Lilacs in Bloom

Lilacs in Bloom - Part 4

Sam Murray opened his eyes. He had no idea what time it was, but he was acutely aware that Emily wasn't in bed with him.

He scanned the room through his grogginess. There was no sign of her presence other than the ruffled sheets to his side. He let out a disappointed sigh, letting his head flop against the pillow. Then he shook it off and stood up to start the day.

Despite his disappointment, he couldn't help but think that his face looked less tired than it had in weeks. He scratched his thin beard as he looked at himself in the mirror. These women were doing wonders for his health.

Stephanie Russo, Kim Collins, Nicole Hennigan, Emily Brown. The names swirled around his head. Not one took the spotlight; he loved them each equally, and he was impressed with himself. He hadn't expected to turn around from Amy's death so quickly, but he supposed he had lost his love for his wife long before she had died. He had spent months mourning her before the rest of her world did.

After brushing his teeth, he went downstairs. Much to his surprise, he found Emily and Kim chatting in the kitchen. Emily's strawberry blonde hair was slightly disheveled from sleeping, and she had pulled it up into a messy bun. She wore a t-shirt and comfy-looking shorts. Kim looked at home in her silk robe, letting it loose to show a bit of cleavage. Her light blonde hair looked as wavy as ever, trickling down to her shoulders.

"Good morning," he said after clearing his throat. The women smiled and greeted him.

"I thought you were supposed to be the early bird," joked Emily.

"I forgot to set an alarm and I'm pretty wiped out." They all grinned at each other knowingly. He glanced at the redhead. "I thought you had left."

"I wouldn't do that without saying goodbye. Nice of you to keep me waiting."

She walked over to kiss him, darting her tongue into his mouth. This morning was going better than he had anticipated.

"My turn," piped Kim, and she jumped over to him. He gave the blonde a kiss that lifted her onto her toes.

"Do you have any plans for the day?" he asked Kim.

"Well, I'm meeting with Shelby this afternoon. I might go shopping before then, I'm not sure. I'm a little sore from yesterday."

The three of them chuckled.

"Who's Shelby?" asked Sam.

"Oh, she's the lawyer I found. I like her so far; she seems to know what she's doing."

"After this is all done, you let me know what the bill is, and I'll cover the charge."

"I can't let you do that, Sam, I-"

"That's the price you pay for being with me. I can cover it without a problem."

"Hey," said Emily, "how come she gets those benefits?"

"You get them too. By being with me, I meant in a relationship."

Emily scratched her chin and raised an eyebrow, pretending to think of what to buy. Before she could think of something ridiculous, Kim interjected.

"Do you need any groceries? Anything for the house? Greg hasn't cancelled my credit card. I checked this morning."

"Actually, some milk would be great. Other than that, you buy whatever food you want for yourself. After we've eaten what I already have, we can plan groceries together."

Kim smiled and typed a note into her phone. Then she left to get dressed; Sam noticed that she already had makeup on, and he relayed this observation to Emily.

"That's Kim. Always equipped to charm."

"You don't think I'll see her without makeup while I'm living with her, do you?"

"She'll try her best to avoid it."

Sam raised an eyebrow. Didn't Kim realize how beautiful she probably was without makeup? However, he did acknowledge that it could make a big difference in appearance. He imagined that that she didn't look wildly different without it- not that he would love her any less if she did.

The doorbell rang, cutting off Emily as she was about to say something. Sam went to get it, finding Amanda on his porch. Her short black hair was tied into a tight ponytail, and she wore a tight dress that showcased a healthy amount of cleavage.

"Good morning, Sam."

"Good morning, Amanda. Come in."

Emily walked into the foyer, and Amanda gave her and Sam a confused look.

"This is Emily Brown," said Sam. The women shook hands at Emily's prompting, though he could sense a tension between them.

"I came to talk about the party," said Amanda.

"What party?" asked Emily.

"The Beckett's neighborhood party," he explained. "I've volunteered to help set up." He turned to Amanda. "Did you find out about guests?"

"Yes, erm... they say once guest is allowed," she replied hesitantly.

Sam turned to Emily, who laughed. "Me? A party in this neighborhood? Don't kid yourself, all my nice dresses have splotches of paint on them."

"I suppose I'll have to decide later on a guest," he told Amanda. The woman looked Emily up and down.

