CHAPTER 30
Joanie
The guys were so weird on the drive into Hollowtown. They were taking me to a drive-in, which I loved but wasn’t going to admit so easily. It was an hour-long drive and the whole time, all three were awkward. Maybe I should’ve been awkward, too. After all, I was on a date with three men at once. I didn’t feel awkward, though. I felt ninety percent panicked and ten percent turned on. Maybe it was eighty percent panicked and twenty percent turned on. I couldn’t stop thinking about what Billie said about being pinned between the three guys in the truck with me. Okay, so maybe thirty percent turned on.
Chase backed into a spot at the drive-in and I watched as he got out and set up a bunch of pillows and blankets in the bed of the truck. Bear left in a hurry to get snacks, leaving Smith to face me by himself. And that’s exactly what it felt like. It felt like he was having to face me, instead of being on a date with me.
Finally, I couldn’t handle their sudden shyness so I scooted across the back seat until I was basically in Smith’s lap. I cupped his face in my hands and held it so he had to look at me. “What is going on with you three? You’re all being so weird.”
Smith cleared his throat and shook his head. “No. No, we’re not being weird. Nothing’s up.”
“Smith.” I looked up at him through my lashes. “Please tell me.”
He swore. “We all want to fuck you!”
I heard Chase curse from outside and couldn’t help the surprised laugh that escaped me. “What?”
Smith groaned. “That’s not how I meant to say it.”
“Okay. How did you mean to say it?”
“We all want to date you and go home with you. The three of us…at the same time.” He pulled me completely into his lap. “There’s no polite way of saying it, Joanie. We all want a chance with you and if you want all of us, that’d be good with us.”
My mouth opened and closed a few times as I tried to formulate a sentence that made sense.
“Great. I ruined it. This is why they shouldn’t have left me alone with you. I can’t not say what’s on my mind and being with you is the only fucking thing I’m thinking about, Joanie.”
“Okay.” The word came out of my mouth and I had to stop to see if it was really me that said it.
“Okay?” Smith raised his eyebrows. “Okay to us?”
I bit my lip and closed my eyes. I was being offered a jackpot. All three of the guys I’d connected with wanted me and they were okay with me seeing all of them? At the same time? Biggest jackpot ever. Looming in the distance, though, was the possibility of losing it all and hating what I’d previously found acceptable. It was Billie’s voice in my head that pushed me to take the chance.
“Yes, okay.” I shrugged like I wasn’t agreeing to something so huge. “Yes. I think that would be cool…”
Chase stuck his head in the truck. “Cool? You think fucking the three of us together would be cool?”
I gritted my teeth and was on the verge of snapping at him when he grinned. It sucked the anger right out of me.
“It is pretty cool, isn’t it?” He laughed and motioned for me to come towards him. “Let’s get you settled in the back, sweetheart.”
“Is that why you guys were being so weird?” I gasped as he picked me up and held me in his arms as he climbed into the bed of the truck. “That never gets old.”
He sank into the pillows and held me in his lap, facing the big screen. “We were going to ask our crush out, sweetheart. Of course we were nervous and weird. Halfway here, I considered tugging your hair to let you know I liked you.”
I laughed and looked over my shoulder at him. “I spent forty-five minutes trying to decide if this hair was okay or not. Tug it at your own peril.”
His eyes flashed. “Later.”
My stomach fluttered with nerves and excitement. “Yeah?”
Smith climbed up and sat next to us. “We shouldn’t tell Bear that we already talked. He’s fun to watch when he’s nervous.”
Chase’s chuckle vibrated against my back. “He really is.”
“Be nice to him.” I turned to look for Bear and saw him walking up. “But, yeah, let’s mess with him.”
Bear handed off a tray loaded down with food to Smith and climbed into the bed of the truck with another tray in his hand. He sat on the other side of us and started passing out drinks and food. “I got everyone nachos and a hot dog. Then, there’s popcorn. Oh, and candy. I have more in my pockets. I can go back and get more if this isn’t enough.”
I looked down at the pile of food he’d handed me and shook my head. “I can’t mess with him. He brought me so much food.”
“What?” Bear looked between the three of us and frowned. “What did I miss? You guys had the conversation already? And things are…good?”
“What conversation?” Okay, I couldn’t help messing with him a little bit. “What things are good?”
His cheeks darkened. “Um, never mind. I just was thinking about something else.”
“No, tell me. It sounded serious. What conversation?” I stared at him without blinking. “Bear?”
He cleared his throat. “This isn’t… I…”
I cracked a smile and reached over to cup his face. “We had the conversation, Bear. You’re just really cute when you’re flustered.”
He growled and pulled me into his lap. I clutched at my food but Chase took it from me. Gripping my head in his giant hands, Bear pulled my mouth to his and kissed me hungrily. His kisses were dominating, with him holding me where he wanted me and taking my mouth exactly how he wanted. He left me breathless and pressing my thighs together as my core clenched.
“That wasn’t very nice.” He nipped my chin and stroked his thumb over my lips. “I can’t get over how stupid I was for not kissing you sooner.”
I wrapped my arm around his neck and smiled up at him through my lashes. “You can make up for lost time whenever you want.”
He tugged my bottom lip down and gently pressed the tip of his thumb past my teeth. “There’s a lot I should’ve done sooner.”
Chase grunted. “Alright. Keep it in your pants for a bit longer. Come back over here and eat your dinner, sweetheart.”
I pressed one more kiss on Bear’s mouth and settled between Chase’s legs to watch the movie. I’d just taken my first bite of nachos when the opening scene of the movie started. I shot them each a look. “You picked a horror movie?”
Smith laughed easily. “It’s science, Princess. Horror movies and a little sexual tension go a long way.”
“When I need someone to check under my bed for monsters tonight, you’ll all be sorry.”
Smith’s smile turned dark as he leaned closer. “The monster’s going to be in your bed tonight, Joanie.”
I swallowed as a wave of arousal threatened to suffocate me. Looking back at Bear, I didn’t recognize my voice as I spoke. “Where are the girls tonight?”
“Sleepover.” Bear’s smile was starving. “All night.”