Everything Nice

by Mari Carr

  Alex shook his head, but she could see him considering her words. “If he left—”

  “He won’t leave,” she whispered, secretly praying her words were true.

  “You did,” he answered, and his two softly spoken words took her breath away.

  All these years he’d thought he’d run her off, scared her away. She had thought she’d convinced him of the error of this thinking, but obviously the residual pain was still lingering.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said, walking over and wrapping her hands around his waist. “I’m so very, very sorry. Here I am yelling at you for hiding your feelings when all along I’ve done the same damn thing.”

  Alex embraced her with his strong arms and she relished the power in them. He was tall, like Charlie, but bulkier, built like a bodybuilder, and she continually marveled at the fact he could make her five-foot-six frame feel tiny.

  “Sounds like we’ve all made a few mistakes along the way,” Alex said, his chin resting on the top of her head. “Probably to be expected, considering what we’re attempting to achieve.”

  She pulled back to look up at him and offered the words she’d yet to speak to either man. It was time they all came out of hiding. “I love you, Alex. So very, very much.”

  He grinned, leaning down to brush a light kiss against her lips. “I love you too, hellion.”

  “Go talk to Charlie,” she insisted. “Tell him how you feel.”

  “If he leaves—” he started, but she covered his lips quickly with her fingers.

  “I’ll still be here.”

  * * * * *

  “So we kissed, Charlie,” Alex said as he walked into his best friend’s office, slamming the door behind him. Brooks and Travers had stepped out for a long lunch and Alex had decided Allie was right. Enough was enough. Charlie had shut him down for days and he couldn’t take the distance, the silence, any longer. He knew his best friend was struggling with what that kiss and the heated interlude that followed meant, but Alex couldn’t stand being ignored, treated like a leper.

  “If you can’t handle that, then fine. Throw a punch at me, key my car, move out, trash my office, yell…something! I don’t give a fuck what you do, but stop shutting me out. Things got a little intense the other night. I know that, but this silent treatment is just pissing me off.”

  Charlie stood and Alex wondered for a moment if his friend was going to take him up on the punch. He certainly looked angry enough to kick some serious ass.

  “Why aren’t you freaked out?” Charlie asked hotly, and Alex stumbled back a step at his question.

  “What?”

  “You were there too, Alex. You were touching and kissing me back. Why is it I seem to be the only one struggling with that fact?”

  Shit. Alex had been ready for the anger, but now that he was faced with actually confessing how he’d felt from the start, he became tongue-tied. He’d hidden his feelings for years and, despite Allie’s assurance that things would work out, Alex couldn’t kick free from the one question that haunted him. What if Charlie left? He didn’t think he could survive if Charlie left him.

  “I…I’m struggling,” he said, though the words sounded exactly like the big fucking lie they were.

  “No,” Charlie said, walking closer to him. “I don’t think you are, Alex. In fact, I think somewhere deep inside that conniving mind of yours you plotted for this to happen all along.”

  “Conniving mind?” Alex repeated angrily, Allie’s similar comment in the kitchen this morning floated through his mind. What had she called it? His sneak attack?

  The pressure of restraining his emotions for so many years broke free in a whirlwind of irrational, uncontainable rage. “Is that what I’m doing, Charlie? Plotting to put you and Allie into an uncomfortable situation? Forcing the two of you into a ménage as some sort of game? Is that what you think? Why? Why would I do that? To fuck with your minds? To get my jollies? You think it’s fun for me to have my heart ripped out at every turn just because I made the fucked-up mistake of falling in love with both of you? Go to hell, Anderson! I’m sick of this shit! I’m gettin’ outta here.” Alex turned to leave, anger and heartbreak roaring through his system.

  “Oh no you’re not!” Charlie gripped his upper arm, pulling him around roughly.

  Alex, his nerves shattered, turned with his fists clenched and ready. Before he could swing, Charlie shoved him back against the closed office door, leaned in and took his lips in a brutal kiss.

