Right to be wrong

“Can we use your key?” Brian asked, turning to Kelly as they crossed the hotel courtyard area towards their ground-floor room. Exterior lights were beginning to flick into existence all around the pool’s patio area as the daylight began to disappear.

“Oh,” Kelly seemed to remember, patting a hand against her chest. “I... lost mine. I think?” 

“Had it tucked into the Calamity Queen dress?” Brian guessed, steadying himself on the door jamb to work his boot off. “No worries. Finally, keeping a spare in my shoe actually comes in handy, for once.” 

“Yeah,” Kelly said, feeling a little guilty. “Sorry about the key.”

“S’alright,” Brian waved it off, plucking the keycard out of his boot and slipping it into the door.

As he flicked on the lights and the air conditioner mounted in their window struggled to life, Kelly was relieved to see that their room was empty—Emily wasn’t here yet. Gonna have to make things happen fast? What are we even doing, now?

Their room was just as they’d left it, seeming a little messy with the errata of each of their belongings spread about. An empty cardboard box from the gothic lolita outfit in the room’s easy chair, the empty take-out cartons from breakfast haphazardly thrown inside. Stephanie’s bulging travel bag, neatly set upon the dresser. Brian’s stuff piled in a heap beside the bed. Kelly’s open purse, cosmetics scattered around the sink. A pair of Kelly’s panties, just outside the bathroom door.

Lit again by the warm light of the bedside lamp, however, this room didn’t conjure those impressions of their departure this morning—it instead evoked the memory of the intimate game they’d played with each other last night.

Stepping inside the room, Stephanie crossed over to the bed and sat upon the edge, sighing heavily with obvious relief to be off of her feet. As Kelly closed the door, Brian sat beside Steph, putting an arm around the girl’s shoulder and falling back with her upon the bedspread.

“Eep!” Stephanie laughed, kicking her boots up in surprise. 

“Sorry,” He grinned, without any apology in his voice. 

Relationship, huh… Kelly watched with a strange feeling as Stephanie turned her body towards him on the bed, her smile bright with adoration. I don’t think anything can work out, but if we’re gonna do a compromise, I want to make sure some of that going on right there winds up on my side of the bargain.

“Kelly?” Brian asked, opening up his other arm in invitation.

When she opened her mouth, she discovered in surprise that there was no rebuttal. She didn’t have anything clever to say, or anything to say at all. She clamped her mouth closed and planted her knee next to them on the bed, climbing up to lay beside Brian. The three lay together without speaking for a while, looking up at the ceiling in a daze.

“How do you girls feel?” Brian asked.

“Tired,” Kelly admitted. What a long day…

She got through life by keeping her emotions at arms-length, but she wouldn’t lie to herself. The surprise confrontation with that Magical Doll Himari had gotten her blood up, and then teasing Emily had been immense fun. Saying goodbye for good to her sister Sarah had been hard. Spilling her stupid sob story to these two had been… strange, and she felt like she was now at an unexpected crossroads.

It’s all the sudden real hard to say no to these two, Kelly rested her head on Brian’s shoulder, reaching across his chest to take Stephanie’s hand. It’s like we all barely know each other, but they actually give a fuck about me. Damn, I’M starting to give a fuck. Fuck.

Whoa, there. Don’t be catching feelings, Kelly told herself, the danger of her situation sending a queer thrill chasing down her spine. You’ve only known these idiots for like, a day.

The problem was, it felt a little too nice snuggled up against him here. The excitement and attraction rose to the surface, but beneath it all, there was a comfortable feeling of belonging. Fuuuck. What if we finally fuck and like, that feeling gets even worse? Are Steph and this guy enough to make me go all stupid and moon-eyed?

“Yeah,” Brian murmured. “What a day.”

“My feet hurt,” Stephanie giggled. “They hurt so much. I don’t think I even realized how bad it was getting, until I sat down just now.”

“I can help with that,” Brian said, starting to sit up. Together, both Stephanie and Kelly prevented him from rising. “Hah. Hey, you two.”

“Let’s just lay here,” Kelly suggested. “I don’t wanna move, for a bit.”

“Let’s lay,” Stephanie agreed.

“I don’t usually brag... but I’m not half-bad at foot massages,” Brian said.

“No!” Stephanie seemed alarmed. “Definitely not. Maybe later. After I’ve washed up.”

