“Push-up contest first, then a movie. Bearing in mind that I climbed a fucking mountain today and my whole body is aching because, sadly, I’m not twenty anymore,” Aldis barters.
“What do you say, Thorne, want to watch a movie with us?” Bowen offers.
“As much as I’d love to kick both your asses in whatever weird-ass feats of strength you’re planning to use as foreplay, I think I’m going to go out back and soak in the hot tub.”
“There’s a hot tub?” Aldis asks with equal parts enthusiasm and what can only be described as lust. “Oh, man, let’s do that.”
He grins at Bowen and then at me, taking several seconds to catch onto the awkward shift in energy. My best friend and I exchange a look, and I wonder why, after all these years, we haven’t actually developed a psychic line of communication so I can remind him that I usually enjoy the hot tub by myself because I prefer to do it in the nude. It’s the way God intended it, and that’s a hill I’ll die on.
Apparently, even without the psychic abilities, Bowen remembers.
“Sorry, babe, but Hawthorne likes to hot tub naked.”
“So?” Aldis shrugs. “We’re all adults, right? He’s already seen both of us naked, post-fuck. Besides, once we’re all in, the bubbles will obscure all our fun bits.”
Bowen and I trade another look. He makes a good point. We’ll only be standing around naked for the few seconds it takes to strip and jump into the hot tub. And as he pointed out, I’ve seen them in a much more awkward naked situation.
“Sure, why not? The more, the merrier.”
* * *
ALDIS
I learned two things today about Hawthorne: one, he’s a fucking beast of a climber, and two, if he’s completely straight, I’m a talking horse.
During our drive back to the house, he talked about Bowen like the man was a living god, sharing story after story about the two of them growing up. He’s not only not completely straight, but I think he has major feels for his best friend. He just doesn’t realize it. And unless I’m reading Bowen completely wrong, those feelings are far from one-sided.
I like Bowen a hell of a lot, and what I’m about to do may just be the stupidest fucking thing I’ve ever done. But, hey, maybe I like the guy enough to give him the one thing the two of them are desperate for, even if it means I end back at the gym, drooling over Bowen from afar.
Oh, a third thing I learned today…or are we on number four? Hawthorne has an ass I would push my grandmother into traffic for a chance to sink my teeth into. Sigh.
Now, how am I going to pull this off? I suppose I’ll do what I do best and wing it.
I follow both of them through the house to the back door leading to a large deck with incredible views of the mountains in the distance and a blanket of stars overhead. Hawthorne pulls the top off the tub while Bowen turns it on. The water starts to bubble immediately while the three of us strip.
I watch the two of them while I shimmy my pants off, looking for one more confirmation of my instincts, a sign to let me know I’m doing the right thing here. Bowen glances at Hawthorne, whose back is to us, his taut, biteable ass on full display. The look of longing that passes over Bowen’s face is palpable, hitting me right in the chest with the need to give him exactly what he wants in any way I can.
When Bowen manages to pull his gaze away and finish undressing, he just misses the look he gets from Hawthorne in return, over the shoulder, assessing with that same underpinning of longing.
No question, they want each other, and they’re both too blind—or maybe too afraid—to see it. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no need for Bowen to have to choose, but I know most people don’t tend to feel that way. So, I’m going to be selfless and hope like hell it works out.
I’m the first one to slip into the hot tub, groaning as the water envelops me and immediately starts to ease my aching muscles. I’m positioned just right with a jet hitting the small of my back. I let my head fall back as I moan again.
“Damn, Bow, be careful. It sounds like he might dump you for the hot tub,” Hawthorne teases, followed by the sound of water splashing.
I open my eyes to find them seated on opposite ends, one on either side of me. They both take a similar pose, their arms hooked over the edge, their bare chests puffed. The image of being trapped between them creeps into my mind, stroking my cock to life. The bubbling water obscures my erection, so I don’t fight it, leaning back as well and spreading my legs to give it some room.
“My sexual awakening happened in a hot tub,” I reveal. I catch their interest, getting looks of heated curiosity not only from Bowen but from Hawthorne too. “It was in high school. There was this guy, Vince, who I…well, now I know I had a massive crush on him, but at the time, I told myself I just thought he was a cool dude. Anyway, he was having a party. I went, and we got to chatting. A few of us ended up in the hot tub out back, drinking whatever we’d swiped from his parents’ liquor cabinet. After a while, everyone else trickled back inside, leaving the two of us alone in the hot tub.”
Hawthorne gapes at me, wiping his hands over his face when he realizes I’m looking at him. Bowen doesn’t even try to hide his interest, spreading his legs too, his knee bumping mine. Is he getting hard too? What would Hawthorne do if I climbed into Bowen’s lap right now and started fooling around with him? Would he leave quietly, or would he stay to watch?
“Then what happened?” Hawthorne finally asks.
“I was so happy, it was the first time Vince and I had really talked, just the two of us. We clicked, and I was a little high on that feeling and probably more than a little drunk. I was telling him a joke one second, weirdly mesmerized by the way he laughed, and the next thing I knew, we were kissing. We were both wearing our underwear, but they were drenched, so I could feel every inch of his hard cock when he climbed onto my lap.”
“Fuck,” Bowen mutters, reaching under the water in a way I’m sure he thinks is inconspicuous.
“Do guys like that? I mean, does it feel good with your cocks just…?” Hawthorne makes an awkward gesture. Bowen barks out a laugh, and I grin at him.
“It feels fucking amazing. It’s so…primal. You’re both horny and maybe a little sweaty, bare skin against bare skin. His cock is hot and hard, pulsing and throbbing when he comes.” I put a little growl into my tone.
Hawthorne’s reaction is exactly what I was expecting. His skin pinks a little, and his breathing picks up. I suppose he could just be getting hot from the water, but the wild look in his eyes makes me think it’s something else.
“I almost had this hookup once in a hot tub,” Bowen confesses, breaking my attention away from Hawthorne.
“Almost?” I ask, quirking a smile at him.
He nods. “I was in there with two guys, and they were flirting. I think more with each other than with me. They were talking about sharing me, taking turns with me…” A wistful, heated look comes over his face, and then he clears his throat. “Anyway, it’s been a fantasy since then…aaand I don’t know why I’m saying all of this. Can I claim I’m drunk even though I haven’t had a drop to drink?”