Close Friends Book 2 Part 04 by TerraNova61

Close Friends Book 2 Part 04 by TerraNova61

July 1981

Gus sighed as he pulled into the apartment parking lot. Luckily, he found a space close to the walkway to their apartment and backed the truck in. He got out and put his hands to his lower back, stretched, then smiled when he saw his little station wagon in its assigned spot.

He expected them to get there first, given the slow speed of the old truck. It felt like people had honked at him the entire way home.

He walked up to their place and opened the door. The familiar sounds greeted him as he walked in. Music played and the people he loved most in the world were there. The girls sat and talked, scattered about. Mick and Bob were in the kitchen, looking like they were trying to cook something.

Lois jumped up and squealed, then ran over to him, trailed closely by Stacy.

“Oof!” Gus called out when Lois barrelled into him, her arms outstretched. She pulled him down by the neck and kissed him hard.

“Hi there,” Gus chuckled when she pulled her lips from his. Her eyes twinkled up at him, and he felt the warmth of the incredible love he felt for Lois coursing through his body.

Another set of soft, feminine hands pushed Lois away from his neck and turned him around to look at her. Stacy pulled him down and kissed him deeply. He drew her to him and they embraced, both bodies pressed together tightly.

“And, hello to you, too,” Gus said warmly as their kiss broke. He grinned down at her, then realized the studio apartment had gone silent except for the soft music coming from the stereo. Gus turned around and saw four faces staring right at him.

Stacy looked around Gus’ side, then blushed. Her big, brown eyes looked from face to face. She pressed up close behind Gus, with only her head peering around him.

Lois turned and saw the look on everyone’s face. She raised her shoulders and grinned at the group.

“Um, everyone… guess what happened while we were away?” She giggled, her eyebrows raised and a twinkle in her eye.

—***—

“Okay, guys,” Lois announced. “I need some help. We’ve got a few boxes of things we brought with us we can use around here. If everyone grabs a box, then we can do it in one trip.” They got up and she led them down to the truck.

Demi looked around inside the back of the truck as they unloaded the boxes to take up. “What’s all the rest of this stuff?”

“It’s for when we have a bigger place,” Stacy answered.

Demi smiled broadly. “I can’t wait for that,” she said as she peered into various boxes.

“I see you’ve got another bed here,” Sam noticed.

Lois grinned at her. “Yep. Gus is taking the waterbed down now. We’ll have this up there by tonight.”

“What? You’re getting rid of the waterbed?” Demi cried. “We had so much fun on it,” she said, a faraway look in her eye.

The other girls giggled. “Yeah, we did,” Lois agreed. “But this is a king-sized bed. Much more room,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows.

“Hmm, room for more people. That could be fun, too,” Demi giggled.

—***—

It took a few hours to drain, but as night fell, the guys dismantled the venerable old waterbed and carried it down to the truck.

“I’m gonna miss that bed,” Gus said wistfully as they loaded the last piece.

Mick laughed and slapped Gus on the back. “You sure got a lot of mileage out of it!”

“Come on, let’s get the new bed up there. The three of us can handle it,” Bob said.

“How’s it going?” Lois called as she leaned over the edge of the balcony. Three other female heads lined up next to her as they watched the guys struggle to get the bulky mattress up the stairs.

“Fine,” Gus grunted as he lifted the end of the broad mattress, remembering how much easier it was to drag it out of the old one-story house. Mick was bent over as he lifted the other end, his back to them as he stepped slowly backwards up the stairs. Eventually, they got it up the stairs and into the apartment.

“Thanks for cleaning up and vacuuming,” Gus said as they got the box spring and mattress into the room and put them into position. Lois kissed him, then got Stacy to help put on the sheets and blankets.

“Well, I think that’s about it,” Lois said. “We got everything we need out of the truck.”

“Great,” Gus sighed. “It’s been a long day. We can go over to the storage place tomorrow and put away the rest of the stuff, then drop off the truck at that place nearby.”

Lois sighed. “I’m gonna miss you,” she said as she hugged Gus. “It was great being down there, just the three of us, even if it was for a sad reason.”

“It was great,” he grinned. “The three of us. I like that,” he said as they walked to the door.

“Me, too,” she smiled up at him, then looked over at Stacy, who was just coming out of the bathroom. Lois waved her over and pulled her into a hug. “See you tomorrow, sister.”

“I don’t want you to go, sis,” Stacy said.

Lois smiled, then said, “Me neither. Take care of our guy.”

Stacy grinned up at her brother. “Will do.” She leaned close to Lois and whispered, “I can’t wait for us to be together again, on that bed.”

“Me too!” Lois whispered back, grinning.

