Between Friends

by Lolita Lopez

  “And you?” Whitney took a longer look at him and then around the room. She spotted his big black duffel bag and a garment bag hanging on the bathroom. “Are you sleeping here?”

  He nodded. “Mick’s here for you during the day, and I’m here at night.”

  “Eddie, you need quality sleep, too. You can’t possibly be comfortable in that chair.”

  “It reclines.”

  “Eddie, go home and sleep.”

  “No.”

  She stared at him. His jaw was set, and he’d lifted his shoulders. She recognized that stance. There was no winning this one. “Well…just keep the snoring to a minimum, okay?”

  Eddie laughed and slid off the bed. He checked his watch. “Nurses will be in soon for your vitals and to swap out your IV bag.” He thumped the almost empty bag hanging from the nearby pole. “So Mick told me he talked to you about your injuries, but apparently all the drugs they’re giving you may make you foggy, so if you forgot anything or were confused I’m supposed to answer any questions.”

  “I remember enough.” She caught sight of the water pitcher and motioned toward it. “Can I have a little water?”

  “Sure.” Eddie fixed her a glass and held it as she sipped. “You’re still not allowed to eat, though. I guess they’ll probably put you on punishment rations for a few days and slowly work you back to real food.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Hospital JELL-O! Yummy!”

  “It’s not that bad. Or, at least, the stuff they had at the VA hospital was okay,” he clarified.

  A troubling thought occurred to her. She was taking in a lot of fluid via the IV and a little by mouth, but she couldn’t go to the restroom. Whitney gave a little wiggle and confirmed her worst fears. She lifted the sheet covering her to the waist and found the clear tube appearing from underneath her gown and running down the side of her bed to a collection box. “Oh, god! How embarrassing!”

  “Whit.”

  “No, Eddie. It’s gross!” Her face flamed. “You’re, like, watching me pee.”

  He frowned. “Hardly.”

  “I want this thing out of me.” She sounded irrational, but this was just too much.

  “Whitney.” Eddie spoke her name in that low voice that made her melt. “You need the catheter. You can’t get in and out of bed right now. When you’re able to move around some, they’ll pull it, and then Mick or I or one of the nurses will help you use the restroom.” He held up a hand when she started to protest at the degradation of sharing her bathroom trips with another person. “You’re just going to have to get over it. You’re going to need help as you recover. Better to deal with one of us helping you in the restroom than falling and injuring yourself again, right?”

  She grudgingly nodded. “It’s still gross.”

  He rolled his eyes. “It’s a natural body function.”

  “Yeah…well…whatever.” The drugs made her loopy, and her usual witty comebacks deserted her.

  Eddie slid back into his chair, signaling the discussion was over. “You want to watch TV, or do you want me to read to you?”

  “Depends on what you’re reading.”

  He held up the magazine he’d been looking at earlier. Whitney giggled at the sight of the fashion magazine she’d once worked at in his meaty hand. He grinned and opened it back up. “So, apparently, blazers are going to be big this fall.”

  Whitney grinned. “Really?”

  “Uh-huh,” Eddie confirmed as got comfortable. “Jewel tones, whatever the hell those are, will be hot, but no stripes…”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Nine Weeks Later

  Mick stepped out of his car and walked around to the front door of the house. Whitney’s car hadn’t moved from its spot in the garage in over two months, and Eddie had beat him home and taken the other space. As he slung his backpack strap over one shoulder, Mick considered the possibility of renovating the garage to make room for another space or even buying a whole new house. If the three of them were staying together permanently, the current bedroom setup was kind of a nuisance. Maybe a different layout altogether would be better.

  The delicious smells of basil and sage tickled Mick’s nose as he entered the house. Italian meant Eddie was cooking. No one made pasta like the big man.

  “Whitney! Get off that stepladder. Now!”

  Mick groaned as the two of them started in on one another in the kitchen. He tucked his backpack in the hall closet and slipped off his Crocs. Shaking his head, he wondered how much longer they’d continue to snark at one another. Ever since Whitney had come home from the hospital, she’d been pushing the boundaries and Eddie had been dragging her back inside the metaphorical fence, kicking and screaming.

