6. Hailey
I can tell something is up the moment Arlo’s arms come around me. He’s stilted and stuttering in a way I haven’t seen him. From the moment I met him, he was in command, even if he was distant and evasive.
When I find Hota in the car, I have a feeling I know why Arlo is acting weird.
It’s my fault. I made things weird the other night, implying that I’d like to fuck his friend and that I’d like him to as well.
Sure. It’s not far off the mark. It’s not off at all. But intent is everything.
The moment Hota removes me from his lap, I know it’s not just my jet-lagged brain malfunctioning.
The two friends, who’ve been through thick and thin together almost every step of the way, are acting like they hardly know each other. I started this. It’s up to me to fix it. Technically, they started this long ago. I’m the only one among us with the nerve and tits to do something about it.
I press my hip to Hota’s, my boobs together, and bat my lashes with a smirk. “You first.”
He finally releases his lower lip that’d been trapped between his fingers, then his teeth. His shoulders lower on a huff, and I know I’ve got him.
“Look outside.” Hota jerks his chin toward the windows lining the car. It’s hard to pull my gaze from his full mouth, but I do. “What do you see?”
I assess the gray evening and the missing sun, the threat of flurries, and the evidence that they’ve been spitting snow all day long. “New York in winter.”
“When you smile, the sun comes out. It’s almost impossible not to smile in the warmth of the sunshine.”
My mouth falls open. I forget about my boobs and my attempt at seduction. Just like that, I’m seduced by Hota’s words. A lump forms in my throat, and emotions sting my eyes.
“What will put a smile back on your face, Hailey?”
For you to fuck me and love me and let Arlo fuck you and love you too.
You know, just an easy favor.
I blink like mad, then face him with a stupidly big smile. “There’s something I want to do, but you both have to agree to it without coercion.” I point between him and Arlo.
Hota’s dark gaze flies to Arlo’s face and back to mine. “Do we get to know what this something is?”
“No.” I beam. “If you knew, neither of you would want to do it.”
His head swivels back and forth. He crosses his arms over his chest and leans back to get a better look at me. The finely knitted sweater pulls taut over his biceps and chest. My mouth waters.
I know he’s going to say no.
Why wouldn’t he? I would.
“Let me get this straight.” He pulls his thumb over the corner of his mouth. Beside me, Arlo adjusts in the seat. I’m about to pant from staring at his mouth for too long. “You want us to agree to something we’d say no to if we knew what it was, and you’re not going to give us a small hint?”
“Yes.” I mean to sound peppy and upbeat, but it comes out breathy.
“But this thing will make you smile.”
“Yes,” I squeal. Because as hot as it is to be sandwiched between these two men, what I have in mind will be even better…for now.
“That’s coercion at its finest,” Arlo chuckles.
“Sold.” Hota grins and lifts his eyes to Arlo. “You?”
“Yes, to all of it,” Arlo says.
Hota pulls in a heavy breath that makes me think those words mean more than they do at face value.
“I like the sound of that.” Before they can renege, I scurry to the partition and knock. The divider rolls down, and Leonard eyes me in the rearview.
“Yes, Miss Fitz-” He winces and clears his throat. “Yes, Miss Hailey.”
“Thank you, Mr. Leonard, but not quite. I’m just Hailey.”
“You’re anything but just, miss.” He winks.
“Watch it, Leo,” Hota warns.
Leonard clears his throat while I swat a hand at Hota. “Smooth talker.” I grin at the driver. “I’d like to make a detour.”
“Yes, miss.” He nods. “Where would you like to go?”
I lean forward, flashing my fully covered ass at the boys to get close enough to Leonard’s ear so that they can’t overhear my instructions.
When I finish, the driver gives a worried glance toward the back of the car. “They’re going to hate this.”
“I know,” I whisper to keep from squealing. My heart threatens to leap out of my chest. I’m so excited.
