by M. Q. Barber
“Claud came back with all these lunch stories and I was way jealous.” Charlie scowled at his girlfriend with exaggerated drama. “She’s not big on details, so when Master S pulls more out of her than, ‘it was nice,’ I know it was wicked crazy.”
Her silent urging didn’t drive Henry from his dom-talk or propel him to Jay’s side for comforting support. They’d pulled the separate mingling act before, at Henry’s gallery show. She’d played the bridge between them, the lover two friends shared. But why bother with subterfuge here?
“I was so jealous I whined my way into corner time, and that sucked.” Cheeks puffed, Charlie blew out like a deflating balloon. “It lasted forever. I mean, for-ev-er.”
In mid ball-bounce, Claudia flashed her hands up, palms out and fingers spread. Ten minutes, she mouthed.
Unwanted, intrusive awareness swamped her. Jay wouldn’t appreciate the comfort. Henry hadn’t called Jay to him or hurried out because he knew better than to try. The months before she’d been invited in, the times she’d wavered between fantasizing Henry and Jay were a couple and thinking them just roommates. Because they never got touchy-feely in public.
“I hate corner time. But Master S let me crawl over and apologize for acting bratty, and that rocked.”
Talk about no boundaries. Jay babbled in private, but Charlie took the cake.
“I give awesome blowjobs.”
Two cakes.
“Five-star-restaurant blowjobs.”
Pizza parlor birthday sheet-sized cakes.
“Oh man, did Claudia tell you—”
“Enough, little frog.” Stephen wrapped massive arms around Charlie and knocked their heads together. The blond went limp, closing his eyes and sagging into his master’s embrace. “You get all afternoon with our new friends.”
Henry slipped alongside her. She almost—almost—copied Charlie’s move. But Jay wouldn’t join in. Distance didn’t belong between them. Not after the communion they’d shared last night. Not after they’d spent the morning in sub-mode while Henry gave lessons in dominance.
“Don’t eat up every minute with chatter,” Stephen warned. “I want to see your ball-handling skills put to use on the court, Charlie.”
Jay swiped the ball from Claudia and danced toward the basket. The wider the world, the smaller Henry’s hold over them. Wrongness itched at her, a nagging center beyond her reach.
As Charlie rattled off locations where he’d displayed his skills, Henry scratched between her shoulder blades. Trust him to find the perfect spot without a map. “Have a good game, my dear. I’ll be watching.”
Jay sank his shot. Claudia recovered the ball while Stephen whispered in Charlie’s ear.
“You sure you won’t play?” Knowing the answer, she selfishly hoped for a different one.
“Today is for our boy. I enjoy seeing him unburdened at play.” He inhaled, sharp and deep, his nose buried in her hair. “This court is not mine.”
But I am. Jay is.
Henry had held court like a king this morning. His retreat to the picnic blanket, though poised and graceful, tore at her.
Grabbing the hem of Charlie’s t-shirt, Stephen exposed his submissive’s chest. “Give me this. You can start shirts versus skins. Since we’re in public, you and Jay will be skins.”
“Yeah, girls on guys!” Charlie whooped. “Your dom’s awesome for setting this up, Jay.”
Jay stumbled, and Claudia dribbled past him for the basket.
Charlie laughed. “Claud kind of kicks my ass at hoops, but I can’t say I hate it when she slams into me and goes up for a shot, you know?”
“Yeah, I—” Grinning, Jay swung around and spotted her. “Alice, you okay with those teams?”
“It’s your birthday.” Adorable the way he checked in, though. Like she got first dibs on him. She did, didn’t she? After Henry. “I’ll play however you like.”
Charlie whistled. “Dayum. I gotta have more birthdays. Claud, you think—”
“Hell no.” Laughing, Claudia grabbed her rebound. “I know how you like to play, and it involves me doing all the work.”
“Maybe the both of you boys can give Claudia a challenge.” Stephen sluiced the shirt over Charlie’s head and draped it on his own shoulder. “No offense intended, Alice. I don’t know you well enough to judge your contribution.”
“My goal is to avoid hindering Claudia’s inevitable victory.”
Stephen stood rubbing Charlie’s bare chest—hairier and not so firm as Jay’s—in the middle of the park. Bent and bit his neck, for chrissake.
