Dante’s mouth dropped open. “Were they fucking?”
I rolled my eyes as I turned back to my box. “No, they weren’t fucking.” Unwrapping a water glass, I tossed the crumpled newspaper over my shoulder. “They were sitting. Fully clothed. In the living room.”
“They were making out?” Dante tried again.
“No. They were on different couches actually so… no touching.”
“Wow,” Sean said with a laugh. “That does sound cosy.”
Dante chortled. “Any hotter and that shit would need a PG rating.”
“Oh, come on, I’m not imagining this.” Balling up another piece of newspaper I threw it at Sean, who only laughed louder when it bounced off his head. “Being in a room with those two is like being inside an oven. It gets all hot and sweaty, and they make it hard to breathe.”
Sean and Dante gave each other a knowing look before turning their attention back to me. I ignored them, unwrapping what turned out to be a plastic cup. Giving it an irritable glare, I dumped it on the counter. Who the hell wrapped plastic anyway?
“That’s why you keep making all those jokes about watching us go at it,” Sean teased with a slow nod. “You’ve got a guy-on-guy kink thing going on.”
Damn, I knew those remarks would come back to bite me on the arse. “Don’t be silly. You know I’m only kidding around.”
“Maybe with us you are,” Dante waved a hand between him and Sean, “but if Connor and Lawrence provided the entertainment, I’m not so sure you’d be laughing.” Dante waggled his eyebrows at me. “I had no idea you were so open to experimentation, Gabrielle. I love it!”
“Lawrence wishes,” I muttered, not realising how loudly I’d spoken until they both stopped what they were doing to stare at me in surprise. Face flaming, I yanked another object from the box and unwrapped it. A red mug toppled out of the newspaper and into my hand. I held it aloft with a cry of triumph. “Yes, I am a mug locating queen!”
Sean cheered as he dove into the mostly empty box. “Never let anyone tell you different.” He quickly found two more mugs and within a few minutes we sat on the floor in the unfurnished dining room, sipping our freshly made coffee.
Any thought I had about them not following up on my earlier comment vanished the second Sean opened his mouth. “What’s this about Lawrence getting a kick out of your guy-on-guy kink?”
I let out a loud, unabashed groan. “Can’t we pretend I never said anything?”
Dante snorted. “Fuck no. We’re just getting to the good stuff.”
I hesitated before answering but, in all honesty, I needed advice and Sean had always been the person I went to with this messy relationship stuff. Plus, my head had already accepted Dante as an extension of Sean so… if I was going to tell anyone about this, it had to be them. “Okay, but this cannot go any further than this room. Do you understand?” Their eyes lit up as they nodded and leaned forward. “When Lawrence kissed Connor that night, all those years ago, it wasn’t so much because he wanted to be with Connor instead of me. It was more like he wanted to be with Connorandme.”
Dante’s jaw dropped. “Lawrence wanted both of you?” At my nod, he added, “At the same time?” I nodded again. A lopsided grin appeared on his face. “Kinky.”
“That’s just it.” I ran a hand through my hair, my shoulders slumping. “It wasn’t a kink thing, not for Lawrence. It was him discovering who he really is and what he wants.” My heart beat wildly in my chest as I added, “What he wants hasn’t changed—like at all.”
A thoughtful look marred Sean’s brow. “How does Connor feel about all this?”
“He claimed not to be into it at the time, but I don’t know. I think he would have said anything to make me forgive him.” Emptying my cup, I leaned over to put it on top of a nearby box. I’d need my hands free for wild gesticulation purposes before this conversation ended. I could tell.
“I’m not sure Connor knows what he wants,” I began. “When we were teenagers, I thought he liked me, until he fell in love with my boyfriend. The second that blew up, he cut off all contact with Lawrence and only wanted me. Then he leaves town, we barely see each other, we fall completely out of contact for over a year.” Granted, that had nothing to do with me or Law, but it was still true. “Then, out of nowhere, he shows up wanting to be the best of friends again. Only in the last month or so he’s back to vibing like hell with lusty feelings whenever we get close to each other, but it never actually eventuates into anything.” Much to the disgust of my neglected libido. “The man is a mess of contradictions!”
“What about you?” Sean asked. “Have you ever made a move on Connor? Maybe he’s holding back because he thinks you’re not interested.” He tilted his head to one side. “You are interested, aren’t you?”
“Oh, hell yes.” Hello, Connor was stupidly gorgeous, not to mention kind, generous, loving, and he made me laugh until my gut ached. He was the first boy I’d ever had a crush on. Before Law, before anyone. Those feelings had changed and developed into something a lot deeper and more complex, but the initial crush had never really gone away. But love demanded more than basic attraction. We clicked as friends, but that didn’t mean we’d click as lovers. What if we tried and it resulted in less click and more shockingly loud clang? The results could range anywhere from hilarious to downright heartbreaking.
When I did think about it, though, in the privacy of my own bed where the rules didn’t need to be followed, my imagination always provided an erotically satisfying encounter. My limbs went all liquid at the memory of those fantasies, and warmth spread low in my belly.
“I want to tell him how I feel, but it’s scary,” I admitted in a small voice. “If it doesn’t work out, I could lose my friend all over again.”
Dante smiled. “If it wasn’t scary, it wouldn’t be worth it.” He winked at Sean, who returned his smile and leaned forward for a brief kiss.
I released a breathy sigh, wondering what Connor would look like kissing Law that way—all carefree and easy. An urge to scream quickly smothered the spontaneous thought. Given my growing desire to be with Connor, shouldn’t all my daydreams have been about him kissing me? Something was seriously wrong with me.
With a dramatic groan of frustration, I lowered myself sideways onto the carpet and rolled onto my back to stare up at the ceiling. “What the hell am I supposed to do with all this?”
“First up,” Dante announced, “I think you should ask Connor out on a date, before Lawrence beats you to the punch. He chose you over Lawrence once before. Trust me, he’ll do it again.” After a moment of contemplation, his eyes lit up. “You should take Connor to the wedding next weekend. That would be perfect.”
