21. Jake
“Aren’t you curious to know why they called us and asked for a date?”
Jake looked away from the road briefly to glance at Allen’s face. He couldn’t quite understand the tone of his voice and match it with his words, but his expression gave nothing away.
He didn’t know why Allen was so worked up over having dinner with Kingston and Riley. The two of them had been so busy with training and media stuff to market their team that they hadn’t been able to visit for a week.
Allen had been chewing his nails and pacing for every one of those seven days, worried something had gone wrong after they helped Kingston and Riley with sex, but Jake never sensed anything was off.
Not that he could even if there was an awkward vibe.
And now they were heading to Jake’s favourite restaurant at Riley’s request because it was private, and they apparently missed him and Allen, so he couldn’t see what there was to be worried or suspicious about.
“It’s normal to miss friends by the end of the week, isn’t it?” Jake asked.
Jake was watching the road, but he saw Allen’s frantic movement from the corner of his eye and smiled when a hand grabbed his.
“It’s very normal, love. I didn’t mean to confuse you about that part—I’m more concerned about the public outing when they normally enjoy coming to our place to visit.”
Our place. Damn, Jake loved hearing those words from Allen. It made his insides feel gooey.
“Maybe they got tired of eating my cooking,” said Jake.
The hand holding Jake’s let go and reappeared to gently tug on his ear.
“Don’t be ridiculous. They love your cooking so much that I have to tell them to breathe while they’re shovelling food into their mouths.”
Yes, it was impressive how fast and how much pasta they could go through. That’s why Jake loved making dinners for everyone because it helped lower his anxiety about them eating properly.
“Ugh, and then there’s your father,” Allen added, switching the topic so fast that Jake was left stumbling to catch up. “He won’t stop calling me and encouraging me to get you out of the apartment on time for meetings, and he’s always dropping hints about me going to school.”
Jake’s earlier gooey feeling evaporated and was replaced by a warm wave of shame.
He loved his father, but the man was a meddler even when his intentions were good.
He wasn’t trying to make Allen feel bad about his education; his father just wanted to see everyone successful in the same way Jake liked to see his friends well fed.
But his father didn’t realize how close he was to getting a verbal dressing down from Allen. Jake could have been a nice son and warned him that he was going too far, but his giddy curiosity kept him from saying anything.
Mr. Valero would eventually find out why Jake compared Allen to his mother in the worst way.
“I could tell him to back off,” Jake offered, just to make sure Allen knew he had his back.
Allen huffed loudly and removed his fingers from Jake’s ear, probably so he could cross his arms and puff his cheeks like the angry hamster Kingston claimed he was.
“I can handle the mafia daddy on my own, thanks.”
Jake’s face went tight when too many expressions collided between disgust and laughter. “And thank you for making me nauseous.”
Allen’s laughter was pretty, and it filled Jake’s soul with light and goo all over again.
“You’re welcome, Mouse. It’s the least I could do after waking up and finding the mess you left for me.”
Ah, yes. The mess.
Jake had woken from a dream about Allen and decided to make it a reality. Allen really did love it when Jake fucked him while he was asleep, so it had been easy enough to pull his panties to the side and push inside him after a little prep.
And by request, Jake did the bare minimum of cleanup because Allen’s favourite part was waking up feeling used and seeing the sticky evidence between his thighs. Jake hadn’t known this kind of kink existed before he’d met Allen, but he was certainly enjoying the results.
It didn’t help that his dreams were on overdrive lately, harassing him with images of Riley and Kingston in their bed, or using them in the same way he used Allen.
“You look constipated.”
Jake smirked and loosened the death grip he had on the steering wheel. Allen’s comment had quickly doused the simmering heat that had been moving south, saving him from embarrassment.
“I was…thinking about them,” Jake admitted. “In the inappropriate way.”
Allen giggled and nudged him with his elbow. “Oh, I’ve been thinking about them, too. I jerked off in the shower thinking about you and Riley fucking me at the same time.”
Same time? Jake didn’t know which way Allen meant, and now he couldn’t ask because they were almost at the restaurant and he didn’t want to pop a boner before he made it to their private room.
“Now you look really constipated. Sorry, love.”
Jake grumbled his response and focused on parking the car, falling silent so Allen wouldn’t say anything else about sex.