  Alex was too shocked to respond, but Charlie didn’t seem to notice. Charlie claimed his mouth with the same unbridled passion he’s seen him offer to Allie.

  Alex pulled away. “Don’t. Not if you don’t want what comes with this. I won’t be shut out again.”

  Charlie reached up and gripped his face between his hands. Their faces were so close, their breathing so hot and heavy, Alex felt consumed, burned by it.

  “I want it,” Charlie barked out. When his lips touched Alex’s this time, Alex was ready. He twisted his hands in Charlie’s shirt, pulling him closer, dragging their erections against each other through the material of their pants. Alex wanted there to be no misunderstanding about where he hoped this would lead. The fear of that misapprehension fled when Charlie lowered one hand to Alex’s ass and pulled him even closer.

  The temperature in the office shot up and Alex suddenly couldn’t stand the unbearable scratchiness of the clothing on his body. He ripped the buttons from their slots on Charlie’s dress shirt. Buttons bounced off the wall and floor, but Charlie paid no mind. He reached for the belt of Alex’s trousers, tugging it loose, ripping it free. He dropped it to the floor and immediately went for the button and zipper of his pants.

  “Take them off,” Charlie commanded as he pushed Alex’s pants and boxers down over his hips. Alex toed off his shoes, kicking the infernal material free. Their lips never stopped exploring throughout their disrobing. Alex bent down to take one of Charlie’s nipples between his teeth. The excited hiss that flew from his friend’s mouth encouraged him to move his torment to the other. Charlie’s hands were rough in his hair, directing his movements, holding him to his chest for several moments before pulling his face back to his for another kiss.

  Charlie was directing their play, but Alex didn’t give a shit. He was here in his best friend’s arms and he was living the dream he’d feared would never come true.

  “Desk,” Charlie said, grabbing Alex’s arm and directing him across the room. Alex heard Charlie loosening the fastening of his own pants. “Lean over. Put your hands flat on the surface.”

  Alex obeyed, waiting with unconcealed anticipation. He watched as Charlie rounded the desk and pulled a bag from the bottom drawer.

  “I bought this stuff last week for us to use with Allie. Forgot about it until now. I didn’t think…” His words drifted away and Alex saw him pull out a few sex toys, a new tube of lubrication and a jumbo box of condoms. He watched as his friend pulled on the latex shield then slathered it with a generous amount of the slippery gel. He thought he sensed a moment’s hesitation in Charlie’s movements, but then his friend looked at him and the uncertainty disappeared.

  “Fuck me,” Alex whispered.

  Charlie shook his head as if in disbelief then grinned. “I won’t go easy on you,” he said, the familiar lilt of teasing in his voice.

  “I didn’t expect you would.”

  Finished with words, Charlie placed the tube of lubrication against the pucker of his ass, working in some of the slippery gel with two fingers. Over and over he worked to loosen the tight opening and Alex struggled to breathe against the powerful sensations his fingers roused. Satisfied with his work, Charlie replaced his fingers with the head of his cock before pausing again. “You’ve done this before.”

  His question came out as a statement, but Alex decided to give his friend the truth.

  “Yes,” he replied.

  Charlie digested his answer for only a second—then slowly slid into him, one exhilarat
ing, glorious inch at a time until he was seated to the hilt.

  Alex grunted, fighting not to roar his triumph as Charlie retreated and returned, each thrust gaining speed, momentum. For someone new to homoerotic sex, Charlie seemed to know exactly what to do. Each stroke touched his prostate, rubbing against the oh-so-sensitive nerve endings, and Alex feared that after all his years of waiting he’d embarrass himself in an instant.

  “Fuck,” he gritted out, pushing back, silently begging for more of Charlie’s rough loving.

  “God damn, you feel good! I can’t, I won’t…” One of Charlie’s hands ventured around and gripped Alex’s erection. “I’m not coming alone,” he added, working his fist against the turgid flesh.

  “Jesus, man! You’re killing me,” Alex panted, fighting against his imminent orgasm. His balls tightened and he knew he wouldn’t make it much longer.

