“Oh shit,” Maddox said a few seconds after Jaz put a few drops of oil on Wild’s cheek. “That’s nuts. It’s moving around. It looks like this might work.”
A few seconds later, the little guy detached from Wild’s skin, and Jasmine grabbed it with a tissue. “All done,” she said, wiping away the excess oil. “You were a great patient.”
Wild pulled up his pants and buckled his belt before turning back around to face them. Seconds later, he was begging to see the video, his body already positioned between Mad and Jaz with his arms around their shoulders. “That’s fucking sweet,” he said after watching the tick detach itself from his flesh. “Your camera skills are on point.” Then he squeezed both their shoulders and said, “This was like one of those community-building adventures in nature. Don’t you feel so much closer after this?”
“So close,” Mad said dryly, causing Jasmine to burst out laughing and Wild to roll his eyes at Mad’s sarcasm.
“This guy thinks he’s so funny,” Wild said to Jaz, a thumb pointed in Maddox’s direction.
“I think he’s funny too,” Jasmine said.
Her compliment—and smile that accompanied it—did things to Maddox that he wished he could ignore.
Chapter Nine
“What’s on these chips?” Jaz asked Mad and Wild as she slowly chewed a tortilla chip the waitress had brought out.
“The more important questions is, why are you eating them?” Wild, the nutrition drill sergeant, asked.
Jaz rolled her eyes. She was all for treating the body like a temple, and such treatment had definitely paid off in Wild’s case, but he was a little over the top about it sometimes. With the exception of how he took his coffee, of course.
Maddox grabbed a chip and took a bite. “Lime.”
“Thank you,” Jaz said, over-enunciating the words. She popped the rest of the chip into her mouth. “I don’t like it,” she added before reaching for another one.
“Then why are you having more?” Wild asked.
“Because it bothers you.” She stuffed the chip into her mouth and smiled widely at him.
Maddox’s raspy laugh sounded beside her. She loved making that man laugh. He didn’t do nearly enough of it, in her opinion. “Going to a restaurant with you two is like eating with toddlers,” he said as he dipped a chip in salsa.
“Those chips are probably covered in salt. Good luck finding your abs tomorrow.”
Mad smiled at him. “I never have trouble finding my abs.”
“Such a cocky bastard,” Wild grumbled.
Maddox shrugged before loading more salsa onto another chip.
Jaz watched the two of them for a moment, immensely happy that life had brought her to this town and to these men. Ever since their hike, they’d spent most of their free time together. Granted, all of them having free time at the same time was a bit of an anomaly, but they managed. Jaz was starting to get a sneaking suspicion that Mad was intentionally scheduling them to have similar time off, but she didn’t feel inclined to ask. Maddox came off as a little skittish about certain things—like being sweet enough to make time to hang out with her—and she didn’t want to call attention to it only to have him stop doing it so he didn’t seem like a sap.
Considering how out of place Jaz had felt most of her life, the fact that she seemed to fit in perfectly with these two complicated men surprised the hell out of her. And they were definitely complicated. Maddox sometimes went dark and brooding out of nowhere, and Wild sometimes got agitated when he was too still, which could be exhausting to keep up with. But Jaz found these things almost endearing—like jagged pieces of a larger puzzle that Jaz knew was worth putting together.
“What can I get you guys?” the server asked, startling Jaz from her thoughts.
“Can I have the steak tacos, please?” Jaz requested.
“Rice and beans okay?” the server asked.
“Perfect.” Jaz handed the young woman her menu.
“And what about for you, handsome?”
Jaz’s head jerked up to look at the woman, who was smiling seductively at Wild. Jaz felt her eyes narrowing. This chick looking at Wild that way was rubbing Jaz all wrong. A possessiveness bubbled up within her, and despite Jaz telling herself she had no rights to such feelings—had no claim to Wild—it didn’t dampen the sensation at all. Jaz wanted to rip this girl’s arms off and beat her to death with them.
