Joshua started laughing, which got him a glare from Benji. “He takes his TV shows very seriously.”
Benji blew a raspberry in his direction. “I’m on the road a lot. Sometimes all I have are my earbuds and my tablet.”
Somehow, that single comment shifted the mood from humorous to serious. Benji was on the road all the time, traveling between gigs. This week at the shore was a rare, bright spot, and here they were starting . . . something with Van.
“So,” Joshua said, “anyone hungry? Thirsty? Want to watch a movie?”
Van looked directly at him. “Actually, now that you’re back, I was hoping I could make out with your boyfriend a little more. If that’s okay with him.”
“Fine with me.” He glanced at Benji, who was watching Van with wide eyes. “You guys could have made out while I was gone.”
“No we couldn’t. We haven’t established any rules here, and I don’t want to do anything that will make either of you uncomfortable or unhappy.”
“Okay.” Joshua fell a little bit harder for how careful Van was being with their feelings. “I’m okay with kissing between two parties if the third isn’t around. Benji?”
“Huh?” Benji looked at him, still a bit bug-eyed. “What?”
“Wait a second,” Van said. “Are these rules about you guys doing stuff with me, or each other? Because I don’t want you two to think you have to hold back or limit what you’re used to doing to spare my feelings. I know you’ve been together for years and have your own routines.”
“We’re also more used to spending time apart than together,” Joshua replied. “I mean, Benji and I will obviously be sharing a bed while he’s here, but would us doing stuff make you uncomfortable?”
“Absolutely not. Like I said, you’re the couple.”
“But we’re trying to do something as a . . .” None of them had said the word yet. “As a threesome. A triad. Whatever. For that to work, we all have to be equals, or the triangle doesn’t work.”
“Except we aren’t equals in this.”
“Not yet,” Benji said. He rested a palm on Van’s knee. “That’s why we’re talking, right? This is new for all of us, but it feels right. And honestly? I like knowing that when I leave next weekend, Joshua will still have someone here.”
Van hesitated, and then covered Benji’s hand with his. The sight of that made Joshua’s heart squeeze with something wonderful. “But would you be okay with us fooling around without you?”
“I’m not sure. I mean, when we were open and I knew Joshua was sleeping with other people, it was a hypothetical scenario. I didn’t know the people; I’d never meet them. You aren’t a stranger in a bar, Van. You’re someone very special whom I enjoy having in my life.”
“That’s a very good answer. At this point in time, I don’t know ifI’dfeel comfortable being with Joshua without you. It’s the same reason I ditched our hookup that night back in September. Even with the open relationship, I didn’t want to get in between you.”
A mental image of Van literally sandwiched between his and Benji’s naked bodies danced in Joshua’s head, and he pressed a hand against his crotch.
“The fact that you care so much means everything,” Benji said. “We all care, and we all want to be careful with each other. And it isn’t as if either of you need to worry about me mauling one or the other.”
Van laughed, and then twisted their hands so they were palm to palm. His smile went dark and wicked. “You know, I’ve changed my mind. I’d rather watch you make out with Joshua for a while.”
Oh hell yes.
Joshua was all over that idea.
Benji pouted. “You don’t want to kiss me anymore?”
Joshua could never resist that pout; apparently, Van couldn’t either. He slid closer, put a hand on the back of Benji’s neck, and tugged him forward. He froze with their lips centimeters apart, waiting. Benji closed the distance, and Joshua settled in for the show. Their first kiss had been intense and highly erotic. This kiss was softer, more of a question than a demand. It was beautiful.
Joshua rubbed his growing erection under his jeans as he watched. Van had a mouth and tongue he knew how to use, but he also seemed content to let Benji take over. To explore with tentative licks and strokes of his tongue. Benji loved kissing. It was his favorite physical thing to do. Joshua could lose himself for hours in Benji’s mouth, so he knew some of what Van was feeling. Tasting.
Kissing Benji was its own erotic experience.
The front door squealed open. Benji and Van pulled apart, Benji’s face instantly coloring. Joshua sat up straighter and squeezed his thighs together, his heart pounding. Lincoln and Emmett stopped just inside, both of them zeroing in the couch.
“Hey, Van,” Emmett said.
“Hey, guys, what’s up?” Van said, somehow managing to sound perfectly calm and reasonable, as if he hadn’t been making out with Benji two seconds ago.