  “Oh God,” Charlie said, thrusting harder, faster, working Alex’s cock with the same vigor he was using to pound inside his ass. “Now!” he demanded, and Alex gave himself up to the climax, semen shooting from the end of his cock in great spurts that he watched slide down the side of Charlie’s desk.

  Above him, he could hear Charlie’s own cries of release and he felt the pulsing of his thick cock as he came inside him.

  For several moments neither of them moved. Charlie, still lodged within him, held him caged tightly against the desk as both of them gasped for breath.

  Finally Charlie stood, pulling free, and Alex instantly missed the fullness, the closeness.

  He heard Charlie pull up his pants, heard the rasping sound of the zipper. He forced himself upright, his shirt falling to cover his now-soft cock. For a second he struggled to turn around, to face Charlie after the fact. What was his friend feeling? Remorse, regret, relief?

  Turning slowly, he looked behind him, surprised to see Charlie grinning at him a bit self-consciously.

  “Okay?” Alex asked, his voice rough, tight.

  “Yeah,” he answered a bit breathlessly. “But somebody’s gonna have to clean off that desk.”

  Alex laughed and shook his head. “Sorry, buddy. I’m just the kitchen help. It’s your desk.”

  Charlie chuckled and nodded, but his grin faded quickly. “Allie,” he said softly.

  Alex was confused by his response. “What about her?”

  “She won’t understand this. I never meant to hurt her, to cheat on her.”

  Alex reared back at Charlie’s words. “Cheat on her? Jesus, Charlie, what the hell are you talking about? This wasn’t cheating.”

  Charlie turned away from him and walked toward the couch in his office, sinking down slowly, heavily, as if weighted down by the pressure of the world on his shoulders.

  “She’ll understand. Hell, if I know that woman, the only thing she’ll be pissed about is that we didn’t wait for her,” Alex said, crossing the room and sitting down beside his friend, his lover. He reached over and pulled Charlie to him, overwhelmed by the constant need to kiss his friend, touch him. He wondered if that need would ever abate.

  As their lips parted, they leaned forward, resting their foreheads together, breathing in each other’s air and basking in their newfound closeness.

  “I hope you’re right,” Charlie said.

  Alex laughed softly. “I’m always right,” he teased. “I’ve known for years how good it would be between all of us.”

  Charlie pulled back and looked at him. “Years?”

  Alex silently chastised himself. He was feeling so giddy, so relieved, that he found everything he’d been holding back for a lifetime come bubbling to the top. “I’ve always wanted you.”

  Charlie shook his head. “Shit, Alex. I keep sitting here waiting for the strangeness to creep in. Waiting for the ‘what the fuck have I done’ feeling to sink in. It’s not coming.”

  Reaching down, Alex grasped Charlie’s hand. “I hope to God it never comes.”

  Charlie leaned his head back against the couch, squeezing Alex’s hand in his as he closed his eyes. “Christ. Me too. Fact of the matter is I’m already thinking I’d really like to do that again.”

  Alex laughed at his friend’s admission but before they could say more, the bell that hung over the front door rang in the foyer and he glanced at his watch. “Crap. My one thirty meeting is early. I have to go.”

  “Yeah, you do,” Charlie said, looking up at him. His smile didn’t quite reach his blue eyes.

  “We’ll talk when we get home. We’ll talk to Allie. Everything will be fine, Charlie. I swear.”

  Charlie nodded, but Alex couldn’t kick the feeling that his friend didn’t believe a word he’d just said.

  Charlie watched Alex redress before slipping out of his office. He sat still for several moments, trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.

  He’d taken his best friend across the top of his desk. He’d had sex with another man. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined succumbing to such a thing, but now that it had happened he couldn’t find it in himself to regret it. He couldn’t believe how much he’d enjoyed it, enjoyed being inside Alex, not having to worry about hurting him, about being too rough.

  He’d always been a forceful lover. It was one of the reasons why he’d invested in the Way Down Under Club. He could find willing partners who didn’t mind the fact that he liked his sex with an edge of pain. He’d been terrified ever since taking Allie to his bed that he’d hurt her. Every time he’d entered her, he’d fought back the instinct that begged to be set free, that demanded he take her hard and fast, just as he’d done with Alex.

