“You can finish your drink,” Ethan said.
Harris and Marshall left, and the three of them sat there quietly. Too quietly, so Tyler broke the silence. “I really had a nice time today. The beach was fun, and then we had an amazing meal on the balcony, which was beautiful. The night sky. The company. The small talk. I enjoyed all of it.” The alcohol was making him ramble, but he meant every word of it.
Wolf drained his glass, set it down on the coffee table, and stood up from the side chair he’d been sitting in. “I had a goodtime too.” He wiped his mouth with his hand as he walked over to the couch and sat down next to Tyler. He placed his arm on the back of the couch, behind Tyler’s head and stretched it all the way so his hand was almost touching Ethan’s shoulder, and said, “The night’s not over. You want to have some more fun?”
Tyler was too shocked for words, but Ethan reacted immediately. He leaned forward and glared at Wolf with sharp daggers in his eyes and his jaw tight. “No. Wolf. Forget it.”
Wolf slowly removed his arm from the back of the couch and rested his hand in his lap. “Why not? We share all the time. It’ll be fun.”
“Not with my boyfriend!” Ethan yelled.
“Now, he’s your boyfriend?”
“Yes! He’s my boyfriend!”
“Stop acting like you’re a fucking angel!” Wolf, who had been speaking calmly, suddenly grew angry and loud. “How many threesomes have we had over the years?”
“Shut up, Wolf! You’re drunk, and you’re out of line!”
Tyler was too shocked to say anything as he looked back and forth between Ethan and Wolf who were having a shouting match, with him in the middle. He finally got ahold of himself and shot to his feet so fast, he practically knocked Ethan and Wolf in the face with his shoulders. “What the fuck?” he yelled, hands reaching for the ceiling. “What the fuck is going on here? Were you trying to get me drunk, so I’d let you in our bed?” he shouted at Wolf, but didn’t give him a chance to answer. “You can forget it! I thought you were being nice! Get the fuck out!” he growled in a voice that made him sound possessed. Both Ethan and Wolf were staring at him, stunned, so he shouted again, this time louder and pointing at the door. “I said, get the fuck out!”
Wolf got to his feet and casually walked to the door, a sour smirk on his face. “Fine,” he mumbled. “Your loss.”
“Oh, fuck you!” Tyler spat the words at Wolf, his chest rising and falling and his heart hammering as he watched Wolf leave. As soon as the door was closed, he spun around to face Ethan, who was standing next to him. “What the fuck, Ethan?”
Ethan was ghostly pale, his mouth was hanging open, and his eyes were huge. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea he was going to suggest something like that. I don’t know what’s wrong with him. He was drunk. What he said about threesomes was—”
“I’m no prude. I’ve had plenty of threesomes in my life.” Tyler placed his fist on his hip and snorted. “I had one before I left New York at my going away party. But I don’t appreciate your—whatever the fuck he is—propositioning me because he’s clearly threatened. He’s a fucking asshole!”
“I can’t believe he did that. I’m sorry. I understand if you want to leave.” Ethan cupped Tyler’s face in his hands and looked at him with pleading brown eyes and his voice filled with emotion. “But I don’t want you to. I want you to stay. I care about you. A lot. Please stay.”
Tyler stared into Ethan’s eyes and the longing he saw there softened his temper. He didn’t want to leave. He wanted to spend time with Ethan. Up until ten minutes ago, everything was going great. He wasn’t going to let Wolf spoil their weekend.
A long sigh left Tyler’s lungs, but his jaw was still tense, and his heart was still pounding. “I’m not going anywhere. Not unless you don’t want me here.”
“I want you here,” Ethan quickly replied, and then placed the most tender kiss on Tyler’s lips, as soft as a kitten’s whiskers. “I’ll make it up to you. I don’t know how but give me a chance. Please?”
One thing stuck out in the confrontation, and it was that Ethan called Tyler his boyfriend. They never discussed a term that defined their relationship, and normally, the idea of being called someone’s boyfriend when they both agreed that thingswere only casual, wouldn’t have sat right with him. But he loved being called Ethan’s boyfriend. Maybe because Ethan had said it to Wolf, cementing Tyler’s status in his life. In other words, Tyler’s not going anywhere so get used to it, and stay away from him. It shouldn’t have, because the entire situation was fucked up, but it brought a tiny smile to Tyler’s lips. “It takes more than that asshole to scare me off.”
***
The next morning, Tyler woke up to an empty bed and voices coming from the other room. He crept closer and pressed his ear to the closed door. It was Ethan. And Wolf. Tyler’s blood pressure spiked as he listened intently.
“You’ve done a lot of fucked up things in your life, but this tops them all,” Ethan scolded.
“I know. That’s why I’m here to apologize. I’m sorry. I was drunk.”
“That’s no fucking excuse. I care about this guy, Wolf. He’s not some fuck boy.”
“I know. I’m sorry. Let me apologize. It’s the least I can do. Please.”
Tyler didn’t want to talk to Wolf, but the guy sounded remorseful, and he was going to be in Ethan’s life, whether it be as a friend, a bandmate, or something more. While Tyler was still pondering if he would accept Wolf’s apology, the bedroom door opened and almost hit him in the face. He quickly jumped back and met Ethan’s surprised gaze. “Sorry. I was just . . . listening. I was listening with my ear pressed to the door.”
“Then you know he wants to apologize. If you want him to leave, I’ll tell him to go. It’s up to you.”
Tyler pursed his lips to the side while he contemplated what to do and decided to be the better person. Although Wolf wasa jerk, he still had the decency to show up first thing in the morning to apologize. “OK. I’ll hear him out.”
Only in his tiny thong, he quickly threw on some clothes and returned to the living room with Ethan. Just the sight of Wolf made Tyler’s gut clench and his hackles rise. He didn’t care that Wolf had his hands in his pockets and his head down with a sad frown on his face or that he looked embarrassed. The guy was still a fucking asshole.