Stephanie’s not stuttering, Kelly realized, looking across the breadth of Brian’s chest in surprise at the other girl. She’s anxious, but she’s not stuttering. When did this start?

“Ditto,” Kelly sighed, lifting a leg up and wiggled her toes. “I’ve been walking around all barefoot since I sold the outfit. Bet my soles are black. Unless you get off on that kinda thing, Brian? Do you like dirty feet?”

“Not to my knowledge?” Brian chuckled. “You do have cute toes, though…”

“Thank you,” Kelly accepted the praise in good measure, curling and extending her toes. “Whaddya say, Steph? You want to help awaken a weird fetish in Brian?”

With a cute grunt of effort, Stephanie kicked her red boot up into the air, where it weakly wavered back and forth.

“Dirty feet and then leather thigh-highs?” Brian looked first at Kelly and then to Stephanie. “I’m not even sure which fetish we’re talking about anymore.”

“They’re vinyl,” Stephanie said, letting her leg fall back down and smoothing the skirting of her dress back over her thighs in embarrassment. Kelly saw Brian notice her actions, and all at once she could tell that all of them were thinking about sex. How COULDN’T they be, after today?

“What now?” Kelly wet her lips, intent on addressing the elephant in the room. “You two wanna... change out of your costumes?”

“We all need to have a serious talk,” Brian said.

“How about… you and Stephanie have your talk, and I’ll just listen?” Kelly sat up on her elbow, letting go of Stephanie’s hand and letting her fingers explore Brian’s chest.

“Hah. Okay,” Brian laughed, making no move to stop her roaming hand. “Stephanie—what should we do with Kelly?” 

“I think we should keep her,” Stephanie said, watching Kelly’s movements with amusement.

“C’mon, Steph,” Kelly said in a small voice, her hand pausing. “Don’t encourage him. Let’s not make this weird, let’s just… have a nice night together. Okay?”

“She’s trying to give us a fish, so we can eat for a night,” Brian pointed out from where he was sandwiched between them. “When we want to learn to fish, so we can eat for a lifetime.”

“Nothing’s stopping you two from all the other fish in the sea,” Kelly scoffed. “After I’m gone.”

“We don’t want any other fish in the sea, Kelly,” Stephanie told her, gingerly bringing her gloved hand up to play across Brian’s chest. “It has to be you; we only want you. You’re irreplaceable.”

“No, I’m not,” Kelly shook her head sadly. “Brian doesn’t like me anywhere near as much as you do, Steph. Or anywhere near as much as you think you do, anyways.”

“Hey, you don’t get to decide that,” Brian said.

“Oh?” Kelly teased. “Go on, then. How much do you like me?”

“It’s complicated,” he protested.

“How much do you like me?” Kelly pressed.

“...Alright, give me a minute,” Brian said. “I need to sort out what I want to say.”

“Sure,” Kelly smirked, running her hand lower. He made no movement when her slender fingers reached the circumference of his utility belt, and there was no reaction when she began to slide her hand inside.

“I used to tell myself that Chloe challenged me,” Brian began. “That for all our disagreements, each of them made me… better, in some way. I strove to improve, to put more thought into what I was doing, to be more aware, to understand more, to… I don’t know.”

Though she felt impatience coursing through her body, Kelly stopped with her hand only partway into Brian’s pants to listen.

“But, eventually I came to realize that she wasn’t challenging me in that way— she was challenging me, like, in the way that has to have a winner and a loser. She couldn’t accept being anything but the winner, and at the same time… I didn’t feel like I deserved to always be in the wrong. That’s why things stopped working between us, that’s the real reason.”

“You made me uncomfortable,” Brian turned to Kelly, and she found herself caught up in his gorgeous eyes from just inches away. “I wasn’t sure how to react, at first. Wasn’t sure how to deal with you, because of how things had been with Chloe. But… now, I think that you’ve just been challenging us. Stephanie and I. Urging us to grow, to be better for each other.”

“To try things we’re too terrified to imagine,” Stephanie added in. “To make us brave, brave enough to reach out for each other, for the things we want.”

“So… everything boils down to one important question,” Brian said, his mesmerizing green eyes searching deep within her. “Have you been challenging us to improve us? Or, are you challenging us because you need to be right about everything?”

Yeah, nice, Kelly quirked a hesitant smile at him. What a goddamn loaded question that is.

