All Hallows Eve, Vol. 3

Chapter 4

Four

Shane

What the fuck just happened?

I look from the door that just shut behind Jamie’s mystery guy to Jamie, and I can’t get a read on his face. He looks stuck somewhere between confusion and surprise. His eyes finally come back to me, and my stomach sinks.

“I need to get cleaned up,” Jamie says quietly, sitting up on the sink.

I pull my pants up with a nod, having no idea what to fucking say. “I’ll wait outside the door.”

Jamie smiles, but it’s strained around the corners. I open the door and step through. It shuts behind me and locks, so I sag against it, leaning my head back.

What the fuck was I thinking? I’ve known for years that I wanted Jamie, but as my best friend, I never wanted to do anything to ruin that, and I would never treat him like an experiment. I’ve never wanted a man before, and the only one I’ve ever wanted is Jamie. Until the mysterious stranger with dark eyes appeared out of nowhere, tempting Jamie and me both to this fate. I can’t lose Jamie. He thinks I saved him, but he saved me too. My dad was awful, always pushing me harder and harder in football. I never could tell him that I actually hated playing. Jamie is the one who made me feel safe to admit that when I graduated high school, moved out, and never looked back.

The lock clicks, and I spin around when Jamie pulls the door open. He gives me another tight smile and slips from the bathroom, hightailing it from the club. I let him get through the door before I grab his hand and jerk him to a halt.

“Please talk to me, Jamie.”

Jamie tries to tug his hand free, and I hold tighter. “I don’t know what you want me to say. I saw your face in there.”

“My face?”

“The immediate regret. I get it, and I’m not mad. We were all caught up in the heat of the moment.”

“Regret?” I practically growl. “I don’t regret shit. I’ve never felt so fucking good. I was worried about you.”

Jamie’s eyes finally meet mine. “Why?”

“You just got fucked in a bathroom by your best friend and a guy you’ve been obsessing over all day.”

“I…liked it,” Jamie says shyly, squeezing my hand. “I mean, I’m a little confused on how it ended up being him, but I’m not confused about how amazing it felt being with you.”

My heart rate spikes, but for a different reason this time. It’s like a weight has been lifted knowing that he doesn’t hate me now. “Let me grab your jacket and we’ll go to your place to talk.”

“Okay.” This time when Jamie smiles, it’s the one that never fails to make me weak in the goddamn knees.

I quickly step back in the club to grab our jackets from the door and step back outside, sliding mine on before holding his up for him to slide his arms in. It’s nothing different than what I’ve done before. I’ve always taken care of Jamie, but this feels different. It feels bigger somehow. Jamie slides his arms into the sleeves, and I turn him around to zip it up. I grab his hand, but this time, I lace our fingers together. We start walking down the sidewalk, and even with the chill in the air, I feel a warmth that I always feel with him.

“Do you think Phoenix showing up was a coincidence?” Jamie asks.

I shrug. “I don’t know. Are you really okay with what happened?”

“Yeah. I felt…” Jamie trails off and looks over at me. “Sexy.”

“You are sexy, Jamie. I’ve been telling you that forever.”

“Is what you said in there true?”

I swallow, nervous for the tenth time tonight. “I need to tell you something.”

“That sounds ominous.”

I steel my spine and decide to be honest like I’ve always been with him. “I’ve liked you as more than a friend since I can remember.”

Jamie comes to a dead stop and pulls me to a halt. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I was confused mostly. I’ve always been able to admit when a guy is attractive, but that’s as far as it went. Until I met you.” I see the surprise all over Jamie’s face and pull him against my body. He drops my hand and wraps his arms around my waist so I cup the back of his neck. “I never wanted to push the boundaries because I wasn’t sure if I’d like it, and I never wanted you to think I was experimenting with you. And although this did turn into one I wasn’t expecting, I now know that I loved everything that just happened.”

“Oh,” Jamie breathes.

“I told you that you have a pretty ass.”

“Stop,” Jamie laughs, squeezing my waist. “I’ve wanted to shoot my shot with you for a long time, but I was always under the impression you were straight.”

“I never really liked sex with women,” I admit. “It just felt like something that I was supposed to do.”

“But you’ve always had girls in and out of your life. Like, a lot of them.”

