Adventure

by Quinn Ward

  "Again, huge understatement." I flipped off Frankie, letting him know he was number one in my book. He threw his head back with a hearty laugh reminding me so much of Papa's it sent a shiver down my spine.

  Everyone watched as Frankie and I took our places at the table. I flashed Max and Enzo a quick smile, letting them know everything would be okay.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Enzo

  I stilled my fingers on the keyboard when Max rolled over, running a hand over my thigh. I watched him, waiting to see if he was awake, or simply reaching out to me in his sleep. His breathing remained slow and steady, and he scrunched his nose as he burrowed into the pillow trying to get comfortable.

  The first few weeks he'd been staying with us, I'd gotten up with Tony, making coffee while he showered. After a kiss goodbye at the door, I'd retreated to the living room, putting in a few hours of focused work before Max woke up for the day. But my mind always wandered, wishing I was in here with him. The beauty of working from home most of the time was I wasn't tied to a desk, so I moved my laptop into the bedroom, and now I worked while he slept, savoring every little moment when he reached out to me in his sleep.

  "You're working too much," Max grumbled into the pillow. "Put that away and get over here."

  As tempting as his offer sounded, I was on a deadline. I'd promised Frankie I'd have the fall marketing campaign ready to for approval by the end of the week, and I'd spent at least part of every day curled up in Max's arms when I should've been working. He was a beautiful distraction I could only resist for so long.

  "In a bit," I promised, trying to focus on writing the copy for some local radio spots while Max's hand slid closer to my groin. I swatted his hand away.

  "Not in a bit," Max argued, wrapping his fingers around my wrist and placing my hand over his hard dick. "Need some help with this."

  "You do, huh?" I teased. I shut the lid of my laptop and carefully set it on the floor next to the bed.

  As I rolled back to him, I caught glimpses of how our lives had meshed together in this room. Max's cologne on top of the Tony's dresser next to my wallet and sunglasses. An overflowing hamper of dirty clothes belonging to all of us because Max said it was ridiculous to try and keep everything separated. Tony's polo shirts hanging next to Max's T-shirts in the closet. A sense of peace washed over me, a little reminder that this wasn't a passing fling for any of us.

  "Hey, you okay?" Max asked, running his fingers through my still sleep-tangled hair.

  "Yeah, it just..." I rolled over to face him, pushing my leg between his. This was one thing I loved about Max; a lot of times when all of us were in bed, physical closeness turned to sex, but with Max, I was confident we could lay here all day just talking. "Sometimes this still doesn't feel real. But then I look around our bedroom, and it is."

  "Hey, if it bothers you that much, maybe it's time to talk to Tony about how we're going to break it to the family that we're together too." My stomach flipped because it was exactly what I needed, but it was also something I feared.

  Everyone loved Max. In the weeks since Tony had first brought him to family dinner, he'd become a fixture. Mama even asked him to come up with some fun, kid-friendly drinks once she overheard him and Frankie talking about how to revamp the bar menu at Marino's. He didn't realize it, but it was the greatest stamp of approval anyone could've asked for. She was fiercely protective of her boys, and although she'd handled everything my brothers had thrown at her recently, eventually we'd find the limit to her acceptance.

  Max drew his thumb across the crease in my forehead before scooting close enough to kiss me. "Stop borrowing trouble."

  "How do you know that's what I'm doing?" I didn't need to wait for an answer; Max and I had spent enough time together I knew he saw right through me in ways no one else ever had. Everyone else in my life thought I was the shy one, the people pleaser. And maybe I was, but part of it was because I took the time to consider all possible outcomes before acting. Usually. Almost always, except when it came to Max urging me to go after what I really wanted.

  "Because I know you, Enzo." He smoothed his fingers over my forehead again. "You want to be happy, but you can't turn off your brain sometimes. You want to be honest, but you're worried about what everyone else will think. We can't change any of it, but the longer we hide what we're doing, the stronger their argument will be that we're hiding out of shame."

