by Skyler Snow
"What are you going to get?" Lukas asked with his head buried in his menu.
I picked up my menu and looked it over carefully. I was way pickier than Lukas when it came to food. He always knew exactly what he wanted, but it took me forever to pick something out. I’d pored over the menu two or three times before the waitress came back, smiled and asked if we were ready. Again.
"Yeah, he's always like this," Lukas confirmed with a grin without her even saying a word, and she laughed.
"Hey, why rush when I won't be happy if I pick the wrong thing?"
"You're fine," our waitress laughed. "What can I get for you two?"
Lukas piped up. "I want the steak, medium and I want it with the eggs over easy and toast."
"And toast?" I pulled a face. "That's such a weird combination."
"Let me enjoy things my way," Lukas lifted his head and sniffed as if he was really offended. I rolled my eyes at him.
"So dramatic," I laughed. "I'll have the eggs Benedict with the Canadian bacon and the sweet potato fries."
"I'll put that right in for you guys." She smiled, took our menus, and bounced away.
She came back shortly with the drinks we'd ordered. Of course, Lukas sipped at a mimosa, because he could, and I had another cup of coffee and some water. I tried to watch what went into my body since I wanted to stay healthy, but my boyfriend was... awful. He was just awful.
"Stop staring at me," he raised a brow. "Yes, I'm drinking before noon."
I threw up my hands. "I didn't say a word."
He narrowed his eyes. "You didn't have to say a word. I felt your judgment."
"I love you," I grinned at him.
"I love you too.” His eyes narrowed into mere slits. “What do you want?"
My mouth opened and Lukas grinned over the rim of his champagne glass. "I just wanted to tell my amazing, hot, wonderful, sexy-as-fuck boyfriend that I loved him. I didn't know that meant I wanted something."
"I'm just screwing with you." He reached out and laid his hand on top of mine. "You know I adore the shit out of you."
"I know." I squeezed his hand. "And I hope you know I feel the exact same way. You do, right?"
"Carsen..."
"You don't want to talk about it." I nodded. "I'm trying to respect that, but you know I have a hard time when things are wrong and they just sit there, festering. It shouldn't bother me so bad maybe, but it does. It really does."
Lukas played with his glass, twisting it back and forth between his fingers. He gazed down at it. There was a storm going on inside of his brain. I could see it. When he finally looked up, he shrugged slightly.
"It's just a lot to think about right now." He polished off the rest of his drink and caught the waitress to ask for another one. When he held a fresh one in his hand, he looked up at me. "I know we need to talk about it, but it worries me, Carsen."
My eyebrows knitted. "What worries you about it? You were okay with the idea of adding a third before."
"Yeah, but that was before I realized you were the hot one in the relationship," Luka laughed dryly. "Guys want you, they don't want the dorky, odd author." He played with the paper from the straw that he'd put in his water glass. "It's a blow to my ego that I don't need. And what if we meet someone and you want them more than me? What if you're more compatible with each other?"
"Are you serious?" I stared at him with wide eyes and my chest tightened. “Tell me you’re joking, babe.”
Lukas shrugged, but he glanced away and I knew he was very serious. How could he ever think that I would want to leave him? Or that I even could? Lukas was the reason I was so happy. He literally made every part of my life better than it was before.
"Why the hell would you think anyone else would be more compatible with me? You're the one I want, Lukas. I'm sorry if I made you feel like that isn't true."
"And now I feel like an asshole because I know it upsets you when you've upset me. I know you don't mean to make me feel this way, okay? It's just what's going on in my head." Lukas looked up at me and his eyes were so sad my heart ached. "I don't want to lose you."
Fuck, I shouldn't have brought it up. I knew I shouldn't. I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. His eyes met mine and he smiled at me sadly. I didn't want him to think he was holding me back from anything. If I couldn't explore the kinks and sides of me that I wanted, then yes, it would suck, but nothing felt better to me than loving and being loved by my magnificent boyfriend.