Taking a calming breath, Jaz brought her gaze down to Wild. She watched a smirk start to curve his lips, but then his eyes met hers, and his lips drew flat. “I’ll have the chicken tacos. Hold the rice and beans.” He handed the menu back to the server without taking his eyes off Jaz. It seemed like they were engaged in a smoldering game of chicken until Wild crossed his eyes and gave her a dopey look.
The spell between them broke as Jaz chuckled quietly. She looked over at Maddox, who ordered a bean burrito. Maddox winked at her as he handed the server his menu without turning toward her.
Jaz felt her cheeks blush. It was overwhelming to have the attention of these two men, even if that attention was playful and sweet instead of something more intense, like she wanted.
The realization had been a little jarring for her, the moment she’d accepted she was drawn to both of these men who offered her very different things. She’d been lying in bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking over the day they’d spent playing Ultimate Frisbee in a nearby park, and it had hit her with astounding clarity: she was attracted to Maddox and Wilder.
And while the attraction seemed like a fluid thing—sometimes drawing her more to Mad one second and Wild the next—at the end of the day the playing field leveled out. She honestly didn’t prefer the company of one over the other. She liked them like this: all hanging out and spending time together. And it made her supremely happy that they seemed to enjoy the same thing.
Maddox leaned back in his chair, dropping his napkin on his empty plate, and watched Jaz and Wild argue about whether or not they were having dessert.
“We gotta,” Jaz said. “They have an apple burrito.”
“Who cares?” Wild asked. “That’s basically like an apple pie. You can get that anytime.”
“Yes. Like now.”
“You can’t still be hungry. You’re like a hundred and twenty pounds.”
“Hundred and twenty-five. Twenty-six after I have my burrito.”
“Your job is to promote good nutrition in clients. You need to lead by example.”
Maddox smiled. He could tell Wild was more enjoying giving her a hard time than actually criticizing her wanting the dessert.
Jaz sighed heavily. “It’s not that unhealthy. It has fruit in it, for Christ’s sake.”
“Fruit that is surrounded by fried dough that’s been coated in cinnamon and topped with ice cream.”
“Sounds delicious.”
Wild snorted. “Deliciously artery-clogging.”
Jaz picked up a fork and pointed the tines at Wilder. “Let’s get something straight, Wilder Vaughn. I’m here for a good time, not a long time.”
Wild threw his hands up and looked over at Maddox. “There’s no reasoning with her.”
Jaz started dancing in her seat. “That means I win.” She waved the server over and ordered her burrito. When it arrived, she stared down at it like it was a pot of gold. “Apple burrito. You get in my belly.”
“And then stay there like a brick,” Wild murmured.
“Don’t let the mean man try to make you feel bad,” she said to the dessert. “You make yourself at home in there.” Jaz took a big bite and moaned as the dessert slid down her throat.
The sound made Maddox’s dick twitch, and he desperately hoped she didn’t make that sound after every bite. Having a hard-on at the dinner table wasn’t exactly high on his to-do list.
“Come on, guys. You know you want some.” Jaz taunted them with her fork full of apples and dough.
Wilder tracked the movement of her hand. “We don’t want your empty calories.”<
br />
“Yes, you do,” she sang. She moved the fork in front of him again, and this time Wilder snagged her wrist and wrapped his lips around the dessert. Jaz stared at him wide-eyed. “Oh my God. I broke you. Are you okay? Do we need to find you a twelve-step program or something?”
“Shut up,” Wild muttered before grabbing a fork of his own and filling it with a heap of apple burrito.
Maddox laughed at their antics. Hanging out with these two was fun. He’d always enjoyed hanging out with Wilder, but Jaz fit in with them so seamlessly it was like she’d always been friends with them. If only he could do something about his pesky attraction to her, everything would be perfect.
