by Leigh Lennon
I had a dozen Coronas in the fridge when Levi and I started watching the Cubs. “Doc, how pissed do you think Scar would be if we asked her to stop to get us beer?”
“We drank all that beer, LT, already?” I called back to the little kitchen sitting behind the large living space. My home certainly gave us more room than Levi’s little condo.
“Yeah, but shit—we never texted her to let her know we’re here for the night, did we?”
“Um, we’re here for the night?” I questioned.
“Yeah, I have a change of clothes I left last time and a toothbrush.” The bastard. Of course, he did. From behind, he handed me a glass of what I thought was Coke until I took one swig and tasted more rum than soda.
“Shit, LT, some warning you laced it with poison would have been nice,” I retorted, and this man only laughed. Leaning forward, I grabbed my phone. I hadn’t checked it since my mind had been on getting my raging hard-on under control. Six texts from Red and three missed phone calls. Levi played his message for both of us to hear.
“You both better be dead. I’m worried about you assholes.”
“You should call her back, Doc. She’s worried about us.” His tone was playful.
His little command made me chuckle. “Yeah, nice try. You can call her back.”
He placed his phone down. “Oh, I’m not touching it with a ten-foot pole, you asshole.” A small smirk escaped his mouth, and he grabbed my cell from the coffee table, tossing it at me.
“There’s no way you can make me. I dare you.” I didn’t see it coming, but Levi’s hands grabbed my sides and started tickling me.
“Yeah, Doc. Say Uncle, and I’ll relent.” I was laughing so hard because I was ticklish as fuck.
But as strong as he was, I could match him. My hand found his side, and I started tickling him. Through laughter, I squeaked out, “You’re just as ticklish.”
Levi’s hands forced down my shoulders, and he was over me, trying to pin my body and continue the torture at the same time.
“I think I have the advantage, Doc.” And I was beat.
“Fine, I’ll call our girl back. Just stop punishing me.”
His body became almost flush with mine. “Oh, Doc, I haven’t even begun.”
Speechless, that was what I was with his face so close to mine—he could smell the rum on my breath.
“Doc, your jolly roger has come out to play again.” But it was not a tease, it was a whisper and a fact. “Doc, I know you want this. Why can’t you admit it?”
I remained speechless, his lips so close to mine, his one hand on my thigh, one of the ways he still had me locked in. But I didn’t move. I wasn’t sure I wanted to.
“Doc?” He licked his own lips, and because he was so close, he licked mine, too. “You want this. I want this. Scar wants this. Why fight it?”
The ability to make words was gone. “If you don’t stop me, I’m going to kiss you, you stubborn asshole.” And I didn’t. I couldn’t. His lips touched mine just as I heard the front door open.
Red couldn’t be through the door when she yelled, “You assholes better fucking be dead, or I’ll kill you myself for worrying me.”
Without thinking, I flipped Levi off me, and he landed on his face on the floor between the couch and the coffee table. “Fucker.” I heard him say.
Red rounded the corner from the entryway to the living room as Levi peeled himself from the floor. “What the fuck? What were you doing on the floor?” she asked Levi.
He smiled at her, straightening his jeans, then he turned his head to look at me. “This conversation is not over, you fucker.”
I stood to try to smooth things over with Red. On my way to her, I whispered, “Yeah, you asswipe, it’s over and won’t ever be fucking discussed again.”
25
Scarlet
It was as clear as the stars in the sky, I had walked in on something. I didn’t question Jordan because his feathers would become more ruffled and his attitude would be just as bad as a peacock. The one memory of the only foster family who cared for me, the twenty-second family, was them taking me to the zoo. It was a wonderful day I remembered vividly, but that day, I’d realized that what I thought was one of the most beautiful creatures on this planet, the peacock, could be the ugliest as it charged me. My foster dad picked me up and placed me in his arms just in time, but hell, the pretty bird could change from that of beauty to ugliness in a matter of seconds.
