“Just you and Bailey? Isn’t she coming tonight?”
“I always talk to Bailey after I see my therapist. Which I do every Friday at lunch. I ended up staying kind of late last night.”
“I didn’t realize you two were so tight,” he says.
“Anyway, I should head out.”
He gives me that same, curious look again. “Okay. I guess I’ll clean the bathrooms or something.”
I won’t guess at whether he does it on purpose, but he turns getting up from the couch into a dick-hardening show. Planting his hands and bending his knees, he stretches back into something like child’s pose except his back is arched which causes his ass to lift and look even bigger and juicier. If he were naked, his hole would be gaping.
He groans, I assume at the stretch, and he stays in the position long enough to give me a full erection. Finally, he eases out of it and climbs off the couch, managing not to step on Apollo. He glances up as he passes me, and I almost grab him. Almost start kissing and groping him and shoving down his pants. I picture it—lifting him up and fucking him while he’s all wrapped around me—kissing me.
But instead, I bite my cheeks hard and tap out the Bach on my thigh. When he goes to his bedroom, I head right back to mine to finish working through the fantasy with my hand on my cock and a disappointing orgasm. And Gray thinks I don’t have a problem. What the fuck am I paying him for anyway?
It occurs to me, somewhere in the middle of Alemany Farmer’s Market in the sunshine on a beautiful late winter day, that Evan was waiting for an invitation.
31
ISAAC
The FaceTime call from Evan is a first.
I just finished a workout, and was thinking about a shower, but I haven’t made it there yet when the trilling noise starts coming from my phone. I push my hair back and wipe my brow before answering.
He’s in the sun, blue eyes clear and bright, the smile on his face endless. “Hi.”
“Hey. Looks nice out,” I say.
“It is. Why are you all sweaty?”
“I was on the treadmill.”
“Oh, sorry. I’m walking the dog. Just thought I’d check in. I’ve been scrubbing toilets and we needed a break.”
“We?”
“Apollo and me. Deacon’s at the farmer’s market. Apparently he’s gonna make stew tonight.”
Why isn’t Evan with him, then? I shake away the thought and ask, “Should I bring anything? What are the rules for these dinner parties?”
“You said you can cook?” he asks.
“I can.”
“Deacon might trust you with a dessert or a salad.”
I laugh. “Or I could pick up a few bags of chips.”
Evan’s smile widens.
“Why aren’t you with Deacon?” That was the whole point of my waiting until tonight to see them together again.
He seems to shrug. “I guess he likes to do his shopping alone. There was a lot to clean, anyway.”
It’s a valiant effort to seem unaffected by not being invited, but I know Evan too well to buy it. That settles it for me. Next week cannot look like this week did. I need both these guys. I’m done giving them space to get to know each other. Between Deacon’s sex drive and Evan’s fear of rejection, I feel like they need me. I definitely need them.
“Are you okay?”