“Well?” Brian asked, looking at her intently.

“Brian… Steph. Look, I’m sorry,” Kelly shrugged uneasily. “I don’t think there’s a future for all of us together like you guys want. I’m different than you guys. I don’t have a fucking future, okay?”

“I know that’s what you think,” Brian said. “But, have you been helping to make us more than we were before? Or, are you set on proving that you’re right about everything? That you don’t do relationships, that you’ve burned all your bridges and have nothing left but doing porn? That you don’t have a future?”

“I... don’t know what you want me to say.” Kelly was at a loss for words again.

“I don’t want you to say anything, right now,” Brian said, and when he moved closer to Kelly, she found her head was going blank. “I’m going to—well, we’re going to make you admit that you’re wrong. Because you are wrong, about all of those things.”

Then Brian kissed her, and Kelly forgot to argue. As their lips locked in an open-mouthed kiss, that dangerous feeling from before was careening out of control, and she wasn’t sure how to stop it, or if she even wanted to. This kiss was something else. 

Inside Kelly’s mind, the incredible distance and darkness of space was no longer prevalent—her thoughts were bright with scorching red light as she felt herself falling helplessly down into Brian’s logic. Savoring the warmth of his lips, she kissed him back with a passion that frightened her, as if she could combat the words he’d spoken by assaulting them at their source.

She wasn’t sure she’d ever had a kiss like this, one so filled with unsure emotion, a strange longing coupled with confusion. It felt so right that she couldn’t stop herself from kissing him, though. The act itself seemed to perfectly complement this moment she found herself ensnared in. Weighing her pride against this should have been a clash of titans—instead, everything felt twisted around. As if he was fighting for her side, while she was just intent on bringing herself to ruin. That’s pretty much it, though, right? My stubborn pride was sending me out into deep space, with no fucking way back.

So, where could Brian and Stephanie take me, then? Kelly felt his hand caressing her cheek, and their tongues finally met with an exciting wet feeling. She moaned into his mouth, feeling her body tremble with uncertain need. She was slipping past the point of no return, a red-hot meteor falling far too deep to ever return to orbit, to that stable distance Kelly had kept everyone at.

He wants me to admit I’m wrong? Why does it seem like this time being wrong is gonna feel so fuckin’ right?

Kelly was still suckling his lower lip between hers when he finally pulled away, and with a flutter her brandy-brown eyes opened to look at him in a daze of wonder. 

“Kelly!” Brian said in surprise, staring intently at the formerly black locks that lay between them. “Your—”

Then her hand, which had already been partway into the pants of his costume, reached down further and grabbed Brian’s dick.

She gave him a breathless look, still riding high on that amazing kiss, and reaffirmed her grip, pressing her forearm past the bulging pouches of his utility belt. His dick, it was… not all that impressive, to her judgement. Softer than she’d expected, smaller. As if to contest her disappointed first impression, his penis throbbed in her hand, engorging further.

“Kelly…”

Oh. Right, of course, Kelly felt herself flush with excitement as she realized the truth; he’d only been at half-mast. As he began to grow fully erect for her, she felt the warm instrument swell until his meaty shaft seemed to fill her hand, until her thumb was no longer able to reach the fingers wrapped around him. His cockhead seemed to sprout onward, pressing all the way up the inside of her wrist. Okay, yeah. That’s… yeah. Uh. Pretty big. Thick. Fuck.

“Your hair!” Stephanie exclaimed, leaning over Brian. “It happened again. Kelly, look!”

Thoroughly distracted, Kelly slowly flicked her eyes up to Stephanie. Going for Brian’s junk had been her plan all along, but something was way off-course. She’d intended it to be bold and daring, for her hand to creep down while he was preoccupied and seize his manhood. Then, when he looked up at her in surprise, she would have a teasing, seductive smile ready for him.

Instead, she’d grabbed out like it was her lifeline. Like sex would keep him from wising up and realizing how little else she had to offer him. She wanted to pleasure him, she wanted to show what she could do, wanted to prove herself, to bring the situation back to where she didn’t feel so lost and helpless anymore—and found herself ashamed and a little horrified at her thoughtless, somewhat instinctive move. But, how will he react?

His face still just scant inches away from hers, he was regarding her with an expression that tied her insides into knots and made her forget to breath. He moved back in and left one more kiss on her surprised lips before pulling away from her and rising up to a sitting position.