“I’ll be sure and take pictures.” Leonard flips the turn signal and looks for an opening for the extra-long vehicle to switch lanes.
“Thank you.” My smile stretches my lips as I shimmy myself back through the opening and onto the seat.
“My pleasure.” Leonard’s chuckle disappears behind the divider he slides back into place.
Two hot gazes pin me in place. Arlo’s drops to my backside, now firmly ensconced on the leather. He’s closer than he was before, sitting on the long bench close to Hota.
“If you’d kept that thing in the air any longer, you’d have been telling Leo all sorts of secrets.” His chin drops. “Like how you enjoy my tongue in your ass and Hota’s lips wrapped around your clit.” Arlo’s ragged voice shoots straight to my core, stoking the fire that’s been smoldering since I met him.
Hota nods. His sleekly knotted hair barely shifts with the panther-like movement. “He’d have been deaf by the time we finished making you come.”
“Promises. Promises.” I make the shucks sound to play off the swelling pulse in my panties.
“If you don’t want to be stripped and screaming before your devious plan unfolds, I suggest you stay right where you are.” Arlo tugs off his tie.
My breath catches. It’s not Arlo’s words or even the set of his jaw that tells me he’s not bluffing one little bit, which seals it. No, it’s the intensity of Hotaru’s gaze and the death grip he has on his wide thigh.
It’s as if he’s a grenade waiting for someone to pull his pin. So far, he’s been made of restraint and honorable intentions, while Arlo has been teetering on the edge of oblivion. Right this second, I don’t know if that’s accurate.
If Hota ever loses control, I doubt any of us will be left standing.
I nod and cross my legs at the ankle like a good girl. With measured pulls, I fill my lungs with the scent of my love and my conundrum. The picture they make, sitting side by side, is enough to impregnate a group of nuns.
We sit in charged silence for block after block.
Slowly, Arlo’s shoulders relax. He tosses an arm across the back of the seat and turns toward me, which also turns him toward Hota with his forearm nearly touching his friend’s back. “Where are we headed?”
“Only one of your least favorite places in the whole city.” I wince and offer him a big smile. “You’ll be with your two favorite people. So it can’t be that bad, right?”
The car stops in front of The Rink at Rockefeller Center.
Arlo doubles over with laughter. He clutches his belly and points at the horrified expression on Hota’s face.
“Fuck off, the both of you,” Hota growls.
“I’ve never seen such a big man look quite so frightened by frozen water.” I hide my grin behind my hand.
“Oh, you’re going to pay for this,” Hota warns. “Gonna pay big time, sunshine.”
I drop my hand so he can see my joy at having my very own nickname from him.
He smiles back at me while also shaking his head. “Nope. That pretty smile isn’t going to get you out of trouble. That mouth might, though.”
Fuck me.
Just like that, my panties are soaked through with the thought of Hota’s cock in my mouth. A magic one, if Arlo is to be believed. And he is.
I lick my lips and drop onto all fours. I crawl to the back of the car, maneuvering the maze of their long legs and heavy stares. I grab my coat, move to the door, and then look over my shoulder at them. “I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.”
“Fuck!” Hota grouses. “Yeah, you’re sure.” Sarcasm laces his laughter.
Arlo groans, adjusts himself in his pants, then scrambles out after me.
After I step onto the sidewalk and slip on my coat, the two men battle to exit the car first. They are a mess of legs and arms, low growls and grunts. By the time they’re both standing on the sidewalk with me, they’re disheveled and cuter than ever.
“I’m thrilled to see you both so excited to skate with me.” I turn on a dime and flounce my way to the kiosk for three pairs of ice skates. I’ve never flounced a day in my life, but they make things fun and flouncable.
Their connection, love, and banter are contagious. Maybe that’s why I’m not threatened by Hota. When the three of us are together, everything is brighter, sweeter, and just right . I could question it or get insecure about Arlo’s and my relationship, but the instinct to do that with Hota isn’t there like it would be for quite literally anyone else.