“And I usually took them out to dinner and then home. I always just made it seem like there was more so I could hide how I really felt.”

“How did you really feel?”

“I felt like all I wanted to do was pull you in close.” I do just that, making his lips hover right under mine. “Kiss you, touch you, and remind you that you’re worth it. Prove to you that you deserve someone to take care of you. In every way.” I peck his lips. “Possible.”

Jamie’s arms come up around my neck, and he pulls me down to his level, deepening the kiss. I gladly accept, stroking his tongue with mine. I have dreamed about this more times than I can count. I’ve even caught myself daydreaming about how soft his lips would be while I was jacking off.

Jamie makes a sound in the back of his throat when I move my hand onto his ass and drag him flush against me. “Take me home, Shane,” Jamie whispers against my lips, his intentions very clear.

“Gladly.” I kiss him one last time before I grab his hand and pull him the two more blocks to his apartment.

We walk up the stairs to the second floor, and Jamie grabs his keys from his pocket. His hands are shaking when he tries to unlock the door, so I step up behind him and lay my hand over his to steady it. “I’ve wanted this for so long,” Jamie groans.

I press against his back, twist the key in the lock, push the door open, and march him inside. Kicking the door shut behind me, I spin him around, hastily get his coat off and then mine. Jamie throws his arms around my neck, so I tuck my hands under his thighs and lift. Jamie wraps his legs around my waist, his hands sliding through my hair. Walking directly to his room, I toss him on the bed and climb on top of him before he even stops bouncing. I sink into another hot as fuck kiss, and Jamie’s greedy hips are lifting, rubbing his hard cock against mine. Fuck.

I pull back from his lips to kiss his neck and something red catches my eye. I lift up and I frown. “Where the hell did that come from?”

Jamie follows my line of sight and his face pales a little. “That’s a red Dahlia.”

“Does that mean something to you?” Jamie pushes at my chest slightly, and I sit back on my heels. He lifts up on one elbow and grabs the flower, spinning it in his fingers.

“It’s just like the one I gave Phoenix.”

“That’s not a coincidence.” I’m on my feet and moving through the apartment, checking every corner. That flower proves that Phoenix showed up to the club on purpose. Was he following Jamie? Blood boils in my veins and gets even hotter when I find a vase on Jamie’s kitchen table full of red Dahlias.

“He’s been in here, hasn’t he?” Jamie asks in a small voice. I turn toward him, and he’s still holding the flower in his hand. “How did he find me?”

I rake my hand through my hair. “I think he was following you. The diner, the club, and now this.”

“What do I do?” Jamie’s voice shakes, and I feel fucking murderous. I rush over to him and pull him into my arms. “Is this my fault?”

“How the hell would this be your fault?”

“Because I gave him the flower.”

“Absolutely not, sweetheart.”

Jamie stiffens in my arms. “I let him fuck me. This is why I don’t do stuff like this. I never make the right decisions.”

Pulling back, I grab his cheeks to slow the freak out that I know is coming. “You couldn’t have known he would turn around and stalk you. We’ll just have to be more careful.”

“We?”

“I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here to keep you safe.” I pluck the flower from his hand and lay it on the counter. “We’ll figure the rest out in the morning.”

“Okay.” Jamie pecks my lips. “Will you…cuddle with me?”

“Of course, sweetheart. You never have to ask.”

I lead him back to his bedroom, and we each strip to our underwear before sliding under the covers. Jamie scoots as close as he can get and lays his head on my chest with his arm draped over my waist. I wrap my arm around him and lace our fingers together on my stomach. “Devon never liked this.”

“That’s because Devon was a dick.” I hated that motherfucker on sight, but Jamie was in love. I didn’t know how bad it was because Devon was insecure about our friendship and slowly started cutting Jamie off from me. By the time I realized what was happening, it was too late. Jamie showed up one night, in tears, bruised and bloody from the beating Devon just gave him. The only reason he isn’t dead is because I promised Jamie I wouldn’t do anything stupid. It broke my fucking heart to see Jamie like that, and even though the bruises on his body faded, the bruises to his mind took time. He felt worthless and blamed himself for the longest time. He just now started to become his old self again, and I’ll be damned if I let some psycho fuck it up.

He’ll have to pry Jamie from my cold, dead hands.