The Side Project

Chapter 28: Kyle

Chapter 28: Kyle

The Lay of the Man

The Lay of the Man

This chapter is a bit of a breather as the story turns toward the next stretch of plot. The next few chapters are going to move some larger pieces into place, and in my opinion include some of the funniest stuff we've written so far. That's not to say the NSFW material is stopping, of course. We know what website we're on.

If you're still reading at this point, thank you for being invested in the larger madness of TSP. We've also got an AI podcast linked from our profile page now, and it frequently leaves me cackling with laughter. YMMV. Thank you, as ever, for taking the time to vote, comment, or share what you think of TSP. We are going to be slowing down the pace of our posting just a tad - every threeish days moving forward. Assuming work doesn't get too in the way.

After cleaning up and getting dressed again, Lexi and I ventured out to see if anybody else was awake yet. She clung to my arm and couldn't seem to stop smiling. I understood why. I had never felt more connected to her. Heck, I had never felt more connected to anyone.

Rose and Jackie had still been asleep when I got up, but had woken up while we had been busy and were seated at the kitchen counter munching bagels and drinking coffee. The pair of women began laughing as soon as they saw us. I guess it was pretty obvious what we had just been up to.

"You two are so fucking cute," Rose said. She was teasing, but it was a happy tone.

"What can I say? I liked the lay of the land this morning," Lexi replied with a double entendre.

"I feel that," Rose said, stealing a little glance at Jackie.

"Oh, so I'm not the only one to kick off my morning right?" I asked.

"Hey, I mean sometimes you wake up with a slut between your legs and stuff happens." Rose's tone was dismissive but the affectionate glance she shot Jackie's way certainly wasn't.

"What can I say? I felt like there was a little bit of an imbalance after she blew my mind last night," Jackie said.

We all laughed. I appreciated the easy openness and companionship we all shared. The level of chemistry our quartet shared shouldn't have been possible considering the short time we'd known each other, but it seemed like we fit.

"Try the fucking sesame you dumb slut," Jackie insisted, thrusting her half eaten bagel towards Rose. I surmised this was a debate that had been going on before we arrived.

"Sorry I actually like flavor and variety, get that boring shit out of my face," Rose retorted and took another bite of her everything bagel.

"Fuck you!" Jackie exclaimed, laughing. "I invoke Rule No. 9!"

Rose rolled her eyes but dutifully leaned over and took a bite of Jackie's proffered bagel.

"Decent, but mine is better," Rose said once she'd swallowed. She held her bagel out to Jackie, who dutifully took a bite.

"Ew the seeds get stuck in my teeth," Jackie complained once she'd chewed her bite.

"What is Rule No. 9?" Lexi asked.

"Rule Number 9:If a sister insists it's good, try it," Jackie recited, mockingly serious.

"Sigma Slut Sisterhood Rules," Rose explained, giggling.

I rolled my eyes. Them having rules did make sense in a weird way though.

"Jesus christ of course you have rules. And Allie is going to petition to join you just for the alliteration," Lexi said, laughing.

"Huh, we've never considered a new member, we'd certainly have to teach them the rules," Rose said, looking thoughtful.

"Are these rules codified?" Lexi asked.

"Fucking Lexicon! No, they are not, every sister knows them by heart," Rose said.

"That's why Marge fucking my boyfriend behind my back was the worst betrayal. Rule #1," Jackie said, and suddenly the tone was serious.

"Rule one is about honesty?" Lexi guessed.

Jackie and Rose nodded seriously.

We started discussing what to do with our day. None of us even thought to suggest we wouldn't spend it together. The Sigmas had a brunch reservation that had been part of their bachelorette itinerary. We agreed it would be fun to take advantage of that, but it was for five people. Jackie performed a wellness check on Brandi and Reed and reported that they were alive but looked utterly wrecked. We agreed it was best to give them time to sleep things off. Lexi suggested we text Allie and see if she could join us on her lunch break.

"I feel like I haven't done anything but drink and party for two days. Not that that's a bad thing, but maybe we should do something healthy that doesn't involve drinking this morning," Jackie suggested.

After some back and forth we agreed on going to the park to do yoga. It was not exactly my first preference, but Jackie was not much for running and Rose had some experience as a yoga instructor. There was a guy on our soccer team who was in his 40s and absolutely swore by yoga as a way to maintain flexibility as he aged. I had been meaning to try it out and figured this was as good a time as any.

We all got changed. Per Rose's recommendation we dressed in layers with a warmer outer layer we could strip off over something to work out in. We identified a park a short walk away across the river and a store we could hit up for mats before leaving the house.

I discovered I liked yoga more than I thought I would. It was more of a workout than I expected even if it was very different from things I was used to, like running. It was also oddly calming compared to cardio and the pleasantly quiet park on a nice day was the ideal venue.

It certainly helped that Rose definitely knew what she was doing. She had a good sense of how long to hold poses and which were good for beginners. That the four of us had also been intimate together made her little touches to correct form far more comfortable. She also wasn't hesitant about correcting form. I wasn't sure if we actually needed all the corrections, but nobody was complaining about some extra touching.