  Loins girded, Mick entered the kitchen. He stopped a foot or so inside the doorway and watched the snapping and arm-waving. God, this was just ridiculous. “Enough! You two sound like a couple of toddlers squabbling in the sandbox.”

  “Tell her to stay off the stepladder.” Eddie gestured wildly with a slotted spoon. “She shouldn’t be climbing.”

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Whitney cursed in exasperation. “I’m not a china doll, okay? I won’t break.”

  Mick rolled his eyes and stepped forward to referee. They both had valid points, so he had to play this one carefully. “Whitney, Eddie is right. You could lose your balance and hit your chest or strain too far with your arms and hurt the healing muscles.”

  “But-”

  “No,” Mick cut her off. “And you”-he pointed to Eddie-“need to stop hovering like a helicopter parent. It’s been nine weeks, Eddie. She has to start returning to her normal routine.” He eyed Whitney. “Slowly and carefully.”

  The two of them pursed their lips and returned to their tasks. God, they were so much alike and so predictable. Mick tried not to laugh as he scooted between them to wash his hands at the sink.

  He leaned against the counter as he dried his hands and looked them over. Eddie had changed into his usual post-shift outfit of athletic shorts and a tee. Whitney had on a simple pink cotton dress. Both were barefoot, which annoyed him to no end considering they were in the kitchen. How many times had he asked them to put on shoes while cooking?

  Mick dropped the towel and shoved off the counter. He moved closer to Whitney. He slid his arms around her waist and nuzzled her neck. She leaned her head back against him as he whispered, “I missed you today.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Mmmhmm.” He kissed her cheek. “What did you do today?”

  “Kadie was here bright and early, so we worked for a couple of hours and had lunch. Natalie dropped by for an hour this afternoon. The rest of the time I caught up on e-mail and did some brainstorming for that new line I’m helping launch in a few months. I watched my judge shows, too.”

  Mick laughed. Since her hospital stay, Whitney had been hooked on a three-hour block of judge shows. He was glad to hear she’d done some more work with Natalie, a private trainer who specialized in helping clients regain strength after major surgeries or trauma. She’d worked with a buddy of Eddie’s who took a bullet to the shoulder during a routine traffic stop, and so far Whitney seemed to enjoy her.

  “Did Natalie work you hard?” Mick stepped away and headed to the refrigerator for something cold to drink.

  “Nah.” Whitney dug around in a drawer in search of a utensil. “We did twenty minutes of walking on the treadmill, some arm work with those tiny five-pound barbells, and then some stretching and yoga-type stuff.”

  “You feel okay during the workout? No dizziness or pain? Did you make sure to stay well hydrated?”

  Eddie snorted and elbowed him. “I thought we weren’t supposed to helicopter parent?”

  Mick smiled sheepishly. “Oh…yeah.” He glanced at Whitney. “Sorry.”

  She laughed. “It’s okay, and yes to the staying hydrated and feeling okay. No to the pain or dizziness. Natalie takes very good care of me.” She motioned to the cabinet. “Grab some plates and silverware. I’ll c
arry this to the dining room.” She playfully narrowed her eyes at Eddie as she lifted the salad. “Unless the sergeant thinks it’s too heavy?”

  “Watch it, sugar.” Eddie slapped the spoon against his open palm. “There’s nothing wrong with your ass.”

  Her eyes widened, and Mick chortled. Eddie had a point. They had to be careful with her belly and chest, but there was nothing to prevent Eddie from bending her over a table or chair and paddling that perky ass.

  Ever the saucy minx, Whitney just shrugged and tossed her hair over one shoulder. “That goes both ways, Eddie.”

  Mick guffawed as Whitney sashayed out of the kitchen. The very thought of Whitney spanking Eddie made him laugh so hard he thought he might pass out. The look on Eddie’s face didn’t help matters. It was a mix of shock and arousal.

  “Down, boy,” Mick urged with a pat on Eddie’s arm. “We agreed no sexy times until she’s completely healed.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Eddie shifted as if uncomfortable and pulled on a pair of potholders before grabbing the pasta dish from the stove. “And it’s killing me.”

