6. Chapter Six
Chapter Six
Cade
“Where are you going? Ford has a friend who’s looking for a bookkeeper. It might not be your life’s ambition, but it would get you through for a while until you find a better job.” Cade had found Fiona in his apartment, dressing in her business clothes from earlier in the day. It had been the longest day of Cade’s fucking life.
“I’ll make it just fine on my own, kiddo. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be in touch maybe, okay?” She gave him an odd smile he wasn’t sure how to decipher.
Fiona hurriedly gathered her things, but a horrible thought struck Cade. He grabbed her hand as she started for the door. “I’m begging you not to use Jax and Ford to supplement your income by giving some sort of exposé, Fiona. They don’t deserve to be treated that way because they’re nice guys. Don’t sell them out, please?”
Cade didn’t know her, and she didn’t know him. She owed him nothing, and the two of them had only recently become acquainted, so he couldn’t know if Fiona was trustworthy. Cade had been the one to bring the woman into Ford and Jax’s sanctuary, and if she violated it, he’d never forgive himself.
“Oh, bloody hell, you don’t think I’d… no, Cade, I’d never. I’ve had too much scrutiny over my life to ever bring it down on anyone I know. I’d never tattle on your boyfriends, but I’ll give you a warning… be careful. Make dead certain you know what they want from you before you make any commitments. Don’t allow yourself to be used, kiddo. It happens more often than you’d think.” Fiona hurried out the door, pulling it closed behind her.
Cade had no idea what she meant with the brief sermon she’d offered before she scurried out, but he had no time to dissect it. He needed to get across the hallway to have dinner with Ford and Jackson. He wasn’t sure why, but it seemed as if any time spent in their company was time well spent.
“Where’s the bitchy one?” Jax walked into the kitchen where Cade was studying something on his phone. Fiona took off before she’d relayed her mother’s recipe, and Cade didn’t want the ingredients to go to waste.
“Come sit here and read this recipe to me, slowly.” Cade grinned at Jax as he pointed to the chair on the other side of the peninsula.
Ford was on the phone again, so Cade took up the spoon, so to speak, to make them dinner. He’d never made the dish before but based on the recipe he’d found on a foodie website, it didn’t seem too hard to prepare—though, whether it would be edible remained to be seen.
Jax walked over to where he stood at the sink washing potatoes and leaned over his shoulder, kissing his neck. “You’re a little bossy. I like that a lot.”
It brought a giggle from Cade before the guilt settled into his soul. He turned to the redhead and pushed a wooden spoon against his chest. “You’re in a committed relationship with a wonderful man, Jackson. I don’t… I won’t cheat on Ford with you, okay? I mean… To be honest, you both mean a lot to me, but I can’t be that guy.” Cade tossed the spoon on the counter and crossed his arms over his chest.
Jax grabbed his arm and pulled him toward his broad chest. “It’s not like that, Kincade. I’d never cheat on Ford. I mean, he’s okay with…”
Cade pushed the man away again, rounding the counter and heading toward the front door. Jax slid in front of him and picked him up, carrying him into the formal living room where Ford was on the phone.
“Hang up. We have a problem.”
Cade, however, was kicking his legs while trying to wiggle free from the giant holding him in his arms.
“I’ll check in later. Call me if something else comes up.” The phone was tossed onto the couch cushion, and Ford turned to look at Cade, who continued trying to wrench free from Jax’s hold.
“What’s going on?” Ford smirked at the two of them.
Cade finally calmed enough so he would be released. He took Jax’s large hand to lead him over to the fancy tan-brocade couch, pushing him into the seat next to Ford.
After sitting on the ornate glass and oak coffee table, Cade faced the two of them. He grasped each of their hands, looking into their eyes as he steeled himself to make it a brief speech.
“I truly appreciate everything the two of you have done for me since I’ve moved in, but maybe it would be in all our best interests if I move on. I mean, I’d never do anything to come between the two of you. I just… In such a short time, you’ve both become important to me, and I just can’t—won’t—be the guy to fuck things up for you.” Cade squeezed their hands for emphasis.
