifty percent sheer. Her breasts nearly fell out every time she lowered herself into Downward Dog. The shorts she'd chosen were barely there, low-waisted black dance shorts with white seams that looked more like briefs, displaying quarter-moon cheeks depending on her pose. Even standing upright, a thin slice of her round bubble butt peeked out from beneath her shorts.
Kelly glanced around. There weren't that many people here yet. Nobody was leering at Selene. She supposed it wasn't that slutty. Sometimes girls wore things like that to the gym with their boyfriends, and Arthur and Brad were nearby, still warming up.
She waved to Arthur, and he waved back, beckoning her to him. Kelly smiled and strode toward him with as sexy a walk as she could muster. She didn't feel sexy today, but judging by the way Arthur's eyes watched her hips, she still had her allure.
"Hey, Mister." Kelly said, stopping at his treadmill and leaning on it. "Did you miss me at the photoshoot?"
Arthur set his feet to either side of the treadmill and bent to kiss her. She kissed him, but the peck didn't last as long as she wanted with the awkward angle. Still, there was at least one comment from the peanut gallery.
"Get a room." Brad hooted from the treadmill beside Arthur's.
Kelly flipped her hair and twisted to glare at him, then curled her finger at Arthur and kissed him again. This time, she grabbed his t-shirt and held him in a proper kiss. Ten long seconds passed before she let him stand straight again, and when he did, the bulge in his gym shorts was more prominent.
"Okay, okay. Geez." Brad said, shaking his head as he looked away.
Arthur's face flushed, but not from exercise.
Kelly's heart flipped. She loved making Arthur blush, even as the heat spread across her own face, reddening the freckled bridge of her cheeks and nose.
"I missed you." Arthur said, answering her question. "Thalia was a good model, though. Rani thinks she has enough pictures for her project."
"Good!" Kelly said, excited. "I'm glad everything worked out. Thalia mentioned you had a lot of fun and sex."
Brad coughed loudly, having been in the middle of sipping water when Kelly said that. He looked at Arthur in shock and alarm. Kelly's smile shifted into a smirk.
"Yeah." Arthur said. "We started with truth or dare after the photo shoot. Things progressed from there. I didn't uh--" He glanced at Brad, who looked away and coughed into his hand to clear his throat. "Thalia and I didn't sleep together, though. She was there for Rani, not me."
Kelly nodded. "That makes sense. She likes the ladies."
"Don't we all?" Arthur asked, laughing when Kelly did. "You gonna warm up?"
