Marlene yipped at our feet as I followed them inside. Telling Ava about Asher felt like one of the last steps. As much as things were changing, they were always falling into place, too.
I pulled out my phone, then opened up the group text we shared with Asher. I sent him along a quick message to let him know I was thinking of him, then closed the door behind me, eager for dinner, and a movie, and whatever came next.
ASHER
Rory held his pool cue out in front of him, pointing it down the length of the table while he stuck his tongue out the corner of his mouth. He studied the game with that intense stare I loved so much, and it took all my self-control not to throw myself against him, marking his neck with my mouth so that everyone in the damn bar knew I was his.
“And who is that checking out my beautiful husband?” Franklin announced as he returned with our drinks. He tilted his hand over his mouth like he was hiding a secret. “Not that I can blame you.”
I laughed, then took the beer he’d brought for me. We were supposed to be out to celebrate another convention gig we’d landed, but the real focus of the night wasn’t on work.
Lilith returned from the bathroom, then grabbed the pool cue from Rory. “You still winning?”
“Just barely,” he said, stroking his beard. “Although I don’t know how.”
“It’s the way you point your stick, honey,” Franklin said, raising his cocktail in the air. “Every time you point your stick, you get the ball in.”
“You heard the man,” Lilith said with a grin, then pointed the cue herself, but by squatting down and eyeing it over the table. “Except you can get a better angle this way, I think.”
“Don’t let her mess with your head, Rory,” I said, leaning against Franklin. “She’s sneaky.”
“I see how it is,” Lilith said with a laugh. “No one on my side. That’s what I get for hanging out with all these triads.”
“I’m rooting for you, Lilith!” Franklin cheered. “Rory beats me at everything. Knock him down a peg!”
Everyone laughed as Lilith ricocheted the cue ball across the table, hitting one of her balls into the corner pocket from behind. I wrapped my arms around Franklin’s side and squeezed up close to him as Lilith and Rory passed the cue back and forth, knocking balls in and chatting easily.
Now and then, I caught some other guys looking at us, glancing our way and trying to figure out what we were all about. I grinned every time it happened, so fucking happy to know who I was to Franklin and Rory, and who they were to me.
Maybe a part of me had known I was supposed to get with men like them. Maybe I smelled it on them that first time I showed up to their house. But I guess my boner was smarter than I thought it was because those two were exactly what I needed.
I grinned, then took a chug of my beer. I used to think it was weird, that I needed someone to tell me I was good. But outside of Lilith, no one had. Everyone had just assumed I was bad and expected me to fuck everything up.
But once I heard that, and from two good men? Two men who were kind, and strong, and fucking sweet as they come? For them to believe in me?
Damn. That’s something.
After a few games, we finally decided to call it quits for the night. Franklin and Rory had the house to themselves for the weekend, so I was headed back to their place. After a full night of playing nice for the Lilith introduction, I was ready to act out a little and remind them the evening was just getting started.
We stepped out onto the street, and the moon was nearing full in the sky above us. When she hugged me goodbye, Lilith whispered in my ear how much she liked the guys, and I gave her my most suggestive wink as we walked away. Franklin’s car was parked behind Northstar, and we headed slowly down the steep hill toward the store.
Suddenly, it felt like the whole city froze around us. It was the weirdest thing, like even the foggy light under the streetlamps looked still. It was just me, Franklin, and Rory. Tickles of pleasure and warmth hit my skin, and when Rory placed a hand first on my back, and then on Franklin’s, something new flared inside of me.
“I love you both,” I said, the words coming out so fast I didn’t think about them.
I heard Rory suck in a breath, and for a second it was like we were frozen, too. Like we weren’t even moving, just waiting.
My heart thudded in my chest once, then twice, and then a third time as my ears burned. Finally, Rory tightened his arm around my waist. “I love you too, Asher,” he said. “You’re good for us.”
We stopped walking, and Franklin took my hand. He smiled at me, and his eyes wrinkled with his grin. “I love you, Asher.”
I felt dizzy, but luckily, they pulled me close, wrapping me in their arms and taking me into a sweet, warm kiss. I curled my fingers against Franklin’s beard and stroked Rory’s side, and under the streetlight, I whispered it again.
“I love you.”
When we finally pulled away, my lips were puffy and raw. I steadied myself against Rory, then sighed as we started forward again.
Toward a brighter future, and a life with people who treated me right.