He stared into Jax’s gorgeous green eyes and smiled. “You’re so damn handsome, Jackson. If you weren’t so head over heels in love with this guy,” he squeezed Ford’s hand, “I’d definitely have tried to hide in your bed.”
He turned to Ford and smiled. “You have such a light in your eyes, Branford. The first time I looked at you I was a stuttering speechless mess, much like Raney had been, and he’s totally straight.” Cade tore his gaze from Ford’s handsome face.
Releasing a sigh, Cade prepared to put the nail in the coffin, so to speak. “You two are amazing. You’ve got a great life together. Don’t ever let anyone get between you. You’re perfect for each other.” Cade stood from his place on their coffee table and started toward the door. Arms circled his waist once again.
Cade glanced behind to find Ford and Jax both had their arms wrapped around him. Both were smiling at him, confusing him totally.
“Not so fast, sweetheart. We have a proposal.”
They separated from the embrace and Ford looked at Jax, who smirked before he leaned forward and kissed Cade on the lips, right there in front of his boyfriend.
Cade was mortified, but the softest lips in the world pressed against his, and a wet tongue slid over his mouth leaving the sweet taste of chocolate in its wake. Cade had seen the glass bowl with chocolate candy on an end table, so he wasn’t surprised it was Jax’s addiction.
As he broke away from Jax’s hold, Ford swept him into a gentle hold before his lips molded over Cade’s, leaving him too flabbergasted to do anything more than kiss the man back. What the hell are they doing?
Ford broke the kiss and looked into Cade’s eyes, caressing the side of his face. “You’re lucky not to have a heavy beard. In a week, our man will stop shaving, and he’ll end up looking like a leprechaun before he heads off to training camp. The senior players don’t shave during camp, and you should run your fingers through his silky hair at least once before he goes to Bourbonnais. He’ll shave his head but keep the beard. He still looks handsome, though,” Ford told Cade quietly as Jax leaned forward to kiss the blond on the lips, holding Cade between them.
Cade was so lost, feeling both against him, he couldn’t speak. “I love you,” Jax told Ford as he touched his face, bringing tears to Cade’s eyes as he witnessed the truth of the feelings between the two men.
“And I love you, Jackson,” Ford leaned forward and kissed the redhead again.
As Cade tried to wiggle free, Jax picked him up and smiled. “And you, chère, are the perfect piece to this puzzle. You’re the… Well, you’ve become the softness between Ford and me. We’ve always been like two pieces of metal chafing against each other, but with you, well, you can be the…”
Jax stared at Ford who smiled. “You’re like the brake pad in our car. The softness between two hard surfaces. Only if you want to be, but we’d like to take you out, one at a time in the beginning, but eventually, we’d like to be together… with you.”
Cade had heard a lot of things in his young life, but never did he think he’d be propositioned by not one handsome man, but two. He wasn’t sure what they wanted from him, but he had a war in his head regarding the right answer. Off the cuff, “ fuck yes ” was circling his brain, but a threesome? A ménage à trois ? That was one he’d never seen coming.
“So, I finally get the guy into my single dorm room and onto my bed, and there’s a loud knock on my door. I’m so pissed off because I’m about to get the guy to go down on me, so I’m definitely gettin’ rid of whoever the fuck is on the other side of that door. I’m wearin’ basketball shorts and freeballin’ it because I just got back from practice and had showered. I’d met the guy at a frat party the weekend before and gave him my number, so when he called, I was ready to plow him into the mattress.”
Cade was riveted by Jax’s story, but that wasn’t unusual—the man was quite the storyteller.
Jax continued. “I open the door and there stands Ford with a smug smile on his face and that uppity way he can talk when he’s trying to prove a point.”
Sticking his nose in the air, Jax proceeded to mock Ford, making Cade laugh. “‘I’m sorry to interrupt your evening’s entertainment, but the young man you have in here with you is the fifteen-year-old son of the dean of the business school. I met him at a mixer at his mother’s house a few weeks ago, so you might want to get him out of here before campus security shows up to arrest you for statutory rape. I heard his mother is looking for him.’ He’s so fuckin’ nonchalant and superior about it, and I’m ’bout to swallow my fuckin’ tongue.” Jax’s hands were spread wide with his palms up, apparently, attempting an innocent look that made Cade’s heart skip a beat.