  "I'm not ashamed of you," I insisted. "I'm having a hard time because I don’t feel guilty about Tony, and I don’t think anyone else will understand."

  "We'll just have to show them how happy we are," Max suggested, forcing his hand between our bodies. I squirmed, equally annoyed and grateful he was trying to make me stop fretting. I tossed my head back, closing my eyes as his fingers brushed against the head of my cock. "At the end of the day, nothing matters outside the three of us. I know it's easier for me to say because I don't have as much to lose, but it also gives me a unique perspective. You have an amazing family. They love you, and once they see how good we are together, they'll come around."

  "Now would be a good time to stop talking about them," I suggested, thrusting my hips forward, chasing the pressure I desperately needed against my thickening erection.

  "I think you're right." Max shifted so I was flat on my back, his body pressed against mine from shoulders to knees. He propped himself up on an elbow as he traced his fingers over my face. "What we have is special, Enzo. You've both given me this amazing gift, and I'll do whatever I can to show the world I'd never do anything to hurt either of you."

  We kissed for a while, but there was no urgency to take things any further. It almost felt out of place after what felt dangerously close to a profession of love from Max. He slid to the side, arm still draped over my chest as we drifted off to sleep.

  I felt groggy and hungover when I woke up a while later. I groaned as I pulled myself out of bed, hoping a shower would ease the knots in my shoulders from sleeping with Max's arm under me.

  "Everything okay?" Max mumbled, cracking one eye open to watch me. "You could come back to bed and we could finish what we started earlier."

  "As wonderful as that sounds, I do have some things to get done today. A lot, actually. I probably shouldn't have napped with you." Max's brow furrowed, and I realized I sounded annoyed with him rather than myself. I sat on the edge of the mattress, lacing his fingers with mine. "Don't get me wrong, sleeping with you is never a hardship, but this is a bad week for me to slack off. Freddie just got me the finalized fall menu which means I have to get it ready for some new social media campaigns. Frankie's waiting on me to put together the full marketing proposal for both fall and holiday party planning. It's just... Ugh."

  "Babe, it's okay." Max pushed himself off the mattress and draped his arms over my shoulders, kissing the back of my neck. "Believe it or not, I do realize you have a life outside my needs. But don't feel bad. You've been burning the candle at both ends, and you're starting to burn out. You needed the break."

  "Yeah, but—"

  "No, not ‘yeah, but.’ You needed the rest." He gave me a gentle shove. "Now, you shower, and I'll get started on lunch and coffee." I must've made a face expressing my distaste of the drink both he and Tony were addicted to because Max let out a hearty laugh. "Don't worry, I love you in spite of your freakish ways. I'll get your tea brewing, too."

  I didn't bring up his slip, opting for the easy out as I gathered my clothes and headed to the bathroom across the hall. If we got a bigger place since there were three of us living together, I was going to insist on somewhere with a huge shower in the bathroom.

  I slid down the wall while I waited for the water to heat up, trying to convince myself this life was real. Even though I tried to look at the bright side as much as possible, it was hard to believe one person—or three—could be as lucky as we were. What had started out as a night of letting go of expectations had turned into a relationship I couldn't imagine not having.

  My mus
ings continued as I quickly scrubbed my body, paying extra attention to certain areas I hoped would come under scrutiny this afternoon before Max had to go to work. I'd peacefully lived as a monk before he'd barged into my life and forced me to face my secrets, but now I proudly wore the cum slut label he'd tacked on my ass that first night. I wasn't sure I'd ever get enough of either of the guys. Max had given me a gift, encouraging me to go after the man I always wanted and never thought I could have, but it was more than that. It was the three of us and how well we fit together.

  I frowned when I got out of the shower and noticed the distinct absence of tea on the vanity. Call me spoiled, but I'd gotten used to him popping into the bathroom while I showered. To make life even better, I also didn't have a towel in the bathroom with me. Without thinking, I whipped open the door and sprinted down the hall to our bedroom, stopping short when I realized we weren't alone.

