Jack groaned, sounding as pained as I was. “Jesus. Yeah, that works for me.”
“Same.”
Beck met our eyes and then turned back to Winnie. “If we do this, you don’t go out and find anyone else. There won’t be any sharing outside of us. Do you understand?”
I winced at the domineering tone in his voice, scared he’d run Winnie off, but as she nodded quickly and rubbed her thighs together, I saw that she wasn’t running away. She liked the asshole’s bossiness.
“I don’t want anyone else.” The words from her full lips had precum beading at the tip of my dick.
“Fucking finally. We can stop pretending we aren’t all dying to touch you now.” I was reaching to do just that when the phone on Beck’s office buzzed.
“Excuse me, sexy threesome. Please release my best friend. I’d like to take her to a late lunch and she’s no good to any of you if she’s wasting away and too weak to fu—”
Winnie squeaked and practically flew across the room to hit Beck’s phone. She cut Gabe off, but it was too late. She pushed a button on the phone and quietly threatened the man. “Gabe, I’m going to find every picture of you from your perm days and I’m going to post them to every website I can think of. You’re so grounded. No trashy TV with Birdie. No trashy TV with me or Mom, either. And Pride? You’ll be lucky if I don’t sew you into your outfit so you can’t get access that night, if you know what I mean. You’re lucky I don’t swear, Gabriel.”
Whatever the man said back to her made her giggle before hanging up the phone. She straightened her shoulders and turned back around to find the three of us trying to suppress our laughter. She was as threatening as a butterfly.
She narrowed her eyes at us and pranced to the door. “I don’t see what’s so funny.”
As soon as the door closed with her on the other side of it, we all let loose and laughed. I recognized that we were all laughing more with her around. She brought life to us, and it was as addictive as I’d told her.
31
Jack
Sittinginthebasementof the church, I stretched my arms out over my head and stared at my two best friends. We’d been sitting in silence for a few minutes, none of us knowing quite where to start. The Single Dad’s Club, as we’d deemed our meetings, had never been so quiet. There was always bullshit to vent about. That night, though, the shit the kids had pulled seemed less severe.
Finally, I gave in. “Fuck. Are we doing something that we won’t be able to come back from?”
Sawyer rested his elbows on his knees and shrugged. “Who knows? It’s not like there’s a self-help book for this. ‘What to Do When You and Your Two Best Friends Decide to Fuck the Same Woman, Sometimes Together.’ Maybe we’ll write it.”
“Just make sure to be clear that we’re not fucking each other. To each their own, but the idea of touching either of you makes my dick want to fall off.” Beck’s laugh was a burst of sound as it came out of nowhere. “I never thought this would be a conversation we’d be having.”
I grinned. “Not in a million years. There’s something about Win, though.”
“Alright, so what’s the game plan?”
Sawyer stood up and started pacing. “Shit. I’m already climbing the walls with jealousy that she’s been with both of you alone. My schedule sucks, but I’m going to figure out a way to be alone with her.”
“Does it bother you? The idea of her being with us, without you?” I didn’t want to ruin my friendships. The men sitting in the room with me had been my brothers while we were in the service together, and ever since.
Sawyer took his time thinking and sat back down before rubbing his hands down his thighs. “I think I need to get my head examined.”
Beck snorted. “Why now, and not all the times we’ve told you that before?”
Sawyer rolled his eyes. “I don’t know if it’s the way this whole thing started, or what, but I’m not jealous of either of you. I’m jealous of the time with Win. For whatever reason, the thought of either of you with her doesn’t make me want to break shit.”
Beck shifted in his chair and managed to look the most uncomfortable I’d ever seen him. “Same. If either of you repeat this, I’ll murder you, but something about it makes me fucking rock hard. Maybe you’re right, maybe itisbecause of how we started this, all together, but when I think about Win with the two of you, I’m not jealous. I want to be there, sure, but picturing her like that does it for me.”
Sawyer made a sound of agreement while looking equally uncomfortable. “Yeah. Same.”
I realized they were both looking at me for my answer to their unposed question. Shrugging, I showed all my cards. “Seems like my dick doesn’t care if it’s me or you two doing the job, just as long as Win is being fucked. I don’t get it. I’ve never wanted to share a woman before. I don’t buy that all of this is just because we all started this thing together, either. It wouldn’t have happened with any other woman. There’ve been chances for threesomes before, and we never took the offer. There’s something about Win.”
“We bypassed threesome and went straight for... whatever this is. Hiring her to keep her close. Fixing her car for free.” Sawyer cut his eyes at me. “Don’t even try to deny it. We all know you well enough to know you’re not taking a dime from her.”
I frowned. “She’s had a tough go of things.”
Laughing at me, Sawyer nodded. “I don’t blame you. If I had any services I could offer the woman, they’d be at her feet already. I could babysit, but no way am I offering to spend more time with that child alone. The twins are destructive monsters at times, but Birdie knows how to gut a man. There’s no way she’s only seven.”