I could see Jordan’s feathers getting riled up when he and Levi had words I wasn’t privy to. With groceries in my hands and feeling my own anger from being ignored all day, I let it slide. I acted as if all was right with the world when I said, “Hey, LT, I got a phone call from Dane Gregory after lunch. He wants to have us over for dinner the Saturday after next. Apparently, you all discussed this.”
If Jordan was not already up in arms over something, this agitated him more. But I ignored him. I was still rightfully pissed at all the missed phone calls from the afternoon. “You don’t work on that Saturday, Doc, I checked. I made plans for the three of us for dinner. I guess his wife, Cami, is excited to see you.” I could sense the run-in with Dane and Levi affected Jordan more than he cared to admit, but it didn’t bother me. Maybe purely due to the fact I was not fighting my feelings like Jordan was clearly doing with Levi.
“Um, you two go by yourselves. This is a couple sort of thing. I won’t be the third wheel.” Levi opened his mouth to speak, but I waved him off.
I was just as surprised as Levi when the words I uttered were in tune with my own attitude. “You wouldn’t be a third wheel if you’d get out of your own fucking mind.” Both men stopped, blindsided by my tone and words. “And I made plans, and because I’m fucking pissed off at both of you for ignoring me, and since I know you aren’t working, Jordan Peters, we’re all fucking going out and socializing with this couple. And you don’t have to like it, but you will have to fucking do it if you ever want to get lucky with me again.” I exited the living room without another word, my hands still full of groceries.
Part of me wanted to drop the food and leave them to dissect whatever I walked in on. And sure, it needed to be done. But I quickly searched for a large pot and began chopping up veggies. I was left to my own thoughts for about five minutes until the hands that wrapped around me were all I needed to relax. I didn’t have to see who it was because each man’s touch was so different. After a month with both of them together, I knew it was Levi behind me.
“Sorry, Scar. I wasn’t trying to ignore you. It’s just …”
I turned my head to him, dropping the knife on the cutting board. “I walked in on something.”
“Yeah.” He didn’t elaborate, and I didn’t ask what it was. He would tell me when he was ready. “However, gotta tell you, you’re sexy as sin when you are bossy. It took every ounce of restraint not to attack you then.”
Twisting my body to his, I cupped his cheek. “Oh, yeah? Tell me more.” I moved my lips to his as we crashed against each other. Our kiss was hurried but gentle at the same time. When our tongues met, I let him take charge. Running his hands up the front part of my body, he worked his hand into my shirt, breaching the bra to twist my nipples. I yelped into his mouth and his other hand found my ass, squeezing it tight. I pulled back gently when a smile appeared on his face.
“Am I forgiven?” he asked.
“Yeah, the foreplay was apology enough.” He kissed my cheek one last time, and I turned around to continue with dinner.
“How about Jordan? What will he have to do to get out of the doghouse with you?”
With the onions, celery, and mushrooms chopped, I began dicing the chicken, placing it straight into the boiling broth. “Well, I love vintage purses, if you couldn’t tell,” I teased. It was the truth, though.
He chuckled. “Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with the same purse more than once,” Levi added, placing a kiss on my forehead. It was sweet but intimate in nature, and my heart swelled at
the love I had for this man. “You want me to tell the good doctor, he should buy you a purse to get out of the doghouse?”
“Yeah, I don’t marry a purse. I only date them.” This had Levi erupting in laughter. “No, seriously, if you want to help the good doctor out, just tell him to stop being so fucking broody and moody.” I gave him a peck on the cheek. “Give me a sec, and we’ll go find him. Let me finish up with the raw chicken first, and I’ll wash my hands.”
“Yeah, I can imagine the germaphobe is not down with catching salmonella today.” With his little joke, we were back on the same page. Tossing the chicken in the boiling broth, I turned to wash my hands. With Levi in front of me, my clean hands found their way to my hips, standing firm, and I was still attempting to figure out what transpired between my two men. “So you gonna tell me what happened?” I tried to stand casual, grabbing the spices I needed to make a chicken noodle soup that would taste like it had cooked all day long. With the fresh basil and parsley in my hands, I grabbed a new cutting board, waiting for his explanation. From the corner of my eye, he looked behind him, and Jordan was nowhere to be seen. Hearing the footsteps above us, Jordan had sulked to his bedroom upstairs.
