Excuse any mistakes or grammatical errors.
Malaya
The first day we arrived in New York was a free day. I wouldn't actually meet with my possible future colleagues until tomorrow.
Raquel, Sloan, and I arrived at our hotel a little after 5pm. We were going to drop our stuff off at the hotel and then go to a restaurant. This whole trip was going to be financially handled by Sloan, so Raquel and I were fine with her choosing where we went. Due to that and the fact that neither of us had been to New York before.
"New York definitely lives up to it's nickname." Raquel said most likely referring to how busy the streets were and how many people were out. It didn't really help that our hotel was in Times Square. The view was amazing though.
"It definitely does." I agreed as I organized my stuff.
"How loaded is your boss?" Raquel asked since she was aware that Sloan and her friends that were giving me the offer were financing this trip.
"I honestly don't know." I shrugged. "I'm sure she makes great money though. I mean, I'm making great money and I don't even have my master's, so there's no telling. She has a Doctorate in Psychology, so I'm sure she's getting paid very well."
"How hold is she?" Raquel asked and I frowned. Not because of the questions she was asking, but because I genuinely didn't know.
"I don't know. She has to be in her late twenties or early thirties." I shrugged.
"Can I be honest with you?" Raquel asked all of a sudden and I sat down on the bed.
"Of course." I said preparing myself for anything.
"I'm not justifying what you did, but I get why it was so hard. Please don't take this the wrong way, but how the hell did you get through the whole summer without giving in? I know this might sound crazy coming from me after everything, but she's....I'm sorry. I shouldn't even be saying this." Raquel stopped herself, but I already knew what she was going to say.
"Your eyes work and so do mine. I know what you're going to say. Trust me." I said letting out a sigh.
"You're not mad at me?" Raquel asked and I shook my head.
"Do I even have room to be at this point? You being in a relationship with me doesn't suddenly make it impossible for you to be attracted to someone else. Especially not someone that looks like her. So no, I'm not mad." I spoke honestly.
Was it weird to have this conversation? Hell yeah. But if we're gonna be honest with each other about everything, we're bound to run into awkward conversations.
"It still makes me feel shitty though. Like I feel guilty and I haven't even done anything." Raquel said joining me on the bed.
"You can look, but you better not touch." I half joked and Raquel chuckled.
"I mean, we'd be even if I did." She smirked and I punched her shoulder. "Ouch! Too far?"
"Yes, asshole." I glared at her.
The fact that we were even joking about it was weird.
"I'm sorry." Raquel chuckled before gently grabbing my chin and kissing me.
Our kiss was interrupted by a knock at our door. We both looked at each other because we already knew who it was. Raquel smirked at me and got up to answer it. I already know she's going to take advantage of teasing me with Sloan and I don't know how to feel about it.
Raquel opened the door and Sloan stood there with her usual confident expression.
"You two ready to go?" She asked letting her eyes linger on Raquel for a little longer than she should have. Right after shamelessly checking my girl friend out, her eyes found mine and I could sense the mischief in her smirk.
I should have known she'd be up to no good whether we went on this trip alone or not. Sloan Carter has no shame.
"Yeah, just give us a minute." I said causing Raquel to turn around and give me a confused look. I just gave her a look and she turned back around to Sloan.
"Give us a minute." Raquel said closing the door in Sloan's face right after. I couldn't help, but to laugh at her rudeness.
"What's wrong?" She asked walking over to me and I sighed. Did I even have room to be bothered my this? Sloan messing with Raquel didn't mean that Raquel would cheat on me. I trust her, but she trusted me too and I still fucked up.
"She was checking you out." I said only to have Raquel smirk.
"Really?" She asked looking more excited than bothered.
"Raquel, I'm serious." I said and she finally stopped being so playful.
"You have nothing to worry about." She said placing her hands on my shoulders and I sighed.
"I told you the same thing. And look what happened. It's not you I'm worried about. It's her. I get why you were so worried now. You had every reason to be." I said just wanting my feelings to be put out there.
"With all due respect, I'm not you." Raquel said failing at not offending me.
