Breaking through the Bond (Espen Jetties #2)

24. Hayes

24

HAYES

The thumping bass of the music vibrated through me as King tried to get Jamie to talk. But Jamie was so drunk I was surprised he was still sitting upright at the bar.

The bartender came over to pour him another glass when I put my hand over top of it. “He’s had enough. Are you just looking for a good tip? Can’t you see how wasted he is?” I couldn’t stop the anger pouring from me. Jamie didn’t need more alcohol. He needed a bed to sleep it off.

The bartender’s eyes widened when his gaze bounced from me to King and back again. “Holy shit, you’re Hayes Garner and Kingston Walker.”

I didn’t care if he knew who we were or not, my point stood. Jamie was way too drunk. “And this is Jamie,” I told him. “He’s ours.” The words shocked me to my core. He’s ours? What the fuck did that mean and where did it come from?

Shaking my head, knowing I’d unpack that later, I glanced over and saw King was holding Jamie up. That was enough of this. We had to get out of here. Jamie needed to go home.

“Let’s go,” I said.

King took one side, and I took the other. Together, the two of us helped him walk out the door.

There was so much going through my mind, had been since King made me come harder than I ever had in my life, but I had to push it aside. All that mattered was getting Jamie out of here.

We reached the parking lot and I glanced around, looking for Jamie’s car. I didn’t see it anywhere, thankfully. I was glad to know he wouldn’t drive after drinking. We ambled over to King’s Jeep Wrangler. It was a dark blue that looked almost black in the night. The tires on it were big and beefy. It only had two doors but at least we could lay Jamie down on the back seat. No way would the three of us fit in King’s BMW. And the last thing I wanted was someone driving an Uber seeing two Jetties players bringing home a drunk guy. The media would have a field day with that if they found out.

It wasn’t easy, but we finally got Jamie in the back seat then we climbed in. Jamie groaned as the Jeep started moving. I reached around until I found a plastic bag that King kept in here to throw garbage in and handed it to Jamie. I had to hope if he puked that there were no holes in the thing.

King maneuvered through the Friday night traffic until we pulled up to one of the nicest buildings in Espen. Hell, King and I lived in one, but this was really upscale, state-of-the art.

A doorman opened the door for us. I thought he was going to say something but then a sympathetic look came over his face when he recognized King and me. I think King and Jamie having their picture taken at the gala made this a bit easier. I doubted the man would have let us bring him up so easily had he not recognized the man Jamie was with that night.

We walked to a bank of elevators.

“Not this one,” Jamie said, still unsteady on his feet.

“What?” King asked.

“Come on,” he slurred and dragged us to a private elevator. “Should have parked in the garage.”

“Had we known we could, we would have,” King said. “But someone was passed out in the back seat.”

We got in the elevator and started the trip up to the penthouse. I should have figured that was where Jamie lived. With a car like his and the money he had; he wouldn’t live on any other floor. I sure wouldn’t if I was him. Not that I wasn’t making damn good money, but Jamie was another level.

Jamie’s head was resting on King’s shoulder. “You smell good,” he slurred and pressed his face to King’s neck.

King visibly trembled. “Fuck.” Jamie still affected King, not that I had any doubt. It sent a pang of longing through me. King said we’d figure it out. That he wasn’t letting me go, but I had my reservations.

When the elevator doors opened, the place was dark. We stepped out and Jamie said, “Molly, I’m home.” Who the crap was Molly?

The lights came on and that explained that. She must have been the name he’d given to the system in his home. We walked up a short hall that opened to the living room. Holy hell, what did I just step into? The place was amazing. Floor-to-ceiling windows. Everything was modern with sleek lines. It screamed luxury and felt like it should be in an advertisement for high-end living in Espen.

Jamie tried to step away from us. “You want a drink?” he asked, his words still slurred.

“No, you don’t.” King held him around the waist and steered him toward the floating staircase, which was so cool. “Bedroom’s upstairs, right?”

“Mmhmm.”

I released Jamie and walked ahead until I found his bedroom. It was obvious which ones were guest rooms and which was his. I pressed a button on the wall and the lights came on. The large bed had the blankets haphazardly lying across it. There was a half-empty bottle of vodka on the nightstand. I grabbed it and went into the en suite to dump it out before Jamie could drink it. I was sure he had more around here somewhere, but I wasn’t giving him easy access to it in his room after the night he had.

The same floor-to-ceiling windows that were downstairs continued up here. There was a seating area in the room as well as the usual bedroom furniture.

“Gotta take a piss before you lie down?” King asked.

“Sure.”

King helped him to the bathroom, but Jamie insisted on not needing help in there. When the door opened, Jamie more fell than leaned against the doorframe. King and I were there to help him to the bed, which he collapsed onto with no grace. I pulled off his socks and shoes while King worked off his pants, which were so tight they appeared painted on. I tried not to look. I shouldn’t have. But I had to admit that Jamie was a good-looking guy.

