“Yeah, I noticed.” And wasn’t that odd?
“Anyway, what’s with you? When you came in, you weren’t your normal sunny self. It wasn’t the face of a man who’d had a fun outing this morning with his boyfriends. What caused it?”
“You know how you felt about the time apart from Cass,”—at his nod, Kendrick rubbed a hand over the back of his neck—“I’m feeling the same. I hate leaving them.” He hit the center of his chest with his other hand. “It’s like a mule has kicked me, right here.”
Trey’s sigh said it all before he uttered, “You’re gonna resign, aren’t you?”
“I’m thinking about it. I own the house and have some savings. They’re here for what, six months, if I’m lucky?” He really didn’t want to dwell on that, when it would lead down a spiral of despair.
“I don’t wanna waste the time I could have with them working.” Laying it out helped put it into perspective for him, but he could see the worry in Trey’s eyes. “Don’t stress, I’m not gonna just abandon you.” He wouldn’t do that, they were friends first. “The new guys are working out great.”
“They are,” Trey agreed. “What about dropping your hours? Do fewer evenings? Have the weekends off?”
Kendrick could see Trey trying to work it out to meet both their needs, and he was grateful for it. “That could work temporarily.”
He would not commit to long term when he had no clue what that would look like for him. Monty and Rue had a life elsewhere. This was temporary for them, and he needed to keep that at the forefront to push him to live in the now. “I can assess who can do what to cover you and me.” Trey would need more time when Cassidy gave birth, and the days were counting down.
“I’ll take that.” Trey shifted off the counter to go when someone called his name. “Just keep me in the loop.”
“Will do.”
It was all he could think about throughout the rest of his shift. The crossover into the evening went smoothly with Paddy coming in early, giving Kendrick a chance to leave half an hour earlier than planned.
When he pulled up outside the front of his house, he ran a hand over the middle of his chest. The increased thudding at coming home to two men who held his heart in their hands, whether they knew it or not, let him know how invested he was.The shadows flickered from the TV beyond the window, and he got out of the truck hurriedly, imagining himself snuggling on the couch between his guys before he took them to bed like he’d promised.
Entering the house, the homely scent of cookies greeted him. It was with mixed emotions that he shut the door. Monty baked when upset or happy. Earlier, when he’d left, he’d say it was the first and not the second that had the house smelling like a bakery at Thanksgiving.
“I’m home,” he called out, despite knowing they’d have heard him come in. He kicked off his cowboy boots and shrugged out of his jacket, hanging it up before heading straight for the living room when no one appeared.
In the open doorway, he stopped, frowning at finding the room empty. He listened out, but heard nothing from above. The TV was on low, and he went and switched it off. Were they both asleep?
He went into the kitchen to check he hadn’t missed something and found it empty and spotless. He suspected that was Rue’s doing with the number of tubs filled with cookies on the counter. Messy Monty could create a disaster zone without trying when he was baking.
Checking the house was locked up, cuddles looked like the only thing he’d be getting tonight. He had no problem with that. Retracing his steps, he headed upstairs.
He heard Monty giggle and Rue shush him, and he was grinning before he opened the bedroom door.
Dang it, how did I get so fucking lucky?
Monty lounged like a sexy siren in Kendrick’s chair—naked and on display. Rue was sitting in the center of the bed, looking sexy as fuck, all flushed and aroused, his cock at full mast.
“What’s this? Did you think to get this party started without me?” Kendrick didn’t think so. They were waiting for him.Entering the room, he reached to unbutton his shirt, his senses firing in all different directions at the intention rolling off both men. What was he missing here?
“Absolutely not,” Monty informed him, a devilish light sparking in the depths of his eyes. “But you aren’t in charge tonight. We’ve decided thatI am.”
He didn’t miss the ‘we’ and, as aroused as he was by the sight of his men naked, Kendrick’s cock went from semi-hard to full fucking mast at the intention behind Monty’s bold statement. Kendrick’s eyes narrowed with speculation on Rue before switching to Monty, playing along.
“Is that so?” He undid the cuffs of his shirt, coming to a stop at the side of the bed.
“It is. But first, I’ve a question—”
“We’ve a question,” Rue interjected, chuckling.
“We’ve got a question,” Monty stated with an eye roll at Rue.
“And what’s that?” Kendrick had his shirt off, dropping it to reach for his belt.
“Where do you see this relationship going?” Monty’s voice was full of nerves that weren’t there a moment ago.