"Ouch." I said unable to make eye contact with her anymore. I can't lie and say those three words didn't make me feel like shit. But she was right. She isn't me. I fucked up. She didn't.
"Fuck. I didn't mean it like that. I'm an asshole for even saying that." Raquel said gently grabbing my face so I'd look at her.
"It's fine, Raquel. You're right. You're not me. You're not a dirty cheater." I said only to have Raquel laugh and make me feel worse. "Stop touching me." I said trying to get Raquel to take her hands off of my face, but she just wrapped her arms around me instead.
"I'm sorry for laughing, but you called yourself a dirty cheater. You're not a dirty cheater, Malaya." Raquel said still looking like she wanted to laugh, but I could tell she was serious. "Stop beating yourself up over that. We've moved past it and I'm honestly not even mad about it anymore. Again, not justifying it, but we've both seen your boss. Having to resist her isn't fair."
Raquel really wasn't making things any better. The thing that bothered me the most was that she didn't even realize it.
"Let's just go." I said slightly pushing her away from me.
"You're upset, so we're not going anywhere. Just tell me what's actually bothering you." Raquel said standing in my way.
"Nothing is bothering me. Will you move?" I said trying to walk around Raquel, but she just moved so she was standing in my way. "Move."
"No. Just say whatever it is you're thinking. Please?" Raquel begged and I sighed.
"Do you want revenge on me?" I asked and Raquel looked at me like I was crazy.
"You think I'd purposely hurt you?" She asked and I didn't say anything. "Wow. If either of us should have trust issues, it's definitely not you."
After saying that Raquel left the hotel room. How the hell did we go from joking about this to fighting? It's just the first fucking day.
-
Dinner was awkward as hell. Raquel wouldn't even look at me. To make things worse, she and Sloan were actually engaged in a conversation without me. I could just tell from Sloan's demeanor that she knew Raquel and I were in a fight and she was taking advantage of the situation.
"So what are your plans after graduation?" Sloan asked Raquel.
"I'll most likely go back to school because I want to get my master's degree in education psychology. I want to be a guidance counselor. Preferably in a high school." Raquel answered.
"I definitely have some friends in that field that I can introduce you to. Especially if you're interested in doing an internship. You could also be a counselor at a summer camp that a friend of mine holds for teens. That could be a good experience and they'd pay you well." Sloan offered and Raquel started to shake her head.
"You don't have to do that."
"I know I don't, but I don't mind. There's nothing wrong with having connections. I have a lot of them, so I'm more than willing to help someone else when I can." Sloan shrugged. "But we have all week to talk about this."
"Well thank you." Raquel smiled and Sloan smiled back at her.
"So, Malaya." Sloan finally addressed me. "Are you nervous about tomorrow?"
"No." I said plainly.
"That's good because there's no reason to be. They're gonna love you." Sloan spoke seeming genuine.
"How could they not?" Raquel finally addressed me. Wow. So now you want to talk to me. Well about me, but still.
I felt Raquel put a hand on my knee under the table, but I pushed it off. Nope. Keep that same energy, Burrows.
"I agree." Sloan smiled. "She's amazing."
I glanced over at Raquel after Sloan said that and I could see the vein in her neck. Someone's angry. I bet she won't joke about Sloan anymore.
"Too bad she won't be working for you anymore after she gets the job." Raquel said obviously trying to be mean.
"I'll have her for another whole year." Sloan replied with a smirk and I could sense the tension between the two. I wanted to interject, but I was going to let Raquel handle this since she got an attitude with me earlier. If she won't listen to me when I tell her Sloan is up to something, then she can deal with her by herself.
"And I'll have her for the rest of my life. What's your point?" Raquel said clearly bothered at this point and I was getting a little worried. It's just the first fucking day!
"You sure about that?" Sloan asked and that's when I finally decided to say something.
"Yes, she's sure. Now could you two not do this? We're in public and it's a pointless argument. I'm your employee and that's it. You arguing with my girlfriend over me makes no sense." I said to Sloan and she simply smirked.
"Don't flatter yourself. I was simply talking about having you work for me for another year. Your friend-"
"Girlfriend." Raquel interrupted Sloan since she'd referred to her as my 'friend'.
