Chapter Twenty
CIARAN
Ciaran sat in his room, reading The Last Sun.
The idea of being with Teddy and Geoff raced through his mind.
What would it mean? Living here with them, being a part of their lives.
Would they all sleep in the same bed? They did last night, and it felt fantastic.
No one had ever made him feel so welcome, cared about, and safe as they had.
It was a pleasant feeling, being with them.
Not just sexually, but all the ‘regular things’ they’d done; going into town, hikes in the forest, and even just sitting around watching movies and drinking hot chocolate.
The things that couples do. They’d be a throuple. Three men sharing their lives together.
They’ve been together for sixteen years, though. Why would they want me?
The question nagged at his mind. They had an established routine, a full life, and just… everything. All he would do is throw a wrench in it and ruin what they had. They didn’t deserve that. He couldn’t do that to them. He wouldn’t.
Ciaran looked out his window to watch the snow fall. The storm raged on. He’d be stuck here for at least another week. What would he do? It was a lot of time to spend with two men he was falling for, and not knowing what would happen.
Saturday and Sunday slipped by, and none of them talked about Ciaran moving in.
He still ate with them and had fun conversations, but they didn’t bring up moving in.
They truly had left it up to him. They said there’d be no pressure, and he was glad for it.
He still didn’t know what he wanted to do, but having the option was nice. It showed they clearly respected him.
He spent most of his time in his room working on his laptop. A coffee shop in Gilroy, California, called Highland Grounds, wanted to spruce up its website. It was a cozy coffee shop that had been there since 1991. It was nice.
He was focused on setting up their online ordering system when there was a knock on his door.
“Come in,” he called.
“Hey, so, the snow has let up a little, and we’re thinking about taking a dip in the hot tub. Do you wanna join us?” Teddy said.
“Oh my God, yes. I could use a soak.”
“I thought you’d say that, so I already brought you some shorts.” He tossed them to Ciaran.
“I’ll meet you guys out there.”
He changed and met the two men already soaking in the hot tub. The heavy snow had mostly stopped, but it still covered the walkway.
“Started without me, I see,” Ciaran said.
“You took too long,” Geoff laughed.
Ciaran slipped into the water and sank underneath. The hot water eased the tension that had built up in his muscles over the last couple of days.
When he opened his eyes under the water, he saw Geoff’s cock pressed against his shorts, and his hand was on Teddy’s thigh.
Damn, that’s hot.
He broke the surface and wiped his face. “I needed that.”
“Do you want to start the jets?” Teddy asked.
Ciaran leaned over to the control panel and set the jets to high, then he lay back and took in the pulsating water. Snow fell around them, but the canopy prevented it from landing in the water.
“The storm’s dying down,” Teddy said. “You might not make it for Christmas Day, but you should still be able to see your family.”
“I don’t know if I want to be on the road this close to Christmas,” Ciaran said. “But I understand if you two want to spend it alone together.”
He opened his eyes to see them both staring at him, frowns on their faces.
“What?”
“You are more than welcome to spend Christmas with us,” Teddy said. “We literally asked you to move in with us.”
“I just thought…you hadn’t mentioned it in a few days.”
“You said you needed to think, so we wanted to give you time,” Geoff said. “This isn’t something we expect you to rush into.”
“I’d like to consider it,” Ciaran said. “But I want to know what the guidelines would be. I’ve never done this.”
“Neither have we,” Teddy laughed.
“Of course, we can go over rules and boundaries,” Geoff said. “Teddy and I have them for ourselves. It’d be no different with you.”
“What would be some examples?” Ciaran asked.
“Well,” Geoff started. “One thing we have is no sex with other people without the other person there. It’s not really a rule, just one of our boundaries. We’re not comfortable with each other sleeping with someone else.”
“Another,” Teddy added, “is that we always agree on who we have sex with. If one of us isn’t comfortable with the situation, we don’t do it.”
“Okay,” Ciaran said.
“If this is something you want, we can go inside, have some spiced hot chocolate, and discuss it further,” Teddy suggested.
“Okay, let’s go inside,” Ciaran agreed.
They dried off and changed.
When it was finished, Teddy brought out the hot chocolate, and they sat in the living room.
“Just so you know,” Geoff began, “this is new for us, too. So, it’ll require communication and honesty.”
“I understand.” Ciaran sipped the hot chocolate. The rum gave it a nice spice. “So, you two don’t play separately?”
“Right,” Teddy said. “We only play together, and with people we both want.”
And they both chose me.
“I think you two would be enough for me,” Ciaran said. “I wouldn’t want anyone else.”
“So, would a boundary for you be that we stay monogamous between the three of us?” Geoff asked.
“I don’t want to hamper what you have.” Ciaran took another sip, giving himself a moment to think about what he wanted to say. “If you two want to play with someone, I shouldn’t stop you.”
“That’s not how this works.” Teddy gave him a sweet smile.
“If you decide to be with us, it’s all or nothing.
We have to accept boundaries. There are some things we can compromise on, but if you don’t want us to sleep with another man, I don’t think I’d have a problem with that. ” He looked over at Geoff.
“Neither would I,” Geoff agreed. “It’s not like we play often anyway. What? Maybe three times a year?”
“At the most,” Teddy said.
“So, it would just be us three?” Ciaran asked.
“That’s right,” Geoff confirmed.
“How would the sleeping arrangements work?”
They grinned; both men looked on the verge of laughing.
“I’m serious,” Ciaran said. “How would that work?”
“However we want it to,” Geoff said. “We all slept in the same bed and were fine. Didn’t you say you slept better than you had in a while?”
“True,” Ciaran acknowledged. “So, we’d just sleep in the bed together?”
“Why not?” Teddy asked. “I can’t tell you how amazing it felt to be held while holding someone. I loved it.”
They all smiled.
“Unless one of us is sick,” Geoff said. “Even one of us will sleep in the guest room if the other one sounds like they’re hacking up a lung.”
They all laughed.
“What other rules or boundaries do we want to discuss?” Ciaran asked.
One plagued his mind. Would they have sex without him, or with him and not the other?
“Is there something on your mind?” Teddy asked.
“Sex between us,” Ciaran wondered. “Do you want to have sex without me?”
“That’s something we should discuss,” Geoff agreed. “How would that make you feel?”
“I don’t know,” Ciaran said. “I know you guys are having sex without me now, but if I’m part of the relationship, how would that affect it?”
“That’s what we’ll have to discuss,” Geoff reassured him.
“I don’t mind you guys having sex without me,” Ciaran said.
Teddy looked at Geoff. “Would you be okay if Ciaran and I had sex without you?”
“I’d be okay with it,” Geoff said. “If we’re in a committed relationship with each other, and none of us is sleeping with other people outside of the relationship, I don’t see a problem. Especially if I’m not in the mood.”
“I agree,” Teddy concurred. “What do you think?” He looked over at Ciaran.
“Well, I wouldn’t be jealous if you two had sex, because I know you already do. So, I’m okay with it.”
“Glad we have that settled.” Geoff smiled.
“Anything else?” Teddy asked.
“I can’t think of anything right now,” Ciaran said.
“So? What do you think?” Geoff asked.
“I think I want to give this a try.” Ciaran grinned. “You guys make me so happy. I want to try this.”
“Great!” Teddy smiled. “Now come over here and let’s all hug.”
The three men got up and held one another. Ciaran already felt loved like he never had before. This was what he’d wanted his whole life. He just never thought it would be with two men.