“Okay, you two. Enough of the secrets,” Sam laughed as she got her things. “Come on, Demi. I’ll give you and Lois a ride home. You’re on the way.”

The guys walked them down to Sam’s car and waved as they drove away. They could hear Stacy in the shower when they got back.

Gus closed the door and looked over at Mick as his friend went into the kitchen. Bob sat on the couch, not looking at Gus.

“Hey, guys?” Gus asked the room. Mick turned from the fridge and looked at him. Bob lifted his eyes and waited. “Um… you guys heard what Lois said. When I got home.”

They both nodded, but stayed silent.

“I’m not sure how to explain this… so I guess I’ll just say it like it is.” He stood there, feeling his heart beating in his chest. It all seemed so simple that morning, as they sat on the couch in their old home talking about how to tell their friends.

Just tell them what happened, that Stacy and he were deeply in love, and they were now a ‘throuple.’ Simple, right?

Stacy and he hadn’t believed Lois at first when she said it was an actual word, but she assured them it was, and accurately described their three-way relationship.

Oh well, Stacy’s worth it. He just hoped the others saw things the way they did.

“Yeah, it’s like this,” he looked at Bob, then Mick, as he came over and sat on the couch. “Stacy and I have basically fallen in love. It’s been happening for a long time, and it all came to a head when we were down there, getting things handled.

“We didn’t plan this, and it wasn’t until just recently I realized what I was feeling,” he said. Looking down at the floor, he paused. “From what Lois told me, Stace has been feeling the same way for a while.” He looked back up. “I didn’t know she felt that way, and she didn’t know what I was feeling.”

Mick nodded, then looked over at Bob for a moment. He was looking somewhere over at the other side of the apartment, lost in thought.

After a bit, Mick nodded, and said, “Yeah… you could tell something was up with you guys. Has been for a while now.”

Bob looked over at Mick, his brows furrowed slightly, then he nodded. “Yeah, it has.” He looked right at Gus, making eye contact.

“Are you two ready to deal with this? I mean, really deal with… a brother and sister, doing…” He trailed off.

Gus nodded back at his friend. “We all get this is a serious thing. But,” he said, looking at Mick, then back at Bob. “Remember, only you guys know she’s my sister.”

They both looked at each other as his words sunk in.

“I used to wonder sometimes, before, why I asked you guys to tell other people she was just a friend from down south. We have different last names, so no one can easily tell we’re related. It seemed like a joke, or something fun to do.

“But now, I’m thinking maybe my subconscious, or something, was… I don’t know, planning ahead? Anticipating something.” He shook his head and stood up, walking around a little.

“But anyway, here we are. We can’t help it, and, in all honesty, we don’t want to. We fit together perfectly.”

“What about Lois?” Mick asked.

“She’s good with it,” Gus exhaled and nodded to himself. He sat back down in his ratty, old recliner, facing his two best friends. “Actually, she’s the one who got us to understand how we felt.”

“How’s that?” Bob asked.

“Well, she said she’d been watching us for some time, and wanted to help us figure things out. She talked with each of us, individually, about how we felt. Neither of us knew she was doing that with the other.”

He looked at Bob, then Mick. “I don’t know if you can imagine the struggle we’ve both been going through. Thinking the kinds of thoughts we have. About our sibling, and wondering if there was something wrong with us.” He took a deep breath, then sat back.

“Lois helped us sort out how we felt. Come to grips with it, and realize we were truly… falling in love. I don’t think we’d ever get it figured out if it wasn’t for her.

“I don’t know what you guys, or the girls, think of this. I hope you’ll understand.” He leaned forward, looking at one, then the other intently. “This is real. We’re in this together for the long haul.

“And I mean all three of us. Lois, Stacy and me. We’re together now, forever.” He looked at them and said, “I’m gonna make this permanent.”

“Wow…,” Mick said softly, looking over at Bob.

“Dude. That’s… a lot to take in,” Bob said quietly, nodding and looking at the carpet.

“Yeah, I know! Tell me about it, I’m the one sleeping with my sister,” Gus chuckled ruefully. “But it’s for real, you know? I love her. Both of them, with all my heart.”

Gus chuckled. “Lois calls it a ‘throuple.’ That’s when there’s three people in a relationship.”

“And that’s what you are? The three of you?” Mick asked.

“Yeah, we are,” Gus said, nodding.

They sat there and looked at each other for a few moments. Gus took a deep breath, then asked, “Do you think I’m a freak for loving my sister this way?”

Mick looked at him, no expression at all on his face. He slowly grinned, then looked over at Bob, who shrugged.

“Dude,” Mick said. “You remember when I told you about that time in Hawaii?”