Mad couldn’t deny that the more time he spent with Jaz, the more he felt drawn to her. It was a little alarming for him. He hadn’t felt like that about anyone since he’d been discharged from the army, and he thought he likely never would. After his life had gone sideways and he’d struggled—with the help of Wild—to get himself straightened out again, he’d felt sexually attracted to women, but that was where it ended. It was like the intimate, romantic part of him had broken when the rest of him had. But now that part was beginning to heal, and while he was thrilled at the possibility of having these feelings for someone else, he also didn’t want to ruin what the three of them had together.
The sound of a fork clattering on the table in front of him jolted him out of his thoughts. He darted his gaze up to Wild’s.
“If you think you’re getting out of here without eating some of this, you’re crazy,” Wild said to him, a sparkle of mischief alight in his eyes.
Mad smirked and picked up the fork, helping himself to a giant bite of the burrito.
“Hey!” Jaz yelled. “Don’t you two dare eat all my burrito.”
Wild responded by piling a giant portion of apples and ice cream on his fork and slowly bringing it toward his mouth. Jaz reached across the table and smacked the fork out of his hand before it reached his lips.
They all stared wide-eyed at where the fork fell to the floor. Then Mad and Wild turned to gawk at Jaz, who shrugged. “I panicked.”
The three of them erupted in laughter, and Maddox became even more convinced that he shouldn’t do anything to jeopardize their friendship. What they had would be more than enough for him.
Chapter Ten
“Thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five.” Wild finished with the last punch to Maddox’s arm, but even though he and Jaz had been alternating, she joined in for the last one.
“Hey, I’m only thirty-four.” Maddox immediately began rubbing his arm where Wild had been hitting him before switching to massage the other arm where Jaz had been hitting him.
“It’s good luck,” Jaz explained at the same time that Wilder explained that since Mad had just begun his thirty-fifth year, he needed the punch to start of the next year of his life correctly.
Maddox looked skeptical when he said, “That seems like something you made up because you wanted to hit me as many times as possible.”
Wild did his best to look offended. “Does that sound like something I’d do?”
“Yes,” Mad replied.
“You’re not giving Jazzy Scooter a hard time about punching you an extra time. It’s because she’s prettier than me, isn’t it?” Like most things, Wild didn’t think before he said the words. It had been an instinctual joke to make, but it felt borderline inappropriate because they were true. Not only was Jaz their employee, but Wild was also more and more attracted to her with each passing day. And it wasn’t just physical either, which in all honesty, scared the ever-loving fuck out of him. Wild was a no-strings-attached kind of guy—always had been. More was complicated, and who the hell needed complicated? But his feelings for Jaz were becoming all kinds of complicated, and he hoped like hell he wasn’t as obvious about it as he felt.
Jaz rolled her eyes and said, “I’m not answering to that stupid nickname.” Turning to Mad, she continued, “You ready to go, birthday boy?”
Wild was thankful for the change in subject. It wasn’t that he couldn’t admit to himself that he was conflicted, but tonight wasn’t about him and his relationship-phobias. It was about showing Mad that he had people in his corner. With no living family he knew of, Mad would likely just as soon let his birthday pass uncelebrated, but Wild wasn’t having it. And this year when Wild suggested they invite Jaz along so they could give her a taste of the city’s nightlife, Mad had readily agreed.
Wild was excited to spend the time with her too because they always had a great time together. But now that she was standing next to him in an incredibly short black dress that revealed almost her entire back and shoulders, it was more than his mind that was becoming excited.
He’d seen Jasmine in tight clothing almost daily since she’d started at Transform. And he’d seen her in clothing that wasn’t gym attire plenty of times by this point, but this outfit might have been one of the sexiest he’d seen on a woman. The bottom molded to her like it had been made especially for her body—tight against the curves of her hips and her perfectly round ass. The top was looser with thin straps that draped the shiny fabric over the front of her body and sides. He tried not to think too much about whether she was wearing a bra, because the only conclusion he could come to was “not a fucking chance,” and he didn’t trust himself not to let his gaze drop to her breasts. Wild knew that beneath those clothes was a body that allowed every move she made to be fluid and graceful, like her every step was a practiced dance that few people were capable of performing. It made him wonder how she moved in other circumstances…on the dance floor…in bed.