  Mick grunted in agreement. He wasn’t faring much better. He’d had four wet dreams in the last week. That was more than he’d had in the last two years combined. Not getting any from Eddie or Whitney was wreaking havoc. His libido hadn’t dropped just because the two of them were temporarily unavailable. He’d even had to give himself a hand in the shower a couple of mornings a week just to get his raging morning woods to go the hell away.

  Something had to give.

  Mick grabbed the dishes and silverware and made his way to the dining room. He set the table and returned to the kitchen for Whitney’s lemonade and his iced tea. He placed Whitney’s drink in front of her and took his seat.

  Dinner had turned into one of his favorite times of the day. The three of them sat around the table and talked and laughed. It was so nice to come home and unwind after work. The counselor Whitney and Eddie had been seeing had suggested setting aside three or four nights a week dedicated to food, conversation, and even board games to help the threesome reconnect. With their busy schedules, it was so easy for something as simple as a shared dinner to be forgotten.

  “You see the counselor tomorrow, right?” Mick speared a couple of penne with his fork. “Do I need to pick you up, Whitney?”

  She shook her head. “We switched our appointment time. Eddie and I are heading in right after breakfast so he only misses an hour of work or so.”

  “A buddy of mine is going to cover my shift until I get in to the station,” Eddie explained. “Plus I’d rather just get it over with than wait all day for the appointment.”

  Whitney rolled her eyes. “Graham is not that bad, Eddie.”

  “He’s nosy.”

  “He’s a therapist.”

  “Yeah, well, he doesn’t need to know about all the women I’ve dated since high school or the first time Mick and I got together.”

  “I think he’s trying to make sure our romantic dynamic is, like, healthy or whatever,” Whitney replied. “I mean, yes, we went there to deal with any post-traumatic stress we might have been feeling after I was shot and you had to see me bleeding to death on the floor, but I don’t see a problem with addressing our relationship.” She gestured between the three of them. “Mick thought so, too, or he wouldn’t have come to that session a couple of weeks ago.”

  Mick swallowed his mouthful of pasta. “I really don’t think he’s trying to be nosy, Eddie. Whitney summed up my feelings nicely. If anything, you should be glad a therapist thinks our relationship works and is positive for all of us.”

  “I just don’t like people prying into my business.” He stabbed a chunk of romaine. “Thank god this is one of our last sessions.”

  Whitney deftly changed the subject to something Eddie liked to talk about-mixed martial arts. Apparently there was a big fight coming up next week, so she’d pre-ordered it on pay-per-view. Eddie looked like a little kid on Christmas morning as he received the news. Mick’s thoughts circled back to the last time Eddie had tried to watch a fight. That night had ended a hell of a lot different than they’d expected.

  Mick’s cock twitched at the memory. He quickly recalled less-lusty thoughts. Surgery, piles of hospital paperwork, that weird mole on that ICU nurse, Harvey’s, neck…

  “Mick?” Whitney’s eyebrows were lifted as if expecting a reply. “What do you think about me driving again this weekend?”

  “Uh.” He shot a quick glance at Eddie, who was mouthing the word no, and then back to Whitney, who looked so eager. Best to go with accepted medical practice on this one. “I don’t see a problem with it. If your chest and arms feel stronger than they did when you tried to drive a couple of weeks ago, you should be fine. We tell people six to eight weeks or whenever they feel comfortable.”

  Mick smartly avoided Eddie’s gaze, but he could feel the heated glare burning into his cheek. Well, tough, Mick thought. Whitney needed to get fully back into her routine, and that included driving. If her shoulder and chest felt better, there was no reason to hide the keys.

  Whitney twittered on as they finished dinner. When she started to gather up the dishes, Mick shook his head and sent her away to the living room to put her feet up and rest. “You cooked dinner, so we’ll do the dishes.”

  “We?” Eddie frowned. “I cooked, too.”

  “Then come join me on the couch,” Whitney invited. I’m going to watch Project Runway.”

  “You know,” Eddie said, “I, uh, I think I’ll help Mick clean up.”

  She laughed and left the dining room saying, “Whatever.”

  Mick helped Eddie clear the table. They split up in the kitchen to conquer the mess faster. Eddie packed away leftovers while Mick rinsed dishes and stuck them in the dishwasher.

