Page 29 of Party of Three

Was he falling for Buckley now too?

Could Mateo see it?

Could Buckley?

“Bottoms get first shower.” Buckley slid to the floor. He waddled to the bathroom door. The dildo still speared him to the hilt. He gave his ass a little shake, then slid the bathroom door shut behind him.

“Wild child,” Jeff said.

“I like firecracker,” Mateo said. “Firecracker’s perfect.”

It felt like another subtle commitment, Mateo allowing Jeff to give his boyfriend a new, enduring nickname.

A few seconds later, as they listened to the shower spray from the bathroom, Mateo snuggled up against him. Sitting naked on the carpeted floor wasn’t the most comfortable position, but they were both too exhausted to move. And Mateo was gently caressing Jeff’s chest, then his stomach, and even though the carpet was a little rough under his bare ass, Jeff thought,I could stay here forever,which probably means it’s time to go.

When Buckley emerged, Mateo told Jeff to hit the shower ahead of him.

Figuring the two boyfriends probably wanted to talk over recent events with him out of earshot, Jeff headed into the shower, a cold, prickly feeling spreading across his skin. Alone, under the spray, taking too long to soap his hair as his thoughts spiraled outward, he tried not to give himself over to dark imaginings about what they were saying in the other room.

Maybe they were plotting how to gracefully get rid of him. It would make sense. If one of them was going to freak out and regret the past few hours, now would be the perfect time.

Hell, maybe he’d thrown too much cold water on everything with his condom request the night before. Introduced too much reality into the crazed fantasy they’d lived out for several hours. Should he have just taken Buckley raw if the guy had wanted himto, medical realities be damned? He was tested on the regular and was confident the risk of giving Buckley anything was lower than low. Now, he wished he had. The thought that he might never get a taste of Mateo and Buckley again after this morning filled him with panic.

He hated feeling this way.

Vulnerable. A word that made his skin crawl.

That’s what walking into the party last night had made him feel. It’s how he felt when he decided to stay at the party after Buckley’s deception had been revealed. And it’s how he felt now.

It’s how it felt to want something, want someone.

In this case,twosomeones.

But walking through those vulnerable moments had given him a night that had rocked his world, taken him to new heights of pleasure. So maybe if he could stick this out, keep his cool, not rush for the exits until they gestured to them politely, he’d be greeted with another fantasy made reality.

Problem was, he didn’t have a change of clothes.

And maybe that was a sign.

It really was time for him to head out. If the men in the other room were trying to figure out how to say it, maybe they’d follow up their words with an invite for round two. That would be good. Beyond good. Every time he thought of the moment he and Mateo had stalked across the floor toward Buckley’s chair, two hungry beasts working in tandem, the hotness of it—therightnessof it—quickened his breaths and tightened his balls.

Our boy. He could be our boy.

His head was spinning by the time he stepped from the shower.

He’d tried to talk himself back to reality and ended up somewhere between hope and despair. He was seven years old again and his uncle was accusing him of destroying another relationship, another home, because he’d been too wild, too free.

So by the time he opened the door to the bedroom, he was beginning to phrase the words of his graceful exit speech. That’s when he saw a neatly folded outfit sitting atop the freshly smoothed-down comforter. A pair of jeans and a navy-blue polo shirt. Mateo’s, probably, but about his size. The two men were standing on the other side of the bed, speaking in hushed whispers. Buckley was dressed in khaki shorts and a V-neck tee. Mateo was still deliciously naked, which made their casual embrace feel somehow naughty.

“You can wear that to lunch,” Mateo said.

Jeff nodded, studying the clothes. “Lunch.”

“After that,” Buckley said, “it’s no big deal since we’ll come back here and we won’t have to wear any clothes at all.”

Jeff huffed with laughter, hoping his relief hadn’t turned him red.

Mateo was facing him now, looking serious. The scene before him was the reverse of what he’d dreaded in the shower. They didn’t want him to go. They wanted him to stay. But for how long?