Author's Note:
This is a stand-alone story that is part of a larger series about the titular character, Nellie. Each story that follows can be read on its own or together, in any particular order, though they will be posted in chronological order. The stories may fall under different categories, but all will tell tales of Nellie's various adventures.
In this adventure, Nellie and a friend meet three handsome men at a bar, and Nellie isn't quite sure which she should take home for the night... or if she has to choose just one. This story follows the events of Nellie & The Dodgeball Game.
Special thank you to OneAuthor and norafares for editing.
**
"To Jake and Veronica," I said bitterly.
Raising my shot glass, I clinked it against Sydney's before downing the cheap, oily whiskey in one gulp.
Sydney laughed, her face flushed already. "Sorry, Nellie, but this is probably the funniest thing I've ever heard."
She wasn't wrong. Looking back, it was hilarious. Jake had been my fuck buddy for a few months, but it was never going to be anything more than great sex. Veronica and I couldn't stand each other at first, but that had all changed with a steamy threesome in the locker room after a dodgeball game.
And really, even at the time, I was happy for them. Jake and Veronica seemed good together, and while I wasn't the monogamous type, I wasn't going to stand in their way. After our adventure in the locker room, Jake and Veronica had gone home together, and the rest was history.
Jake didn't tell me until a couple weeks later, but I figured something had happened when he'd slowly stopped texting me. Until that point, Jake and I had been hooking up nearly once a week. It wasn't quite enough for me—if I had it my way, I'd be getting laid every night—but it was great. Finally, one night he'd asked if we could talk.
"Let me guess," I said as soon as he walked into Lou's Pub. "You've met somebody else."
Jake looked startled. "I haven't even sat down yet."
I grinned. "Is it Veronica? You two still fucking?"
He told me the details over a beer. They'd gone home together after the dodgeball game. I knew that much. But he hadn't left the next morning, and they had ended up spending the weekend together. Then they'd had dinner together, and slowly realized that neither of them wanted it to end.
"I expected you to be upset," Jake said. "I didn't know how to tell you."
"I'm not upset." I took another gulp of beer before continuing. "So, just to be clear, this isn't like an open relationship or anything, right? Like, you two are together-together."
He smiled sadly. "She and I talked about it. She said she'd be okay with it since you and I were doing whatever first, but—"
"But she'd prefer if you didn't."
"She never said that. I just don't think I can do it. I'd feel guilty."
I smiled and finished my beer, patting him on the arm. "No hard feelings, Jake. But if you guys ever feel like a repeat of the locker room, well, you know I think your girlfriend's hot." I winked and left the bar.
I'd then called Sydney and asked if she wanted to go for a drink. We'd hung out a few times since playing dodgeball together, especially once we realized we lived in the same apartment building and had just never run into each other. She met me at a dive bar a few blocks from campus and listened attentively as I told her the story of the pyjama party and the dodgeball game.
"I'm sorry," Sydney said as she finished laughing. "I just can't imagine how they're going to tell people they met. 'Oh, we had a threesome with Jake's fuck buddy and fell in love.' Imagine telling a story at their wedding."
I laughed, signalling the bartender for another round. "I'm happy for them." Sydney raised an eyebrow at me. "No, really. It just sucks that I'm losing my regular source of dick. He was my own little unicorn. Non-committal, good in bed, hot as fuck."
I failed to mention I was mostly upset because I had half-jokingly asked Veronica to teach me how to squirt, and she'd agreed, but that the lesson had never happened.
The bartender brought us cheap whiskey mixed with Coke and Sydney raised hers to me again. "Well, on to bigger and better dicks."
"Cheers to that." We drank again. "So, what about that roommate of yours?"
Sydney shook her head. "Reid's seeing someone, I think." She sounded forlorn.
"Sad that someone's not you?"
I raised my hands in defense as Sydney protested. Clearly, I was right, but I'd obviously hit a nerve.
"Just kidding, Syd. Okay, what about that guy on the dodgeball team. Brandon?"
A mischievous grin flitted across her face. "Oh, I bet Brandon would be good in bed. He gives the best hugs. Isn't he kind of short for you though?"
I shrugged. "I never bothered caring about height."
Giggling, we plotted out how I would approach Brandon to see if he wanted to hook up. He was quite the opposite of Jake: shorter, broader, with a thick beard and wild hair. The more often our drinks were refilled, the more ludicrous the plotting got. Sydney had known Brandon for a couple of years, and knew he was a bit of a stereotypical nerd. Aside from video games and dodgeball, he was also really big into Dungeons and Dragons.
"Think he'd want to role play?" I giggled into my whiskey and Coke.
"Oh, fuck, probably." Sydney laughed. "Would you do it, though?"
"Fuck yeah. Especially if I could get all dressed up." I grinned, picturing myself in an elaborate tavern wench outfit. "That would be pretty fun, actually."
The more I thought of it, the more I was getting excited about the idea of sleeping with Brandon. Granted, it was all hypothetical at that point. Brandon had no idea of the trashy fantasies I was sharing with Sydney, nor had he ever given any indication he would be interested. Still, prior to the imbibement of multiple highballs, Syd had said she'd be willing to get Brandon and me together for a couple of drinks. Maybe he'd be into it.
We were feeling pretty good, laughing and joking around when Sydney nudged me.
"I think those guys over there are checking you out," she whispered.
Trying to look nonchalant and failing miserably, I glanced in the direction she was talking about. Three men who appeared to be a little older than Sydney and I were seated around a table. They immediately caught me staring, laughing as I blatantly checked them out. Sydney smacked my arm as I shrugged, grinned, and jerked my head towards the bar to see if they'd come over.
"Nellie!"
"What?" I giggled again. "There's three of them and two of us. Take your pick, and I'll take the other two."
The three men hadn't heard me say that, but they did hear Sydney's peals of laughter as they sauntered over.
"Seems we missed a pretty good joke," said one as they came up.
My guess was that they were all late twenties, maybe early thirties. Certainly not the usual college-aged boys I usually picked up. Sydney and I were clearly students, wearing different versions of the same college hoodie and drinking the cheapest available liquor. Still, if they didn't mind, I didn't mind.
"Buy us a drink and maybe we'll tell you," I said.
"Forward little thing, aren't you?" he replied. "I'm Shaun. Shaun Taylor."
Shaun's reddish-brown hair was trimmed and tidy, and he had a strong jawline and nice eyes. He held himself with authority, shoulders squared and back straight, but his smile was wide and friendly.
"Nellie," I replied. "And who are your friends?"
"Greg Barry."
A man with a thin, serious face and thick hair extended his hand to me, shaking it formally. Greg's eyebrows seemed to naturally rest in a scolding frown. Besides that, he had a nice smile, though he didn't flash it as often as Shaun did.