“Seems like whatever it is, it had some effect on you, too,” Brian observed.

“It… did?” Kelly asked, yanking her hand out of his costume pants guiltily and sitting back up as well. Okay. Okay. Didn’t ruin things yet. I just… I got excited, yeah. “How is it?”

“Take a look for yourself.”

Whirling towards the mirror above the sink, Kelly hopped up off the bed and crossed the room towards it, flicking on the other light. The three tiny colored strands they’d discovered this morning had morphed into a full-on large streak of brilliant red, not unlike the pink one she’d first seen Stephanie sporting yesterday.

I love it, was her first thought, eagerly grinning as she leaned in, fingers gripping the edges of the vanity. I love it, it’s fucking badass! What the fuck does it really mean, though? Happiness and excitement reflected back at her, and she realized it’d been a long time since she’d seen herself with a natural smile—not her practiced one, that cocky and confident one she immediately associated with her image. A real smile, one that sprung forth unbidden and unexpected.

I look amazing. Does it mean I’m hooked on him? That we’re compatible? That we’re destined or something, you know—meant to be? All I know is that it’s really making me wet as fuck. Her butt, clad in the snug confines of the borrowed gray yoga pants, wriggled back and forth without her control in excitement and breathless anticipation. Since descending down into this thought process Brian had put her on, the former flecks and streaks of red had become a boundless red in every direction, and she found herself positively aching with need. Yesterday’s arousal seemed like a joke. It was like a little hunger pang, whereas now she felt ravenous.

Something about the things he’d said amped up her attraction to him to a whole new level. The actual chemistry between them hadn’t felt nearly this strong before, it was as if that simple exchange of ideas, sealed with a kiss, had been the missing reagent for this new catalyst deep inside her. Her heart was still racing, endorphins pumping tingly energy throughout her rockin’ body. Ooh fuck. Yeah, I’m fucked now. Fuck, fuck.

Kelly didn’t want a stupid little quick fuck anymore. That was just sex, primitive and mechanical. She wanted to make love to him; an exchange of passion and affirmation of emotion, a passion that took hold of not just her body, but everything about her, right down to the very core of her being.

The idea of settling down for good with just one guy had always seemed so limiting to her, like she’d be stranding herself on a desolate planet. The math was looking entirely different now, though, and those old calculations didn’t seem to match up anymore. Whatever this feeling was, a crush, a feeling of trust, or even love—it was so much more. She wasn’t trapped; she was freed. Joined with him, she could reach out across the universe, further than she ever imagined possible. Trusting and supporting each other, they could be one another’s foundation, intertwined safety and solace, inspiring and spurring each other on limitlessly. And, that’s not even counting Stephanie into the equation! There’ll be three of us! Together, we’ll be unstoppable!

“Kelly? You alright?” Brian asked, awkwardly adjusting the cup of the dancers belt he wore beneath his costume. “Kell?”

“Kelly?” Stephanie rose from the bed and stepped over, concern evident in her voice.

“Okay,” Kelly laughed, running the bright red streak of hair through her fingers. “What if I am wrong? About my life. Maybe. Maybe I don’t go into porn, and I end up with you guys instead. What happens then?”

“Everything!” Stephanie guessed cheerfully. “Anything. It’ll be great, Kelly, trust us.”

“Brian?” Kelly turned around, still fussing nervously with her hair and giving them a hesitant smile. “...What happens next?”

“That’s up to you,” he said, giving her that thoughtful sexy look of his. “Anything could happen. We’ll learn and grow. You know. Get through everything, figure things out. Didn’t you tell me last night that a missed chance really only ever teaches you one thing?”

His response might as well have hit her like a physical blow, and she wavered slightly on her feet.

“Kelly?”

I did say that, fuck. I KNEW that. Why the fuck can’t I ever really realize and take my own goddamned advice?! What have I been doing all this time?

“What do you think?” Brian asked. He was anxious, too—she could see it in his expression that he was trying not to push the issue any more than he was.

“I… am going to freshen up a bit,” Kelly breathed out slowly, trying to hide her giddy smile. “Stephanie? Join me in here by the tub?”

FortySixtyFour

Our new cover is by Strbrvsky! Please check out his Deviantart gallery full of NSFW anime tiddies, and consider hiring him to draw you cover art.