Phoenix Rising Issue #3 - S. R. Watson Page 0,46
late. We have rehearsal tomorrow before leaving for Austin on Saturday. It’s time to get back to touring. I need music like I need air at the moment—a welcomed distraction. Asher leads Lily to his bedroom, and it doesn’t take a genius to guess what they’re up to.
“I’m going to take a shower,” Melissa announces.
“Sure. Go ahead. I’ll use the one down the hall.”
She frowns but gets up anyway. I wait until she disappears and then call Sevyn.
“What up, shit starter?” he greets.
“Whatever. I told you and Claude that I was going to do it.”
“We had our doubts that you’d actually go through with it. Didn’t seem like any of the questions she asked were going to give you an in, but then she asked the most subjective question ever.” He laughs.
“What did Claude think about my secret?”
“He wasn’t judgmental if that’s what you’re asking. He took it quite well. I actually admitted to him that I’m into that as well.”
“Holy fuck! And?”
“And let’s just leave at that. You don’t want to know the rest.”
“Bullshit. No more secrets, remember?”
“Okay, just remember you asked for it.”
“Spill it.”
“Let’s just say that Melissa may have introduced us to our need for dominance, but it’s always been in our nature. Claude and our biological father are both dominants. So our dear mother is a—”
“Stop the fucking presses. Don’t you finish that sentence.”
“Submissive,” he finishes anyway.
I scrub my face with my hand. “That’s so damn hard to believe about Mom. I mean, I know she was always sort of passive, but I’ve never witnessed the power exchange. Or have I?”
I don’t even want to comb my memories for the signs. I don’t want to think of either of my parents in that way.
“Our need for control was always there, brother. She just awakened it.”
“Did he know that we were like him?”
“No. He never suspected it, but he wasn’t surprised. He was proud of your idea to get our side out there before it could be used against us.”
“He actually said that?”
“Yep.”
My heart swells. Until this moment, I never realized how much I needed my father’s approval. Even crazier is that he’s not even my real father.
“I got to go but keep digging and keep me updated.”
“Will do.”
We end our call, and I head upstairs to start my shower. It isn’t until the water pelts down on me that I realize I forgot to snag something to sleep in. Fuck it. I hum the song we’ve been working on with Wild Silence. I’m at the chorus when a very naked Melissa catches my eye. I’m frozen with desire as my eyes peruse her every curve. She is just as stacked as Harlow. My cock doesn’t care about the comparison, and it juts to attention, ready to partake in more than my hand. She uses my moment of shock to enter the shower. A petite hand wraps around my cock. I’m about to push her away, but the door opens, and again, I’m taken off guard. What the fuck is this?
Harlow’s steel-gray eyes meet mine and then lower to find Melissa’s hand gripping my cock. I swipe her hand away, but it’s too late. Harlow has already turned her back on us in shame. She removes her earbuds and holds them up, so we can see—her back still to us.
“I thought everyone had left,” she rushes.
“Well, we’re still here obviously, so can you get out? We were kind of in the middle of something.”
“This isn’t my fault. You two have your own bathroom for that,” she retorts.
“Nothing’s going on. I came to use this bathroom because Melissa was supposed to shower in the other one. She snuck in here just before you came in, so it’s not what it looks like.”
“What the fuck are you explaining to her for?” She shoves me. “Why is your dick hard then? Damn sure isn’t for Harlow.”
“It’s none of my business. I’m out.”
Her words sting with finality. I somehow know that this is the straw that has broken the camel’s back. The sinking feeling that this has run its course knocks the wind from my sails. Harlow slams the door behind her. Fuck. I exit the shower and struggle to pull my joggers over my still wet skin.
“You’re not seriously running after her?” Melissa asks in astonishment. She gets out of the shower to dry off, but I’m already running down the hall—my pride left in that damn bathroom.
“Don’t go,” I hear Lily plead as I enter their bedroom.
A broken Harlow