  He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. Jesus, in two weeks he’d run the gamut of emotions. He was so damn tired of thinking, he couldn’t focus on anything other than the desire to crawl into a bed and sleep for a month.

  Allie, the woman of dreams, had returned home and he’d pulled her into a ménage with his best friend rather than working toward the happily ever after he’d always imagined for them. Now he couldn’t even think of planning a future with her without Alex.

  And Alex. Holy hell, the man had gotten under his skin in ways Charlie had never allowed himself to consider before and now he couldn’t see a way back to the platonic friendship he’d always relied on. Worse, he didn’t want to find a way back.

  Worst of all, he couldn’t seem to find a way back to himself, to the things he’d always known and understood to be true about the world. He was a dominant, heterosexual man with a jealous streak a mile wide. He didn’t share lovers. He didn’t sleep with men. He didn’t lose control in the bedroom.

  Where the hell had that man gone? In the course of two weeks he’d shared the love of his life with his best friend and then turned around and made love with the man. Regardless of Alex’s assurances, Charlie couldn’t shake the feeling that he, that they had betrayed Allie.

  He’d screwed up royally…with both of them.

  Now what am I supposed to do?

  Chapter Eight

  “Hey, hellion. I’m home,” Alex said as Allie greeted him at the front door. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a warm, wet kiss. “Damn, I could get used to coming home like this.”

  Allie looked at him suspiciously as they parted. “You’re in an unusually good mood.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, well, I got smart today and listened to my girlfriend’s good advice.”

  “You talked to Charlie?” she asked.

  Alex nodded. “Yep.”

  She smacked him on the arm and gave him a frustrated growl. “Well, hurry up and spill then. Don’t make me pull all the details out of you. What happened?”

  “Charlie didn’t say anything?” he asked, glancing over her shoulder. “Where is he? Taking a shower or something?”

  “He’s not here. He never came home. I was starting to worry because you were both so late.”

  “He’s not here?” Alex repeated, clearly surprised by that fact.

  “No, he’s not. Should he
be?”

  “He left the office three hours ago. I had a couple of meetings this afternoon and the last one ran long.” Alex pulled out his cell as he spoke and Allie could see the concern in his face as he dialed Charlie’s number. “Shit. It’s going straight to voicemail.”

  There was an urgency, an underlying panic in Alex’s voice.

  “What happened at work today?” she asked, her heart racing with sudden fear.

  “I did what you said. I went into his office and confronted him,” Alex said, starting to pace across the living room.

  Allie watched his nervous movements and took a deep breath. “What happened?” she repeated. “What did you say?”

  “I told him to hit me.”

  Allie felt a brief spurt of laughter erupt at Alex’s words and she rolled her eyes. “Typical male suggestion. Why talk about emotions when you can fight? You’ve got a small bruise on your forehead, but I suspect that’s from the bagel. Since I don’t see any other visible wounds, I assume he didn’t take you up on your offer.”

  “No, but we did argue and then…”

  “And then?” she prodded.

  “We had sex.”

  Whatever Allie had been expecting to hear, those three words were not it. “You had sex? With each other?”

  “No, Allie, with the cleaning lady,” Alex replied hotly. “Yes with each other!”

  “Well…that’s great!” She smiled, pleased that things finally seemed to be falling into place.

  “Yeah, great,” Alex agreed.

  “That’s better than great. It’s terrific! How was it?”

  Alex laughed and shook his head at her. She was one in a million and he thanked God for her every day. “It was earth-shattering. Awesome. There aren’t words to describe it. He wanted to be there, Allie. He wanted me. I never thought…”

  Allie put her hands on her hips and feigned anger at Alex’s narrative. “I can’t believe you guys didn’t wait for me,” she joked.

  “I told Charlie you’d be pissed about that but…” Again Alex paused and Allie suddenly recalled Charlie’s MIA status.