“Me and basketball have a passing acquaintance.” Words fell out of her mouth on autopilot. Henry would never pull those moves on Jay in public. “In that I usually passed on playing.” Worming her fingers under Jay’s shirt, touching his hips, she lowered her voice. “I bet Henry would hold this for you.” If he wouldn’t listen to Henry here, he’d damn well listen to her. “Shirts versus skins is traditional. You know how he likes to uphold traditions.”
Jay jogged to their courtside blanket. Liminal space in the big oak’s shade. Not center court, where the pressure to be a man trumped all. Where Charlie’s easygoing approach to manhood locked him in stunned silence. He exchanged quiet words with Henry before yanking his shirt over his head.
“Don’t worry, Alice.” Claudia dribbled and shot from behind the wide arc painted on the asphalt.
Accepting Jay’s shirt, Henry maintained middle-school-dance distance, all the way. Appearances.
“Swish.” Charlie whistled. “Nice one, Claud.”
As the ball bounced into the grass, Stephen smacked Charlie’s ass. “Hop to, little frog. Play a good game and you’ll earn a treat. I expect a dazzling display of athletic exertion.”
Dazzling? She’d be outclassed before the first play. Thank God Henry wouldn’t expect the same from her. Face intent, mouth moving, he stood inches from a bare-chested Jay. Time to invest in lip-reading classes.
With kisses for Charlie and Claudia, Stephen retreated to the blankets. Two dominants, sitting around discussing who knew what while their submissives entertained them.
“Seriously, don’t sweat it.” Claudia squeezed her shoulder and let go. Maybe she lived a testosterone-soaked life, too. Years without a female friend to hang with. “We’ll have you shooting like a pro before the food hits the blanket. Enough to score off Charlie, at least.”
“Whoa, hold up, I am a major impediment to any drive for the basket.” Charlie hopped and hooked his shot up and off the backboard. The ball bounced along the rim and out. “Shit.”
Claudia rolled her eyes. “You’re a major impediment to any drive for your team, you mean.”
“That didn’t count.” Charlie snatched the ball. “Practice jitters.”
Bearing a wide grin, Jay jogged back. “Shirtless.” As he slung his arms around her, his woodsy scent enveloped her. “You like?”
“My stud.” Not Henry’s, though, not in public. “This is supposed to be your birthday game, but here you are giving me a present.” Allowing Henry to act like a boyfriend in public would be a better one. He didn’t have to voice disappointment or crack the dominant façade. Down to her bones, she knew Jay’s public distance pained him. “I love when you and Henry get all naked and sweaty.”
Charlie dribbled to Claudia and faked a pass. “Or you put girl cooties on the gear. Did you lick this ball?”
With a well-timed reach, Claudia swiped the ball from Charlie. “What, you think because I licked your balls before breakfast that I snuck out to the garage…”
The teasing bickering carried through the first game. Light trash talk. Wagers won and lost. She lasted two half-court games to fifteen points and dragged her ass in a third before her body begged for a reprieve. Bent over, she gripped her knees with trembling knuckles and sucked in lungfuls of air.
“Jay, bring your playmate here.” Henry waved them over. “You’ve quite worn her out.”
/> A heat sink of sweet male musk, Jay hoisted her to his bare chest. Three games hadn’t winded him. He dripped more sweat on his daily routes. “One Alice, coming in for a landing.” Crouching, he laid her beside Henry with the delicacy of a researcher sliding a prize into the balance pan for weighing.
“Thank you, my boy.” Henry kept his voice low. “I’ll keep our girl with me, but you’re free to continue your game. Are you having fun?”
“Tons of fun. Thank you, Henry.” As the men reached for the same strand of hair stuck to her forehead, Jay grazed Henry’s fingers. “I’m glad you played, Alice.” With his goofy grin and shining eyes, he more than recompensed her for her aching lungs and tight calves. “I’ll make it up to you with games you like better later. Promise.” He plastered her face with tiny kisses and loped back to the game.
Stephen jogged out to take her place, congratulating Charlie with a massive hug and a deep, delving kiss. Claudia got the same treatment billed as consolation for her unprecedented loss.
