“Not much.” He glanced at Lincoln, his expression a little bit . . . guilty?
Joshua figured it out and started laughing. “Let me guess? You two were hoping the house was empty so you could fuck before Emmett has to go to work?”
Emmett squeaked. Lincoln slipped an arm around his boyfriend’s waist and glared at Joshua. “Yeah. So?”
“No ‘so.’ Go to town, dude, it’s not like I haven’t heard it before.”
“Thin walls?” Van asked.
Joshua nodded. “Very thin.” Emmett tried to hide behind Lincoln, obviously uncomfortable with the discussion of his sex life, so Joshua had mercy. “Don’t worry, dude, that’s why God invented earbuds.”
Emmett spoke against Lincoln’s back, so the words were muffled, but Joshua was sure Emmett said, “So not helping.”
“You guys, uh, hanging out here for a while?” Lincoln asked, seeming to direct the question at Benji.
“Yes,” Joshua said. “Put on loud music.”
With an eye-roll at Joshua and a curious look at Van, Lincoln led his thoroughly embarrassed boyfriend across the living room. They disappeared into the hallway. Moments later, a door shut and then heavy bass filled the downstairs.
“So,” Van said. “After I leave, how hard will they interrogate you guys over why I’m here?”
“Shouldn’t be too bad,” Joshua replied. “They know about you helping us get back together, and they saw us hanging out at Emmett’s party. Mostly they’ll assume we’re friends. Unless you think they saw you guys kissing.”
Benji groaned and sagged against the cushions. Van squeezed his wrist. “If this thing between us goes someplace, people are going to find out.”
“I know,” Benji said. “But anyone finding out while we’re still figuring it out might make everything more complicated. How can we explain it to other people if we aren’t sure what we’re doing?”
“We know what we’re doing,” Joshua said. He got up and then plunked himself down on Benji’s other side, squeezing close in the small space. “We’re exploring mutual attractions, and so far, we’re all having fun doing so. Am I right?”
Benji leaned into him, a comfortably warm weight on Joshua’s chest. “You’re right. But the rest of the band couldcome back any time, so we probably shouldn’t keep fooling around on the couch.”
“Actually, I should go,” Van said. Joshua’s heart sank. “And not because we nearly got caught. I hadn’t anticipated being here for so long when I accepted Benji’s invitation, and I’ve got some errands to run before work.”
“Will it be awkward for you if we stopped by?” Benji asked. “I haven’t been to Off Beat in ages.”
“Three whole months is ages?”
“Yes.”
Van laughed. “No, it won’t be awkward. Watching you two dance will probably give me a boner, but I’ll live. I’ve worked with wood before.”
They stood as a unit. At the door, Van glanced through the curtain, and then pulled Benji in for a kiss. Slow and sensual and oh-so steamy. Then Van did the same with Joshua, except the hard thrust of his tongue and crash of his mouth was different. Harsher, more demanding, and exactly what had turned Joshua’s crank so hard earlier. Van already understood the differences between the two men who both wanted to keep seeing him.
Preferably naked again, as soon as possible.
Joshua was panting by the time Van released him. Van groped at Joshua’s erection, which had jumped back to full mast during the kiss. “If you two happen to take care of this in private, the idea will give me something to jerk off to before work.”
And then he left.
Benji slid his arms around Joshua’s waist from behind, pulling him back until Benji’s wood was pressing into the crease of Joshua’s ass. A chin rested on Joshua’s shoulder. All he could smell was Benji. “What do you say?” Benji asked. “Wanna get off, hot stuff?”
“Hell yes.” He turned around, so he could thrust his erection against Benji’s. “What do you want?”
“This is good.” Benji grabbed Joshua’s ass and rocked. “Except in bed, with fewer clothes.”
Rubbing off together sounded like heaven, especially since Benji hadn’t come earlier. He deserved a lot of extra attention for that, so Joshua grabbed his hand and dragged him into the bedroom.
Van anticipated Beatrice cornering him before they opened. He’d spent all afternoon in the best of moods with a silly grin on his face, even when facing down Saturday beach traffic to get his errands done. Walking into Off Beat for work only heightened his emotional high because he truly loved working there.
