The apartment hummed with the low thrum of city traffic sa baba, warm light from the kitchen spilling across the worn hardwood floors of their shared living room. Gell leaned against the counter, her bare feet tucked under the hem of J's oversized sweater, natatawa softly as she passed Jack a bowl of popcorn. Her fingers brushed his wrist in the exchange, a fleeting spark that lingered in the air between them. J watched from the couch, his steady gaze softening the moment, while Jack's easy smile faltered just enough to reveal the quiet hunger beneath. "You always know how to make this place feel alive," Jack murmured, his voice low and appreciative, eyes tracing the curve of Gell's neck where a loose strand of hair clung to damp skin from the evening's steam still rising from the teapot.

The evening stretched on with easy domestic rhythm, but tension thickened like summer humidity. Gell stretched her arms overhead after dinner, complaining of a knot in her shoulder from a long day at her desk, and Jack stepped behind her without hesitation. His hands settled on her shoulders, thumbs pressing into the tight muscle with careful strength, drawing a low sigh from her lips. J moved closer on the sofa, his palm resting on her knee in quiet reassurance, the three of them connected by touch and breath. "Feels good," Gell whispered, leaning back into Jack's chest for a moment, her body warm and pliant under his fingers. Jack's compliment came soft and earnest—"You're beautiful like this, you know?"—his breath stirring the fine hairs at her temple. The hug that followed felt instinctive, arms wrapping around her from behind as J's hand slid up her thigh, anchoring them all in the charged stillness.

Later, in the dim solitude of his room, Jack lay awake with the apartment's echoes settling around him. He scrolled through his phone, pausing on a candid photo Gell had sent earlier that week—a selfie in the mirror, her smile playful and unguarded, the swell of her breasts visible beneath a thin tank top. His cock stirred against the sheets, heavy with longing as he replayed the day's touches in his mind, the way her skin had flushed under his hands. Loneliness pressed in, but so did the fragile hope of something more, his free hand tracing idle patterns on his chest while the night stretched on.

The night stretched on. Morning light filtered through the blinds as the three of them gathered in the kitchen for Jack's birthday breakfast, the scent of fresh coffee and buttered toast mingling with the low hum of city traffic outside. Gell moved between the stove and table with easy grace, her sweater slipping off one shoulder to reveal the smooth line of her collarbone, while J leaned against the counter nursing his mug, his eyes warm and watchful. Jack sat at the table cracking jokes about turning thirty, but the laughter faded into something quieter when he admitted how the weeks had blurred into empty evenings, the kind where even the apartment's familiar creaks felt like reminders of what he lacked. "It's stupid, I know," he said, voice rough with the honesty that came easier after too little sleep, "but sometimes I just... miss being wanted. Not even sex, just that spark, you know? Someone's eyes on me like I matter."

Gell paused with the spatula in hand, her cheeks flushing as a secret thrill curled low in her belly, mixing with genuine sympathy for the loneliness etched in Jack's expression. J's hand found hers across the table, squeezing gently in that steady way that anchored them, his calm curiosity evident in the slight tilt of his head as he listened without judgment. The banter resumed in fits—teasing about Jack's terrible cooking and Gell's endless playlists—but it carried an undercurrent now, Jack's words hanging between them like an invitation. Finally, with a half-joke that didn't quite land as light as he meant, he looked up at them both. "Hell, as birthday charity, maybe just one night of real flirting? From you, Gell. Nothing heavy, just... let me feel it. With J's okay, of course."

Gell’s breath caught, her pulse quickening at the thought of crossing that line even playfully, her body already responding to the memory of Jack's hands on her shoulders the night before. J stayed silent for a beat, his gaze shifting between them with intrigued calm, a faint smile playing at his lips as he weighed the edges of their shared trust. The air thickened with possibility, the kind that made her skin prickle and Jack's fingers tighten around his coffee cup, all of them hovering on the edge of whatever came next.

The night stretched on, but sleep offered no escape from the ache that had taken root deep in his gut, his cock still half-hard from the memory of Gell's warmth against his palms earlier. Morning light filtered through the blinds like a quiet invitation, and Jack found them all in the kitchen again—Gell in that same oversized sweater, now slipping off one shoulder to reveal the soft curve of her collarbone, J stirring coffee with that calm, watchful presence. Banter flowed easily at first, Jack cracking a joke about his birthday creeping up like an unwanted guest, but the laughter faded as he admitted how the years of solitude had worn him thin, the empty bed and silent evenings leaving him craving even a sliver of connection that didn't feel borrowed or temporary. Gell paused with her mug halfway to her lips, sympathy flickering in her eyes alongside something warmer, a secret thrill that made her pulse quicken at the thought of his hands on her again, while J leaned back against the counter, his expression intrigued but steady, a faint smile playing at the corner of his mouth as if testing the boundaries of their shared space.

Jack's voice dropped, half-joking but laced with raw vulnerability, as he laid out his plea like a birthday wish wrapped in charity: just one night of flirtation, nothing more, a taste of that electric tension to chase away the loneliness without expecting anything to last. "Consider it a favor," he murmured, his gaze flicking between them, "one evening where I get to feel wanted, to touch and tease without crossing lines we can't come back from." Gell shifted, her body responding with a subtle heat between her thighs, nipples tightening against the fabric as she weighed the offer, empathy for his quiet pain blending with the forbidden spark of desire that made her breath catch. J's hand found hers under the table, thumb stroking reassuringly, his calm curiosity evident in the way he watched Jack, already imagining the slow unraveling of what this could mean for their trio without a hint of jealousy clouding his steady anchor.