The gray of the day has slipped into the magic of night with twinkling lights and Christmas music. A crowd around the top watches only a couple of handfuls of people skate down below.
The closer we get to the counter to order our respective skate sizes, the slower Hota’s steps become. In turn, I slow my steps.
“I can take pictures and video of you guys,” he says as the small queue dwindles.
“Not a chance.” I slip my hand into his and loop my other arm through Arlo’s. “I want to skate with both of you.” Hota’s cheeks go red. I pull his hand, dragging him closer to me, to us. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t skate,” he blurts.
“That’s perfect.” I pull his hand to my mouth and kiss his knuckles. His gaze zips to Arlo, who smiles at us and soothes a reassuring hand over my arm.
“How is that perfect?” Hota’s sharp Adam’s apple bobs.
“Because you have two people who’ll help you. I can teach you, and Arlo can catch you when you fall.” Let him deal with that double entendre.
I don’t give him a chance to retort. Instead, I walk us up to the worker, hand in hand and arm in arm, as we are. “Size seven for me, please.”
The guy doesn’t even look twice at us before reaching down and plopping a little pair of skates onto the counter between us. He’s in his early twenties, maybe. He’s fit with a chiseled jaw.
“And you?” He gestures toward Arlo without looking at him.
“Fourteen, please.”
That snags the guy’s attention. His gaze lands on my lover. The guy’s jaw unhinges just a little and then continues its freefall when it hits Hota. He snaps his lips together and tries his best to play off his instant attraction to my dates. “And you?”
“Same.”
“Fuc— I mean, yeah. Sure. I’m just…I gotta grab them from the back.” He sweeps the hair off his forehead. “You’re big. I mean, your size, your shoes, skates…Yeah.” He turns and shoots toward the back.
“I think he’s in love.” I giggle. “I mean, who can blame him? I do have the two hottest men in the city as my dates.”
“Dates?” Hota asks.
Arlo is affronted. “Just the city?”
I laugh and pull them closer as the guy rounds the corner with a semi barely hidden under his short jacket and two pairs of extra-large skates. “Thanks.”
“Yeah. For sure.” The guy sets them on the counter and openly gawks at Arlo and Hota as they reach for their skates. While he’s at it, Hota grabs mine too.
“Thank you,” I squeak again, this time to the guy who’s holding my hand.
Hota leans forward and brushes his lips across my forehead. “It’s the least I can do for the woman trying to get me killed.”
“Ah, I would never.”
He groans. “We’ll see.”
Arlo finishes paying and making the worker’s day by merely speaking to him.
“Thank you.” I smile.
He puts his wallet away, and then leans down, placing a kiss on my forehead much like Hota had a moment ago. “Let’s get this guy on the ice before he chickens out.”
Arlo maneuvers us through the benches to a free one. While we sit and lace up our skates, I’m comforted by the warmth flowing from either side of me. It’s not just physical warmth, though they block the wind from reaching me. It’s the subtle murmurs, smiles, and even gentle curses coming from both of them.
I tie my last knot first and stand. Arlo finishes a few seconds after and then joins me. Hota twirls the last knot. He takes a deep breath that moves his whole chest. “At least I have really good insurance.”
“We’ll take care of you.” Arlo holds out his hand to his friend.
Hota’s wide jaw flexes. His nostrils flare, and his gaze narrows on five thick fingers and a palm more calloused than most businessmen.
Memories of the first time Arlo offered his hand to me come flooding back. My heart goes warm and gooey. His skin, his touch, is everything to me. Then sadness sneaks in.
They’ve known each other for so long. This isn’t the first time they’ve touched, but it’s the first offering in too many years apart.
I read the bittersweet notes as they work across Hota’s stunning features. His gaze lifts to Arlo’s and then mine. Apprehension knits his brows.
“We will,” I agree with a smile and a nod toward Arlo’s hand.