"This is probably none of my business, but I thought you were dating Nicole Hennigan. Am I wrong?"

"You're right in saying that it's none of your business," he said calmly. "Was there something else about the party you wanted to talk about?"

"Well, they are hoping to set up the tents in the afternoon, and the tables and chairs soon after. Could you go over around two 'o'clock to help with that? The party begins at six."

"I'll do that. Thanks for letting me know."

"You're welcome."

"Next time, please send me a text. At least to check if I'm home first. I prefer to know of people showing up at my door. Not that it isn't a pleasure to see you." He feigned a sincere smile.

"Of course," she said, smiling back at him. Her eyes lingered a little longer than any of the three of them would have liked.

"See you," she said, leaving the house. Sam said goodbye and shut the door behind her.

"Ha!" said Emily. "You've got another woman on your list."

"No no," he said firmly. "I barely know her."

"Why so flirty?" she teased.

"I was just trying to be nice."

"Well, THAT kind of nice is going to get her all worked up. And it doesn't really matter to me, but you should probably check with the other three before getting between anyone else's legs."

"I'm not doing anything with her. I don't even want to go to this party. She's been pestering me about it."

"So? You still have a choice."

Sam sighed. "I know. I'll go through with it this time, but I'll practice saying no in the future."

"Atta boy." She pinched his cheek, and he growled and gave her ass a pat.

"You two getting into trouble?" asked Kim, who walked into the room ready to depart. "Who was at the door?"

"Amanda Haines. Do you know her?"

"Sure. What did she want?"

"She wanted to talk about the Beckett's party. I take it you aren't going?"

"Hell no. Greg wouldn't miss it for the world, and I'm staying away from him."

"I guess I'll have to ask Stephanie or Nicole if they're available. I really don't want to go with just Amanda."

"You don't have to go at all," sang Emily. Sam thought she had a beautiful voice.

"You should sing more often," he said. "I'm going to get started on my morning workout soon. I take it you're heading out too?"

"I still haven't said my goodbye," she said. She kissed him gently and added, "see you later."

Emily and Kim left together, and Sam was left alone. The house suddenly felt very large. He went about his day, lifting weights in the basement before eating a larger than usual breakfast. With the amount of sex he was having, he needed more energy. At one point, he texted both Stephanie and Nicole about attending the party, only to hear that they were both working on Saturday evening. Nicole had gotten an entire day shift, and Lauren volunteered to babysit at a discount so she could take advantage of it.

Sam scowled. Looks like it was just him and Amanda. Hopefully he could dip out of the party early.

***

The rest of the week flew by for Sam. He spent Thursday afternoon with Nicole and her kids, offering to babysit them for free on Friday morning since Rachel had cancelled. Nicole promised to give him quite a good loving for that.

He took the kids to the playground again, but it began to drizzle after only thirty minutes, so they went back to Nicole's townhouse. When Nicole came home, she had Sam follow her into the bedroom.

"Thank you again," she said with a tired smile. "You don't know how much that means to me."

"It's really not a problem, it was fun!"

She placed her hands on his chest and gave him a long, tender kiss. "God knows I'd tear these clothes off you right now if we were alone. But you can hear a mouse fart through these walls."

"We'll have our chance again soon." He kissed her again. "Before I go, I want tell you something important."

"What's that?" she said nervously.

"Oh, it's not bad- it's good. You've been tired and going through a lot lately, but you've shown me a lot of support and affection on top of everything. You've been someone I can confide in and feel comfortable with. Someone that's helped to motivate me. So, I wanted to tell you that I love you, Nicole."

"Oh, Sam! I love you too!"

She flung her arms around him, pressing her body against his and burying her head in his chest. He tried not to get too excited at the sensations her body gave him, focusing instead on what he wanted to say. "Our little circle, these relationships... everything has happened so fast. But these feelings have been building, and I'm trying to be more open about them."

They kissed, sharing a moment of deep feeling for one another. When they broke apart, her face became suddenly questioning.

"Do you love the other girls, too?"

"I do."

She nodded soberly, contemplating everything. "This is very strange," she said.

"I know. It's complicated."

"No... I think it's great." She smiled at him. "Your heart is big enough to love four women, and we all just happen to be best friends? What are the chances!"