Fumbling for water, Alice came up with an empty bottle. Must’ve swigged the final drops during their last drink-and-dash.
“Try this.” Henry held a glass to her lips. Orange juice-ish, but with a sweeter kick. “Better?”
“Definitely.” She swished her second sip before swallowing. “Honey?”
“Maple syrup.” He dug in the cooler and presented her with trail mix. “Have some raisins, please.” Nuzzling her hairline, feeding her bite by bite, he kissed her temple. “At least I’ll get something healthy in you before the birthday cupcake feast.”
“Anything you wanna put in me is healthy in my book.” As she waggled her eyebrows, he rewarded her with a laugh and a growl.
On the court, Jay drove to the basket and dropped one in over Charlie’s block. She hooted while Henry clapped.
“You know it’s adorable that you set up a playdate for his birthday, right?” A picnic at the park totally nailed normal family. “It’s baby-panda levels of cute.”
“He’s an active man.” Kneading her leg across his lap, Henry drained her aching weariness. “He needs stimulation.”
A pent-up Jay bounced like a big dog denied a daily walk. Different from how his energy flowed at home, though. Or even this morning at the club. He didn’t seek Henry’s approval here. He passed out high-fives and kissed her with abandon, but he didn’t display the ease with Henry that Charlie did with his master.
Stephen touched his subs as if the world beyond didn’t exist. All the time. Henry limited himself to touching Jay in guy-approved ways. Maybe Jay gravitated toward Henry in private to soak up attention he refused to request in public.
Henry switched to her other calf, and sadness washed through her as her muscles unknotted. Anyone paying attention for five seconds would see Claudia and Charlie were two people in love with Stephen and each other. But anyone looking at Henry and Jay? They’d see two men in love with the same woman.
“You’re fretting, my dear.”
“He needs to see he can be proud of himself for being yours outside the apartment.” Maybe Charlie would be a good example.
Staring out at the court, Henry paused his massage. “Yes, that too.”
She downed her drink, he finished the massage, and they settled in to watch the game. Jay and Claudia had pulled ahead. Stephen and Charlie huddled and hustled to catch up.
Lying on his side, Henry propped his head on one hand. The other lay on her bare stomach, her shirt nudged aside as he sketched sweeping arcs with his thumb. Lavishing on her all the possessiveness Jay shied from on a day out.
“I’m sorry, Henry.” She couldn’t leave it lie.
“Sorry for what?” Brow raised, he drew back.
“That you can’t touch Jay like this.” She waved toward the runners and Frisbee-tossers, the dog walkers and kid-wranglers. “Out here, I mean.”
“Ah.” He glanced at the court. “He isn’t ready for that.”
Jay missed a block, his jump a fraction of a second too early to stop Charlie’s shot.
“For now, it’s enough for him to know he has my rules to guide his behavior. He takes comfort in that.”
Stephen walloped Charlie with a hug and a kiss on his head. “Great shooting. Nice hop, little frog.”
Alice held back a sigh. “But you want more.”
“I always want more.” Henry claimed her mouth as a conqueror reveling in his spoils. “To own every last inch of you both.” His smile carried a distinct wolfish pleasure. “Lucky for me, I’m a patient man.”
* * * *
At dinner Thursday night, music blared. Jay hopped from his chair, froze, and turned toward Henry. “It’s Peggy’s ringtone.”
The name rang a dim bell.
“It’s all right. Go on and take your call, my boy.”
Jay raced to the hall table and snatched his phone.
Was Henry sick? No calls at dinner was practically a rule. Hell, it might be in Jay’s contract. The time belonged to the three of them to unwind and talk without interruptions.
“Exceptions to every rule,” Henry murmured.
Jay tilted sideways, almost perpendicular at his waist. “But you said Saturday lunch.” Palm flat and fingers spread, he tapped his thigh. “No, I know.” Rocking foot to foot, he fiddled with the charger cord. “I didn’t—I’m sorry, Peggy.” His head dropped until his chin grazed his chest. “I know you’re doing a bunch of work just for me. I don’t mean to be ungrateful.”
Jay, ungrateful?
Henry shared her frown.
“Who’s Peggy?” Aside from some liar who thought she had the right to make Jay feel guilty.
