Page 60 of Burning Up

Once they heard the front door close, Bryce glanced at Matt and Toby. “Do you like it as much as I do?”

Matt nodded. “This is it. The place where we start over. Together.”

Toby pulled Matt to him in a one-arm hug and kissed his cheek. “You’re right. This is just the place to start a new life. Open, bright, roomy.”

“Roomy enough to get into endless trouble,” Bryce added.

“And endless punishment,” Toby said as they stepped into the hall and took another look at the other bedrooms.

Bryce chuckled. “That can be arranged.”

“It’s perfect for a playroom, isn’t it?” Toby asked, stepping into the extra room. “I can just see a spanking bench here.” He gestured to one corner. “And some cushions for kneeling over here.” He turned to face the opposite side of the room.

“Who said you get cushions?” Bryce asked.

Toby shuddered dramatically. “Oooh. You’re soooo bad.”

“Are you sure?” Matt asked, interrupting Toby’s silliness.

“About the house?” Bryce asked.

“About all of it.”

Bryce pulled Matt and Toby close. “I’m more than sure. I didn’t think I could handle all this at first, but now I know I made the right choice. I couldn’t be more excited about my prospects both at work and with you.”

“Then let’s go tell Theresa we’ll take it,” Toby said.

Bryce grinned at Toby. “You eager to get out of here for some reason?”

“Nope. I just want to have this settled.”

“And to get back home?” Matt asked.

“Well that too. Bryce did make me a promise.”

“What I said was that I had to study.”

“And then you said you’d get me back for liking Gray’s ass. You shouldn’t put that off.”

Bryce grinned. “I won’t.”

They signed a rental agreement and fixed a date three weeks down the road to take possession of the new place. Bryce prayed he’d find someone to sublet his house by then. He had three months left on his lease. The landlord wouldn’t let him out of it, but if he found someone to take over those months, that person could have dibs on the place when the lease ran out. One of the guys in his class was considering it, and Mason had another prospect for him.

Renting a home together shouldn’t have been such a big deal, but it did feel like a new start, something truly theirs in a way his house couldn’t be. The changes at work hadn’t been as bad as they’d feared. Matt and Toby were on the same schedule so they all got to see each other even though Bryce was in class for long hours and had a lot of studying to do. His police training wouldn’t last forever, though. Then he’d make another new start. New job. New home. A life with the men he loved.

“We need to celebrate,” he said when they were all settled in Matt’s car.

“Mmmm. Definitely,” Toby answered, closing his eyes and dropping his head back as if imaging what that celebration might entail.

“Do you ever not think with your dick?” Matt asked.

Toby frowned at him. “What kind of celebration were you thinking of?”

Matt shook his head and looked at Bryce for support. “He’s hopeless.”

“Seriously,” Toby said. “Don’t you want to go home and fuck?”

“I didn’t say that, but I thought we might celebrate by going out somewhere special or maybe shopping for something for the new place.”

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