by J Cartwright
The hurt in his eyes told me I was wrong, but surely I had to be right?
Taylor wasn’t the kind of guy who ever wanted anything serious in life. He loved the fun, he loved the chance to just unwind, and that meant nothing long term ever happened for him.
“Why are you so certain that I don’t want anything serious?” He demanded. “You keep on acting like you know me so well, but you get things wrong.”
Shrugging, I shook my head. “Your track history is pretty spotty.”
He laughed, the sound strained and full of loathing.
“Yeah, because I’ve never found anyone I really connect with.”
That tugged at my heart strings.
“You think you have that with me?”
Nodding slowly, he reached out and took my hands in his. “I think so, but I don’t really understand it.”
Right then, Taylor looked conflicted. I’d never seen him like that before. He was always so sure of himself, overly confident, but he was clearly having some kind of crisis.
It struck me how surreal this must have been for him. It wasn’t just me who was treading water, we both were.
“Me either,” I admitted. “Look, I want this, whatever this is, but I don’t want things to get screwed up between us. Then there’s Emma…”
“Then there’s Emma…” he repeated.
She was the thing that held this together, the spark that had ignited the inferno that now raged between myself and my best friend. We were both drawn to her in ways that neither of us could understand, and the strength of that attraction had made us realize something else.
“I think we really need to take a breather and think about this,” I said, even though it ate me up inside. “I’m not saying that you don’t want this, but it’s all a bit sudden isn’t it?”
“I guess so,” he admitted. “But I know what I’m feeling.”
“Good, then that’s not going to change any time soon, but let’s just give it a day or two.”
His smile faltered for just a moment, but then it was back, his usual confidence returning with it. I knew it was just an act, that beneath it all he wanted to argue and say more, but Taylor held his tongue.
“How long until the pizza gets here?”
Glancing at my watch, I tried to push away the thought of what had just happened between us. I’d just made out with my best friend, and it had been hot as hell.
The feeling of his strong arms around me, his hard body against mine, it drove me wild. There was no way I’d be able to stop thinking about him, not now, not ever!
“About ten minutes I think.”
The silence came racing in, but it only lasted for about a minute.
Turning to face me, Taylor smiled, his grin spreading wide. “Now imagine if Emma had have been here tonight,” he purred. “Think she’d have joined in as well?”
Laughing, I shoved him playfully. “I think she’s far more sensible than either of us.”
“I don’t know about that. I thought you were pretty sensible until just a few minutes ago.”
“You kissed me!”
His arm snaked across my shoulders, the warmth of his body against me again.
“Yeah, and you kissed me back.”
Laughing beside him made me realize that it would take more than a kiss to get between us.
“After all the bragging you do about how good a kisser you are, I decided I needed to find out for myself.”
“And?” He asked, waiting expectantly for me to give him an answer.
Turning to face him, I took my time in giving him a response.
“You’re not bad,” I lied.
“Not bad? I’m the best!”
He was right, but I wasn’t about to go inflating his ego. Taylor already had enough of that to go around.
“Play your cards right and maybe we can try again,” I added with a wink.
He laughed, shaking his head slowly.
“Chris, I love you man, but you’re a pain in the ass sometimes.”
Before I could reply, the buzzer to my flat rang out, interrupting us. I was up a heartbeat later, and before long we were sat eating pizza, the pair of us acting as if nothing had happened between us.
There was no escaping it in my head as we sat together, but for the rest of the evening it was done. We needed some time, some space to really think things through, and only then would we be able to figure out what was real and what wasn’t.
The creeping feeling in my stomach made me ache, the need for more just out of reach.
Taylor would figure out he wasn’t actually interested, and this would be a lasting joke we laughed about. I hated that, but there wasn’t much I could do about it.
Chapter 15
Emma
Things felt weird at work, like something was off between the guys. At first I’d thought they were being weird with me, but as the day went on I could tell something was up with them.
They were both distant, their usual light hearted jokes lost, both of them keeping quiet most of the time.
When I’d first shown up at the office I’d been nervous, thinking about how things were between the three of us the other night. My day off had been full of thoughts about it, my mind going places I wished it wouldn’t.
The way that Taylor had talked about them both taking me out on a date, the probing way he suggested things, it made me ache. I knew he was only playing around, but I got the feeling there was more to it.
I’d spent most of my day off with Karla who had laughed along with me. We’d talked about it in depth, and both gushed over how good it would be to have two guys like them at the same time, but then we kept on coming back to what I nightmare it would be in reality.
The fantasy was incredible, taking me places I could only dream of, but there was no way it could actually happen…
Could it?
The question repeated over and over. If Taylor was serious, if they both actually wanted something to happen, what would I do? Again, the fantasy made me ache, made me want it, but the sensible side of me screamed that it was a bad idea.