"Let's not talk about it anymore," I said quickly. "We should enjoy the day off. We don't get them very often."
"Carsen," he shook his head. "I don't want to do that. It's not fair that I get to have my say and you just go along with it because you don't want to hurt me. I can't stand the thought of you being unhappy in our relationship."
I ran my thumb over his hand. "Who said I was unhappy? If I wasn't happy being with you, then I wouldn't be here. That wouldn't be fair to either of us." I picked up his hand and kissed it. "I love you, Lukas. As long as I have you, then that's all I need."
"Here you guys go!" The waitress placed our plates down. "Can I get anything else for you two?"
"No," I smiled. "We're perfect."
She returned my smile and walked away, leaving Lukas and me alone once again. Lukas searched my face as if he was looking for the lie, but every word I said was true. He meant the world to me. If I couldn't do some things in life? Too bad. Yeah, I would just have to suck it up.
I had the love of a man that put up with all of my bullshit, who accepted me for who I was and who made me a better person. I shouldn't ask for anymore and if it made my partner sad, then I wouldn't.
3
Lukas
I carried the leftovers box into the house and put it inside of the fridge. Of course I'd cleaned my plate, but Carsen hadn't. He trailed behind me so he could pull in the trash cans, and I was happy to have a moment alone because I still felt horrible.
It bothered him. Even if Carsen said he was okay only having me, I knew that wasn't entirely true. He was the type of man that was Dominant more often than not, and he wanted someone that could submit and give him what he needed. I wasn't that person. I couldn't be.
We'd tried once before, but I had no attraction to it. Even if I wasn't as Dominant as he was in some aspects, I wasn't a submissive either. I wished I was. It would have saved us so much trouble.
In all honesty, we both craved a bottom. We could and often did switch with each other, but an eager, cute bottom was something we both wanted. I just didn't trust it anymore, not after having one bad experience after the other.
Guys always wanted Carsen. He was the big, hunky policeman with the killer smile and the ripped-as-fuck body. I was the softer one, the sweet one that wanted to look after my subby in more than just the regular ways. I'd always wanted a little of my own, but I hadn't found anyone that I meshed well with, and Carsen was far far far from being a little.
My phone rang and I dug into my pocket. As soon as I saw Aylah I smiled and hit the answer button.
"Hey, Aylah. I thought you were in class today?"
"Hey, Uncle Luke." There was traffic in the background and the sound of her moving quickly. "I have class in literally ten minutes and I'm freaking out."
I stood up straight and alert. "What's wrong? Do I need to come get you?"
"No, no. It's nothing like that. I'm fine." She sighed heavily. "I need a huge favor from you though. You have to say yes before I ask you though."
I hesitated. "That doesn't seem like a good idea."
"Please, pleeeeeease?" she begged, and I imagined her big, doe eyes and pouty lips that had suckered me in when she was a child, but worked just as fucking well with her being an adult. "I will never ask you for anything again, I swear."
I raised a brow. "We both know that's a lie. You're a spoiled brat and you're always asking me for something."
"You like it though!" She laughed softly and then she went quiet. "Really though. I don't have a lot of ti
me and I need you to do this for me. Just say yes."
"Alright, alright, yes." I rubbed the space between my eyes. "What's going on?"
"Thank you!" She yelled. "I need you to pick up a friend of mine. He's going to be at the bus station in twenty minutes and I tried to get out of class to get there, but my professor won't let me retake the test if I miss, and I didn't even know he was going to be coming." She sucked in a breath. "Do you... do you still have that spare room?"
I blinked. "Oh no, Aylah, no."
"You already agreed!" She said quickly. "You said yes you would help me and I really, really need your help. He has nothing, Uncle Luke. And he has no one! He just needs someone to be there for him until I can get out of class and make some phone calls."
The door opened and Carsen walked inside of the kitchen. He washed his hands in the sink and I chewed my bottom lip. He wasn't going to be too happy. Mostly, we liked our privacy. Sure, it was fine to have family in the spare room for the holidays or the weekend, or even after dinner if they'd had a little too much fun and couldn't drive home. A stranger though? It was just trouble waiting to happen.
