title: The Other Three of Us
author: Schafer, Lori
description: In
  Just the Three of Us: An Erotic Romantic Comedy for the Commitment-Challenged
  , we learned the story of Sam and Kathy and Ted, three good friends who become even better lovers. Now find out what happens to the author when her real-life inspirations read her book... This paperback edition contains both parts of The Other Three of Us, books 2 and 3 in The Three of Us trilogy. Excerpt: Sam closed the slider behind us as we all retreated back into the room. It stood directly before us now, the last stop on the tour: a California king-sized bed, extra-long and extra-wide, almost as if it had been intended for three. In silence we all stared at it, its sheets so crisp and clean, its comforter so smooth and neatly applied, its three pillows so precisely lined up across its top side. This was the place, I thought as I ran my fingers over the cloth. This was where it would finally happen. I turned and caught a glimpse of Ted’s face, calm and staid as always, his thoughts concealed by his ongoing silence. He’d hardly spoken since I’d been here, and I wondered what he was thinking. There was nothing in his facial expression to give it away. “Well, um, I guess that’s it,” Sam mumbled, like a museum tour guide who doesn’t know how politely to tell the loitering guests to go home. “You can, um… You can put your beer down here if you want.” He took my glass and set it hurriedly down on the nightstand. Suddenly he seemed to be in a terrible rush. He was folding back the edge of the comforter while simultaneously fluffing the pillows; I half expected to see feathers flying. “And I guess…” – he drew back the edge of the sheet and flattened it with his hand – “I guess you two should go ahead and get started, and then you can, um… let me know when you’re done!” He hesitated only a second, then turned on his heel and began marching purposefully across the big room. “Wait, Sam!” I called out in alarm, my voice echoing off the ceiling like a police siren in a crowded downtown. “Where are you going?” “Not far, not far!” he assured me, turning around in a circle to face us briefly again. “I’ll be right here in the bathroom. Take your time!” He shot us an exaggerated wink, vanished into the dark red room, and clicked the door shut. Slowly, deliberately, I turned towards Ted. He was standing with his arms folded, his hand over his mouth as if he were covering up either a frown or a grin – I couldn’t tell which. “This isn’t exactly what I was expecting,” I said, searching his eyes for some clue that I was right to be bewildered. “I’m sure it wasn’t,” he agreed. I looked down at the exposed sheet and caught a glimpse of something pink. I peeled it back further, recoiling in horror. “Are those rose petals?” I squeaked. “Sam’s idea,” Ted said, his lips twitching. I stood dumbstruck. Here I was, on the verge of what I’d thought was going to be the greatest night of my life, and I didn’t have even the slightest desire to get naked. Ted cleared his throat audibly. “Shall we get started?” He gestured towards the flower-filled bed. “Uh… I’m not sure I can do this on demand,” I said. This was all just too weird. Here’s the man, here’s the bed; take one of each and call me if you still feel sick in the morning? “Sure you can,” he said, clasping his long arms over my backside. “No, I mean – I don’t think I feel like it right now.” “You will,” he assured me. He swept his hands down over my ass, then lifted up my still-damp skirt and got underneath. “Mmmm,” I purred involuntarily. “Told ya.” His fingers were probing the edges of my undies, and as he shifted me sideways down onto the bed, the bathroom door reappeared within my view. Like an anvil on a cartoon character’s head, the realization hit me so hard and fast I saw stars. Maybe Sam wasn’t out here, but he was in there, right there in the bathroom. Only twenty feet from me and Ted, my other boyfriend was patiently waiting his turn.