"You were already united by a common trait that I've always been drawn to. Well, two common traits. You're all incredibly genuine and unbelievably hot."

She grinned and fluffed her hair back overdramatically. They kissed again, this time for longer. They broke apart upon hearing a crash from somewhere in the townhouse, causing Nicole to groan.

"Listen," he said. "I've told Stephanie that I love her, but I haven't told Kim or Emily. With Emily, I don't want to scare her. I'd like this to stay a private between those I've told, okay?"

"Okay."

They left the bedroom to investigate the source of the sound. Ben had only knocked a glass into the sink, and nothing had broken. Sam said goodbye to Nicole and the kids before heading out. The weather had turned sunny, causing the moist grass to glisten.

Nicole had taken everything well, just as Stephanie had. Sam supposed Kim would, too. And he would just have to be patient with Emily, telling her when she was ready.

Then the realization struck him again, this time in full force. He could never have children with any of them. Their love could only go so far. Most of his drive home was spent in a daze while thoughts of his vasectomy encircled his mind. It had been a long dream of his to have children, to watch them grow, to play with them, to feed them, to read them bedtime stories, to send them to college... all ruined by a temporary blindness, caused by love.

Had it been a mistake to tell them he loved them? Should he refrain from telling the other two? He felt like an idiot, like things were going too fast, like they were wasting their time with him. He supposed it was getting a little late for them to have kids- hell, three of them already had kids of various ages. But he could NEVER have his own kids. How did Emily do it, shrugging off infertility like it was the drop of a nickel?

Once home, he went to the medicine cabinet to grab some medicine for his sudden headache. From the window of his bathroom, he saw Lauren sunbathing naked by his pool again. He had been too distracted to notice her car parked on the street in front of his house.

He shook his head and laid in bed, awaiting either sleep or the alleviation of his headache. The former apparently happened, for he woke up an hour and a half later after having dozed off. Lauren was gone, and he felt a little better as his thoughts slowly drifted away from his condition.

When he went downstairs, he found Kim cooking pasta.

"Oh, hi!" she said. "I found you napping when I got home. Needed some rest, huh?"

"Mm hm."

"Want some pasta? It'll be done in five minutes."

"Sure, thanks."

He sat at the table, and she gave him a look. "You okay?"

"Just a lot on my mind. I don't want to talk about it. Would you like to watch a movie tonight?"

"Sure, that sounds fine."

They ate dinner, then watched a movie in the library. It was feeling like more of a lounge, as he had finished everything but organizing the books on the shelves. He decided to start calling it that.

The movie appeared to ease his mind a bit. Afterwards, under the blanket they cuddled under, Kim caressed his leg. His cock rose with a mind of its own.

"Mmmm, you have something for me under there?"

The house turned dark with the onset of night, and their intercourse was illuminated only by the bluish glow of the television. He only came once, doing so while he pounded her from behind, filling her with his load. His meaningless seed.

He chose not to confess his love to her that night.

***

Greg Collins was not happy. Jessica, his secretary, slept calmly next to him, naked. Now that Kim was gone, that ungrateful whore, he could have women over to the house more often. But now, he was at risk.

He had been informed that Kim was attempting to get custody of Nick, which was fine. He didn't need the boy. What concerned Greg was his fortune, and more importantly, his reputation. If Kim got away with it, there would certainly be repercussions. Not just for him. There were bigger things at stake. And he wanted to avoid unnecessary consequences at all costs.

Maybe if he just gave her Nick... yes, that might work. Doane would be able to do the rest. The man was a killer lawyer, and Greg trusted him dearly. Doane could make a few calls, have a few conversations, and then it was back to normal life for Greg. No Kim to fuck things up. This was way deeper than she knew, and he intended to keep her out of it.

And that Murray guy that she had moved in with. It was the same guy that helped her clean the yard after that big storm. How had he been so blind? That was his first mistake- not putting enough interest in what Kim was doing, behind his back. Sam Murray, that was his name. His wife recently died of cancer. He remembered Amy from the party, but he didn't remember Sam. Now he was another name in the mix, and he didn't like that. More risk.

He woke up Jessica, softly.

"Mm? What is it?"

"Hey darling. I can't sleep. Let's do another round."

"What time is it?"

"Time to open your legs."

He fucked her hard and quick. Afterwards, he lay back next to her, satisfied. Her moans echoed in his mind as he drifted into sleep.

