Page 41 of Burning Up

Against all his instincts, Bryce nodded. “Okay, you got it.”

15

Alittle more time turned into a week and then a month. The three of them spent as much time together as they could. Matt and Toby stayed over often and a few times, Bryce and Rollo stayed with them. Matt insisted they all go to a Durham Bulls game, and Toby foisted an afternoon of roller skating on them. Bryce hadn’t been that sore in a long time.

Bryce was the best cook of the three of them, so he ended up making dinner a lot of nights, just basics like spaghetti and meatballs or enchiladas—he wasn’t up to chef-quality meals but Matt and Toby seemed impressed.

The likelihood that someone at work was going to figure out what was going on grew every day they were together. Bryce sensed that they were barreling toward disaster, but he couldn’t make himself jump off the wild ride. WT had to at least suspect something. They all acted different at work, didn’t they? Bryce sure thought so. How could anyone be so damn oblivious that they didn’t notice? He sucked at hiding anything, and Matt wasn’t as good at it as he used to be. How much longer did they have before this exploded in their faces?

Bryce kept telling himself he’d bring the subject up, but he always made an excuse not to. He didn’t want to wreck what had started to feel like paradise. The more time he spent with Matt and Toby, the more he realized how very much he cared for them. He still didn’t let himself use the L word, but it hovered in the air, threatening him with all it meant. How much longer could he ignore it? He was ignoring so damn many things, he was going to lose track of something soon. But the thought of them all ending up on different shifts, rarely able to enjoy time together, made him sick to his stomach. Some nights he wished he’d never let himself get into this mess, and other nights he thought he’d do anything to keep things like they were, to keep Matt and Toby both in his bed, in his life.

Surely they were worth taking a risk for, worth stepping out of his comfort zone and making a career move. In the months before the horrible fire in Atlanta, he’d contemplated applying for an investigative position with the fire marshal’s office. He’d been fascinated for years by all that went into discovering the cause of a fire, and he wanted to learn how to solve those puzzles and make sure no one got away with arson. He’d have to attend the police academy since the law required he be both a firefighter and a sworn law enforcement officer to investigate potential arson. It was a big step and a risk. He might not get a job if he applied and then he might not like it as much as he thought he would. When he’d decided to move, knowing he had to get away from Atlanta, he’d dropped the idea. Was he ready to consider it again?

He longed to talk it over with Toby and Matt, but he was too much of a fucking coward. He could talk about riding crops, dildos, and how hard they wanted to be spanked. But love and long-term commitment? Way too scary.

Then one day, a little more than a month after the night at Marlo’s, the fragile little world they’d created fell in on itself.

Bryce stood at his locker after a shower, towel wrapped around his waist. He heard Matt coming out of the shower and couldn’t resist glancing his way. Even now, after weeks of sleeping together, the sight of him nearly naked raised Bryce’s pulse. No one else was around, so he didn’t bother to hide his interest. Matt slapped his ass as he walked to his own locker. Even the straight guys did that to each other, so no one would’ve thought anything, even if someone had been there to see. Bryce dressed, stealing glances at Matt. When he pulled his phone from his locker, he brought up his text screen and wrote a message to Matt. Almost jumped you after your shower. Can’t wait till tomorrow night. Going to make your ass ache.

He smiled to himself as he pressed Send. Just as the message went through, he realized he hadn’t sent it to Matt. Sending it to Toby or even to Mason would have been okay, but no, he’d sent it to WT. “Fuck!”

Matt jumped at the loud, unexpected expletive. “What’s wrong?”

He turned to Matt, unable to explain. His stomach was in a knot, and he felt warm and cold at the same time. He had to find WT right then and explain or apologize or something. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

“I fucked up. Big time. I’m so sorry. I…” He raced out of the room as he yanked his shirt over his head.

He found WT in the break room, staring at his phone. WT looked up when he entered the room. Bryce’s heart thumped hard against his chest. “You got my text, didn’t you?”

“Yeah and I’m hoping it was meant for some other dude, ’cause you’re a good-looking guy, but you ain’t turning me.”

Bryce smiled, thrilled WT was able to laugh it off.

“Yeah, it was for someone else. Sorry about that.”

Bryce had been certain WT would know exactly who it was meant for. Of course since he hadn’t been in the locker room, he probably assumed it was someone Bryce saw come out of the shower early that morning, before work.

WT punched his arm. “Just don’t do it again. You scared the shit out of me.”

“I’ll be more careful next time. Trust me. I may never send a dirty text again.”

WT laughed. “I won’t hold you to that as long as you don’t send them to me.”

Bryce forced himself to laugh too, trying his best to seem like he was casually brushing off the mistake, though he still felt sick to his stomach. What the hell had he been thinking letting things keep going with Toby and Matt? Tomorrow they were finally going to have the talk they should have had a month ago.

Matt walked into the break room a few moments later and sank into the chair next to Bryce. “You okay?”

Bryce nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just made a stupid mistake.”

“Texted me instead of whatever guy he’s banging,” WT said.

Matt made a choked noise.

“Yeah, that was kind of my reaction too. Must be a pretty hot night he’s planning.”

“Knowing him, I bet it is,” Toby added as he joined them, rescuing Matt, who didn’t look like he could get out any words. They had to know the text was meant for one of them. Bryce wondered if they’d be pissed or scared. Whichever, they’d all needed the wake-up call. And they were lucky; it could have been much worse. Even if WT had guessed, he’d have given them time to get their shit together and come out on their own.

Bryce didn’t talk to Toby and Matt during their shift other than to make the necessary comments to get their job done. Even when they weren’t busy, they didn’t have any privacy, at least not enough to risk discussing what had happened. He’d gotten away with his mistake; he wasn’t about to risk their secret again. And he sure as hell wasn’t going to text them an explanation.

---