Carsen gestured. "What's with the face?"
"Hold on, Aylah."
"Please don't take too long." She begged. "I have to be in class in seven minutes and if I'm late that asshole will totally lock the door and not let me take the test anyway."
"I'll be right back." I stabbed the mute button and still held the phone against my chest as if she could hear anything. "Aylah needs us to do her a favor."
"Okay," Carsen nodded. "What's she need?"
I smiled. I loved that my boyfriend was so close to my family. He loved my niece as much as I did, and if she needed anything, he was right there for her. After all, he'd been around since she was twelve years old and they were thick as thieves. I still knew he wouldn't love what I was about to ask him.
"Aylah has a friend at the bus station that needs to be picked up. She didn't know he was coming, and she can't get out of going to class without failing an important exam."
Carsen took his keys out and twirled them around his finger. "Ask her which terminal and all the information we're going to need. I can go grab the kid right now."
"Yeah, that's not all of the favor." I tapped my finger against the back of the phone. "Apparently he's going to need a place to stay too. Aylah says he has nothing and nowhere to stay."
Carsen sighed and massaged his temple. "How long?"
I shrugged. "She said after class she'll make some phone calls. I mean she's probably going to come right over and figure it out." I checked the screen. "I hate to rush you, but she needs an answer in five minutes or she's going to miss class."
"Fine," Carsen sighed and stared up at the ceiling. "Get the information from her and we'll go grab him."
"Thank you, baby. You’re the best.” I smiled and unmuted the phone. "Carsen is fine with it. What do I need to know to find him?"
Aylah shot through the information at a rapid speed. I snagged a notepad off the counter and a pen then quickly scribbled down everything she said.
"Alright, we'll go get him."
"Thank you both," she said, and sighed in relief. "I'll come over as soon as I'm done with class."
"Hey, wait!" I frowned. "What's this kid’s name?"
"Oh yeah, it's Reece James. I told him to look out for you and Carsen and sent him a picture of both of you."
I tilted my head. "How the hell were you already sending him pictures of us before we said yes?"
"What's that?" she asked, and I heard a smile on her lips. "I've gotta get into the classroom, but I love you so much! Thank you!"
"Aylah? Aylah!" I growled and hung up the phone.
"Suckered again." I glanced up to see Carsen grinning hard. "She gets you every damn time."
I flipped him off. "She got you too, asshole. Let's go pick this boy up so I can get started on my work for the day."
Carsen kissed my cheek. "Don't be irritated." He chuckled. "I love youuuuu."
I slapped his arm. "Don't start acting like Aylah. I can only handle one brat at a time. "
"You love brats," Carsen teased, and slipped his hand in mine. "Let's go get this boy."
We pulled up to the bus terminal and climbed out of Carsen's car. The sun was out in full force trying to melt us into goo on the sidewalk as we wandered around in search of Reece. The bus stop was half empty thankfully, so we waited until the next wave of arrivals came through.
"Carsen? Lukas?"
We both turned and I stopped short. Reece ran a hand over his arm, his eyes cutting around the bus station anxiously before he looked back at us. There were dark circles under his eyes and he was thin. Too thin. When had he eaten last? He brushed a hand over black hair that fell into his steel-gray eyes, and he chewed on light pink, plump lips that I imagined would look amazing when he smiled, but he was far from smiling.
"That's us," Carsen took over since my tongue had decided to malfunction suddenly. "You must be Aylah's friend." He stuck out his hand. "I'm Carsen." He jerked a thumb at me. "And this is Lukas."
Reece shook Carsen's hand and then moved on to mine. His hand was slender too, his fingers long, but the tips of them were calloused when I pulled my hand away. He quickly shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Sorry to be a pain in the ass." He shuffled from one foot to the other, only looking up at us every once in a while. "If you would rather I find a place of my own..."