For starters, I worked for them, and that was just a no go area. I loved my job and I loved what we had going here, so risking that seemed like a very stupid idea.
The second thing was how weird it would be. In the moment I knew it would be incredible, but what happened after, threatened to be a whole big mess.
Fortunately, the chance of anything happening seemed to be well and truly over. Taylor was off with me right from the first moment I walked in the door, and things definitely weren’t good between them.
The guys barely even looked at each other, and I desperately wanted to know why.
Was it because of me? Had they actually talked about it?
If they had, then clearly the conversation didn’t go too well.
“So no more blind dates?” Taylor asked shortly before it was time to pack up and go home.
I glanced at him from my laptop, surprised to hear his voice.
He was perched in the doorway to the office, smiling warmly across at me. His eyes burned into mine, his gorgeous face making me tremble when I looked at him.
Taylor had the kind of smile that could win anyones heart, and right then he had mine in the palm of his hands. He could literally tell me to do anything, and I would, and I hated myself for it.
“Nope, never again,” I sighed. “Seriously, the other night was the last time I go on a stupid date like that. I swore off guys before, and now I mean it.”
Taylor pouted, pretending to look hurt.
“I’m sure I can win you back?”
“Nope, not even the mighty Taylor Maxwell can win me back over to the dark side,” I laughed, smiling back at him.
“Worth a shot,” he sighed.
Taylor walked over and pulled up a chair beside me, kicking his feet up onto the desk like he always did.
Slapping them down, I decided to try and find out what was up between them.
“Come on then, what did you do to piss Chris off?”
He turned to look at me and frowned, chuckling lightly under his breath.
“What makes you think it’s something I did?”
“Because it’s always something you did.”
He frowned and then laughed loudly, the noise filling the room. Hearing him laugh like that made me warm, my heart beating just a little faster.
It really was crazy the things the guys made me feel. Whenever I’d been with Brad in the past, I’d never felt anywhere near as good with him as I did with Taylor and Chris. They made me feel safe, like I was the most incredible person in the world.
“There’s nothing wrong with us,” Taylor said, sounding far more serious than usual. “Just got a few things going on is all.”
I stared at him, waiting for him to tell me the truth, when Chris walked into the office.
His eyes swept over us both, lingering for the longest time on Taylor before he finally spoke.
“Didn’t expect to find you here,” he said, looking at Taylor.
“Well, I do work here,” Taylor said, his tone neutral as he looked at Chris.
They just stared at each other, acting like complete strangers. I’d seen them fall out before, but it never lasted long and never seemed quite as serious as this.
“Right you two, out with it,” I snapped, getting tired of their behavior.
“What?” Chris asked, turning his attention on me.
“You know what. You boys have been acting like children all day, so out with it now. Whatever is going on, fix it or you’ll have me to deal with.”
They both stared at me and then began to roar with laughter.
“Deal with you?” Chris barked, wiping tears from his eyes after a few long moments.
“Emma, you’re cute when you’re angry, but this is a whole new level!” Taylor added.
Taking a breath, they looked at each other and then began to laugh again, leaving me squirming where I sat.
“Hey! Cut it out!”
At least they’re not glaring at each other!
“Sorry,” Chris choked. “It was just the way you said it.”
I was about to point out how angry I could get when my phone buzzed. Grabbing for it, I saw that it was Brad again and disconnected it straight away.
“Stalker?” Taylor asked, finally calming down.
Sighing, I decided to fill them in. “It’s Brad. He keeps calling and I have a feeling he wants to get back together with me.”
They both exchanged a subtle look, and even though it might have been my imagination, I was almost certain that Chris nodded ever so slightly at Taylor.
“Why don’t we go grab a drink when we are all finished up here and you can tell us about it?” Taylor asked.
“Sure,” I said, smiling like the idiot I was.
It would certainly feel good to spend some time with them again, especially if they were going to start acting normally. As always, I knew it was a bad idea to spend time with them outside of work, but with how I was feeling, I wanted to latch on to any small time we had together.
Chapter 16
Emma
About an hour later we sat down together and ordered some food, the guys listening as I filled them in on the amount of times Brad had tried calling.
Their eyes were on me, all of their attention for me and no-one else, and that only made what I was feeling even harder to ignore. I craved these moments, those times when the three of us were together, and the need for it was only growing stronger.
As much as I tried to tell myself that it was just a fantasy, it was becoming more and more obvious how much I actually wanted them.
“So, do you think you’d take him back?” Chris asked.
I looked at him, noticing how he frowned as he asked the question. It wasn’t just disapproval, but something else.
Is he jealous?
“It would be easy I guess. We don’t have the fire, but we get along well.”
That only made him frown more, and Taylor did the same.
“You deserve more than that though,” Taylor chimed in. “Emma, you need that fire. Seriously, I’ve seen how full of life you are, and you deserve that in a relationship.”
