I smile to myself as Aldis jumps to my mind without warning. I’m surprised he can stand working at a computer all day long, but he does seem to love what he does.
“Thinking about your man?” Thorne asks with a knowing grin. I look over to find his eyes on me, which wouldn’t normally be out of place, but ever since the hot tub last weekend, everything feels out of place between the two of us.
I stare at him, and he stares right back, the air between us feeling thick and charged, even though I can’t fucking figure out what it is he’s waiting for me to say.
Oh, shit, right, he asked if I was thinking about Aldis.
“Uh, yeah,” I confess. There’s a flicker of something that passes behind his eyes, but it’s gone too quickly for me to pinpoint what it is. If I hadn’t been staring right at him, I would’ve missed it altogether. “Actually, I was mostly thinking about how lucky we are to get to spend our days out here in all this fresh air, working up a sweat.”
Thorne mimics my earlier motion, lifting his shirt to wipe the sweat and dirt off his face. My gaze drops immediately to the flat planes of his abs and the dark trail of hair that disappears beneath his jeans. My cock jerks at the memory of his thick, weighty erection filling my throat.
Fuck. I squeeze my eyes closed and force the memories away. Yes, the morning-after talk we had made it seem like Thorne was open to exploring more, but that was days ago. There’s every chance he’s changed his mind in that time. Our impromptu hangout with Aldis two nights ago was completely platonic. Maybe that’s how Thorne would prefer it.
Besides, even if I do get another chance to put my hands and mouth all over him, I need to keep things in perspective. This is a phase for him, sexual experimentation during a midlife crisis or something. My best friend is going through some shit, so it’s my responsibility to ensure that whatever happens between now and when he comes to his senses doesn’t ruin our friendship.
“Amen to that, man,” he agrees, and the two of us grab a couple more logs to add to our pile. It’s peaceful and familiar, working side by side, the only sound in the woody backyard we’re calling our office for the week is our occasional grunts and the unending chirp of birds from the treetops.
“Is he still coming by tonight?” Thorne asks once we’ve finished moving the logs from the first tree.
“Yeah,” I answer and then clear my throat. “Are you still cool with that? We don’t have to…uh…”
“Relax, you’re going to hurt yourself.” He chuckles and thumps me on the back. “It’ll be fun.”
The breath whooshes out of my lungs with relief, even as my stomach knots in fresh nerves. He’s saying he’s still into this, right? He wants to fool around again?
“You know, the dude is a beast. He’s pushed me to top my best sprint time and my highest bench weight this week.”
Thorne lets out an impressed whistle. “That’s it then. You’re going to have to marry him.”
I give a weak laugh this time, the knots in my gut tightening, my skin heating. The idea of sticking with Aldis for the long haul isn’t a bad one. I can see it, actually, and fuck if that isn’t scary as hell on its own. Scary and exciting and about a thousand kinds of confusing given…everything.
“He called us lumber-snacks.”
He snorts. “I have no fucking clue what that means.”
“I think it means he thinks we’re both hot.”
“Oh, well, he’s right about that.” Thorne flashes me another cocky grin and flexes his bicep at me. Would it be weird if I asked to lick his muscles? It would be weird, right? “Come on, let’s get these through the splitter so we can fuck off and grab some lunch,” he says.
“Yeah, let’s do it.” I shake off all of the weird shit swirling through my mind and fall back into our normal routine.
I have no idea how tonight will play out, but I can’t spend all day obsessing about it. Whatever happens, happens.
* * *
HAWTHORNE
Are fear boners a thing? They must be because I’ve been pacing my bedroom for the last thirty minutes with a stomach full of nervous butterflies, sweaty palms, and an erection so fucking massive it should have its own zip code.
The muffled sound of the doorbell ringing sends my heart into another all-out sprint.
Why am I so freaked out? When I sat in a hot tub with two naked men and casually agreed to let my best friend suck me off, I didn’t have a single hint of nerves, just curiosity. But now? Fuck, I think I might throw up. I’m so anxious about what’s going to happen tonight.
I don’t know what makes tonight different from Monday night. We hung out, and it was completely chill. Aldis didn’t so much as make a hint of a move on me. But there’s the implication that something physical will happen again tonight, and that’s what’s had my heart attempting to beat out of my chest half the day today.
There’s a light tap on my door that makes me jump, confirming the existence of the fear boner because my cock jerks too.
“Dinner is just about ready,” Bowen says on the other side of the door.
“Be right there.”
His footsteps echo down the hallway and I lean against the door, taking a deep breath to try to get myself together.
It’s going to be fine. We had a good time last weekend. Hell, it was better than good. It was incredible. I’m just nervous this time because I’ve been thinking about this night all week. Probably too much, if I’m honest, jerking myself off to memories of Bowen’s mouth and the intense heat in Aldis’s eyes as he watched the two of us together. I’ve even gotten myself off remembering the way Bowen looked with his mouth full of Aldis’s massive cock.
And after hanging out with Aldis the other day, I feel even more comfortable with him. There’s something about him that convinces me to lose myself. Or maybe it’s just that he gives me permission to give in to something I’ve been secretly wanting for a long fucking time.
My erection jerks and throbs again. Shit, okay, no more thinking about sex or jerking off until after dinner. That’s the only way I’m going to avoid embarrassing myself. It’s no different than if I were having dinner with a woman I wanted to take to bed…except it’s not a woman, it’s my best friend and the horse-cocked, cool-as-fuck guy he’s dating.
I let out a breathy laugh at myself, balling my fists and then reaching down to adjust my erection.
Calm the fuck down, I instruct myself one last time before reaching for the door handle and stepping out of my bedroom.
I hear the muted sound of their voices as I make my way down the hallway toward the kitchen. They share deep, throaty laughter that eases my anxiety just a fraction. I step into the kitchen doorway and pause for a second to watch them.
Bowen has the oven open, checking the temperature on the roast he made while Aldis playfully pinches his ass. Bowen laughs again and looks over his shoulder with an expression that makes my chest constrict and my heart swell. I knew he was falling for Aldis, but fuck, it’s written all over his face, plain as day.
I don’t have the slightest idea what’s going on with me, whether I’m in a weird, experimental phase or if I’m just realizing really fucking late that I’m bisexual. Whatever all this is, it’s obvious I’ve missed the boat with Bowen. Things may be early on with the two of them, but this is it. Aldis is here to stay.