"Whatever. Rachel misinterpreted my words, is all." Sloan said purposely messing up Raquel's name. How mature.
"Raquel didn't misinterpret shit." Raquel said and I stood up.
"Come to the bathroom with me." I said grabbing Raquel's arm, but she wouldn't move.
"Nah, I'm good." She spoke stubbornly and I gripped her arm tighter.
"Get your ass up." I whispered in her ear and she did as I said.
Sloan was just smirking because she knew she had stirred up some shit.
Once we got to the bathroom I checked up under the stalls to see if anyone else was in there. No one was, so I locked the door.
"You still want to joke about her?" I asked and Raquel rolled her eyes at me.
"Why are we in here? You didn't even have to get up from the table. And just know, the only reason I listened was because you were making a scene. You don't scare me." Raquel said making me roll my eyes.
"I brought you in here so you could calm the hell down. This is the type of shit Sloan does. She's trying to get under your skin and you're letting her." I explained.
"At least I'm not letting her kiss me." Raquel mumbled and I groaned because she was being a difficult little shit at the moment. Her attitude with me from earlier was still present and that combined with her anger towards Sloan was hard to work with.
"If you really forgave me, you wouldn't constantly bring that up whenever you get mad at me." I said getting fed up with Raquel throwing shots at me.
"Well, maybe I don't forgive you."
"You are such a fucking asshole when you're mad, I hope you know that." I said pushing Raquel and then trying to leave the bathroom, but she grabbed me.
"Wait." She said sounding more like herself, but I was fed up with her at the moment. How long was she going to hold cheating over my head?
"No, you keep throwing that shit in my face and I'm tired of it. You could have broken up with me, but you didn't. Either you forgive me or you don't. If you can't forgive me I understand, but just fucking say it."
"Today was the only time I even did that." Raquel tried defending herself.
"It was also the only time you've been mad at me since we made up. Is this what it's going to be like every time I piss you off? You're gonna keep bringing up how I fucked up? Because if so, let's just stop pretending that we can get through this."
"I didn't mean it okay? I'm mad at her and I'm taking it out on you." Raquel said making me turn around so I was facing her.
"I don't care what your reason is. Whatever you say to me when you're angry is what you're really thinking. Do you realize that you didn't tell me how you truly felt about me cheating until I pissed you off?" I reminded her.
"I swear I forgive you. She's just so-"
"Stop blaming her! She doesn't give a fuck what you say to her. You can't hurt her, but you're not saying hurtful shit to her. You're saying it to me." I cut Raquel off. "You told me that you'd be okay. You said you weren't confrontational, but clearly that isn't true."
"Well, I've never had a reason to be before. It's not everyday that I have dinner with the woman my girlfriend cheated on me with. And it doesn't help that she's smug as hell about the whole thing. I honestly thought she was cool for a minute and then she went and did a completely one eighty." Raquel said pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Well, that's what I have to deal with almost everyday. It's what I've been dealing with since the summer."
"Congratulations! But last time I checked she got to you too." Raquel argued. "You might be used to her, but I'm not. I've never dealt with anything like this before, so I'm sorry that I'm not handling it perfectly. There isn't anything she's going to be able to say about you that won't get to me because she can easily bring up how she got you to cheat on me with her. So yes, she's getting up under my fucking skin. And yes I'm taking it out on you because if it wasn't for you cheating on me with her she wouldn't be able to get under my skin."
"You should have stayed home." I said not even wanting to argue with Raquel anymore.
"Why? So you could be alone with her?" Raquel asked and I felt like I was seeing a completely different side of her.
"Don't fucking talk to me for the rest of this trip." I said using my fingers to push Raquel's annoying ass head. I couldn't help myself. She was pissing me off.
"Keep your hands to yourself. I don't care how mad you are. I never put my hands on you, so don't do it to me." Raquel said with a finger in my face.
"Shut the fuck up." I said slapping her hand out of my face.
"You must really want me to put my hands on you." Raquel said looking more mad than I've ever seen her. I can't even lie. Despite the fact that we were currently in a fight and saying fucked up shit to each other. I was getting turned on. She's so sexy when she's mad. But if she hits me, I'm beating her ass.
