While no date had been set yet, Claire and Troy were engaged to be married. They had only been together for a few weeks, but they were in love and more than ready to make the commitment. And part of that commitment, of course, meant meeting the significant other's family members. If the couple had dated longer, this somewhat frightening event would have already happened, and would have occurred more naturally. But Claire was especially nervous because she already had the ring, and now she felt the added pressure of having to be accepted immediately rather than getting time to make herself and anyone else grow comfortable.
She knew Troy was close to his two brothers, even though they all lived far away from each other. That was why it was such a big deal when Will and Bryce decided to fly into town to meet her. Troy hadn't seen either of them in a couple years, so she knew he'd have some catching up to do with them, and worried if her presence might put a damper on things. She couldn't make them like her, of course, and there was no obvious reason why they wouldn't. But Troy was a bit of an enigma himself: his numerous tattoos illustrated the checkered past he had left behind, and Claire wondered if either of his brothers even knew about the new, 9-5 responsible adult Troy.
And the worst of her fears were if the brothers themselves also had bad streaks, and maybe still lived them.
Claire gave a sigh of relief when she met the younger brother, Bryce, who arrived at the airport first on a flight from Miami. Like Troy, Bryce was handsome and had a dark complexion, but the physical similarities ended there. They didn't look like brothers when you looked them in the face, and while both men were in great shape, Troy was well over six feet with a hard body, but Bryce was only a couple inches taller than Claire's 5'5", and he wasn't just well-built--he was put together like a rock. He didn't have the exaggerated, distorted body of those bodybuilders on TV, Claire observed, but he was still huge and imposing. Fortunately, his personality was as soft as could be. Bryce was polite, gentle when he gave her a friendly hug, and was impossibly funny and sociable as the three sat at a bar near the airport, tipping back beers as they waited for Will's plane to get in from Utah.
This early happy hour, as it was only 11AM, turned into a remarkably fun and relaxing three-hour party as they two brothers caught up, told old stories, and Claire got to know not just Bryce, but also a little more about her future husband. The most interesting thing was when Bryce mentioned this girl he had dated in college. Claire recognized the name of a girl that Troy had said he'd once dated. When she brought that up, the guys confessed that, in fact, all three of them--Troy, Bryce, and Will--had all dated this same girl in the same year. Claire didn't think much of it other than that it was curious, and the drinking and conversation was about to change topics when Claire heard a voice from behind her.
"Now that is a hell of a way to start a marriage--lying to your new fiancΓ©e," said the booming voice.
From the shouts and laughter from Troy and Bryce, Claire knew this voice belonged to Will.
When she turned to see him, Claire was floored by how much Will looked like Troy, or at least what Troy would probably look like in fifteen years or so. He was a couple inches taller than Troy and a few pounds heavier, but had the same basic body type and carried himself identically. Will's hair was graying and he was clean shaven where Troy had a moustache and short beard, but otherwise their faces were remarkable similar.
Will, 45, was the first born of the three, and more than a decade older than 31 year old Troy, with 28 year old Bryce taking the role of the baby. And though he wasn't old enough to be their parents, Will had an air of authority about him as he greeted his family. And yet he was also the loudest and most aggressive of the three, kind of like the older brother who never grew up. Claire would learn he was great fun to be around, and while he kept her on the edge of his seat with his vulgar language and up-front attitude, she was never offended and always comfortable.
The four of them continued to drink well into the afternoon. Eventually Claire backed off on the beer, not only because she felt full up to her eyelids, but also so she could eventually drive them home. When she finally felt her buzz fading away, the sun was nearly setting. By the time they got to Claire's apartment, she was actually experiencing a bit of a hangover, and when she mentioned this, Will gave her his cure and handed her another beer. Her buzz was back and building right away.
By about eight, the drinking had leveled off from the day's highs and lows so that everyone was heavily buzzed and feeling good. It looked like the evening was winding down, until Claire interjected something during a lull in the conversation.
"Hey Will? What did you mean back at the airport when you said Troy shouldn't be lying to me?" She didn't say it as if angry, because she wasn't, but she was curious.
The brothers all gave devilish grins to each other. Will looked to Troy for approval, and Troy laughed, shrugged and nodded.
"Go ahead," Troy told him.
"Oh I was going to go ahead," Will laughed. "I was just giving you a chance to walk out of the room!"
They all laughed, and then Will explained.
"This girl, Bridget whats-her-name....we didn't all date her in the same year. We teamed up on her in the same night."
Claire was shocked. "You did what?" Even if she hadn't been drinking all day, Claire wouldn't have been upset hearing this revelation. But she wanted to know more, especially since Troy had kept this from her. "Who went first?" she laughed.
Will laughed a little and looked to the floor. "Well, see, there wasn't really any one to go first, Hunny," he said, already giving her a pet name, which Claire thought was adorable and made her feel like part of the gang. "See, when I say we 'teamed up on her', I mean we all fucked her at the same time." He started laughing as he began to reminisce aloud. "Troy's fucking her, and I'm fucking her, and everything was quiet except Bryce starts cumming all over her face and he says "I want to have your baby!" so loud that I can still hear it!
All three men went into hysterics.
"I've spent months of my life trying to figure out what the hell you meant when you said that," Will joked to Bryce. "What was going through your head?"