Chapter Fifteen
TEDDY
Teddy was cleaning up the kitchen when Geoff walked in.
“Morning, Teddy Bear.” Geoff wrapped his arms around Teddy and squeezed.
“Did you enjoy yesterday?” Teddy asked.
“I had a nice time.” He kissed his neck again. “Did you?”
“I did.”
Teddy turned around and kissed Geoff. His lips were soft from his Chapstick.
“Where’s our guest?” Teddy asked.
“He’s showering,” Geoff said.
“Did he say anything?”
“No,” Geoff muttered, frowning. “I hope he had fun.”
“With the way we had him moaning, I’m sure he did.”
They were both laughing when Ciaran walked in.
“What’s so funny?”
“We were just discussing our exertion yesterday. We hope you enjoyed it.”
“I did,” Ciaran confirmed. “I haven’t come that hard in years. You two know how to make a guy feel special.”
“We’re glad,” Geoff replied.
“You two set the table, and I’ll have breakfast ready in a bit,” Teddy suggested.
Teddy checked the bacon in the oven. He’d had more fun with Ciaran than with any guy they’d played with before. He never became attached, but Ciaran was different. There was a spark, a passion that no one else showed.
Don’t think like that. It’s just fun. He’ll go home soon, and everything will be back to normal.
After finishing breakfast, Ciaran headed out to take the pictures he hadn’t gotten the day before. Teddy and Geoff stayed back to clean up.
“I don’t think we should have sex with Ciaran again,” Teddy blurted as he loaded the dishwasher.
“What? Why?”
Teddy looked at Geoff, whose face scrunched up. “I think it’ll become too complicated,” Teddy said. “There’s something there, and I’m scared that if it goes on, it’ll lead to some heartache.”
“Do you think he’s falling for us?”
“Maybe? I don’t know. It just feels different with him. With the other guys, it was easy to just have fun and go, but he’s staying with us. We should have talked more before inviting him.”
Geoff wrapped his arms around Teddy, holding him close. “It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. It happened. Do you think it was a mistake?”
“I don’t know,” Teddy said. “I don’t know what it was.”
“Are we falling for him?” Geoff looked into his eyes.
“I think it’s a possibility,” Teddy said. “How do you feel about it?”
He needed to know Geoff’s feelings. This was uncharted territory for them, and he was nervous.
“I really like him,” Geoff said. “I think there’s something there.”
“So, what’s our next step?”
“We should talk to him. See what he thinks and feels. It’s unfair to just drop something like this without telling him.”
“You’re right. We’ll just be upfront and clear that it’s just fun, and no strings,” Teddy said.
“Exactly.”
Teddy didn’t believe his own words. Something was there, something he couldn’t explain. It wasn’t the same as the love he felt for Geoff, but it was more than just sex. He had to guard himself.
Ciaran showed up in time for lunch.
“I got some amazing pictures,” he told them as he drizzled dressing over his salad. “The area is gorgeous. It makes me miss Canada.”
“Are you thinking of moving home?” Teddy asked.
“I think I might. I just need to get organized, take care of bills, and I could probably be in Canada by summer.”
“That’s wonderful,” Geoff said. “You’ll be close to family and maybe find the Canadian man of your dreams.”
Teddy glanced at Geoff. The emphasis on a man didn’t go unnoticed.
“One can only hope,” Ciaran smiled.
After lunch, Geoff put on Elf while Teddy made hot chocolate with cookies.
“When are we going to make s’mores?” Geoff asked.
“I thought we could do that tonight,” Teddy said.
He gave each of them a tray and sat next to Geoff on the couch. Ciaran curled his feet under him in the chair.
They watched as Buddy tried to acclimate to human life outside of the North Pole, and Teddy smiled throughout the entire movie. Christmas movies brought out his inner child. He giggled and laughed as Buddy poured honey on his spaghetti.
“You are such a big kid,” Geoff teased, squeezing Teddy closer to him.
“Yes, I am.” Teddy kissed him. “And I’m not ashamed.”
Ciaran laughed from his seat on the chair.
“What?” Teddy asked.
“You two are so adorable,” he said. “I hope to have what you have one day.”
“You will,” Geoff told him. “It just takes time.”
Ciaran smiled, but said nothing else.
Teddy knew Ciaran didn’t believe them. He and Geoff had been together since high school. Sure, it was hard, but they always had each other. Ciaran didn’t have a special someone or even many friends.
Teddy collected the plates and cups and headed to the kitchen to clean up after the movie.
They finished up the evening with roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and wine.
After dinner, Teddy and Geoff sat down around the fireplace for s’mores with Ciaran. As they roasted their marshmallows, Teddy glanced at Geoff, who nodded.
“We wanted to talk about yesterday,” Teddy said.
“I had fun,” Ciaran said. “I promise.”
“Good,” Geoff said. “So, we wanted to make sure things were clear. We were having fun.”
“Of course,” Ciaran said. “I didn’t expect you guys to ask me to move in or something.”
“We were worried,” Teddy said. “It was your first time, so we didn’t know how you felt.”
“Will there be another chance before I leave?” Ciaran said.
“Let’s take it one day at a time and see where things go. We don’t want to force anything,” Geoff said.
What? Teddy quickly looked over at him. They’d agreed to cut it off. He kept his mouth shut, deciding they’d talk about it later.
“Fair,” Ciaran said. “I’m going to head up to bed. You guys have a great night.”
“Night,” Teddy and Geoff said.
Once they heard Ciaran’s door close, Geoff looked at Teddy. “That went better than I thought.”
“Yeah, but I thought we were going to make it clear it was a one-time thing. I think you got his hopes up.”
“I’m sorry,” Geoff said. “I didn’t know what else to say.”
“I get that,” Teddy said. “But we can’t make it into more than it was: just some fun with a hot guy.”
“I know,” Geoff said.
Teddy watched Geoff. He wanted to tell him he enjoyed it more than with any guy before, but couldn’t. Ciaran was a great guy, but again, it was just fun.
But what if it’s more?
Teddy cleaned up the dishes and kitchen before settling into his chair with Round and Round by Andrew Grey.
It was difficult to find romance novels about gay or bi men written by gay or bi men. Andrew Grey was a go-to. He was always on target with the connections and the realism of what it’s like to be a gay man.
Geoff brought him a cup of hot chocolate.
“Thank you.” Teddy set the book on the table and took the mug.
“How’s the book?”
“It’s good,” Teddy said. “Andrew Grey is amazing at telling a story.”
“That’s nice,” Geoff said.
“You should try it.”
“I’ll pass,” Geoff said. “I prefer my mystery novels.”
Geoff sat in the other chair, put on his reading glasses, and opened The Girl on the Train.
They sat there in silence for an hour, each enthralled in his own story.
It’d been a long day. They hadn’t planned to have sex with Ciaran yesterday; they’d wanted something more special.
When he caught them, everything changed.
It felt right, and it was a great time. What would they do now?
Ciaran had enjoyed it as much as they did, and they all seemed to want to do it again.
This won’t end well. We can’t do it again.