“But I saw the way Tate looked at him.”
“I think the whole situation is complicated, and we will have to play it by ear. The View4U content is fine for now, so maybe we shouldn’t overthink it. They are both getting what they want and need, and I get you.” He moves so fast I don’t realize what is happening until I’m on my back and he is hovering over me. “And I really like having you again. If this is you thinking Landon doesn’t want you, he totally does. But I know he is making sure his heart doesn’t get broken again. I don’t think he could loseyou a second time and survive it. Tate is an easy distraction for him. He knows what’s on the line and what will happen if he crosses it, but with you, he doesn’t know the variables, and to a man like Landon, that’s important.”
“I promise this time I won’t run away. I’m not that girl anymore—that’s why I want to be friends with you both. There is no pressure, and we can build back the trust.”
Levi smiles down at me. “But it’s now friends with benefits, right?”
I laugh out loud. “Yes, Levi, it’s now friends with benefits.”
His smile widens but then turns into a frown. “You’re not fucking anyone else, are you?”
I snort. “Well, I kind of am . . .”
Anger laces his face. “Who is he? Because I’ll make sure he doesn’t stick around long.”
“You’re going to chase off your own brother and your coach? Wow, Levi, I think you might have a crush on me.”
Levi sits up on his haunches and tickles me.
“Please . . . stop,” I gasp out.
“No way, you deserve it.”
“I do,” I blurt between giggles. “And I’m not sorry either. You should have seen your face.”
I never thought it would be possible to be in the same room as this man again and not want to rip his dick from his body, but I’m glad we are at the point we are.
Even if it did include a little blackmail and a huge misunderstanding.
Chapter Seventeen
Landon
I have never been so excited about anything besides hockey in a long time. My life has been a rinse and repeat of eating, sleeping, and dreaming about being on the ice. I still get excited about that, but Abby being back in my life, plus these unexpectedly exhilarating chases, has put a spark back into me I didn’t realize I’d lost.
After Levi secured the aquarium, I really wanted to outdo him—call it twin rivalry—so I made a call to a friend and got us access to the botanical gardens. Tina delivered the keys to me so that we can access the gate after hours. As long as we are gone before sunrise, we are safe from prying eyes. She also said they have a wedding booked the following day, so fairy lights and path lights have already been added.
Abby was so excited when I told her tonight’s location. Does it make me a dick that I one-upped my brother? Fuck no. He can suck my left nut if he has a problem with it. Not literally,of course—that would be super fucking weird. We used to get asked how, being brothers, we could share a girl; apparently us being naked together is a red flag for some people. To be honest, I see him naked every time I look in a fucking mirror. We are identical, and the only people who can easily tell us apart are Leila, Abby, and, weirdly enough, Jagger. He has a boner for Levi and can sniff him out a mile away. Though we live by one rule when sharing: he doesn’t touch me and I don’t touch him.
“I hate waiting,” Levi complains, and Abby whacks him, which makes him laugh.
Abby’s standing to my left in a hot-as-hell short skirt this time, and Levi is beside her, acting restless as fuck.
Finally, the gate opens, and Tate steps in and scans the garden.
Abby tilts her head when he spots us, and he runs. Tate takes the main path, cutting through the gaps in the flowerbeds. Abby stays close behind him while Levi crashes right, tearing through shrubs, and I cut across the side path.
A strand of fairy lights dips low, and Tate ducks beneath them, allowing me to close the gap. Then he rounds the corner too fast, and one of the solar lights clips his foot. He stumbles, swerving through a gap between bushes.
I’m right on him, and when I get close enough, I try to grab him, but he evades my grip. Excitement rushes through me. We have lost Abby and Levi, and it’s just the two of us. I gain on him again as we reach an open field of grass that has been freshly clipped and has fairy lights hanging in the surrounding trees. I dive for him, and as our bodies collide, he goes down.
“You didn’t think after I had this ass, I would let you run too far, did you?”
I keep my entire body weight on him, pinning him face down in the grass. Tate pushes his ass up and my cock likes that, hardening in response.
Levi and Abby run through the trees and out onto the grassed area, both slowing when they see Tate pinned to the ground beneath me.
I push up off his back, and he rolls over to face me.