Levi took a deep breath, standing in front of the refrigerator to grab a bottle of wine. We had made ourselves so comfortable in Jordan’s space. It came naturally, but I wished Jordan allowed himself to be just as comfortable with Levi. Pouring red wine in both our glasses, he began, “He’d just given me permission to kiss him, and a second later, you walked in. He clammed up, disappearing to his room after telling me it wouldn’t happen again.”
My back had been turned to him. I twisted around so quickly with an apology on the tip of my tongue. “You know what?” He interrupted me before I got the sorry to form on my lips. “It’s not your fault, Scar, not at all.” He kissed me on the head, bringing me close to him.
“What the fuck happened? He was like a little kid throwing a fit at lunch, then on top of it, he continued with the dinner plans I’d made.” I stopped to give him a chance to answer, and when he didn’t, I continued, “If anyone should be jealous, it’s me. I mean, we’re going to have dinner with a woman you slept with.”
He grabbed a large stalk of celery and turned around with a jar of peanut butter in his hand. Dipping the celery straight in the jar, I laughed. “You’d really get the good doctor going if he saw you double dip,” I teased.
“Yeah, it’s not like he hasn’t already thrown a big enough fit.” Levi paused, only to finish up with, “That fucker is so damn stubborn. But to answer what you said before, you’re not jealous of Cami because you’re mine. He’s only jealous of Dane because Jordan’s fighting his attraction for me. It’s easier to treat Dane as the bad guy because he has had me and Jordan hasn’t.”
Still biting from the celery and dipping it into the peanut butter, he was only smiling. It was like he wanted Jordan to catch him doing something that would inevitably cause him more grief. Grabbing the dipped celery from him, I took a bite of it, nodding my head in agreement.
“Yeah, it makes sense. But I’m sorry you weren’t able to experience the kiss of Jordan Peters. He’s a good kisser, by the way,” I teased.
“Yeah, rub it in.” He leaned over, placing a soft kiss on my cheek. “I’m actually going to give the good doctor some space. We’re out of beer. I’ll walk to the store and replace his twelve pack. Need anything, Scar?” he asked behind him, grabbing his keys and wallet from the dining room table.
“Bread. Grab some bread to go with our soup,” I added, watching him close the door behind him. With the soup on simmer, I went in search of my other guy who, without a shadow of a doubt, was letting his mind get the best of him. Rounding the corner of the stairs to the master bedroom, I was right. At the end of the bed, Jordan sat with his head in his hands, and he’d never looked so scared in his life.
He didn’t react to my heels clinking on his hardwood floors. With my touch, he leaned into me, my arms circling his strong shoulders.
“Want to talk about it?” I whispered in his ear.
“I’m sure Levi told you.” His face still was turned down. I couldn’t read it, not one bit, especially since I couldn’t see it. “But no, I really don’t want to talk about it, Red.” His fingers were in my hair, and in a second, he turned to me, his lips devouring mine.
I pulled back. “Jordan, it’s okay, you know. No one will judge you for your unresolved feelings for Levi. He’s easy to fall for. Believe me, I know.”
I saw a little sparkle behind his eyes at the mention of Levi’s name. “I love you, Red. Fuck, you know me better than myself,” he admitted.
His hand roamed to my zipper, undoing the button. He pulled me to him, having better access to me. Once out of my slacks, he tossed me onto his bed, crawling up to hover over me. “This isn’t about him, right now, Red. It’s about you and me, and I need to sink myself so deep inside you. I fucking love you so much.”
I stopped him. “It will always be about him. The three of us—we’re embedded in each other’s souls. Make love to me now, claim me because you never have to worry. I love you both so much, and I have as much room in my heart for him as I do you.”
A smile on his face lit his beauty like a fucking Christmas tree. “Shit, Red. Were you reading my mind?”
