I keep my head down, my hands resting in my lap as I pick at my nails. Malcolm reaches over taking my hand in his, and I let out a shuddered gasp. My eyes drift to Jefferson to catch his reaction. But there isn't one.
He’s not mad. Not seething at the physical contact. No, he looks, content. Happy.
Finally, not able to take it anymore, I break the silence. “Why are you here?”
“You’ve been avoiding us. This was the only way to see you.” Jefferson speaks first.
“Why did you ghost us? Disappearing like what we shared didn’t mean anything?” I can feel the anguish pouring from Malcolm’s words.
Jefferson speaks up, softer this time. “When we talked with each other tonight, specifically about you, it's how we put the pieces together. How we know we both found you through Foxy’s. Why we think you’re avoiding us.”
I purse my lips, letting out a sharp breath of air, pulling my hand from Malcolm's, shifting my focus to Jefferson. I’m going to handle his betrayal first. “Oh, maybe it’s because you went through my personal shit?”
I can feel Malcolm’s body flinch beside me. “Jefferson, what did you do?”
Well, it seems he didn’t tell him. Guess Jefferson thinks he can do whatever he wants and nobody needs to know.
“Bradley,” Jefferson says my name deeply.
“Don’t Bradley me. You went through my things while I was fucking asleep. You knew about why I was working at Foxy’s. You used a moment of vulnerability and trust to rifle through my mail and not tell me. Then…what? Paid it all off behind my back, like I was a fucking charity case?” I can feel my heart pounding against my ribcage. My blood boiling with anger.
Jefferson clears his throat. “It wasn’t charity. It was care. It was me taking care of someone I,” he glances over at Malcolm, “no, we want in our lives. Who we are growing to love.”
I shake my head. Disbelief in what I think I heard. My head shifts from Jefferson to Malcolm, who smiles warmly at me as he nods.
“You what?” I ask, my voice as raw as I’m feeling. “Someone youwhat? Love? You barely know me and you just decide to play heroes? To take control of my life as if I can’t take care of myself?”
Am I overreacting? Maybe. But I have to do something to keep from thinking about what he said. They love me.
“It wasn’t about being heroes,” Jefferson says firmly. “It was about making your life easier. About helping. Because I…we care about you.”
This can’t be real. I laugh loudly, rubbing my face firmly with my hands. “But why? I was just a hired date, remember? A fun distraction.” I direct my comment at Jefferson before turning to Malcolm. “I was just a means to become comfortable with who you are in public. To help you be able to come out to your family so you could be with him.” I nod my head toward Jefferson. My voice falters. “I was temporary. You both got what you wanted, and I’m not needed any longer.”
Malcolm scoots closer to me, taking my hand, holding it tightly, even when I try to pull away. “You were never temporary. You were never just a hired anything.”
“But I was. I was the one who helped you two find each other again,” my voice drops lower. “That was the whole point. For the two of you to reconnect and be the man each of you needed. You didn’t have to come here to tell me that you want to end things. Thank you Bradley, but we won’t require your services any longer.”
Malcolm’s brow furrows. “You really think we came here to end things?”
“Why else would you be here?” I ask. “Just look at the two of you, here, happy, perfect and together, and I’m the leftovermistake. I don’t need your pity.” I look back at Jefferson. “As for the money, I’ll be paying it back. Every cent.”
Jefferson just gazes at me, hard and determined. “I don’t want the money back. It was a gift. A way for me to help you. And we’re not here to end anything. We’re here to continue something and to hopefully start something new with the three of us.”
I bite down hard on my tongue, the coppery tang filling my mouth. So, that’s what this is.
“I’m not a fuck on the side to make things interesting.” I blurt and go to stand. Jefferson and Malcolm both take hold of one of my arms, pulling me back down.
Malcolm's fingers brush lightly against my wrist. “You're not some extra in our story, Bradley. You’re not a casual booty call to spice things up. You’re the one we can’t stop thinking about. The one we’re falling for. We came here to fight for you and start an official relationship with you.”
I just shift my gaze between them. Unsure what to say. What to do. If any of this is real.
“We’ve already begun building a personal relationship with you individually, but we want to have one with all three of us together. We want to date you, Bradley. To call you our boyfriend. Go on dates. Kiss, and make love.”
“You want me, but you went through my stuff. Went behind my back. How can I trust you? All you’re saying could be just words,” I mutter quietly, because it’s easier to go back to the betrayal than admit how much I want to believe what they’re saying is true.
“Because they’re not just words, Bradley. We mean them. As for Jefferson, well, he can be an overbearing prick at times, but his heart is pure as gold. He loves deeply. Helping you is how he shows it, and he’ll never expect anything in return.”
“Please say you want us too. That you’re ready to take a chance on what we can be.”
