Page 25 of Van Cort
BEFORE
LARA – AGE FOURTEEN
Lara waited.
The dark she was used to, and didn’t mind.
She enjoyed it, actually. Especially as it added to the fun.
The passageway had become their meeting point.
A concealed door at the back of the music room gave them quick access for the lessons that she still partook in, even if she wasn’t that interested in the music anymore.
She loved spending time with the boys so much that she’d endure Mrs Avery, and in fact, quite liked the cranky old lady.
The music teacher adored the boys and always spent more time on the lesson than she was meant to.
Sometimes, Lara thought it was to keep them safe in that room.
Because that room – their music room – was the safe space for all of them.
Things had begun to shift between them all since the summer when West had finally found his courage.
It didn’t take Rhett long after he got mad and sent her home to act on what he wanted.
She wanted him to kiss her, too, but she couldn’t admit that out loud.
Liking them both was wrong, she knew that.
The girls at school would brag about making it to first base or whatever, but they never talked about liking two boys.
But Lara had the Van Cort boys. Twins. And they didn’t have anyone else. They both liked her, so what was wrong with that?
They didn’t talk or ask about it together.
It was just that one day, when West kissed her, it was in front of Rhett.
She’d felt funny when his lips pushed against hers, and she kept her eyes on Rhett in case he got mad, but he just stared.
It made her flush with warmth. So much so that she had to close her eyes and concentrate on West.
It had only gotten more intense between them since then.
Like the first time was a test of sorts.
That first day in the woods when she could have turned back home instead of going up to the house was like that, too.
A choice had been made, which set the direction of the next stage of their friendship.
Lara listened, waiting to hear the footsteps that might give away who was going to find her first.
She could tell the difference between the boys, at least when looking at them.
And they both kissed in a different way, too.
Rhett was hard and demanding, almost fierce with it.
It stole her breath and had goosebumps covering her skin the moment his skin touched her.
West’s smile was sweeter, like she could taste it on her lips.
Warm and comforting, she couldn’t get enough of those lips on hers, and missed them when they pulled away, even if Rhett was watching when she did.
At night, when she would lie in her room, tucked up in her bed, she’d think about where their hands wandered, too, how it was growing harder and harder to deny what they all wanted, and if she’d make that next step with both of them or not.
A creak of a door brought Lara to the present, back to the small space she had grown used to hiding in - hiding and waiting for the games to begin. So, she stepped further along towards the sound, ready to play.
A hand smothered her mouth, creeping over her lips and pulling her tight. The urge to thrash ran over her, and she did, for a moment, before the other hand turned her around and then her mouth was free and lips that were harsh and demanding punished her. Claiming her in the dark.
Rhett.
It meant West was waiting somewhere. He was softer with her, like he wanted to put her on a pedestal for both of them to have. But he got jealous, too. They both did. The jealousy twisted something inside of Lara, but she kept that locked away with the desire she felt for the two of them.
“Are we playing today?” Lara asked when Rhett finished their greeting.
“Oh, we’re playing.”
“Mrs Avery won’t like us being late.”
“We won’t be.” His fingers laced into hers, a rare gesture from him, and he led her through the small, dark passageway before pushing open the door to the music room.
West was at the piano, running scales, and Mrs Avery was already in her chair looking out at the garden.
She didn’t hear as they entered, or she chose not to say anything.
Her hearing could spot a flat note at a hundred paces, but what they actually got up to in her lessons, Mrs Avery chose to be oblivious to.
At least, that’s what Lara hoped. She was always turned away from them whilst they played and sang. How could she see anything?
West continued at the piano as both she and Rhett crept into the room. Lara stood next to the gleaming black instrument. Rhett detoured to the door and shut it, making sure it clicked closed loudly enough to signal they were there.
“Ah, finally. I don’t have all day, you know,” the woman said sharply.
She did. And often stayed late or just arrived in the morning. It certainly spoiled the days when they wanted to make use of the music room for themselves.
West’s lips tugged up in a mischievous grin as his fingers continued to run over the keys. Lara’s eyes sparked with his, and West answered with a flourish of notes to show off, dancing over the harmony to create a tune for her.
Lara’s burst of laughter was too much to contain, even with both hands plastered over her mouth.
“Enough of that!” Mrs Avery snapped. “Clearly, West has had enough of the piano. Everett, you can take over. Mirror his warm-up, but without the theatrics. Girl, let’s hear that instrument of yours.” Even after all of the lessons and time spent in the music room, Mrs Avery still called Lara, Girl.
Rhett switched places with West, and Lara took her usual stance off to the side of the piano with the music stand to one side in front of her.
A few sheets of music still rested there, forgotten from their last lesson, something they were meant to be learning.
The boys – both of them – could play all the notes perfectly.
West preferred the piano, and Rhett could play any instrument he liked.