I kissed him gently, sweetly. “No, I just know you, Doc. Now fuck me and make it hard.”
He entered me with such force, my body hummed with the friction of him moving in and out. With my mind lost on him, I heard something, someone behind him. “Fuck, I could come home to this every day and be a happy man.”
I was about to invite him into the mix when Jordan’s deep and almost brooding voice answered him. “What are you waiting on? A formal invitation?”
It was all Levi needed—to come rushing at us. After all, he was a part of the both of us, even if Jordan wasn’t ready to admit it.
From that night on, the sexual tension between the two men had been emotionally intense. It was odd, they were closer after the little fight they had. Sure, they hadn't talked about it because they were men and weren't as wordy as I was. But it seemed to work for those two.
When I got home from work the next day, they were at the door. I thought they were ready to pounce on me. I was wrong. With smiles plastered on their face, I saw theater tickets in their hands. I wasn't sure how the sneaky bastards knew I loved the musical Chicago.
"Red, you're too hot to keep home night after night," Jordan started.
"Yeah, we've gotta flaunt you so every motherfucker knows you're ours." Levi leaned in to kiss me.
"Want me to wear a sign?" I bantered back.
Jordan, the more jealous of the two answered right away. "Yeah, actually I think we would like that, very much."
After dinner and the theater, snuggled in between both men after they exhausted me, my heart was full. It was like they read my mind, and went on a recon mission to find out how they could treasure and spoil me. Yeah, it was what they did and I loved every minute of it.
26
Levi
My text alerts were going off shortly after Scar left for work. The Good Doctor was at the hospital last night and though it was a hard job, I kept our girl company. I was still in Scar's bed, her aroma filling the air from her morning shower. I had one eye open but grabbed the cell when I saw Jordan's name pop up.
The Good Doctor: Hey lazy. I'm sure you're still in bed. Lucky bastard. Anyway, I have tickets for the Cubs' game today. Want to join me?
The good doctor had me at both Cubs and spending the day with him.
Me: Fuck, yeah. What time?
The Good Doctor: It's at two, this afternoon. Let's meet there. I'll text you. Gotta grab some shut-eye right quick. See you then.
Because I loved messing with Jordan, I was quick with my reply.
Me: Then it's a date.
He had sent me an emoji back—the middle finger. Yeah, I affected the man more and more each day.
&nb
sp; He was in front of Wrigley Field at one thirty like he had texted me an hour ago. In a simple grey t-shirt and jeans, I almost hadn't recognized him with a ballcap on. My good doctor was laidback, so unlike his usual persona.
"Ready Doc?" I asked approaching him from the side.
He turned quickly, taking me in from top to bottom. I had on one of my favorite Cub's t-shirts and a pair of shorts. Was he checking me out like I had with him, without him knowing?
"Hey LT." He opened his arms and brought me in for our signature bro hug. I held on tighter and he had too. "Let's go." I followed him in comfortable silence. It seemed so normal to be there with him.
When we bought our beer and hotdogs, we sat in fucking excellent seats, two rows up from first base. Every once in a while, we'd touch inadvertently but it was never awkward. Jordan leaned in one time when he asked, "You having fun, LT?"
I grabbed his arm affectionately. "Yeah, I'm having the best fucking time."
He leaned in even further and continued, "Next time, let's bring Red. I miss her. I know she hates baseball but I'm sure we can make it worth her while."
He hitched an eyebrow higher than usual. Oh, we were on the same page. "Yeah, I miss our redhead seductress." I stopped, squeezing his knee. "But this is nice, hanging out with you too, Doc."
His breath on my ear sent shivers down my spine. "Yeah, LT, I miss Red too, she completes us, but this is…."
I thought this day had been so intimate. Sharing something we both loved, in the proximity and touching one another like we had—it had been everything to me.
He trailed off and when I thought he wouldn't finish his sentence, he said, "It's been so comfortable." He leaned in further. "You are so comfortable and I love being with you."
I wasn't going to ruin the progress we'd made today. I merely said, "Thank-you."