  “I think you should have backed me up on the driving thing,” Eddie said finally, his annoyance still fresh.

  “And I think you need to back off Whitney and let her move forward in her recovery at her own pace.” Mick tucked the last few pieces of silverware into the dishwasher basket. “She’s doing remarkably well, Eddie. She has a good head on her shoulders. She’s not the type to go all gung ho and push forward when she should be pulling back.”

  “It’s not Whitney I’m worried about, Mick. It’s the assholes in the other vehicles. Have you seen how some of these people around here drive? One fender bender and she could injure her chest again.”

  Mick sighed as he dug around in the cabinet under the sink for a dishwashing tab. “And what are the odds of that, Eddie? I mean, seriously,” he said as he rose and ripped open the plastic package.

  “Probably a hell of a lot higher than her getting shot in a bank,” Eddie shot back angrily.

  “Well, you’ve got me there,” Mick conceded. He put the tab in its little cubby and closed the lid before shutting the dishwasher’s door. “But we can’t treat her like a child, Eddie.” He turned on the dishwasher. “The world is full of risk. You, better than anyone, should know that. And she has to go back out there and live.”

  “I want her to live, Mick. I want her to go back to work and go out with friends and make love to us and all that wonderful stuff.” Eddie’s hands clenched and released at his sides. “But I…I find it very difficult not to worry.”

  Mick crossed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around Eddie’s waist. Eddie dipped his head until their noses were touching. “It’s normal, you know? To worry about the people we love. But”-Mick sighed-“we have to temper that worry with trust. I trust Whitney to make good decisions just as I trust you to make good decisions when you’re at work and facing off against the scum of this city.”

  Eddie cupped Mick’s cheek and rubbed his thumb back and forth over the skin. Mick knew they were playing with fire, but he couldn’t stop himself. He let Eddie tilt his face up and welcomed the other man’s lips against his. Eddie’s tongue traced Mick’s lips before stabbing between. Mick groaned with hunger and slid his hand
up to clasp the back of Eddie’s neck.

  Their tongues tangled. Mick pressed hard against Eddie’s muscled body. There was nothing soft about the man and especially not his rock-hard dick jutting into Mick’s belly. God, it had been so fucking long since Mick had been this close to Eddie. He craved the closeness and heat of the other man’s body.

  They’d been separated at night the entire time Whitney was in the hospital. Once she’d come home, they’d taken turns sleeping on her floor in case she needed help during the night. Only recently had the three of them started sharing a bed again, but Whitney was always between them, and both men still worried about knocking into her and hurting her during the night.

  Mick’s hand reached between their bodies. He grasped Eddie’s cock through the fabric of his shorts and stroked the length. Eddie shuddered and playfully nipped Mick’s lower lip. Mick’s hand moved a little farther south to fondle Eddie’s balls.

  “Fuck.” Eddie pulled away with a groan and rubbed his cheek against Mick’s. “Feels so good.”

  Mick wanted to make him feel even better. He let his second hand slide down to join the other and worked Eddie’s shaft and sac at the same time.

  “Whitney,” Eddie said suddenly.

  Mick felt a tinge of guilt. “I know we promised not to until-”

  “No,” Eddie interrupted. “Whitney.”

  Mick realized Eddie’s arm was moving and followed his pointing finger to the doorway where Whitney stood. She leaned against the jamb and watched them, her eyes glazed and smoky. The palest blush colored her cheeks. She licked her upper lip. “Please don’t stop.”

  Mick didn’t need to hear anything more. Whitney’s permission seemed to do the trick for Eddie, too. He relaxed in Mick’s arms and bent down for another kiss, this one deeper and more passionate. Mick shivered as Eddie devoured his mouth. There weren’t many people who could hold a candle to Eddie’s kissing. When it came to the art of swapping spit, the man had mastered it.

  Burning up with desire, Mick dropped to his knees and pushed up the hem of Eddie’s tee. He nibbled and kissed the swath of skin below Eddie’s navel and licked down his happy trail while his hands tugged at the waistband of Eddie’s shorts and boxer briefs. That thick cock he loved so much sprung free and begged for some hot and heavy oral attention.