Off Campus IV, Pt. 1
Now owning and running The Abercrombie Hotel, with a few months under their belts our polyamory group Steve, Cyan, Phil, Jen and Ally have been working hard on their plans to morph the fine, old-school lodgings into a romantic destination. This was, after all, the plan from the beginning attempting to save the classic hotel after the loss of business due to the closure of Acme Manufacturing.
Fortunately, the core group, their BFFs and their new attorney and lover, Cheyenne, have settled into an amazingly comfortable and undoubtedly
very
sexual routine, business as usual for this tight-knit grouping.
However, there's a little bump in the road on the discovery of leftovers from Steve and Cyan's previous life.
=====
Ally calls me to meet with her in her office. While I am technically "her boss" along with Cyan, Jen and Phil, there's no escaping the intimidation of the setting left over from her father's occupying the big chair. The deep, dark walnut paneling is one attribute, but there is no denying that the huge leather chair oozes, "
I'm
the boss. Don't
you
forget it."
Truth is she's only been in her father's old office for a week. He was holding court there during the transition and is now home -- or wherever -- hopefully working on his retirement. It's a relief to have him out from under foot.
"What's up?" as I lean across her desk to kiss her. Uh oh, the kiss back is perfunctory. Her eyes are a little red, too. "Something is bothering you, sweetie, that's for sure."
"I just had a sit-down tea with Cyan and Jen. They told me."
"About what?"
"The nightclub thing five months ago. Amber, too."
"Okay, I can deal with that, I think. What's bothering you about it? You knew we were pretty libertine from the beginning."
"Well, first of all, why wasn't I invited?" as she breaks into one of her shit-eating grins.
"You owe me!" as I lean into her for another kiss, this time returned with a big helping of love.
"You know why!" I continue. "That whole thing was a sperm-of-the-moment event! And that's not word play this time! Four hundred miles away! You would have had to been there at the time. I hope they told you they tried to ditch us."
"Yes, they did, and that they regretted it. You and Phil are
so wonderful
to them, for protecting them, for
everything
, and especially for letting them play
that
hard. Even cheering them on. Jen told me about you and Cyan slow dancing, and changing the entire tone of the club at that moment. Even after she had been with nearly twenty guys right before. Jen, too. I cried.
You
, sir, are
incredible
."
"Ah. Now I understand. But why did they tell you about it?"
"It was an apology. They thought they owed it to me since the whole scene started with Darren's visit, that they had more or less summoned him to play, just the two of them with him. Behind our backs."
"But all you girls played with Darren. Yeah, he was your main squeeze at the time since we weren't around, but whenever we were together... well, you know."
"I dunno. They were feeling guilty about it, I guess. It didn't upset me, you and I were destiny, anyway, and you of all people knew how I felt about Darren."
"Okay. Water under the bridge. You mentioned 'Amber'."
"Now we can be serious. I needed to be aware of her, Steven. Especially now that she might be here in town. She knows about you and me, she knows about The Gang, she knows about the hotel. And
I know
she's in love with you -- I certainly understand that! I just don't want there to be any problems."
"Oh, gosh, Ally. I'm sorry I didn't give you the heads-up on her. Her recent background, her former 'occupation', is a little touchy, so I was afraid to go there. I hope Cyan told you that I'm pretty sure I handled that. Amber's a smart one. Really smart, like you. Like Cheyenne. I trust her. She and I set the boundaries for her being here, and she is fully aware of how upsetting it would be for her to show up on our doorstep. She's mature beyond her years."
"I hear she's a millionaire thanks to you. At twenty-three."
"Not all me. I told you she is smart.
Particularly
smart. Her co-workers at the club were nice enough, but beyond the club I wouldn't touch 'em with a ten-foot pole. They all made good money, but Amber knew from the get-go that living modestly and staying away from the drugs was her ticket to independence. It was, I just gave it a booster shot."
"Will we see her any time soon?" Ally asks.
"No. I told her that as long as Jessica is with us, she needs to, as she and I agreed, to stay in the shadows. I can't guarantee that I won't, say, go out to dinner with 'an old investments client' infrequently. I like her, too. You know how I am. Especially with the bright ones."
"I would like to meet her at some time, Steven. Just her, you and me."
"Okay. I can arrange that. She won't be in Ottawa for a few weeks; she's waiting to close on the house she bought here. She is dead serious about jettisoning her past. I would even appreciate a little help in her feeling settled here. She needs it."
"I have to trust your judgment on this, Steve. You've hit home runs so far."
"Thanks, sweetheart," as we rise from our chairs for a long, lingering hug.
Ally smiles, "See you tonight, sweetie. The usual?"
"Yeah. Jess'll have our drinks on 'the table' waiting for us."
A see-ya'-later peck and we head back to work.
Our after-hours during the week have become a very comfortable and relaxed routine, routine enough to set a clock by. Ally, Phil and I usually go straight down to the bar where Jessica will have our beverages ready for the table. Sometimes Jess will mess around a little with Phil and me for a laugh, or for reassurance and comfort, but nothing major, usually just a sexy greeting among our big circle of BFFWBs. I enjoy it when she sits in my lap bare-assed. I suspect she does, too. Maybe a little. Mmmm.
Cyan and Jen will join our little daily party at the fuck table, or might beat us there, but we're always happy to regroup and share the day's accomplishments, surprises and, yes, the mundane and challenging. Hannah and Thad will pop in from time to time whenever they can, usually on their evenings off; we'll see Cheyenne once or twice a week. We'll play with and tease each other a little, but again nothing too hot and heavy seeing that we're in semi-public. That sometimes comes later, after dinner.
Dinner is typically in the café, although sometimes if the group is just "the core five" plus Jess behind the bar counter, we'll have dinner in the bar. Those evenings usually result in a couple of drinks after dinner as prelude to fun and games upstairs. Having fun with each other isn't necessarily a constant, as a lot of it has become connubial, in the sense of the interpersonal familiarities of a marriage, multiplied several times over in our case.
Dinner usually ends in discussion about who sleeps with whom that evening, and who to expect to be crawling into somebody's bed after the bar closes. When Ally is filling in for Jessica on the late shift, wherever I am that night is the bed she usually finds, whether that is with Cyan or Jen, as both of them appreciate Ally's favors as well.
We've also fallen into a bit of a rotation. A couple of times a week Ally will otherwise cuddle with Phil and... whoever he has that night, usually either Cyan or Jen, but sometimes one of the other ladies, Hannah probably the most frequent. Cheyenne and Jess gravitate towards me, especially Cheyenne on my nights with Ally since they were intimate girlfriends back in college.
Cheyenne and Cyan in my bed is always interesting. They have proven to be more similar than everybody surmised when Cheyenne was brought into the harem. Cyan's experience and our years together give her a slight advantage in the bed gymnastics, while Cheyenne's relative youth and energy puts the finishing touches on a few plays Cyan has initiated. They're great fun to have as bed partners, playing off each other like that.