He was right, but I couldn’t help but think Brad was the easy path. What I really wanted was them, the forbidden fruit, but it wasn’t likely to ever happen.
“Maybe,” I sighed, taking another drink.
“There’s no maybe about it,” Chris said. “Emma, Taylor’s right for the first time ever. You do deserve something you’re really passionate about. I don’t want to overstep the mark or anything, but since you broke up with Brad you’ve been a different person.”
Looking up at him I felt myself question everything.
“Really?”
They both nodded and I realized that I had been. When I was with Brad I didn’t take risks or do anything exciting. Even though I wasn’t going to go jumping into their arms, I would never have gone out for drinks with the guys before the breakup.
This was all new, and I was enjoying it. I wanted to explore, to have a good time, and suddenly that need to just take life and live it, was overwhelming me.
“I hope in a good way,” I giggled.
“In the best way,” Taylor said.
He reached out and brushed my arm, the warmth of his fingers sending fire trailing out across my skin. He was just being friendly, but it made me gasp, the sheer excitement just a little too much to handle.
His eyes met mine and I felt myself drowning, drawn in deeper than ever.
I wanted to tell them what I was feeling, the real reason why I could never go back to Brad.
“So you guys made up now?” I asked, quickly changing the subject.
“Yeah, I think we are both on the same page again,” Taylor said, turning to look at Chris.
Their eyes met and that same smoldering look Taylor often shot me passed between them. The way they looked at each other was different, and that’s when it hit me. They were together!
I wasn’t sure if I was jealous or turned on. Just thinking about them together was enough to get me off, but it struck me just how much I wanted to be apart of whatever it was they had. All the teasing, all the talk about them both taking me out, suddenly it felt very real.
“What was it?” I asked, feeling a little breathless. “The reason you were both acting so weird?”
They both looked at me, and then back at each other.
“Oh come on! I feel like I’m always the one spilling the details lately.”
Taylor laughed and leaned in a little closer, his mouth just inches from my ear.
“It was you,” he purred.
His words repeated in my head, their meaning hammering home. Surely he meant me as in a work related issue, but the way he’d said it got me more excited than I thought possible.
“Me?” I choked.
Taylor grinned, a wicked glint in his eyes, but Chris just sat there. He folded his huge arms across his chest and frowned at his friend, and then looked at me.
“Wow, you really couldn’t help yourself could you?” He growled, looking at Taylor.
“Come on! We all know we want it,” Taylor argued. “Let’s just be honest about it for once.”
Want it? Do they know that I want them? What the hell is going on?
“What are you on about?” I asked, trying to keep my voice level.
Taylor turned his eyes on me and reached out to take my hands in his. His fingers engulfed my hands, the warmth of his skin making me tingle all over.
“Emma, we are both crazy about you,” he said. “Both of us. We’ve been crazy about you since we met you, but now it feels like something else entirely.”
His words took my breath away. He wasn’t playing anymore, not like he normally did. Right then, Taylor Maxwell was deadly serious, and I could tell by the way that Chris was looking at us that he felt the same.
“When did this happen?” I choked, tr
ying to keep calm.
“It just happened,” Chris said. “Like Taylor said, we’ve both been pretty crazy about you since we first met.”
I let it sink in, but I had so many questions.
“Are you guys together?” I stammered, needing to know.
They looked at each other, both of them looking as confused as I felt.
“I guess so,” Chris answered.
“You guess so?” I asked, blown away by how uncertain he sounded. “What does that mean?”
“It’s complicated,” Taylor said.
Understatement of the year!
“Yeah? And telling me all of this is meant to make it less complicated?”
I had no idea why I was getting mad, but I had a feeling it was because I was getting so flustered. This was taking me by surprise and I had no idea how to act.
“No, I, well, I didn’t really think it through…”
Taylor frowned, clearly expecting a different reaction.
In all honesty, I’d have thought I’d act differently as well. If someone had have told me last night that the guys would be confessing how much they wanted to be with me, I’d have been all over it, but for some reason I was well and truly freaking out.
“You never do, and that’s your problem Taylor,” I snapped. “Look, thanks for the drink, but I’m gonna head home.”
I stood up to go, Chris and Taylor rising with me.
“Emma wait,” Chris began, but I cut him off with a gesture.
“No! Good night.”
Chapter 17
Taylor
As we walked back into Chris’ place I knew he was going to tear into me. I could feel his eyes on my back, the heat of his anger burning me as I waited for the torrent.
Confessing had been pretty stupid, but I’d been sure that Emma wanted this as much as we did. This whole situation was an absolute disaster, a mess that I just wasn’t used to.
Normally I could win anyone over with just a smile, but first Chris had pushed me back, insisting that we stop and take a breather, and now Emma had shot me down. It was a weird situation, and one I never expected to find myself in, but I wanted this.