“I turn to look at the kid, and he’s got the covers over his head, which confirms that Ford isn’t shittin’ me about the kid’s age. I hustle the lad out of my room and down the back stairs just as campus security starts knockin’ on doors and searchin’ rooms. I pull Ford into my room and thank him, and when I open the door for the cops, they see two young men playing chess. We became best friends right there.”
It was the story of how Jax and Ford met and got to be friends before they became lovers. Cade enjoyed hearing every story they had, and the two men even praised the casserole he’d fixed for dinner.
“So, you had other lovers before each other?” Cade sipped a cup of coffee that Ford had made him.
“Oh, Jax was quite the roundabout in high school from what Juliette told me the few times I met her.” Ford winked at Cade.
Jax chuckled. “Oh, and you were celibate? Tommy Kenney, who is an old friend of Ford’s from his old neighborhood on Long Island, told me all about him back in high school. Remember when I took him out for dinner the last time we played New York? You punched your ticket nearly every weekend with a different girl, which I’ve gotta assume included some guys because you were in the closet back then.”
Ford laughed and squeezed Jax’s hand. “Yeah, well, you were fucking everything with a pulse, too.”
Suddenly, something struck Cade as odd. “So, um, well… This is sort of personal, but are you both tops?”
He saw Jax wink at Ford. “You picked a smart one, babe.”
“And a handsome one with a terrific personality and…”
Cade laughed and raised his hand. “Come on, now. I can smell bullshit a mile away. What’s the deal? You have a great relationship and anyone can see you two are in love. Why would you want to bring a stranger into something as lovely as this?”
“Let’s have a nightcap and take it to the sitting area,” Ford suggested.
“I, uh, I need to clean this up.” Cade wasn’t certain if he was ready for the discussion the three of them were likely going to have about why they’d want to include him in their seemingly perfect relationship.
“I’ll do it later. What can I get you? Cognac? Brandy? Bailey’s?” Jax listed the different types of after-dinner liqueurs they had at their disposal.
“Bailey’s.” It was the one brand Cade remembered tasting at one time or another, and it didn’t have the sting of the others.
“I’ll have a Hennessy on the rocks, love.”
Ford led Cade to the sectional sofa in the sitting room next to the kitchen. The furniture matched the French cottage style of the kitchen area. Cade had fallen asleep on the couch earlier in the day, so he could attest to the fact it was comfortable.
“Thank you for fixing dinner, chère. It was delicious. We don’t expect you to cook for us, you know. That’s not at all what any of this is about. If it was, we’d hire a full-time cook,” Jax explained from the kitchen.
Ford smiled as Jax handed out their drinks. “No, what we want with you is much more intimate. You, Kincade, are an amazing guy. I knew it the first time I met you when you were moving in, and every time I’m with you, it reinforces my first impression."
Jax sat down on the chaise end of the couch so he could face Cade and Ford who were sitting side-by-side on the couch. “This sounds like we’re up to no good, but the truth is, Ford and I are both tops. We’ve tried, over the years, to accommodate each other, but truth is, neither of us likes being fucked.” Jax shrugged.
As he stared between the two of them, things started making more sense to Cade. “So, you just want to fuck me? Why don’t you hire a prostitute? Why this whole ridiculous seduction routine? I’m not a whore who you can just trot in to fuck when you’re horny. I’m a real person with real feelings, okay? I want a life that includes a good job and hopefully, someday, a loving boyfriend. I’m not a toy you can take out when you’re bored blowing each other.” He downed the milky liquid in the glass and placed it on the coffee table.
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to get to sleep. I have a job to search for.” He stood and stormed out of the room, holding onto his dignity like a favorite blanket. If they thought he’d just become a fuck toy who would be at their beck and call when one or both were horny, they were crazy.
Cade let himself into his studio apartment and looked around. He needed to take apart the bed and put it in the hallway in front of their apartment door, along with the chairs and table that sat in the kitchen area of his studio.
He should have known there was a price to pay for their kindness. That was the lesson his father had taught him a long time ago.