5

Archie

I never expected Monday would become my favorite day of the week. Friday, when my classes finished sure. Saturday when I could sleep in a little late, or go hang out before practice started, definitely. But a Monday? 

Nah, I never saw that shit coming. Even if I did see little Miss Tessa every single Monday morning in my communications class. She was a hot little piece and I wanted her, but all she ever seemed to think about was the school paper and her journalism career. She never went to parties, not any that I ever went to, anyway, and if the subject wasn’t about class or the paper, then she didn’t have time for it. 

I liked her though, even if she barely knew I existed, which was truly hard to imagine. I’m Archie Bannister, one of the Bannister triplets, the oldest, and according to more than a few of the ladies on campus, the hottest. Even if we were all identical. I pulled out my notebook from my backpack, and tried to get the attention of the tiny little brunette that had filled my imagination with more than one dirty thought since I saw her the first day of class.

Her brown curls glowed like polished amber in the early morning sunlight and her skin was pale and clear. Warm brown eyes glanced at me before they glanced away, she’d deemed me uninteresting, yet again. Unworthy of her time.

I’d asked her out once, but she’d been caught up in a text messaging session on her phone and had brushed it off with a ‘no thanks’ that still made me laugh when I thought about it. She was determined, I’d give her that, and driven when it came to her goals. I liked that about her. 

I sat down at the end of the row of stadium-style seating and waited for the professor to walk into class. We were both sophomores, but I hadn’t noticed her last year. It was only when she’d walked into class that first day of our sophomore year that I’d known about her. I scratched at my chin absently as another girl sat down next to me.

Blond and busty, Catarina wanted to be my first wife more than she wanted anything else in the world. It was obvious in every word she said, every move she made. Unfortunately for Catarina, I hated fawning. I hated the way she was so fucking obvious about what it was she wanted. Not me, she wanted the name I was making for myself; she wanted the potential of being an NFL wife, someone glamorous and rich. 

I was determined to make it through my university football career with no injuries and an NFL contract in hand, but not a wife. Especially not Catarina. 

I ignored the blond as she pushed a cup of coffee in my direction, and took out a pen from my bag. This professor liked to see us taking notes, liked to know that we were paying attention, and I’d learned a long time ago that to get ahead, giving people what they wanted went a long way. My brothers and I all had plans, and a backup plan if the first plan didn’t happen.

We weren’t stupid, not at all. We were realistic and that confused a lot of people that saw us as some kind of magical creatures, just because we were identical triplets. Rather than magical, we were logical, insular because of how people approached us. We only needed each other, and the presence of one woman, one very special woman, to meet our needs. 

We’d shared a woman last year, a senior that we thought would be the one, the one we’d talked about for a long time. The woman that could handle all three of us, that could love us all, but she’d gone off to Paris to study for her master’s degree in art at some prestigious university in France and she’d left us all behind. 

Laura.

Not the one. 

I focused on the instructor for the next hour, wrote down notes, ignored Catarina, and focused once again on Tessa. I wanted to talk to her about her latest project, the one all the other students were talking about on campus. I had no interest in the school paper, at all, couldn’t care less whether there was a spread about me on the front pages, or a summary of social inequalities on the same page, I got my news by word of mouth, by phone, or by watching it on television. The rest was just…noise. 

But, I’d heard about the project she wanted to conduct, the interview that she wanted to do. Laura would have been perfect, I thought as I watched Tessa check her phone before she stood up, slid the phone in her back pocket, and picked up her bag. Laura would have been able to give Tessa all kinds of information about what it was like to have three men at your beck and call, and in your bed, if she hadn’t flown off to Paris. 

I had a suggestion for her, but I wasn’t sure what she’d make of it. She was determined to do this project, though, and if it came down to it, she’d do anything for a story she really believed in. I knew that much about her from watching her over the last couple of months. 

“Archie, why don’t you take me to lunch, baby, and we can talk about what I can do to ease those sore muscles you must have.” Catarina slid her hand up my bicep before she pecked at my nose with a fingertip, her attempt at being seductive. 

It left me cold.

“No. Thanks. Listen, I’m not interested, alright? Please, stop trying, you’re not going to get anywhere with me.” I’d tried to be polite. I’d tried to nudge her into understanding, but she hadn’t taken my many hints. Time for bluntness. Even if it was rude. 

I fucking hated that.

It meant someone had got to me, or had driven me beyond my own limits of control. Or it meant that I’d given up on being polite and had to resort to brutal honesty. Catarina had driven me to this moment so when her eyes turned to watery hurt, I was able to turn away without even a small twinge of guilt. She’d brought it on herself. 

“Tessa,” I called out to the retreating back of the intrepid reporter. She didn’t slow, she just kept walking. That’s when I noticed she had earphones in and had the phone up to her mouth. 

Her pace picked up and I knew it was pointless. She was lost in some conversation or other. I slowed down to a stop and pulled my phone out. A quick message to my brother, the techy one that could find anything online, Pete, and I’d have her number. Then I could carry out the plan I’d decided on while the professor droned on. 

My phone vibrated in my pocket and I pulled it out. Pete’s name flashed on my screen, so I answered it. 

“What’s up, bro?” 

“Who is she?” Pete asked, his voice hesitant. He was the most sensitive of us all and though he would do anything for either me or Ron, he respected people’s privacy, if they deserved it. But only if they deserved it. 