Allen was still snickering when Jake shut the car off, but he held back any additional remarks even though he could have kept the teasing up longer. But Allen understood that when they weren’t at home, Jake was less tolerant in these situations, and that’s what made him the perfect boyfriend.
Jake offered his arm, and Allen took it, allowing him to lead the way into the restaurant. They were greeted at the door by staff who informed them that Riley and Kingston had arrived as they ushered them to Jake’s usual room and relieved them of their coats.
Riley looked up from his menu when Allen and Jake entered, but Kingston was too captivated by the food choices to offer more than a grunt in greeting.
Jake had to do a double-take when he saw that the two rivals were sitting together and not on opposite sides of the table, their arms touching because of how close they were.
“Oh my god,” Allen said, moving past Jake to sit in the spot opposite Kingston. “Who asked who first? I know you guys are perfect for each other, but I wasn’t expecting you to make things official so soon.”
Jake watched as Kingston turned to scowl at Riley, who was blushing from all the attention. “How did the pipsqueak know? Did you tell him?”
Riley sighed and dropped his head into his hands, groaning softly. “No, he just knows because his superpower is his nosiness.”
Jake hadn’t left the doorway, still caught somewhere between confusion and processing, his body lagging behind his thoughts.
Allen couldn’t speak around his laughter, so he gave up on words and lifted a hand, curling his fingers in a quiet summons.
That was all it took for Jake to push off the door and cross the room, drawn in by the silent command.
He slid into the seat beside his boyfriend without hesitation, claiming the space as his.
“What’s happening?” he asked.
Riley lifted the menu to hide his face from Jake’s view, and Allen wouldn’t stop laughing, so it was Kingston who answered him.
“Riley asked me to be his boyfriend, and I said yes.”
It made perfect sense—Jake just couldn’t figure out why it was funny. The two of them had chemistry too obvious to ignore, even for Jake. The outcome had always been inevitable in Jake’s eyes.
Dating a guy would be new for Riley, sure, but Jake knew he’d handle it just fine. Men and women were different in ways that mattered, and while Riley had been great with his past girlfriends, there was something about Kingston that fit him better. Something easier and more natural.
Jake felt a quiet swell of satisfaction at the realization. His stubborn friend had finally opened his eyes, and faster than Jake would’ve expected. More than that, he was proud of Riley for leaning into it, for recognizing this part of himself instead of shying away from it.
“I’m happy for you both,” Jake said, smiling as Riley’s blushing face came back into view from behind his menu. “I like Kingston. He’s sweet.”
“Huh?” Kingston smacked his hand on the table, rattling the drinks. “How do you find me sweet? I’m literally an asshole.”
It took Jake a second to conclude that Kingston truly believed that about himself, but by the time he could wrangle his response, Allen was already on it.
“Don’t bother posturing. We all know how sweet you can be when you’re drunk on dick and moaning Riley’s name.” Allen was picking out what he wanted to eat and wasn’t looking at Kingston, so he missed the way the pretty blond flinched and dropped his jaw.
Riley cleared his throat loudly and said, “I think I’ll have the salmon.”
Jake didn’t care about food because he was too busy avidly studying the new boyfriends.
Riley was practically glowing as he smirked at Kingston’s dumbfounded expression before leaning in to steal a kiss from him.
Kingston reacted accordingly by scowling and wiping his mouth with his sleeve like he’d been forced to endure something distasteful, which made Riley’s smile brighten in return.
They were…cute, and Jake was enamoured by them.
Allen took over the conversation once Kingston gave up on arguing, and Jake got to sit back and enjoy himself while they waited for their food to arrive.
He liked how Allen made a point of dragging Kingston into the discussion whenever he grew quiet, encouraging him to talk about himself even though Jake sensed it was difficult for him to open up.
“I was raised by my aunt for the most part because she had the spare time to take me to games and practice,” said Kingston, refusing to meet their eyes.
“She loves hockey, so I guess I became a project for her. My parents never showed an interest because they knew I wasn’t destined to be a star player or anything, but that’s why it was so fucking satisfying when I got drafted. ”
Allen hummed and tapped his nail against his glass. “Well, it appears we all have parental issues in common,” he said.
Riley shrugged, and Jake already knew what was coming before he spoke. “They can’t be a problem if they’re dead.”