King was tugging the jeans off when Jamie sat up and gripped King’s shoulders. “You shouldn’t be doing this. Hayes is going to be mad,” he slurred. Jesus, how much did he have to drink?

“Hayes is right here. He’s well aware of what I’m doing, which is nothing more than getting you into bed.” He finally got the jeans off. “Now shut up and sleep. I’m going to get you some water and a trash can, so you don’t puke all over the floor.”

“I’ll get the water,” I said and went downstairs to grab a glass and fill it. The kitchen was as stunning as the rest of the place.

When I got back to Jamie’s bedroom, King was sitting on the side of the bed carding his fingers through Jamie’s hair. It was such a small gesture, but it felt very intimate and like I was intruding on it.

I put the glass on the nightstand, seeing King already got a trash can, and left to go back downstairs. I didn’t know what to think. What to do. King loved Jamie. It was obvious. He said he loved me too, but how did I fit into this?

After everything happened between King and me earlier, we showered together which shouldn’t have been as hot as it was, considering I’d showered near King for years. But damn, if I didn’t get hard as a rock in there looking at all that exposed skin. I wasn’t sure if it was King or all guys I was suddenly attracted to. Maybe it was more than him since I could see why he thought Jamie was attractive.

We jerked each other off under the water then got dressed and had lunch. Things slipped back into normal until after dinner when King brought up Jamie. We didn’t have a discussion. We needed to talk this out between the three of us.

That was when King called Jamie repeatedly and how we ended up at Twist and Turn, dragging Jamie out of there. I was still pissed at the bartender. Weren’t they supposed to cut people off when they got too drunk? Maybe it was hard for him to tell in the low lights with all the people around us asking for another drink. I wasn’t sure, but Jamie didn’t need more.

I shook my head. Who was I to say what Jamie did or didn’t need? No one. I wasn’t sure if he even considered me a friend. More like the asshole who broke up him and his boyfriend. What a disaster.

Walking through Jamie’s home, I was careful not to touch anything but took it all in. I ended up behind the staircase where I found a den. The room was decked out in dark browns. There were bookshelves that lined an entire wall, a fireplace, and a TV. There was a couch that looked comfortable as hell. Degrees and family photos were on the remaining walls. This room appeared more lived in than the rest of the space. I liked it more. While I could appreciate the design of the penthouse, this room felt like what a home should to me.

Dropping down on the couch, I let my head fall back and closed my eyes. What a day this had been.

I loved King. That much I knew for certain. And while I knew he was waiting for me to freak out about being with a guy for the first time, I didn’t. Because it was King. He signified everything good to me. No way could I regret being with him. But it was obvious he wanted to be with Jamie too.

I rubbed at the center of my chest, trying to make sense of it all. Jamie was a great guy. I wasn’t lying when I said that to him. Could I feel something for Jamie as well? Tonight, at the bar, I became possessive, which wasn’t like me. I couldn’t dismiss it as nothing though. No matter how many times King hooked up or partied, I never once wanted to pull him away and claim him as my own. That of course changed and now I’d for sure do that.

Great. I was becoming one of those guys who got all alpha about their partners.

Partners…

Was that what King and I were? Us fucking around didn’t make us anything, but saying we loved each other sure meant something.

I wanted to find someone. Fall in love. Have what others did. And I did do those things except there was a giant other piece to it I couldn’t ignore and wasn’t sure I wanted to.

How did Jamie fit into this? King and I were going to have to talk. And he was going to have to work things out with Jamie once he sobered up.

Footsteps on the stairs drew my attention to the doorway. It was a few minutes before King came into the room and dropped down beside me.

“Did you look around this place?” he asked. “It’s crazy. I bet there’s a ton more I didn’t even see. I didn’t want to snoop but couldn’t help myself and checked out every room. And before you say anything, no, I didn’t go through his drawers or any crazy shit like that. But how could I not look at the rooms? I’ve never seen anything like this, and we’ve been inside Kasper and Marcus’s place repeatedly.”

King kept talking, and all the while my heart beat faster. He didn’t notice the distress I was in wondering what we were going to do now. What the next step was.

“King,” I said, trying to stop his rambling.

“I think there might be a pool somewhere. I saw Jamie’s swim trunks on the floor. Maybe it’s a pool the whole building uses but maybe not. I mean, why have the penthouse and not your own pool. If it was mine, I’d swim naked all the time. Let my dick and balls enjoy that shit. Of course I’d have to put sunblock on them. I couldn’t imagine getting burned down there.” He cupped himself and shook his head.

“King.”

“The kitchen is a mess. It looks like he hasn’t done the dishes in a while. And there are empty bottles of liquor everywhere. How long do you think he’s been like this?” He turned to me, finally noticing my eyes on him. “What?”

“We need to talk.”