"Nonsense." I stepped closer to him and held out my hand for the big, red and black duffle that was on his back. "Have you had any water?"
Reece slowly slid the bag down his arm and handed it over. "No."
"Food?" I asked.
The boy shook his head again. "No. I've been on the bus for the past two days. I didn't have any money for anything besides one bottle of water and some chips when I first got on." His head quickly shot up. "You don't have to buy me anything though! Aylah's nice enough to be giving me a loan today when she gets out of class."
I exchanged a look with Carsen and we were on the same page. He nodded and took Reece's bag from me. We led him to the car and Carsen popped his bag into the trunk before he climbed in the driver’s seat, and we headed away from the bus stop.
"Reece," I said slowly as my eyes watched him in the rearview mirror. "Do you mind if I ask why you decided to move to Arizona?" I tilted my head. "I don't want to be nosey, but I can tell something's going on."
Reece fidgeted with his fingers. "I don't really have any right to privacy, right? I don't even know you two, but you're letting me into your home." He ran a hand over his face.
I frowned and before he could continue to speak, I held up a hand. "Just because you need a place to stay, doesn't mean you're not entitled to privacy. You don't have to tell us anything you don't want to tell us." I turned around and looked at him. "I just need to know what we're up against. Are you running from someone? Drugs? Drinking?"
Reece's eyes widened and he waved his hands. "No, no, nothing like that!" He wrapped his arms around himself. "I don't do drugs. I rarely drink, and no, there's no one after me. God, this is so stupid." He closed his eyes tightly. "Really, I can just find somewhere to wait until Aylah gets out of class. I don't want to put you guys out."
Once again, Carsen and I exchanged looks. The kid was troubled. Whatever was going on, it was tearing him up. A part of me desperately wanted to know what was going on so I could help him out.
"You're not going anywhere," Carsen said as he turned the corner, then glanced up at Reece in the rearview mirror. "Aylah wanted us to look after you and that's what we're going to do." He pointed down the road. "What would you like to eat? Fast food? Barbecue? Chinese?" He pointed out different locations. "There's a little bit of everything down here."
Reece played with his hands. "I'm alright."
"No, you're not," Carsen argued before I could say a word. "So, you can either pick something out that you like to eat or..." He looked around and poi
nted. "I'll get you a kale salad with quinoa and sugar-free prune juice on the side."
Reece couldn't help himself. He pulled the exact same disgusted face as I did. Carsen threw his head back and laughed hard at us.
"How old are you?" Carsen asked Reece.
"I'm nineteen, sir," he said, a small smile on his lips.
"See, Lukas? You have the taste of a kid," he snorted.
"Hey!" I growled at him. "You're not as funny as you think you are."
"And I'm not a kid," Reece interjected. "Nineteen is clearly an adult."
Carsen and I exchanged a look and snorted. Nineteen was still a kid in our eyes. I was twenty-nine and Carsen was thirty. Reece was still very, very young.
"I am an adult," Reece insisted. "Come on."
"Keep telling yourself that, kid," Carsen sniggered. "When you graduate from diapers you can join the adult world."
I slapped Carsen's arm. "Be. Nice." When I glanced over my shoulder Reece was pouting with his arms folded in front of his chest.
He was cute as hell. That little pursed-lip look was perfection. I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. What the hell was going on with me?
"He's just messing with you," I smiled at Reece. "He likes to do that. Now," I glanced out of the window. "What do you want to eat?"
"I... like burgers…" Reece said slowly, apparently giving in. "And fries... and milkshakes."
I smiled at him in the rearview mirror. "It sounds like you need some In-N-Out."
Reece pulled a face. "I've never had that. Is it good?"
"You've never had it?" I asked with wide eyes. "How have you never had it?"
"I don't think it exists in Ohio. Aylah's talked about it and I've heard some of my online friends mention it, but I've never been on the west coast."
“We’re definitely taking you, right now,” I pulled out my phone and looked for the closest place near the bus terminal. “Let’s go to this one here.” I showed the phone to Carsen and he nodded