“She’s our next Laura, Pete, I just know she is. I just have to get her to stop and talk to me for more than 30 seconds and she won’t sit still.” I said with a soft laugh and glanced around. I’d walked over to a quiet copse of maple trees, ready to talk but needing privacy. 

This wasn’t a conversation I wanted to be overheard. 

“Fine, I’ll get her number from the student records, if I can get in. I’ll ping it to you. Get to your next class. I’ll see you at practice later.” 

“Awesome. Thanks, Pete.” I hung up, a confident grin in place. It was the kind of the smile that made women breathless, with a crook at one end, full of pearly white teeth and open, curious eyes. It always put people at ease, that smile. 

I headed to the next class and by the end of the day, I not only had Tessa’s number I knew where she was. I went to practice and after a shower, I headed back to the small, three bedroom apartment I’d rented with my brothers. I changed my clothes, put on a pair of black cotton pajama bottoms, left my chest bare, and rolled into the double bed I’d made up earlier that morning. 

That’s when I started the first phase of my plan. I had a feeling it would take some time, but at the same time, I suspected it wouldn’t take long before we came to the final stage. Tessa was eager to get this project going and I knew she hadn’t found anyone to interview yet. 

She made a new appeal every day, but there just wasn’t anyone willing to talk about their most private thoughts and actions with her. I had a solution for her, one she obviously hadn’t thought of or she’d be writing, not searching. I smiled as I typed her number into my phone, added her to my contacts, and then sent her a message. 

Her reply made me laugh. Captain Obvious. I did love her snark. 

I sent another message and waited for her answer. I’d made my suggestion, now, I waited for her answer.

“And I suppose you and your buddies will be my bed partners? Is that what you’re getting at? Because if so, you can just fuck right off.” 

The right corner of my mouth quired up because that was basically my plan, but it didn’t have to be. She was free to do as she chose, I just wanted to make sure I had a chance to be the one that introduced her to the lifestyle. 

“Well, I’m a triplet, so you’d have your choice of the three of us, and an added element to add to your article. But, if you’re not interested, I thought I’d be helpful and make the suggestion, at the very least.” 

There was a long pause between my text and her reply. I waited, wondering if she’d blocked my number as the moments stretched out. Had I lost her already? 

I was usually a lot smoother, bold and arrogant got you far in situations like this, but maybe I’d pushed too hard. 

“Triplet? You’re one of the Bannister triplets?” 

An answer, finallyn and even better, she knew who she was talking to, kind of.

“How many sets of triplets are there on campus?” I stared at the screen, wondering if I should reply with something else, but decided to leave it. 

“Only you guys that I know of.” 

“Right then, can you guess which one it is now?” I liked the idea of a game, a back and forth between us, and so I continued to tease her. 

“I’m guessing it’s Archie, only he’s a big enough asshole to slide into my text messages with such an idiotic idea.” 

Oooo, shot down before I even began, I thought with a wince. I’d lost her. Fuck. 

“Why is it such a bad idea, Tessa? You’d have your information for your articles, first-hand experience, and an angle that others don’t have. Sounds like a perfect solution to me.” I quickly typed, hoping she’d see it before she blocked me. 

Minutes passed, more ticked by, and finally I put my phone down. Damn. I don’t know if I’d been close to hooking her or not, but I’d hoped I’d at least keep her talking longer. Oh well, I thought, and picked the phone back up. 

I found some old soul music, stuff I wouldn’t play around anyone else, Bill Withers, Percy Sledge, were all singers my granddad had loved. It was old stuff, but I liked to chill out to it at night. I put my headphones on and closed my eyes. Otis was directing me on what happened when a man loved a woman when a loud ping startled me out of my light sleep.

Practice, as always, had been hard and after a long day, I was worn out. That didn’t stop a slow smile from creeping over my face as I looked at the name on the screen. It only grew when I saw her reply. 

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow in class.” 

I clicked off the bedside lamp and relaxed in the darkness of my room. I’d nabbed her somehow, anyway. Good.

It wasn’t the most orthodox arrangement, and it would probably confuse anyone that hadn’t been born a multiple. Not all of us liked to share, each other or other people. Some of us had our own language, our own habits, our worlds that others just couldn’t walk in on. In the case of my brothers and I, well, we didn’t want to share, it was that simple. We wanted only one woman between us, to share with us, to be a part of us. Not always together in group sex, either. 

We didn’t want to go through the process of allowing someone into our private world three times, so if we could do it with one and get it out of the way, that’s what we wanted to do. Simple, minimal fuss, but a whole ton of fun. I closed my eyes and let Al Green soothe me back into a peaceful state. 

Tomorrow would come soon enough, and with it the rest of my plan. I just had to talk to my brothers about it before we headed off to class in the morning. They would agree though, we all had the same tastes, and Tessa for all her no-fuss approach to life would suit us all. 

She wasn’t one for makeup, not often, and usually her curls were either in a bun on her head or wrapped up in a hair tie, but I knew they’d be silky and soft to the touch. And the rest of her was just as amazing. Her crystal clear skin was like the finest marble, without a single pore in sight, and it looked as silky as her hair. 

I wanted to touch her, find out what she hid under those hoodies she constantly wore, see what those tight jeans hid away from the world. I could almost feel her skin beneath my fingertips and I laughed at myself when my fingers clenched in the covers. I wanted Tessa and I wanted her very much.

I’d have her soon, if I played my cards right.