Page 56 of Burning Up

“The same thing again,” Toby suggested.

Matt sighed. “Not until I rest some more.”

“Does your ankle hurt?” Bryce asked, worried he’d taken things too far.

“No more than it has been, but I’ve not got my usual recovery time right now.”

Bryce nodded. “We should let you rest.”

“What I actually meant was: what do we do to make this work,” Matt said.

“We talk to each other, even when we think we can’t. That’s what Mason, Jack, and Gray told me. I hope you don’t mind that I talked to them. They’ve known about us since the start, and they’ve been telling me I was an idiot since I walked away from you two. I’m so sorry for all the awful things I said.”

Toby patted his leg. “We knew you didn’t mean it.”

“Toby did. I wasn’t sure,” Matt said.

“I didn’t mean any of it. I knew that if I didn’t push you away, didn’t make you hate me, you’d try to change my mind.”

Toby nodded. “That’s what I figured, but it still hurt.”

Bryce hated that he’d hurt them. “I’m sorry. I wish I could make it up to you.”

“You are,” Matt said. “By being here.”

Bryce gave him a gentle kiss. “It was never just fucking for me, not even the first time.”

“Me either.”

“Or me,” Toby said.

“I don’t understand how this could have happened so fast, and I’m still worried that…”

“That what?” Toby asked,

“That I’m too old for you. That this is the wrong time for this type of commitment.”

Matt shook his head. “I’ve known I wanted Toby since the first time I saw him when I was fifteen. I felt the same way about you the day you walked into the fire station. I can’t explain it. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true.”

“Every time you two argued, I felt like I was coming between you, messing up what you have with each other, and I couldn’t stand the thought of that.”

Toby looked at Matt, then back to Bryce. “We fought plenty before we met you, and I’m sure we’ll argue again, maybe before the night’s over, but none of that is your fault. It’s just part of trying to live together.”

“But you’ve got so much history. And we’ve only known each other a few months.” Bryce hated how pathetic he sounded. What was wrong with him? He hadn’t felt this insecure since he’d come out to his mom. She’d taken it well, but she’d passed away a few years later, and the rest of his family had no interest in him. By then he’d been confident in his own abilities, and he’d known he was the man he wanted to be, even if outside of work he was a bit lonely. He didn’t have to be lonely now if he could figure out how to keep from screwing this up.

“We want you with us. It doesn’t matter how long we’ve known you.” Matt pulled him into a hug, and Toby climbed on top of them so he could join in.

“We’re going to figure this out, and we’re not letting you walk away again,” Toby said.

When they finally released him, Bryce took a deep breath and sat up. “I love you. Both of you. I’ve never said that to a man before, never thought I would, but here I am saying it and meaning it in a way I didn’t understand before I met you two.”

Matt reached up and cupped his face. “I love you too. I’m so glad you came back.”

Toby’s eyes glistened, and he turned away and swiped at his face. “It was all I could do not to come after you. I love you both, and I don’t want to give this up. Ever.”

Bryce nodded. “I know it can work. Look at Mason and his boyfriends. They’re sickeningly happy. And surely we can do better than a couple cops.”

Toby grinned. “Damn right we can.”

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