"You hit me if you want to." I said with a finger in her face liked she'd done me.
"Who said anything about hitting you?" Raquel said gripping my throat and pushing me until my back hit the bathroom door.
Okay. I was not expecting that.
I wasn't scared and I could have easily gotten myself out of Raquel's grip, but I didn't want to.
We were just looking at each other and then Raquel kissed me. Like she kissed the fuck out of me and I really wanted her to fuck me, but not in a bathroom.
"We can not do this here." I said pushing Raquel away.
"Well, let's tell Sloan we're ready to go." Raquel said unlocking the bathroom door and practically dragging me back to our table.
"We're ready to go." Raquel told Sloan and she chuckled.
"You two barely even touched your food." Sloan said sounding like a parent.
"We have a taste for something else now, but it's not appropriate to eat in public." Raquel said with no shame what so ever. I really can't wait until we get back to our room.
"Okay." Sloan said seeming something other than confident and smug for the first time tonight. "I'll just get the bill and we can leave."
-
Right when we got back to our hotel, Raquel and I rushed up to our room.
Unfortunately, we were interrupted by someone knocking on our door before we could do anything.
Raquel groaned before going to the door and opening it.
"What do you want?" Raquel asked when Sloan appeared in the doorway.
"Just in case you've forgotten, this is a business trip and I have some things I need to discuss with my employee." Sloan said walking right past Raquel and into our room.
"You couldn't email me?" I asked and Sloan chuckled.
"I have a feeling you would have been too preoccupied to read it." Sloan commented before sitting on the couch that was in the room.
"Can you just get on with it, Sloan?" Raquel asked and Sloan smirked at her.
"Are you that hungry?" Sloan asked Raquel. "Because if you are, by all means go ahead and eat. I don't judge."
"You are such a fu-"
"Raquel, just let Sloan say whatever it is she needs to say, so she can go back to her room." I cut Raquel off before she could get into another argument with Sloan.
"Well, this could actually take all night. It's very important." Sloan said making me want to scream. Why is she like this?
"I'm gonna go take a shower." Raquel said looking annoyed.
Is she seriously leaving me alone with Sloan?! She's obviously up to something.
"You can't shower later?" I asked looking at Raquel and cutting my eyes to Sloan, so she'd understand that I didn't want to be left alone with my boss.
"Fine." She said kicking her shoes off and laying down on the bed. I sat down on the side of the bed and waited for Sloan to tell me whatever it was that so important.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" Raquel sat up after Sloan was silent for a while. "You just came in here to keep us from fu- um eating. Didn't you?"
I don't know why Raquel even stopped herself. Sloan knew what the hell "eating" meant.
"No, I came to join you." Sloan said making my eyes get wide. She couldn't be serious right now. Then again, it's Sloan. Of course she's serious.
"What makes you think we would want to eat with you?" Raquel asked and Sloan chuckled.
"Look, we're all adults here."
"We're in a relationship." I said gesturing to myself and Raquel.
"Okay and? Last time I checked ships had more than enough room for three people." Sloan said making Raquel laugh.
I hit Raquel after she started laughing and she stopped immediately.
"I'm sorry, but that was a good one." She whispered and I glared at her.
"Look Sloan, this isn't even appropriate. You're my boss. Aren't there rules against this?" I asked and Sloan chuckled.
"Well, I'm also my own boss, so unless I plan on firing myself. I'm good. Is this ethical? No, but nothing that happens in this room has to leave it. We're all attracted to each other and the tension will only get thicker the longer we go without doing something about it."
It's only the first fucking night!
"And what makes you think we're attracted to you?" Raquel asked and I internally rolled my eyes. Now she knows damn well...
"I don't think, I know you are. And I also heard you say it." Sloan revealed and I looked at her in confusion.
"Were you spying on us?" Raquel asked and I face palmed.
Sloan chuckled right after Raquel said that and then smirked.
"No, but thanks for admitting to that. So now that we have that out of the way, why don't we make the most of this trip?" Sloan asked and I frowned.