He needed to get a handle on himself.
Shaking himself, he checked his Uber app and saw that it was right around the corner. When it pulled up, Wild motioned for Jaz to get in ahead of him. He wasn’t a good enough liar to tell himself he was just being a gentleman. The thought of seeing Jasmine from behind again—her long dark hair cascading down her smooth, tan back had his cock begging for some attention. Fuck, it was gonna be a long night.
Avenue 22 was about fifteen minutes away from Mad and Wild’s apartment, but they didn’t go there as often as they used to. A few years ago, it had been one of their favorite places to spend a Saturday night. But once they’d opened their own gym, their aging bodies couldn’t recover from a night out like they used to, even if Maddox didn’t ever drink that much. The lack of control that accompanied alcohol hadn’t ever held much of an appeal to him, especially after he’d come home. Plus, the late nights—and the women who’d ended up in their beds—just didn’t mesh with five a.m. personal training sessions. And they owed it to their clients to give them their all. It made this night even more special because it had been at least six months since they’d been here. Mad could let himself loosen up a bit tonight without letting go completely. He knew where his line was.
Jasmine was the first to the bar, grabbing three of something that looked too colorful for Maddox to possibly enjoy. He was more of a beer guy, or maybe the occasional shot of whiskey. But whatever Jaz was handing him certainly wasn’t either. “First round’s on me,” she said, setting the glasses down on the low table Wild had reserved for them in advance. “I’d like to give a toast.”
“Don’t do this,” Mad begged, a hand over his forehead in embarrassment. “My birthday doesn’t require a toast.”
“Shut up.” She smiled, giving him a slap to the thigh. “It’s your birthday, and I’ll toast if I want to.”
Wilder’s eyebrows narrowed. “I think you have the lyrics wrong.”
“You shut up too,” she warned with a point of her finger. “Maddox,” she began. “I couldn’t think of a better way to begin my new life in a new city. You’re a fantastic boss and an even better guy.”
“This speech is sickening,” Wild complained.
But luckily, Jaz continued, her eyes glistening in the lights as she looked at Mad. “Thanks for making me feel so welcome at Transform. But more than tha
t, thanks for being a friend in a place where I didn’t have any.”
He noticed the way whatever she had on her lips shimmered as she spoke. Plump, pink, and wet. Maddox wanted to blame the alcohol for his fantasies about what it would be like to have them around his cock, but he knew the few drinks he’d had couldn’t be to blame.
“You deserve the best birthday,” she said, raising her glass. “To Maddox.”
“To Maddox,” Wild repeated, raising his drink to his best friend.
“Thanks, guys. I’m glad to have you both here.”
Maddox finished whatever sweet, fruity mix Jasmine had gotten for him and then downed the beer Wilder had bought him after insisting Mad wouldn’t pay for a thing tonight. They talked as best they could over the loud music, but much of the time, Maddox just enjoyed being in the company of his best friend and the beautiful woman he was coming to know more about each day. Jasmine was still milking the drink she’d gotten herself when they’d first arrived, bringing the straw to her mouth and sucking slowly.
Shifting in his seat, he tried to adjust himself to a position that didn’t have his cock pressing against his pants in a way that made him want to rub himself until he got some relief. But his fitted jeans didn’t seem to cooperate, and he wondered how he was ever going to make it the rest of the night like this. “Who wants to dance?” Maddox asked, needing to move, though he knew that it probably wasn’t the best idea right now, especially if Jasmine took him up on it.
“I’ll go,” Jaz said, and Wild told them he’d be out when his beer was done.
Maddox didn’t expect Jasmine to grab his hand on their way out to the dance floor, to entwine her fingers with his as they walked. But the feel of her skin on his had his heart beating so rapidly he swore he could feel the blood flowing through his veins. As they weaved through the crowd, Mad’s anticipation grew.
Misadventures in a Threesome Page 6
