“Who? Sounds scandalous,” Ashton chimes in.
“The blonde over there with that guy,” Drew explains. “We’ve been watching them. There were three of them a bit ago, but the redhead left. He’s clearly married or with the blonde, but he watched the redhead leave with puppy dog eyes.”
“Oh,” Mia hisses. “She’s coming back. Watch his face.”
The redhead smiles bashfully at him. He rubs at the back of his neck and licks his lips. The blonde doesn’t notice the exchange since she’s on her phone. The man winks at the redhead, making her turn bright red.
“That dirty bastard,” Ashton says with a laugh.
We’re distracted from our people watching when the waitress comes back with our bison burgers and sweet potato fries. It’s good-ass food, but the Moscow mules are amazing. The ginger beer has a unique flavor and the vodka gives it a warm bite. Before long, we’ve made our way through too many Moscow mules and are tipsy.
Ashton leaves to head up to the bar and when he returns, he has a brown paper sack in his hands.
“Whatcha got there, Ashy C?” Mia asks, batting her lashes at him. “A present for me?”
“I bought us mules to go. Limes, beer, Grey Goose. Even the tin mugs. Let’s take this party back home where we can sit by the fire.” He nods toward the door. “As much as I’d love to watch ol’ boy over there flirt with Red each time his wife is texting, I’d much rather feel Mia up without all these people as an audience.”
I note that he waves at everyone but us.
“Wait,” Drew says, “so your mom is a famous actress, whom you hate, but yet you want to follow in her footsteps? I don’t get your line of thinking.”
Mia drains her mule and sets it down on the coffee table, animated by the alcohol and her feelings toward her mother. “No. I have been shaped by her career, but I’m not following in her footsteps. I want to make the movies, not be in them.”
“Like a director?” Drew asks.
“The writer.” She blows a hair out of her flushed face. “I want to write the screenplays. To be the beginning of something that eventually turns into a movie. How cool would it be to watch a film, hearing them say dialogue you carefully labored over? To see the scenes take on visual life? To hear the songs and sounds you thought up?” She sighs. “I just think it would be one of the coolest things ever.”
“You better invite us to your first movie,” I tell her.
She grins. “Of course the three of you will be there. You’re my people.” She holds up her empty metal mug and shakes it. “Who wants another?”
I hand her mine, but Drew and Ashton are still working on theirs.
“What about you, Ash?” Drew asks. “Mia’s our moviemaker and Bray’s our future NHL player. What’s the notorious Mr. Carter going to do?”
“I’m going to be a doctor.” He shrugs.
Drew snorts. “For real. What do you really want to be?”
“A doctor. Not like an ER doctor or a surgeon or some shit,” Ashton continues. “Psychiatrist.”
“Dr. Carter then.” Drew chuckles. “I like it.”
Ashton’s brow lifts. “You’re not going to give me hell about it? Say I’m not focused enough or serious enough or smart enough?” There’s a challenge in his tone. His knee is bouncing where he’s sitting in an armchair and his hazel eyes are blazing.
“Nah, man. I think you’d be good at it. You read people well and make them feel better about themselves.”
Ashton shoots his stare my way, confused by Drew’s words. I nod in agreement. At first, Ashton can be a hard pill to swallow, but once you do, you’re high off him. Addicted. You need him to feel complete.
My chest aches as I consider that. I’m not sure when he fell into the best friend category with Drew, but he did. He and Mia both did.
Mia bounces back into the room, her cute braided pigtails coming undone with flyaway hairs. She hands me a mule and then sits in Ashton’s lap. He playfully nips at her tit through her sweatshirt. I find myself fixated on the way his lips curl away from his teeth—a wicked smile forming—as he bites her.
“So who fucked who first?” Ashton blurts out, cupping Mia’s tit with his hand and grinning at us.
I laugh and shrug, looking down at my drink. Drew mumbles at him to mind his own business. The room grows quiet. I suck down my drink, needing to do something with myself.
“Wait…” Ashton says slowly. “You two haven’t fucked.”
Drew and I both snap our heads up to stare at him. Ashton’s eyes are wide and so are Mia’s. Like they’re shocked.
“It’s not that we haven’t wanted to,” I bite out, annoyed at their expressions.
“We just…” Drew utters.
“Don’t know how?” Ashton offers, his brows furled together.
“I’ve seen gay porn.” I lean forward and drop my empty mug on the table. “Just never did it before.”
“But you want to,” Ashton probes.
We both nod.
Mia’s eyebrows are perked up, intrigued by our conversation.
“When?” Ashton asks. “Now?”
We all laugh, but then it grows quiet again.
“What if we fuck it up?” Drew mutters, voicing my own reservations. “What if I hurt him or he hurts me?” His hand covers mine and squeezes. “I don’t want to mess this up.”
Ashton darts his gaze back and forth between us. “It’s sex, not rocket science. I’ve been fucking guys since I was fifteen. Been getting fucked by them just as long.”
“It’s fine,” I grumble. “We’ll figure it out.”
“Maybe they need a coach,” Mia offers.
Drew snorts. “Ashton as a sex coach. That ought to get interesting.”
“I didn’t hear a no,” Ashton says, his lips kicking up into a devious grin. “Is that what you need, dude bro Bray? Someone to coach you on how to put your dick in?”
I laugh, flipping him off. “You’re an asshole.”
“The asshole who’s going to teach you how to put it into his asshole,” he deadpans.
Drew smirks, leaning back on the couch, shooting me a curious look. “So I’m getting fucked first, hmm?”
“Yes,” Ashton answers like the bossy fucker he is. “Brayden’s been wanting to fuck you since he first grew a pecker. Right, little buddy?”
I shoot him the bird again. “I revealed too much crap to you when these two weren’t talking to us. I regret that shit now.”
“Aww,” Ashton teases. “Don’t be a baby.” Then, to Drew, he says, “Get naked and wait on the bed.”
Drew nearly chokes. “W-What? You’re serious?”
“I think you two need guidance,” Mia agrees.
Ashton and Mia are double trouble sometimes.
“You can’t do that shit,” I say, shaking my head. “You’re seriously going to walk us through fucking?”
Ashton ignores me, his attention on Drew. “Get naked and wait on the bed. Don’t touch your dick, Coach. It belongs to Brayden.”