As the workout went on we all got down to t-shirts or sports tops. After last night none of us were embarrassed about what we were wearing or being in awkward poses. There was just comfort and the occasional playful glance exchanged. It was a great way to spend our morning.

After showering and changing into brunch clothes we decided we had enough time to walk to the restaurant. Allie had texted us back that she would meet us there and that Rose had chosen a good venue. The walk was pleasant in the crisp fall weather and I got to see more of Music City. I really was starting to like the place.

The food was excellent and the mimosas were consumed without guilt after our healthier morning.

"Hey, so I took some of Lexi's advice and have been working on organizing a little cocktail hour for this evening at my house with some of my neighbors. Would y'all be interested in coming? I know it's a bit of a hike, but I'm planning it for right after work so you can probably get back downtown by dinner if you want," Allie told us.

"We're in," Lexi said before there could be any debate. I assumed she was eager to show her support for Allie taking a positive step. I was fine getting behind that. The rest of our group quickly agreed.

"Y'all have any plans for after?" Rose asked.

"Not really. Clean up, I guess, but my husband has this pep rally he's doing with his buddies and they're leaving to drive down to Oxford, Mississippi for the A&M game tomorrow. Typically he just stays the in the barracks when they have an early wake-up call," Allie said.

"Let's go somewhere badass for dinner," Lexi suggested.

"You know I'm in!" Allie exclaimed, instantly excited by the potential for more social activity. "This gal who will be at the happy hour, Lauren, is a like a quasi-local celebrity, I bet she can get us set up with something."

We all agreed we liked that plan. Allie thought she could get off work by 4 PM at the latest and recommended a nearby neighborhood with some good shopping to kill our afternoon until it was time to pick her up. I reluctantly agreed to tag along after Jackie proposed that for every three boutiques the girls dragged me through we stop and get a glass of wine. We texted our plans to Brandi and Reed, but got no response.

Shopping turned out to be a lot more fun than I anticipated. The ladies were not trying to see every piece of clothing in a place so we moved through quickly if nothing caught their eye. When something did catch the eye of one of the ladies the other three of us got to see some pretty attractive clothes modeled. We were at our second wine bar of the afternoon when we got a text from Reed declaring he wanted no part of going to the suburbs on a Friday night.

"Ugh, why is he being difficult?" Jackie asked with annoyance.

"Oh, I think we know why," Lexi said with a small frown.

"I think it's better if I go talk to him. How about I go back to the house now and I'll meet you all there at like 3:30 to go pick up Allie?" I suggested. The group agreed.

- - - - -

- - - - -

I found Reed sitting at the kitchen counter nursing a cup of coffee and sipping from a water bottle. He looked rough - hair was messy, eyes looked tired, and there was a faint trace of the smell of stale sweat.

"Late night, man?" I asked.

"Yes, but entirely worth it," Reed said, and smiled.

"Mmmm, how's Brandi?" I asked.

"Extremely satisfied." Reed had chosen to interpret my question differently than I intended it.

"Right, but like still here, right?" I redirected.

"Oh yeah, she's in the shower. Fuck that girl loves coke. And cock. Insatiable. About wore me out."

"Certainly sounds like your type," I noted.

"Ideal. The perfect sort of shameless partying slut," Reed said.

"But she's not a danger?" I asked, intentionally using the wording from the prior night Reed had used about Allie.

He blinked a few times, catching the reference. "Well no, it's different. She understands what's up - she's got a great rack and is good in the sack. All there is to it."

"But Allie doesn't? We talked for awhile last night man, she's not under some weird illusion. She just liked what you did for her. And she's cool, we honestly had a really good time. She's worth getting to know," I told Reed.

"What are you my fucking sex broker now?" Reed asked grouchily.

"Ha, this is the thanks I get after years of playing wingman for you?" I joked. "Look, I don't care who you do or don't fuck, but this weird ignoring/negging thing you're doing with Allie isn't you."

"Ha, ok fair. Alright I'll stop playing games with her. I'll text her about maybe hanging out tomorrow," Reed said.

"Fun story for you - her husband and his little secret society are going on some sort of boondoggle tomorrow," I told Reed.

"Now that is some useful information. You are not, in fact, as useless as you sometimes look," Reed said.

"So you in for tonight then?" I asked.

"No, we're in one of the best party cities in America. I'm still not going to a lame-ass suburban cocktail hour on a Friday," Reed stated.

"That, my friend, is where you have lost the way. Think about what we know about this neighborhood? Dominated by these LIMP Alpha weirdos. Remember your original thesis about unsatisfied wives? The origin of the side project."

Reed didn't answer, he just got up and walked towards his room.

"Nothing?" I asked, slightly frustrated. "Don't you want to at least fuck with these losers a little bit?"

"Nope. I have a cocktail hour I need to get cleaned up for," Reed called over his shoulder. "And this is where you have lost the way. I don't want tofuckwith them. I want to fuck their wives." Reed was back.