  Not once did I think about the fact that I was stark naked or dripping water all over the floor as I took in the confused yet pissed off look on my oldest brother's face. "Frankie, what are you doing here?"

  His eyes darted to my right and then back to me. His gaze turned down right murderous then. Shit. This was as close to a worst-case scenario as I could possibly imagine. Frankie clenched his jaw, and I noticed his hand ball into a fist as he turned to Max.

  "What the fuck, dude?" He took a step closer to Max, and I rushed to Frankie's side, digging my fingers into his biceps before he pummeled the man I loved—one of the men I loved—over something he knew nothing about. Frankie was a hell of a lot stronger than I was, and he easily shrugged me off. "I expected better from you. If someone told me you'd pull this shit, I'd have told them they were insane. I fucking went to bat for you when Tony was being all cagey about a relationship. And this is how you repay me? This is what you do to him? You're really a piece of work."

  "It's not what you think, Frankie." The air-conditioning kicked on and a blast of cold air against my still wet balls made me aware of the fact that I was standing there without any clothes on. I started backing away, offering up a quick prayer Frankie wouldn't beat Max to a bloodied pulp before I could get dressed. "Why don't you head into the living room, and we can talk about this in a few minutes?"

  "I'm not sure there's anything to talk about," Frankie argued. The muscle in his jaw twitched, and in the quiet of the room, I could hear him grinding his teeth. "Are you going to feed me a line of shit and try telling me you weren't about to walk into Tony's bedroom? You know, the bedroom he now shares with his boyfriend who happens to be the only other person in the apartment right now and doesn't seem at all uncomfortable with you walking around naked as the day you were born?"

  I cupped my hands over my dick in a fit of sudden modesty. We all knew it was a conversation that was going to have to happen sooner or later, but we planned on it taking place when we were all together as a united front against the arguments we knew we would face. And, you know, having clothes on would've been a step up as well.

  "Frankie, I need you to calm down while I put some clothes on," I pleaded with him. I didn't dare look at Max, no matter how much I needed his quiet reassurance that we would get through this together. It had become a mantra of sorts between us but seeing how close Frankie was to physical violence had me doubting our earlier confidence.

  Without a word, Frankie dismissed me with a wave. As I grabbed the first clothing I could find at the top of the laundry basket, I listened to what was going on in the other room. Thankfully, it was silent, making me think Frankie had cooled down enough to at least walk away from Max and listen to what we had to say.

  I stared down at my phone, debating whether I should call Tony and ask him to come home. I knew deep down he'd want to be here when we explained our relationship to anyone in the family, but I also knew he had a busy day at the restaurant. I picked up the phone, flipped it over in my hands a few times, then tossed it on the bed. As soon as I did, the display lit up with the face of the man who was at the front of my thoughts right now.

  "Hey, I was just thinking about you," I answered, replaying the words in my head to see if there was anything off in my voice. "We have a situation here, and I think --"

  "Enzo!" The sharp tone in Tony's voice cut me short.

  "Sorry, I just sort of freaking out here, and I needed to hear your voice," I apologized. "Frankie's here."

  "Good." I pulled the phone away from my ear and gaped at it. Tony obviously didn't understand what was happening at home because if he did, there was no way he'd say it was a good thing that our brother was here when he wasn't. "I need you to put the phone on speaker."

  Something was going on. Tony sounded panicked as he rambled on about how Frankie being there saved him from having to call him too. I rushed out of the room and placed the phone on the coffee table in front of Frankie. He sneered at me, and I shook my head, silently telling him that whatever we had to hash out could wait.

  "Okay Tony, Frankie's here now." I took a seat at the opposite end of the couch Frankie, my ass perched at the edge of the cushion. Then, as a way to hopefully reduce Frankie's blood pressure, I added, "Max is here too. Is that okay?"

  "Yeah, that's probably for the best," Tony blurted out. Max hovered next to me. "You guys need to meet us at the hospital. Max, do you mind driving them?"

  "What the hell's going on, Tony?" Frankie asked, scooting forward as if sitting closer to the phone would help him understand whatever Tony was about to say.

