I should’ve known better than to share so much with Jason. He liked to pretend he was nothing more than a ball player, but the truth was he had one hell of a future in business when his playing days ended. If he didn’t possess such a knack for picking up on where companies were failing, it would’ve been easier to bullshit him and get out of this little party.
“Exactly. They’re in worse shape than I originally thought, and I need to get some things sorted out so we’re not handing a hopeless situation off to whoever we hire to run the center,” I shared with him.
“And you’re going to burn out,” he stated bluntly. “It’s my job as your friend to keep that from happening. So, you’re going to go to your place, put the takeout you picked up into the fridge and get ready to let loose for one night. Besides, I’d really like for you to get to know Cam better. He’s worried that you don’t like him because we weren’t exactly in a good place when the two of you met.”
“And did you point out to him that that’s not how I operate?” I asked. I understood why Cam might feel that way, but I also knew Jason was an intelligent man and wouldn’t put up with anyone taking advantage of him or leading him on. In my mind, I hadn’t given it a second thought when Jason told me that he and Cam were both trying to figure out what they wanted in life and that sometimes it wasn’t easy.
“Yeah.” Jason laughed. “Unfortunately, Cam’s the type of guy who needs to see and hear it for himself before he’ll truly believe it.”
“And let me guess, it’s important to you that the two of us get along?” I teased. Hopefully Drew understood that my friend was almost as pushy as his friend and wouldn’t be too upset about me choosing the path of least resistance. If I stood my ground and refused to go, that’d make Jason think I wasn’t interested in getting to know the man he’d fallen in love with.
“Something like that,” Jason grumbled. It seemed he was uncomfortable admitting just how important Cam’s comfort was to him. Personally, I thought it was refreshing to see him finally stepping out of the shadow he’d been in since Adam’s death. “So, are you coming?”
I considered admitting to him why I was so hesitant to accept his invitation. Knowing some of the secrets he’d kept in his life, I knew he wouldn’t tell anyone, not even Cam, about what had been going on between Drew, Eric, and me. I knew that, but I still couldn’t bring myself to betray their trust in any way. That left me with only one option. “Sure, just tell me what time you plan on being there.”
“It looks like Cam’s flight just landed,” he informed me. “So, by the time he gets his bags and I break it to him that he doesn’t live with Eric anymore, I’d say about an hour or so.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. Given what I’d heard about the two of them combined with Jason’s complete inability to set a schedule and stick to it, I knew there was no way in hell they’d get to Eric’s in anything less than two. Then again, that could work to my advantage because I could head over there early and make sure Drew wasn’t going to have a meltdown.
“Sure, so you’ll be there about eight?” I asked, although it wasn’t really a question at all.
This time, it was Jason who chuckled. “You have no faith in me.”
“Nope. I’ve known you long enough to know you’re incapable of being on time anywhere.”
“Okay, so then let’s say eight-thirty and we’ll do our best to be there by then.” Jason paused while he listened to an announcement over the public address system. “If you want, head on over whenever. I’m sure Drew is busy trying to do too much to make sure everything’s perfect for when Cam gets there.”
“Oh, so what you’re really saying is you want me to go over and make sure the Mavericks’ rising star doesn’t hurt himself?” Jason was probably right about Drew trying to make sure nothing was out of place for tonight. Even though I was relatively new to Drew’s life, I could see that it was important to him to please Cam.
“I didn’t say that at all,” Jason disputed. “But we both know it’s true. Just go over there and make sure he sits down and relaxes for a bit.”
“No worries, I was just giving you a hard time,” I reassured him. “Now, go get your man, take him home for a quickie and get your ass over to Eric’s. I’m not cut out to play hostess.”
I debated going home to put on something more comfortable and decided I’d haul my bag into Eric’s and change there. There was bound to be tension over me showing up despite Drew’s request that I not and I wanted time to let him know where I stood when it came to others knowing about the three of us.
15
Drew
The smileon my face when I saw headlights flash past the tall windows along the side of the house quickly faded when the back door opened. I’d expected it to be Cam and Jason, but it was Bryce. I quickly schooled my reaction so he wouldn’t think I was unhappy to see him. I was elated and that was the problem.
Although I’d practically begged Eric to call Bryce and ask him to not come over tonight, it had killed me to do so. The only way to explain how I felt when Bryce was around was that he grounded me. I wasn’t used to relying on someone else to make me feel secure and stable.
If Bryce noticed my discomfort, he didn’t mention it as he dropped a bag inside the door and stalked over to me. He took a quick glance around the room before curling his fingers around the back of my neck and pulling my face toward him for a searing kiss filled with longing and desperation.
My body melted against his, realizing I was a fool to think I could turn him away. No, I wasn’t looking forward to the myriad of questions my best friend was likely to ask, but the interrogation would be worth it to have him around. Just feeling his arms wrapped tightly around my back steadied me, prepared me for a house full of friends.
I’d agreed to having the guys come here because it was better than having to go to Jason’s, but that didn’t mean I was happy about it. Although Eric assured me it was only going to be the few who were in town, I still felt on edge.
I knew none of the guys who’d be here tonight were responsible for my attack, but the cops were no closer to having a suspect which meant my over-active mind viewed everyone as a potential threat. I hadn’t shared that with Eric or Bryce, but I’m sure they both noticed how I stiffened whenever it was more than just us in the house.
“I thought you weren’t coming over tonight,” I said when we broke the kiss so both of us could breathe. I saw Eric enter the room and motioned for him to join us. I still wasn’t comfortable doing anything with one of them when the other wasn’t involved.
If we were to keep exploring whatever was going on between us, we needed to figure out what was acceptable to everyone. As much as I’d grown to enjoy our times as a threesome, I still longed for time with each of them individually, and wanted them to explore that aspect as well.
“No, youaskedthat I not come tonight,” Bryce corrected me. “And I’ll have you know I was perfectly fine with that, but Jason asked me to come and I couldn’t turn him down without outing the three of us.”
Eric laughed as he worked his way into our embrace. “I hate to break it to you, but there’d be no outing there,” he informed Bryce. “Jason’s known about me for almost two years now and he’s known about Drew since summer.”