“Eldest sister. Something of a second mother.” Matching her whisper, Henry rapped the table twice. “He’ll lose this argument, I’m certain.”
“No, it’s not that—I can, but—no.” Mouth twisted, Jay glanced at the dining room. “Okay. I won’t. See you then.” He lined up the phone on the charging pad with Henry-level precision and dragged his feet on his return. “I’m sorry, Henry. I didn’t mean to interrupt dinner.”
“The phone interrupted dinner, my dear boy. You waited for permission, as you should.” Picking up his fork, Henry acted as if dinner would simply resume its normal course. “Have your weekend plans changed?”
Jay slumped into his seat. “Peggy says I need to show up earlier.”
“To what?” She hadn’t gotten an inkling of special plans, but Henry must’ve approved them already.
“Jay’s family is hosting a birthday celebration at their farm.” Henry laid his fork down with a slight clink. “I’d intended for us to discuss this after dinner.”
“We’re going out of town?” Last-minute trip surprises would take getting used to. Maybe Henry meant to test her trust, reinforce his control over the household. The cabin weekend had been amazing despite the lack of warning. Fantastic shower, lovely deck—fuck, no sexy thoughts when meeting Jay’s parents. “How early? I can’t cut out of work. We’re…”
Face reddening, Jay stared at his plate. Corner creases grew around Henry’s eyes and mouth.
Shit. She’d stepped in it this time. “I’m not going, am I.” Good enough for the fucking but not for the family. As cream sauce dripped from her fork tines, she forced a nod. “Okay.”
Her flat tone missed okay by a mile. Stupid and unfair, because no way did Jay think of her as a part-time fuckbuddy. If he’d suggested taking her home for Christmas six months ago, she’d have freaked. So what if the guys left her home? New puppies needed constant looking after. Not her.
“You’ll have plenty to keep you entertained, Alice.” With his low rumble, Henry coated her in soothing balm. “I don’t expect I’ll be going, either.”
Hold. The. Phone.
“Jay, when does your sister demand your presence?” If Jay leaving him behind upset Henry, he concealed his hurt behind a neutral front.
“In time for dinner.” Not a speck of bi
rthday excitement infused Jay’s mumble. “Friday dinner.”
He’d miss Henry’s time with them. Excellent reason to pout like a kid denied dessert.
“Did you express to her that you’ll have to abbreviate your workday to arrive in time?” No, obviously. Henry had heard every word of his side of the conversation, same as she had.
Jay shook his head. “No, Henry.”
“Because you didn’t wish to inconvenience her?”
“She’s doing all the work—the cake and everything.” His tenor earnest and naïve, Jay shrugged. “I shouldn’t make things harder for her.”
Baking a cake. So much fucking work. Alice bit her lip.
“Are the inconveniences arriving early poses for you less important than those a Saturday lunch poses for your sister?” Henry hooked Jay on the sharp point beneath gentle inquiry.
Jay didn’t want to be away from them Friday night. He just hadn’t been able to put himself first, say “no,” and disappoint his sister.
“It’s all weekend.” He toyed with his napkin. “I’ll be back Sunday afternoon.”
Way to dodge the question. “And we’re not welcome.”
“I’m sorry, Alice.” Apologizing, Jay left lightspeed in the dust. “I’ve never brought anyone home before.”
The fuck? He’d taken Henry to meet his family. They’d been together for years.
“Not, you know”—Jay fumbled toward Henry—“someone special.”
Either Jay had stopped making sense, or her misfiring brain had ceased rational thought.
“I mean, not overnight.” Jay babbled under her stare. “Not with anybody knowing. I don’t talk about”—his crumpled napkin disappeared into his fist—“it.”
It.
His love life. His preferences. His lovers.
She struggled to breathe. Before Christmas, Henry’d said Jay’s family knew them as roommates. His meaning had bounced off her then. Jay made the truth real tonight. To his family, Henry wasn’t someone special in Jay’s life. She was likely nonexistent. An it.
But would she bring Henry and Jay home to South Dakota? God no. Not because her men made her ashamed, but because she’d end up ashamed of her parents. Dad would call her a whore, and Mom would pretend everything was fine.