***

Sam awoke the next morning fresh. Kim had slept with him, and he rolled out of bed a few hours before she would.

It was Saturday, and the party was this afternoon. As he lifted his weights, he couldn't help but feel a little silly about his mood yesterday. So what if he couldn't have kids? Like Stephanie and Nicole had said at Amy's grave, there were lots of opportunities to make a difference in the world. Yet the weight of his vasectomy never quite left his shoulders, so he did his best to push it to the back of his mind for now.

Wanting to get off on a good foot, he made Kim brunch in bed. When he woke her up, it was around ten o'clock. He hoped she wouldn't mind.

She was groggy at first but adjusted to consciousness quickly. When she sat up and stretched, the comforter rolled off her to reveal her bare breasts; it was an innocently sexy sight, to see a woman stretch like that upon waking.

"Eek!" she suddenly squealed after thanking him for the food.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's, oh- well, I just feel... I have to go clean up first!"

"Kim," he said calmly, "You look very beautiful this morning."

She seemed genuinely surprised at that. "Don't be silly. I don't have any makeup on."

"Makeup doesn't MAKE you beautiful. It's just a way to express your beauty."

She scoffed and pointed to her face. "You think THIS is beautiful right now?"

"Yes, I do."

"I- wait, really? Are you serious?"

He nodded. She still seemed unsure but stopped by to kiss him as she went to downstairs to her bathroom. Sure enough, she returned looking more dolled up than she had before.

"You're always welcome to stay natural in this house," he insisted.

"But I want to look good for you."

"That will happen whether you put makeup on or not."

She shrugged and blushed. "Maybe I like to put it on." She got back into bed and began to eat, and he sat next to her, stroking her hair or petting her leg. It was obvious that she enjoyed it, occasionally playing back.

"When do you have to leave?" she asked.

"Around two. I'm hoping to be back before nine if I can."

"Good luck."

"Thanks. What are you doing today?"

"I'll probably do a workout and then hang out at Stephanie's while she works. When it starts to get busy, I'll see if Emily is free since she also declined an invitation to the party."

"Have you been able to see Nick?"

"I went over yesterday while Greg was at work. I took Nick and his friend Jack to lunch, which he seemed to enjoy."

"That's good. Keep doing your best to see him."

"Trust me, if I had custody now, he'd be living here with me."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "That can happen, you know. He's welcome here."

Kim nodded with an appreciative smile. She finished eating and they passed the time with light conversation as they got ready for the day. Sam loaded his truck with the spare tables and chairs he was bringing to the Becketts, then changed into a suit just before he prepared to head out.

"You look yummy!" said Kim upon seeing his outfit.

"I'd rather wear this elsewhere, like a dinner date with you."

"Try to have some fun," said Kim. "There are SOME good people in this neighborhood. You're proof of that."

"I'll try," he said, kissing her warm lips with enthusiasm. "Have fun at Russo's."

"I will. Bye!"

"Bye."

He left for the Beckett's house, which was in the center of the neighborhood. It was one of the largest houses in the area, maybe even the whole county, with an almost feudal architecture, multiple wings, and an enormous lawn. It made Sam think of the Playboy mansion.

A tall man in a suit waved him over at the entrance gate. Sam rolled down the window.

"Hi. My name's Sam Murray. I'm here to help set up some stuff for the party."

"Gotcha. Head on in and parallel park along the inner circle."

"Thanks."

As he drove in, Sam noticed other staff-looking people doing various things around the grounds. He wondered why the Beckett's wanted neighbors to contribute to seating when they could probably afford to rent some tables and chairs without difficulty.

There were a few cars already parked along the wide driveway, and as soon as he stopped behind them, a pair of men approached him from the house.

"Well, if it isn't Sam Murray!" exclaimed Paul Beckett, welcoming him with a wide smile and open arms. Sam stepped out of his truck and shook the man's hand. He was a tall, short-haired man in his early fifties with an immediate presence.

"Nice to see you again, Paul."

"Likewise. So, so sorry about Amy. I haven't seen you since the funeral. Hanging in there?"

"Doing my best," he said. "How have you been?"

"I've been well! Business is smooth, the twins are starting their junior year of college next week, and Norah and I just returned from a trip to Italy. Very nice there."