Breaking through the Bond (Espen Jetties #2)

27. Hayes

27

HAYES

King eventually came home close to dinnertime. He told me how things went with Jamie and how Jamie agreed to give this thing between us a chance. The moment he told me; butterflies danced in my stomach like I was a teenager facing someone I thought was hot. It was the strangest shit ever but I kind of liked it.

Last night, King and I crawled into bed together but did nothing more than sleep. He wanted to, I did too, but it didn’t feel right without Jamie. That we both agreed on. We had stuff to discuss and I didn’t want to start this on the wrong foot. But was there really a right one when none of us knew what we were doing?

A soft kiss pressed to the back of my neck. “Morning, baby,” King murmured in a sleep roughened voice.

“Morning.” I stretched and ended up on my back, which wasn’t the smartest move since it showed King my morning wood.

“Is that for me?” he asked, reaching down to trace a finger over the outline in my boxer briefs. I shuddered. I usually slept naked but didn’t last night due to everything.

“No.” I quickly rolled away from him and got out of bed. “I told you, we’re not doing anything until we talk to Jamie.”

“I know and I agree. I can’t help it that you’re so irresistible though.”

I narrowed my eyes, fully aware of what he was doing. “You don’t want to have this conversation with him, do you?”

“Of course I don’t. I feel like I’ve talked more in the past two days than I have in the last year.” He palmed himself and climbed out of bed. “Come on. Let’s shower. I’ll feed you then we’re going over to see him. Get this out of the way so we can move forward.”

“There you go. I’m glad you’re thinking with the right head.”

He walked around the bed to where I stood and took my hand in his to pull me toward the bathroom.

“No, you don’t. I’m going to shower in here, you shower in your room.”

“Why would I do that? We showered together before.”

I held on to his hand as I looked into his hazel eyes. “New day, new rules. Shower. Talk. Make plans.”

He groaned, shaking off my grip. “Yes, Dad.” Then stalked to the door.

“I’m not your daddy, King.”

He stopped and slowly turned to face me. “What do you know about being someone’s daddy?”

I shrugged. While King was over at Jamie’s yesterday, I might have gone on a bit of a searching spree on the Internet. Lots of porn, some with the daddy/boy dynamic. Once I went down the gay porn rabbit hole, I couldn’t stop. I wanted to be sure that if we were going to do this, I wasn’t a complete idiot when it came to being with a man. I knew some things. King was bi after all and not shy in the least when he talked. But hearing about it and seeing it were two different things.

After I jerked off twice, because yeah, some of it was hot, I resolved that it wasn’t just a King and Jamie attraction. Men together were sexy. I wasn’t sure why I never noticed before, considering I worked with attractive men. They were my friends, teammates. Not someone to drool over. That didn’t mean I was ready to label my sexuality. I honestly didn’t care about that, and it was no one’s business.

“I know what a daddy is,” I told him. Hell, I knew that before this whole thing with King.

“I can see you taking that role,” he said the words carefully, like he was feeling me out. He didn’t seem opposed to the idea.

“I’m not one. Just so we’re clear.”

He nodded. “But if you were…”

“King.”

“Fine. I’m going to shower. Alone because you won’t let me in there with you.” He rolled his eyes and left.

I showered quick, jerked off quicker, and dressed. King made us breakfast and before long, we were on our way to Jamie’s.

My nerves were a mess by the time we reached his building. Jamie didn’t look much surer than I was. We both looked at each other like we were waiting for one of us to run in the opposite direction.

The talk with him was awkward but it needed to happen. It was the same thing King and I talked about, and I was sure what him and Jamie already discussed, but this time it was the three of us. Jamie and I both agreed to take things as they went and see how we felt along the way. None of us knew what was going to happen.

We decided it was okay for only two of us to fool around at a time. It didn’t have to be all three. But the moment jealousy entered the picture, it stopped. Then the three of us would have sex or none at all. Also, we were going to be open and honest with one another about everything, otherwise there was no way this was going to work. If one of us didn’t like something, we had to speak up. We were navigating this new terrain together.

Jamie told me he quit his job. I didn’t pry because it wasn’t my place. I didn’t know him well enough yet. Hope swam inside me when I looked at him and King. The longer I thought about this, the more I liked the idea. King looked like he was about to hoist the Cup for how happy he was.

Out of nowhere King stood, kissed me on the cheek, did the same to Jamie, and walked toward the foyer. “I’ll be back. I have some shit to do. You two have fun.” He winked before disappearing.

“Umm… where is he going?” Jamie asked.

“That was King not being subtle in his quest for you and me to get to know each other.” There was no doubt in my mind that King had this planned. I was surprised he stayed long enough for us to talk. He was ready to move to the next step. I didn’t blame him. I was too. But I didn’t know how.

“So… uh…” Jamie rubbed the back of his neck.

I was still nervous but nothing like I was when we showed up. We were sitting on his couch. Nothing but silence filled the space. “If we don’t do something, King will just do this again. He’s used to getting what he wants.”

“He really does like things to go his way.”

I chuckled. “Okay, this is weird, but I think we should roll with it. We can consider it a first date. No expectations.”

“I’ve never been on a first date, until I met King.”

