This okay?
Yeah. You?
Yeah.
That was it. That was all we said. But it was enough.
Now she’s standing in the middle of Lawson’s bedroom like she’s walked into a different world—one she didn’t know she was stepping into but somehow isn’t afraid of either. Her gaze flicks between us, breath shallow, pulse visible in her throat.
Lawson’s already moving. Not fast. Never fast with her. But he steps into her space, and she doesn’t retreat. She just tilts her head back slightly, giving him her full attention in this moment.
“Abigail,” he says quietly. “You want this?”
Lawson. Always steady. Always making sure.
Her answer is soft, but it’s sure. “Yes.”
He touches her then—hands at her waist, hold warm and familiar, pulling her just close enough that she can feel him without being overwhelmed. I see the way she melts into it, her body instantly recognizing his.
My chest tightens.
I move without thinking, coming up behind her, giving her space to feel me there before I touch her. When I do, it’s gentle—fingers brushing along her arm, then her hip.
She inhales sharply.
“Beau,” she breathes, and hearing my name on her lips like that—soft and wanting—nearly undoes me.
“I’m here,” I murmur against her ear. “As long as you want me, I’ll be here.”
Lawson’s forehead rests against hers now. “I’ve wanted this,” he admits quietly, not caring that I’m here. No shame. No hesitation. “Since the night I stayed with you. Since I knew what you felt like in my arms. Since I tasted you and heard you call out my name, I knew then just once would never be enough.”
Her breath stutters, and I watch her hands curl into Lawson’s shirt and the way her knees buckle just a little. Ifeelthe way she leans back into me, trusting that I’ll hold her.
I do.
One arm wraps around her while my other rests on her ribs. She fits there like she’s always belonged, and the moment hits me square in the chest.
This isn’t rushed.
It’s inevitable.
This moment with her.
With them.
“You don’t have to decide anything tonight,” I tell her softly, lips still brushing her ear. “We’re not askin’ for promises.”
Lawson nods. “Just honesty.”
Her eyes shine when she looks back at me, then to Lawson. “I want this,” she says. “I just… I’ve never done this.”
A slow smile pulls at Lawson’s mouth. “We’ll figure it out. Together.”
I’ve never done this with Lawson, but I have a few times with Jasper. I’m not ashamed to admit that he and I have shared awoman. Never in a million years would I have ever dreamt that Lawson would want to do this; he isn’t a man who shares lightly. But Abigail has changed something in him already. Something that has made a man, one who is constantly worried about everything around him and carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, do something forhim.And as fun as all of those nights with Jasper were, nothing has felt more right than standing here now with Abigail and Lawson.
Lawson holds her face in his hands, and when he kisses her, it’s slow and deliberate. And I’d be a fucking liar if I said watching her melt into it didn’t light a fire inside of me.
Her lips part on a quiet breath, fingers tightening in the front of his shirt, trusting him enough to come undone.