"Are you forgetting the point of this trip?" I asked and Sloan just continued to smirk.
"About that, I may have given you some misinformation." Sloan said making me frown.
"What do you mean?" I asked and Raquel sat beside me when she heard that.
"Yeah. What do you mean?" Raquel asked as well.
"This isn't just a business trip. The job I told you about, it's real, but it was yours the moment I told them about you. Like I said, I have connections."
I was getting worried at this point. What the hell did I get Raquel and myself into?
"You're not making any sense. If the job is already hers, why the hell are we here?" Raquel asked seeming a little more serious now.
"Well we are here so she can get a look at her future place of employment, but that will take some hours at the most. I figured the rest of the week and possibly tonight, could be used for...other things."
Sloan was seriously out of her fucking mind.
"Other things like what?" Raquel asked and I wanted to slap her. How had she not caught on by now. We got tricked by my creepy ass boss into coming to New York for a week of...eating.
"You went through all this for a fucking threesome?" I asked and Raquel choked on air I'm assuming.
"Wait what? Did I miss something?" Raquel asked standing up and looking between Sloan and me. "We're having a threesome?"
My girlfriend is an idiot. Maybe just oblivious, but my goodness. Catch up, Burrows.
"No, we are not and after tomorrow, we're leaving." I said standing up and opening the door. "Sloan, get out of our room."
"Wait." Raquel said closing the door and I looked at her like she was crazy.
"What do you mean wait? Are you actually considering this?" I asked and Raquel frowned at me.
"Are you actually considering passing this up?" She asked me and I was appalled by her words.
"We're in a relationship." I told Raquel because she was acting like she forgot.
"I'm not interested in a relationship. It's just sex that I'm interested in." Sloan added her unwanted input and I glared at her.
"How old are you?" I asked and Sloan furrowed her eyebrows.
"What does that have to do with anything? We're all adults." She shrugged.
"How old are you?" I asked again and Sloan sighed.
"I'm 28." She revealed and I remembered not being too far off when Raquel asked me.
"You don't look a day over-"
"Shut the hell up." I cut Raquel off before she could say anything remotely compliment like to Sloan. That's the last thing we needed in this moment.
"25." Raquel whispered and I really wanted to punch her. Sloan however thought my girlfriend's stupidity was funny.
"Thank you." Sloan winked at Raquel and I was instantly annoyed. Not that I hadn't been annoyed already.
"We're both the jealous type." I pointed out and Sloan shrugged.
"I'll pay equal attention to the both of you." Sloan announced and I really couldn't understand why this was happening. I also didn't understand why Raquel was so calm. We literally just got into a fight over Sloan, not to mention the strain me kissing Sloan put on our relationship. And now Raquel is down with a threesome with her?!
Did Sloan drug Raquel or something? There's no way she's in her right mind right now.
"Baby, are you okay?" I asked cupping Raquel's face with my hands and looking into her eyes. She looked okay, but looks could be deceiving.
"Okay with a threesome? I mean hell yeah-"
"I was asking about your mental state, but apparently you're not okay." I cut Raquel off.
"My mental state is fine, but I really don't see the big deal. Our relationship is solid. We both know that. What's wrong with having a little fun?" Raquel asked.
"Nothing, but are we really gonna do this with her? Just some weeks ago our relationship was all out of whack because of her...and me of course, but-"
"It doesn't have to happen tonight. How about you two think about it and let me know? If you decide you don't want to, we can cut the trip short and leave the day after tomorrow." Sloan said standing up. "Or, we can stay and I'll just show you some of my favorite places throughout the rest of the week. There are a lot of things to do other than each other. Even though-"
"We'll think about it." I said pushing Raquel aside and opening the door for Sloan. "Goodnight, Sloan."
Sloan gave Raquel and me one final look before leaving our room. Right when I closed the door behind her, Raquel smiled at me.
"We're doing it." She said looking like having a threesome with my boss was the best thing ever.
"Why are you okay with this?" I asked and Raquel shrugged.