  "It might be nothing, but the ambulance just left the restaurant," Tony explained. "Mama was doing her usual thing, walking around the dining room talking to the last of the lunch rush customers when she went down. She was awake when they loaded her up, but she seemed sort of out of it. It might not be anything serious, and she'll probably yell at me later for making everyone worry, but I knew you guys would at least want to know what was going on."

  Max was already at the door stuffing his feet into his shoes, keys in hand. Frankie and I scrambled off the couch as Frankie promised Tony we'd meet him there as soon as possible. Despite what had happened earlier, Frankie draped an arm over my shoulder giving me a quick hug as he promised me everything was going to be okay. I wasn't sure either of us believed his words.

  I followed my brother out of the apartment while Max locked up. He and Max steadied me when I stumbled at the top of the stairs. I was doing my best to keep my mind from spiraling out of control, but it seemed to be a losing battle. I sobbed, and my body shook as I thought of all the things I wished I'd said to her when I had a chance. Without a second thought, Max pulled me close to his side, pressing kiss to my temple. "She's a tough woman. She's going to be fine."

  "You both need to stop saying that," I snapped, jerking out of Max's grip and spinning around to face both of them. "Quit treating me like I'm about to break or need to be protected from what's going on. Right now, none of us know anything more than what Tony told us. Stop telling me everything's going to be fine, because I'm pretty sure the fact they had to take her to the hospital in an ambulance says it's not fine."

  "Enzo, calm down." Frankie reached out and smoothed his hand down my arm. He hugged me again, forcing me to follow him, placing distance between Max and me. I wasn't sure if the tension in his body was caused by worry over Mama or Max's casual display of affection. "If Mama was here right now, you know damn well she’d be telling you not to borrow trouble. Let's get to the hospital and see what's going on, okay?"

  The problem with Max driving us to the hospital became apparent as soon as we got to the parking lot. Tony had taken his car to work today, which meant we were left with Max's rusty pickup. While it was possible the three of us would fit across the bench seat, I was pretty sure none of us were looking forward to spending time shoulder to shoulder right now. Not when there was still so much unsettled business between us.

  "Would it be okay if we just ride with you up to the hospital?" Max asked. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, taking small s
teps backward every time he fidgeted. I wasn't sure he was even aware of the way he was putting distance between himself and me and Frankie. He done this the first few times we'd gone for family dinner at Mama's house, almost as if he was trying to remember his place as the outsider, which was bullshit because he was one of us now.

  With a deep breath, I stepped out of my brother's embrace and crossed the sidewalk to join Max. Frankie opened his mouth as if he was about to say something then shut it and narrowed his eyes on us instead. I wasn't sure the three of us would all survive a trip in the same car.

  "Max, why don't you and I take the truck and Frankie can follow us?" I suggested, hoping the drive would give Frankie time to cool down enough so he and Max could be civil around one another in the waiting room. It was bound to be a long, stressful day, and Frankie going into overprotective brother mode wasn't going to help anyone.

  Max chewed on his bottom lip. He leaned in, whispering so only I could hear him. "Are you sure that's a good idea? Maybe you should ride with Frankie and I'll just stay here."

  "Not a chance," I shot back. If we were alone in our apartment, it’d be easier for me to ease Max's mind. I hated that I couldn't forget about Frankie behind us, watching our every move, because Max needed me to wrap him in my arms and hug him tight, reminding him once again we were all in this together. "Tony and I need you there."

  "Enzo, I love you, but I think me being there would do more harm than good. It's bad enough that Frankie is pissed off at me without having to worry about anyone else catching on," he argued.

  "He's not mad at you—or he won't be once he understands what he walked in on." With a glance over my shoulder, I nodded to Frankie, and then jerked my head toward the truck. "And maybe this is for the best. We're all tired of hiding, but none of us could figure out a good way to come out to our family. Maybe the answer is we don't come out; we simply live our lives. Once they see the three of us together, I have to believe they'll understand."