"Oh, two nights in a row?" I asked, sliding my hands over his smooth, broad chest.
Cy murmured his approval and leaned into the contact a little more. "Evidently, our boyfriends wanted a night together without a child right across the hall," he said, then his hands dropped. "Little less need to be perfectly silent since they're in my room. I also think that Ash is trying very hard to come to terms with how he feels about Luke."
"Good or bad?" I asked.
"Good," Cy assured me. "And yes, I'm a little jealous about that. I'm also thrilled for him. I'm just worried he's going to push too far, too fast, and chase that cowboy away from us."
"No," I promised, "that won't happen. Luke has already made up his mind. Ash has been making it clear that Luke can set his own boundaries. Luke just feels like he's behind the curve, and he hates feeling like he's out of his depth." I moved so Cy could have the water. "Yes, I'm talking about sex. Luke's been a little nervous about asking how things work."
"He could ask me too," Cy said.
I just smiled at him. "But that's the thing. Luke doesn't want toask. He wants to do. He doesn't want to fake it. You are so considerate and caring that you'd explain it. Ash? He just shows Luke. No need to be embarrassed that way."
Cy nodded. "Makes sense. I mean, that's how I feel with you sometimes."
"Me?" I laughed at the idea.
Cy tilted his head back to wet his hair, but didn't stop talking. "I'm serious, Vi. Most of the women I've slept with in my life? Pretty sure they didn't get off. Kinda why they didn't want to see me again. I also didn't care, because I was trying to find you in their arms, and it never would've worked out."
"Cy..." I breathed, wrapping my arms around his waist. "I like that you can be my gay best friend, my hot guy pal, and my lover - all at the same time. I like what we have, and I promise that if I want more, I will definitely ask for it."
"So, we're not ignoring you?" he asked.
"Vaginas get a little raw if they're used as much as three young, horny men would like to use them," I pointed out. "I'd like to keep mine in one piece. I also like to have it pounded a bit, sucked on at times, and then given a break."
He laughed. "Don't worry, I'm just as happy with anal as vaginal." Then he turned me around and reached for the bottle of shampoo. "But I'm more interested in your thoughts about Billy's plan."
I felt him wipe the shampoo into my hair, clearly believing in the "repeat" part of the directions, and then he gently began to lather it. I simply leaned back, letting his body hold me up so I could relax into the amazing scalp massage. This was what I'd been talking about a moment ago, the way he could be just one of the girls and yet all man at the same time.
"I think it's going to be hard for Luke," I admitted. "I'm also worried about how that will affect Faith. If the whole town knows that the four of us are together? I'll get called a slut - which I'm used to - but what will that do to Faith after everything she went through with Brody?"
"She's doing a lot better with that," he promised. "It's almost like knowing that we're together and not cheating on her dad made something in her mind make sense. I know she talks to Ash about..." He paused to hum thoughtfully. "I don't want to say sex, but things that often lead to sex. Age-appropriate romance stuff. Things like how to know if a boy likes her. How to know if a boy actually likes Zeke. If it's wrong to tell everyone she's Zeke's girlfriend."
"Oh, are they pretending to date?" I asked, glancing back.
"Mhm," he agreed. "Sounds like he kissed her hand the other day, playing it up. Now she's worried that she might have to kiss him to make the girls shut up. Ash told her to talk to Zeke about that, because most gay guys kiss girls when they're still in the closet. Then he pointed out that there's nothing wrong with having your first kiss with your best friend. She's fine, Vi. She's strong, and I think she's getting stronger now that she's not being treated like she's too young to understand things."
"Makes sense," I agreed. "I just don't like how easily Billy dropped it out there that he wanted to murder Simmons."
"That's Billy," Cy reminded me. "He can't understand that it's wrong. His concern is whether or not he'll get caught, not whether or not it's morally justified."
"And she's thirteen," I countered.
"She's also not stupid," Cy said. "Plus, you said no. You made it clear that just because wecando something doesn't mean that we should."
I leaned away from him, then moved to the water to rinse my hair. "But is it the right decision?" I asked, trying to make that sound like it was just a casual question - not what I'd been thinking about for the last few hours.
Of course, Cy saw right through me. "Having second thoughts?" he asked.
"Yes!" I huffed as I wiped the last of the water from my hair and reached for my conditioner. "We both know that Billy could make Simmons disappear. We know he'd make sure it never came back to us. Shit, Cy, that's what he does for a living!"
"And it's not always perfect," Cy reminded me. "Even if they can't prove it, people will still suspect, and we both know that this town would never allow a murderess to run a school for troubled criminal teens. Southwind would fail. Maybe Simmons would go away, but he's a minor inconvenience in the scheme of things. Our goal is and should be to focus on Southwind."
"Will you still say that when the next attack kills Ash?" I countered. "What about if it's you? What happens when it's Zeke!"
He caught the side of my face, making me look at him. "Do you honestly think that killing Simmons would stop that? The Wallace brothers attacked Ash. They'd still be alive. I'm also pretty damned sure that they aren't the only people who hate queers in this town. If you turn this from throwing words to slinging bullets, where does it end? I promise that these country folk will meet violence with violence and never bat an eye."
"So I'm not just being a wuss?" I asked. "I'm not being an idiot, trying to find some mythical line that I shouldn't cross?"
