“I don’t want him third-wheeling our date,” Dean protests, but Cayde shoots him a sharp glare.
“Fine.” Dean grabs our trash, shoving off of the bench and stalking towards a nearby trash can.
“I didn’t realize I was third-wheeling your date,” Jaxon says, his voice flat. “I can leave if you want. I know I’ve pretty much surrendered all my rights to ‘date’ Athena.”
“No.” I interrupt before Cayde can say anything. “It’s fine with me if you stay.”
Cayde looks only mildly annoyed, and I know Dean will be much more so, but I don’t care. It was sweet of them to take me on the date, but Jaxon showing up reminded me that I can’t afford to get complacent. Any fantasies I might have of ordinary dates with these boys and burgers at picnic tables and future kids screaming on carnival rides are just that. Fantasies. Not my reality.
Dean’s mouth is pressed into a thin line when he gets back and sees all three of us ready to go, but he doesn’t say anything.
“Let’s go play some carnival games,” Cayde says then, breaking the awkward silence, and the four of us set off across the fairgrounds, heading for the long stalls of games.
Jaxon trails behind us, like some kind of silent security, and I can’t help but wonder what it would be like if he were taking me out too, instead of just being an interloper. If he were really part of this, instead of having pulled himself out of the running.
“This looks like fun.” Cayde stops in front of the stall with the water balloons and darts, and my chest constricts again, but I line up between him and Dean, Jaxon on the other side of Cayde.
Cayde throws the first dart, hitting it spot on, and to my surprise, Jaxon cheers him on, yelling, “hell yeah!” as Cayde hits his second balloon too. Cayde cheers on Dean, and then all three of them start hyping me up as I brace to throw my own darts, Cayde’s hands on my hips as I square up to toss the first one. I feel that overwhelming desire again to forget everything but this moment, the feel of Cayde’s hands casually on me in a totally non-sexual way that still makes me feel warm and tingly all over, as casual as if we do this all the time, every Saturday night.
I haven’t felt this normal in a long time. Even with the lingering tension among the three guys, as I toss the darts, hitting one balloon and then missing the next three, it feels good. Ordinary. And I like having all of them there. I like feeling Cayde’s hands on me and having Dean next to me, and even seeing Jaxon’s face as he starts to relax and actually have fun.
Cayde hit the most darts, so he’s the one who gets the biggest prize. “Pick something out,” he tells me, his arms sliding around my waist from behind as he kisses my neck, and I feel a warm shiver go down my spine as I point out a stuffed blue panda.
“That one,” I tell the thin, grizzled-looking man running the stand, and he gets up on a stepladder to fish it down for me, handing me the bear.
“Don’t they sell beer here?” Jaxon asks as we walk away; I’m still sandwiched between Cayde and Dean as we make our way down the row of games.
“It’s a family-friendly venue,” Dean says dryly. “So no, I don’t think so.”
“Damn shame.” Jaxon eyes one of the food trucks as we walk past. “I’d settle for some cotton candy, though.”
We wait in line again, each of us getting a different color of the sticky floss, and to my surprise, Jaxon peels a chunk of his fluffy blue cone away and holds it up to my lips. When I eat it off of his fingers, I see the heat in his eyes, and I feel an answering warmth pool in my belly, a pleasant ache spreading through me.
I still want him, regardless of what there is between the other two boys and me, regardless of how complicated things are between us.
It surprises me how determined Cayde and Dean seem to be to let nothing ruin the night. We go back and forth between games and food, winning small prizes and stuffing ourselves full of fried food and sugar, until all I can taste is sweetness on my tongue. My heart feels lighter than it has in years, the warm fall night crowding in around us until I could almost cry with how happy I feel.
I know they can see it, too. We stay long past when there’s anything left for us to do, watching the Ferris wheel and the other rides, none of us particularly inclined to get on them, but enjoying watching the people who do anyway. When Jaxon wanders off to find a bathroom, Cayde turns towards me, tipping my chin up so that he can kiss me. He tastes like cinnamon from the funnel cake we shared, and I feel Dean’s hands slide around my waist and the heat of his breath as he nuzzles my neck. It sends a dart of lust through me, and suddenly I’m ready to go home, to have both of them in my bed—or someone’s bed.
“I know it’s the first date,” I whisper breathlessly against Cayde’s mouth, one hand on his chest as the other reaches behind me to grasp Dean’s belt. “But I think I want to go home with both of you.”
I feel Cayde smile against my lips, and I know that’s exactly where we’re going next.
Athena
The fun starts before we even get back home.
Dean drives faster than he strictly should on the backroads on a dark night, his hand pressing mine against the front of his jeans until I start to play with him, rubbing the thick ridge of his cock through the denim until he groans aloud.
“No fair,” Cayde says, leaning forward to brush my hair away from my neck, his fingers on my nape sending a shiver down my spine. “I’m all the way back here.”
I can feel my arousal building as we drive, Dean taking each turn tightly as he speeds back towards the manor. Jaxon is on his bike, of course, and I can’t help but wonder where he’s gone, if he’s headed back to the house too, if he might be a part of this.
I want him to be. But all signs lately have indicated that won’t be the case.
Cayde’s hand is firmly on my ass as we walk inside. The moment we reach the base of the staircase, he suddenly swoops me up, tossing me over his shoulder as easily as if I weigh nothing at all as he starts to walk up, Dean behind him.
I can see the wicked glint in Dean’s eye as Cayde walks, and I give a perfunctory wriggle just because I know Cayde will like it, but the truth is that I’m just fine being carried up the stairs over Cayde’s shoulder right now. Not a single part of me wants to be anywhere else, and there are several parts of me that are very excited to be right here, right now.