We were both quiet again. Different ideas ran through my head about what Jamie and I could do today. Something to get to know each other but also that wouldn’t be this awkward silence.

“Do you want to go somewhere?”

“I’m not sure I’m really up for it. What if the media—”

I cut him off. “It’s fine. I don’t want to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”

“Please don’t think this is about me being seen out with you. I’m just not in the mood to get my picture taken and my life dug through more right now.”

“Okay. That leaves stuff here or at my place. Got anything fun to do outside of the pool? I’m not sure us stripping down would be best today. Although, I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing you in a little less.” I snapped my mouth shut. What the hell was I even saying? I was making this worse.

A small smile lifted the corner of his lips. “Pool is out then. Do you like video games?”

“Who doesn’t?”

“Come on, I’ll show you my gaming room.”

Jamie led me through the space until we were behind the kitchen in a different room. “It used to be a theater room, but I removed most of the seating to make it into this.”

“It’s fantastic.”

There was still a large screen but where there were probably big reclining chairs now bean bags and gaming chairs filled the space. Recessed lighting cast a glow down, nothing too bright. Just enough to see where things were.

Together, we went through the games Jamie had before he pulled out one I’d never heard of. Turned out, it was a game Jamie had designed himself. I was seriously impressed.

Hours passed with the two of us laughing, joking, having a good time. King wasn’t much of a gamer, so I didn’t play a lot when we were home. This was something Jamie and I had in common.

Nerves that were present when I arrived were long gone by the time we took a break to have lunch, which really ended up being mid-afternoon. Conversation was kept light. Both of us opening up more. Not about the relationship but about ourselves. I didn’t say much about my mom. I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to talk about her. I did mention she passed but that was it. We’d already had enough heavy stuff to discuss. I didn’t want to drag our fun down.

Jamie told me a little about his family, about what he liked to do. He was smart as hell, which I already knew. Talking to him like that made it apparent though.

We played video games some more until King showed up again. Jamie smiled when he saw him, but I could see some of his nerves return. Today was a good step in the right direction. As much as I shouldn’t have been surprised King left us like he did, it was the right move. Jamie and I needed to spend time together. King was our common factor, but he wouldn’t always be around to hang out with. Sometimes it would be Jamie and me. I was more than okay with that. If today showed me anything, it was that I liked Jamie even more. That we were compatible.

The three of us didn’t need to like the same things. Opposites attract and all that. King and I were opposites with our personalities. Yet, we worked as friends and now… more. I was sure Jamie and I would discover other things we had in common as time went on.

“Things good?” King asked, gaze bouncing from Jamie to me and back again when we were standing in the living room.

“Yeah.” I nodded. “Though subtlety isn’t one of your strong points.”

“Never said it was.” He grinned. “Did you have dinner?”

“Late lunch,” Jamie said. “I’m still full.”

“Same,” I replied.

“Okay, how about dinner tomorrow night at our place? I’ll cook.”

Jamie stuffed his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “I can do that.”

“Perfect. Then I guess we’ll go?” His eyebrows lifted.

“Yes,” I said and gave him a little shove. “We’ll go. You’re not getting laid tonight. We’re not ready yet.” I knew exactly where his mind went.

“A guy can hope.”

“Hope at home with your hand.”

Jamie chuckled beside me and gave a slight smile.

King stepped forward to give Jamie a quick kiss on the lips. “Night, Jamie.”

“Night, King.”

Jamie ducked his head down. King stared at me and nodded his head in Jamie’s direction. “I’ll be in the foyer,” King said.

“Subtle.” I laughed and turned to Jamie. “I had fun today.”

“Me too.”

“You okay with this whole thing? I know we didn’t talk about it after King left.”

“It’s new.” He shrugged. “But today was good.”

“Yeah, it was. I’m glad I’m getting to know you better.” I wanted to lean in and kiss his cheek but didn’t know if it was the right thing to do. I didn’t want to end today as awkward as it started.

Fuck it. It’s just a kiss on the cheek.

I stepped closer and held my breath, hoping he didn’t push me away. Leaning in, I brushed my lips against his cheek. This close I could smell his cologne and it stirred something in me. Something that if I didn’t move away, it would be obvious how I was feeling.

“Thank you for today, Jamie,” I whispered and pulled back.

His eyes were wide for a moment. “See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah, see you then.”

King was standing in the foyer waiting for me with a smile. We didn’t talk until we were in his BMW on the way home.

“Sooo, how did it go?”

“At first it was a little uncomfortable, but then we started playing video games and we both relaxed.”

“I’m glad you two have that in common, but don’t think I’m going to be in there playing with you.”

“You should see the room, King. You’d love it.”

“Fine. When you two game, I’ll take turns blowing you both. You can come while fighting Jamie on the screen.”

“Jesus,” I muttered and shifted in my seat.

King grinned, knowing damn well what he was doing to me.

There was that saying about jumping into the deep end. Here I was on the diving board, bouncing slightly, readying myself for the leap. I went from no relationship, and no hopes of one, to confessing my feelings to my best friend and now trying to work things out with two men. I was really doing this, flying through the air, waiting to hit the water. I hoped I wouldn’t need a life preserver to survive it. Because I had a feeling Jamie was going to have the power to wreck me just as much as King did.