The room seemed to hold its breath in that moment, the air thick with unspoken possibilities, Gell's fingers tightening around J's as a flush crept up her neck, her mind racing with vivid flashes of what flirtation might unlock—Jack's breath on her skin, the press of bodies in careful exploration. Jack's lonely yearning hung between them like an echo, respectful yet insistent, his charming grin softening the edges of the request into something tender and achingly human.

The air thickened with possibility, the kind that made her skin prickle and Jack's fingers tighten around his coffee cup, all of them hovering on the edge of whatever came next. J's voice cut through first, low and even, carrying that familiar steadiness that always made Gell feel safe even as her pulse raced. "If that's what you need tonight, Jack, I'm okay with it. One night of flirting, nothing more unless we all say so." His thumb brushed over the back of her hand, a silent check-in, and Gell nodded, her throat tight with a rush of sympathy that tangled deliciously with the secret heat blooming between her thighs. She could still feel the ghost of Jack's thumbs digging into her shoulders from the night before, the way his breath had warmed her ear, and now the idea of letting it linger openly, of teasing him with glances and touches while J watched, sent a warm flush straight to her pussy.

Jack exhaled a shaky laugh, relief softening the lines around his eyes, but the hunger there sharpened as he met Gell's gaze across the table. "Yeah? Just... let me feel wanted for a few hours. No pressure, just the spark." His words hung vulnerable between them, the loneliness in his voice pulling at her heart even as her nipples tightened beneath the loose sweater, brushing against the fabric with every quickened breath. Gell leaned forward, her voice playful yet edged with something bolder, "Alright, birthday boy. I'll flirt. But you have to keep up—none of that shy roommate act." She reached over to steal a piece of his toast, her fingers deliberately grazing his, and the contact sent a spark straight through her, making her shift in her seat as moisture gathered low. J's calm smile deepened, his eyes darkening with intrigued fascination as he watched them, one hand settling possessively on her knee under the table, fingers inching higher to trace the sensitive skin of her inner thigh.

The morning light caught the flush on her cheeks as banter resumed, lighter now but laced with new tension—Jack cracking a joke about her terrible coffee that made her laugh and swat his arm, her body leaning into the touch longer than necessary, while J's steady presence anchored the charged air. Later that evening, the flirtation unfolded in the living room, Gell settling between them on the couch with deliberate intent, her leg brushing Jack's as she turned to him with a teasing smile. "Tell me what you'd want if this were real," she murmured, voice husky, and Jack's hand found her waist, pulling her closer so she could feel the growing hardness of his cock pressing against her hip through his jeans. J watched, hand sliding up to cup her breast, thumb circling her nipple until it peaked, his breath hot against her neck as the three of them leaned into the slow burn of shared desire, hearts pounding in sync.

J watched, hand sliding up to cup her breast, thumb circling her nipple until it peaked, his breath hot against her neck as the three of them leaned into the slow burn of shared desire, hearts pounding in sync. Gell arched into the touch with a soft gasp, her pussy clenching in anticipation as Jack's fingers tightened on her waist, drawing her closer until the rigid length of his cock throbbed insistently against her hip. She could feel the heat radiating from him, the subtle tremor in his touch betraying how long he'd craved this, and it sent a fresh wave of moisture gathering between her thighs, soaking the thin fabric of her panties. J's lips brushed her ear, murmuring low words of encouragement that steadied her even as his free hand drifted lower, slipping under the hem of her sweater to trace the bare skin of her stomach, inching toward the waistband of her shorts with deliberate patience.

Jack's eyes locked on hers, vulnerable and hungry, his free hand rising to brush a strand of hair from her face before cupping her cheek. "You're driving me crazy already," he whispered, voice rough, and Gell responded by tilting her head to capture his mouth in a teasing kiss, lips parting just enough for their tongues to brush in a spark of wet heat. Her breasts felt heavy and sensitive under J's palm, nipples aching as he rolled one between his fingers, while Jack's cock pressed harder against her, the outline of it unmistakable through his jeans. She rocked her hips subtly, grinding against that hardness, feeling the emotional thread between them—the way Jack's loneliness melted into this charged gratitude, J's steady presence grounding it all without jealousy, just a quiet thrill that made his breath hitch against her neck. The room filled with the sounds of soft sighs and shifting fabric, the faint scent of their mingled arousal thick in the air as Gell's hand found Jack's thigh, fingers tracing upward to graze the bulge there, eliciting a low groan from him that vibrated through her chest.

Emboldened, she shifted to straddle Jack's lap facing him, her thighs bracketing his as J moved behind her on the couch, pressing close so his erection nestled against the small of her back. Jack's hands roamed her sides, slipping under the sweater to cup both breasts, thumbs flicking over her stiffened nipples while his mouth claimed hers again, deeper this time, tongues tangling with building urgency. Gell moaned into the kiss, her pussy grinding down against the hard ridge of his cock through their clothes, the friction sending jolts of pleasure straight to her core as she felt herself growing slicker, the ache building with every roll of her hips. J's fingers hooked into her shorts, tugging them down just enough to expose the curve of her ass, his hand sliding between her legs from behind to stroke the damp heat of her pussy through the soaked cotton, circling her clit with expert pressure that made her whimper and buck harder. The three of them moved in a slow, synchronized rhythm, breaths syncing into one ragged pulse, the emotional intimacy wrapping around the raw physical need like a warm embrace—Jack's quiet thanks in every touch, Gell's playful boldness melting into raw want, and J's calm fascination binding them tighter in this fragile, electric moment.

Apartment Echoes