It was raining on 15th street by the time she got home. Listening from the bed, we heard her wet boots slush as she stripped off her coat, and we could barely contain our giggles.

It was her loft, her coffee on the stove, her wine by the bed, and her boyfriend I was next to. But Simone never cared much for ownership, especially when it came to things like wine or people.

“I’m taking a shower,” she called out as we pulled the blanket over our naked bodies. I pictured her undressing, turning on the hot water, and standing perfectly still as it warmed her goose-bumped skin until she was red and wet; I grew hard and said nothing.

Liam took another sip of his wine before smiling at me, and I could feel his bare leg against mine. I remembered him in high school, passing everyone as he sprinted around the track, his breath still and even. When he held the glass to my mouth, I heard the water shut off.

“I didn’t know you were still here,” Simone said, pulling back the curtain to the raised platform bed. She stepped in and dropped her towel. She must have been happy to see me. Or at least she wasn’t mad I hadn’t left.

“We warmed the bed for you,” Liam said, pushing the covers down. His movement was so quick and so flawless that I didn’t have time to cover myself, let alone make an excuse. My cock twitched against my stomach as his naked girlfriend crawled in between us.

“I can use all the warming up you have; the rain was so cold I think my bones froze.”

Liam turned to face her, throwing an arm over her and grabbing my shoulder. I moved closer, too, feeling her wet skin against my own as the three of us cuddled together under the blanket while the rain pounded on the skylight above us.

They kissed gently, and for the briefest of moments, I felt like an intruder.

But then I felt her soft hand slip down my stomach before strong fingers circled my cock in what felt like a loving embrace. When she turned to face me, her lips wet with his kiss, I touched her hair and chin.

“Are you going to kiss me?”

“Do you want me to?” I asked, still tentative and unsure. Even as she began to slowly slide her hand up and down my cock, a kiss felt like it would change the world.

“For a long time now,” she whispered, turning to her side until we were nose to nose. When she whimpered, I realized Liam’s hand was between her legs. When our lips touched, she breathed into me, and I pulled her close, kissing her plum mouth with every ounce of desire I had.

Our kiss turned frantic in seconds, my hands roaming her body, touching all of her at once, needing to know her now that we had crossed that barrier. And when she opened her eyes wide, Liam now slowly fucking her from behind, I bit her neck and chin with something like love.

I pushed the blanket down, needing to see everything, and somehow Simone managed to lean in and pull me to her mouth. I moved up on the bed, Liam twisted sideways, and there she was in the middle, his cock inside her as she sucked me tenderly and hungrily at the same time.

“Do you want to fuck him too?”

It took everything I had not to respond. Not to ask if it was a good idea and not beg her to say yes all the same. Simone looked up at me and smiled, my cock in her hand, and I touched her face.

“Do you want me?” she asked, throwing the audacity at me. Tossing the responsibility, the choice, and the consequences squarely into my lap as I watched her boyfriend pull out and start to touch himself.

I finally nodded as she kissed her way up my stomach, and for a brief second, I wondered if I was doing it for him or me. In the late afternoon, as we lay naked in bed, waiting for her return, he told me he wanted to watch. He confessed quietly and cautiously, and I said yes because I never once believed she would do the same.

But as she kissed my neck and chin and then straddled me while he watched, I found my focus entirely on her. Her wet hair hung down to her shoulders, and her breasts were still blessed with goose-bumps. Her nipples were hard, and her hips were soft, and as she rubbed my cock between her thighs, I felt my heart fill with longing and love that didn’t belong.

I reached down, still knowing that I was the one to decide, and I took my cock in my hand as I held her with the other. I rubbed the head against her swollen lips, gripped her ass tightly, and then mouthed the words so only she could hear.

“Fuck me, Simone. I want you so badly I can’t stand it.”

She pushed down around me and kissed me at the same time. I held her tightly as we began to move, my cock deep within her as she kissed me a thousand times. When I rolled her to her back and leaned up to see our junction, I remembered Liam as he lay watching, his first a blur. I reached out a hand, and Simone watched as he moved towards me, kissing me gently for the first time in all the years we had been friends.

“You’re both so beautiful,” she said, arching her back as I began to fuck her faster.

“You’re beautiful,” I whispered, taking her lip in my teeth and lifting one leg with a hand on her thigh. I moved up, taking her deeper, and she began to rub her clit as we fucked, moaning louder and louder while next to us, her boyfriend began to come. He rolled towards her, coming on her breasts and her stomach, and when I kissed her body, she trembled and shook, clenching around me.

“Oh fuck!” she cried as I tasted his come and her sweat and my desire. I thrust into her again and again, no longer able to think, let alone hold back; soon I too tensed, raised her hips off the bed as I buried myself within her, and let go, flooding her as I came, all wisdom and caution be damned.

She pulled me to her as she shook and trembled, coming with me as we kissed. Our sticky bodies joined together, and our sighs turned to gentle laughter as I felt that ageless love surge through me once more.

“That was so hot,” Liam said, kissing her cheek and then mine. “You two are beautiful together.”

He took a sip of wine and then climbed out of bed.

“I’m going to take a shower. You two stay warm and cozy, and I’ll come back with more wine when I’m done.”

“Are you sure?” Simone asked a conversation I missed hidden in the question.

“More than sure,” he said, walking naked down the steps. “See you soon.”

The second he was gone, my mouth was back on hers, and we kissed and held one another as our bodies responded instantly.

“Fuck me again before he comes back. Just us two.”

“I’ll never want to leave,” I said as I pulled her on top of me and guided myself back inside her.

“Why would you leave?”

“So many reasons,” I said, feeling her envelop me in warmth and affection as we moved slowly on her bed.

“I love him,” she said, pressing her breasts against me and kissing my neck.

“I know,” I said, wondering how I let my heart grow so soft.

“But maybe I love you too. Is that hard to believe?”

“Only a little,” I said before we lost ourselves in the kiss and the sex and the moment in time.

As the rain pounded above us, I promised myself I’d never forget: her green eyes, her soft skin, her welcoming body, and her tempting heart. It still sits in my mind’s eye, even though the rest isn’t quite so pretty.

But right then, at the moment, our bodies joined, our hearts open, and our solitude allowed, everything was perfect.

And maybe I can forgive myself if I try.