"Because I've never had a threesome before and who better to have my first one with than you? Come on, we're going to look back at this some years from now and laugh about it. I don't know if you know this, but you're stuck with me for life. Once we get married, threesomes are out of the question. Have you ever had a threesome before?" Raquel asked and I shook my head.
"No, and I'm not saying I'm opposed to it, but why with her? You won't have to see her after this. I have to go back to work with her." I stressed.
"Well, the only other offer we got was from Aniya. The choice is yours." Raquel decided to joke and I really hated that she wanted to play right now. She's always joking in serious situations.
"Baby, please be serious. I don't want this to fuck up our relationship. Are you forgetting that you told me you didn't forgive me for kissing her today?" I recalled.
"I didn't mean that. I swear I forgive you. I was mad and I knew what to say to get under your skin. I know that's fucked up and I'm sorry for that." Raquel apologized, but it didn't make me feel any better.
"So she's able to piss you off enough to make you mad enough to want to hurt me, but you want to have sex with her?" I asked.
"I was pissed off with her because she was acting like you're not mine. God that sounds really possessive." Raquel said running a hand down her face.
"I am yours. I always will be." I said not bothered by Raquel's "possessiveness".
"Exactly, so let's do this. You know you're attracted to her. We've both already admitted to it. No feelings will be involved other than our feelings for each other."
I thought back to the moments when Sloan had told me that she had feelings for me. She didn't say those exact words. But she did express that she "shouldn't feel this way" about me. That implies some sort of feelings. Right?
"I don't know if that's true. I think Sloan might be manipulating the situation." I expressed my worries.
"Can you be anymore vague? What do you mean by that?" Raquel asked.
"I mean that I think Sloan might actually have feelings for me and she's using this as a an opportunity to have sex with me."
"But I'd be involved as well. Why would she want to have sex with me at all if she's doing this because she has feeling for you?" Raquel asked.
"Take a look in the mirror. Sex with you is a bonus. Look, I don't trust Sloan. Shouldn't stuff like this be done with someone we actually trust?" I asked and Raquel looked to be thinking about it.
"So basically you want to take Aniya up on her offer." Raquel said actually choosing to joke in this moment and I couldn't help, but to laugh. Why is she like this?
"Raquel. I don't want to do this if Sloan is trying to manipulate the situation. Like I said before, I have to go back to work with her. What if she thinks me agreeing to this is an invitation for her to start harassing me in the work place again?"
Though a threesome with Sloan didn't seem like the worse thing in the world, it would come with consequences. Whether we wanted it to or not.
"We can discuss all of this stuff with her." Raquel suggested and I threw my head back in laughter.
"You say that as if Sloan is a reasonable person. She'll tell us whatever we want to hear to get what she wants."
"Can we at least try talking to her before you completely dismiss this? You'll get to go tour your future place of employment and then we can decide." Raquel said still seeming totally into having a threesome with Sloan.
"Should I be worried about how into this you are?" I asked and Raquel chuckled.
"No. I want to experience this with you. I can't help, but to be excited by the idea of a threesome. It may or may not be a fantasy of mine." Raquel admitted.
"Why didn't you do it freshman or sophomore year? Lord knows you got around back then." I recalled. Though Raquel and I weren't friends at the time, I knew about her reputation back then.
"I mean, I did. I've never done with a girlfriend before."
"You said you'd never had a threesome before. You're pushing this like it was going to be a new experience knowing you'd already done it before. I should have known you were lying." I rolled my eyes.
"I wasn't lying. Those didn't count."
I'm pretty sure my face displayed how shocked I was after Raquel said that.
"Those as in multiple? Raquel, you really just tried to play me. I don't want to talk about this anymore." I said seriously fed up with Raquel for tonight.
"Malaya-"
"I'm about to go take a shower." I announced going over to my suitcase to get some pajamas.
"Can I-"
"Alone." I cut Raquel off before she could ask to join me.
I was over this whole day honestly.
*********
To threesome or not to threesome? 🤔
I don't know what ya girl Raquel had going on this chapter. She didn't even seem like herself. 🤦🏽♀️
What do you think will happen next? 👀
Is the threesome gonna happen? 😳
Is Sloan on some fuck shit or what? 😕