Annoying really, it played to his ego, but there was something underneath that, something fascinating about the angry, intelligent, musically talented boy.
He’d never be put in a box. He’d never be looked down on or belittled. She knew that about him. Could see it. West was different. Still a boy, in many regards, warmer, but it set her pulse racing in a different way, like anything was possible with him.
She took a few deep breaths and looked to Rhett, whose face was already sealed in a serious mask. West walked around the room, surveying, as if deciding which instrument he might choose. But he didn’t pick any up and came to stand right in front of Lara.
“Shhh,” he whispered, holding up his forefinger in front of his lips. A secret.
He stepped around her, his front almost pressing against her back. Almost, but not quite enough.
Her breathing hitched, and her note wobbled.
“Your breathing’s off, Girl. Again.” Mrs Avery’s arm wafted in the air, the glass of alcohol still in her hand. She couldn’t see them, but her instructions still stood regardless; pointers, what to do, when to do it. And all of it under the addled supervision of a replenished drinks cart.
West’s hands moved around Lara’s waist, and he flicked the button of her jeans, popping them one after the other before pushing them down her thighs.
Her notes stayed in perfect tune with Rhett, who she was now staring at, her eyes clinging to his.
He continued his own scales, seemingly unaffected by the game West was starting.
Next, his fingers ran down the side of her hip, back up, before reaching around her to slip his fingers into her panties.
The pounding of Lara’s heart became the beat that accompanied the piano. Her throat constricted and tightened with the flush of desire, of daring, and she skipped a glance at the back of Mrs Avery’s head as it stopped nodding.
“What is it, Girl? Everett’s notes are perfect. Keep up.”
Lara forced her voice to be flat and bored, whilst West kept his fingers tucked just inside her panties. Waiting. “Yes, Mrs Avery,” But the rest of her body felt like it was on fire.
Rhett continued playing, but he didn’t have many scales left to cover. For the first time she could remember, Lara hoped he would repeat them, endlessly.
Touching herself didn’t make her want to squirm like this, though. West’s fingers weren’t where she wanted them. They needed to go lower, to touch her more intimately. This is what the last few months had been leading to. She knew it. They all knew it.
As Lara’s voice matched Rhett’s scales, she watched his eyes, while nodding her head, the slightest movement to tell West what she wanted to carry on.
His breathing shifted, and his hot breath now tickled her neck.
He was so close to her, and she felt his erection press against her ass, as his hand slid down, dipping lower.
Lara’s eyes squeezed shut, but she kept singing. Her voice skipped to a higher key to match her heart fluttering so hard she feared it might burst free from her chest.
Finally, his fingers were there, teasing her gently.
Her body started to feel a little off, a little dizzy. The feet keeping her standing wanted to shift wider. Her eyes wouldn’t open, but she could feel Rhett watching with such intensity it might make her burst all on their own.
West’s fingers explored, pushing inside of her. He touched her like he kissed her – like everything he did with her. He was soft, but only at first. He tested, pushed, became insistent without ever really demanding like Rhett would have. And then he found a rhythm, pushing in and out. In and out.
In and out.
Rhett turned the music sheets, the rustle of the paper forcing Lara to open her eyes.
His face was impassive, still, but she wanted to know if he was hard as he watched.
She licked her lips between notes. She knew the answer.
Liked the answer. And that was okay, she told herself.
Rhett switched up the music, playing a dramatic and loud piece that Lara couldn’t follow even if she wanted to.
Relief had her sagging in her stance. She closed her eyes again, thinking of his face, of West’s fingers.
They slipped inside easier. Faster. And she could tell that her release would crash through her soon.
Lara’s cheeks were hot, her body twitched, and all she wanted was more.
The music shielded her, adding to the game, and it didn’t matter that Mrs Avery was only feet away from them.
It didn’t matter if someone might walk in.
Because they were both in this with her.
“Is this the first time someone’s done this to you?” West whispered below the music. Lara nodded and stifled a moan with her hand to her mouth. “Will you let my brother do it to you next?” She nodded again, biting into her own fist.
His words flushed her cheeks with embarrassment, but Lara didn’t want to care. She didn’t want to feel like this was wrong when both of them made her feel happy. Wanted.
The music morphed into a softer tune, quieter, and she gripped the side of the stand as her release built, ready to rip from her at the centre of where West had his fingers pressed.
She opened her eyes as it happened, her mouth gaping in a silent cry, and she watched Rhett play his own crescendo at the piano, ringing out every last note as her body throbbed.
He stared so intensely, she wondered which one of them had caused the orgasm, regardless of it being West’s hand that worked inside her.
“Good girl,” West whispered.
The final note washed into the room, and she took a breath.
“Very nice, Everett,” Mrs Avery said. “Girl, you need to keep up. Now. Again.”
Lara didn’t know if she could do that again, but Rhett’s arched brow and West’s hand still there made her think she wanted to try.