Chapter 8
CHAPTER
EIGHT
I’M PLAYING VIOLIN UNTIL THE SHIP GOES DOWN.
Sterling
The alarm on my phone sounds at six, but it doesn’t wake me. Why? Because I had to sleep on the couch last night, since Juniper Sky Ellington is in my bed.
Yeah, I full named her. Because it’s damn unbelievable, that’s why.
Since that jam-coated handshake in the gravel years ago, I’ve known that she’s someone special, a woman who wears a diamond on her finger, who you carry shopping bags for and sit at endless girl talk brunches because she wants you there. She’s the one you do anything for, because being loved by her feels so good, and the idea of not pleasing her makes me insane. I’ve known since we started hanging out that we’d make great lovers; ever since we had our first meal together at Goode’s and she spilled her root beer float not once but three times and kept ordering more, I knew she and I are made for forever.
But I’m not exactly the boom box on the shoulder, rocks at the window, cologne on the love note type of guy, though.
I’m also no Dash Foster.
He’s so… fit.
And he’s younger than me.
And his sense of humor is off-the-cuff in a way that has you unexpectedly laughing all the time.
The town loves him and he loves them back. I may go to the farmers market, but I do that for Juniper. I don’t mingle with townsfolk, I don’t entertain conversations with people who knew my father, and I don’t want to do any of that.
I like to be home.
With Dash and Juni.
I’ll go out for them, but I don’t want to be out.
Dash likes it. So does Juni, too.
The two of them make so much more sense than she and I do.
I creep through the hall, trying to be as light on my toes as possible, but the floorboards still cry out under my weight. Carefully, hoping my cracking ankles and weak-ass floor haven’t woken her, I nudge my bedroom door open, taking one last look at the most perfect thing in the world.
Juniper curled up in a ball in the center of my bed, my pillows in her arms and under her head, my comforter bringing her warmth and safety as she soundly sleeps. Her blonde hair fans the pillow, one bare foot sticking out of the blankets, past the mattress.
My entire body tingles at the sight. I stand there staring for too long before finally pulling the door closed and making my way back down the hall.
In the kitchen, I flip on the lights and fill the carafe full of water as I stare at the couch. The place where I tossed and turned because I smelled her sweet pussy all night— I fix my eyes on that worn leather until I see it all again.
Dash and I curled into her, our hands in her panties, working together to get her off. Her naked body arched, breasts pressed to heaven, nipples plucky, cheeks pink. My morning wood gains power, pressing into the counter as I fill the coffeepot and hit start. With my hands braced to the countertop, Dash and Juniper asleep, I let myself relive it again for just one sweet moment.
His knuckle bumped mine once as we touched her, and I wondered then if he felt the current of electricity move through his arm. Or if that was just me.
My eyes close as the soft pitter-patter of brewing coffee fills around me, and I stand there, cock getting harder, and think about last night evolving into something.
What if we’d laid her down, and I’d held her face in my hands as I leaned over and slid my cock in her throat? What if while I did that, Dash’s hands wrapped her knees, spreading her open as he bought them both to pleasure? He’d make her come, and then he’d come too, and watching them both unravel would send me over, and I’d pull out of her mouth and paint her naked, sweaty body with my cum, sending ribbons of hot cream over her pussy and the base of Dash’s cock. He’d use his thumb to smear it into her clit, then his own cock after he slowly pulled out of her.
I’d lean down somehow, sweaty and out of my mind with bliss, and I’d kiss her. I’d thank her for always bringing us so much pleasure, for loving us both so well. And after her tongue swept mine, I’d find Dash leaning over her, waiting for his own?—
“Morning,” Dash yawns, and even though his voice is quiet and cautioned, still, I nearly choke on my tongue.
“Morning,” I greet after a forced cough and a quick dick adjustment. He slides onto the couch where I laid, and looks around at the crumpled pillow and disheveled blanket. “Get any sleep?”
I shake my head. “Not much.”
Dash reaches down and lifts the worn lead from the ground. The yellow dog has been with Juniper in my room since we put her to bed last night. I don’t know where she found him, but he’s given his loyalty to her already.
“Where do you think the dog came from?” he asks, and I don’t know why I’m disappointed that he’s veered the conversation to Juniper and not what transpired between the three of us last night. I mean, I guess nothing is different between us two. We’ve never fingered a woman together, so that’s different, but aside from that, we’re still… just friends.
Who are both clearly in love with the same woman.
I clear my throat, forcing myself to see the bright side. We need to figure out what is going on with Juni, and talking about last night before coffee with a hard-on? Probably not a good idea anyway.
“I don’t know, but,” I scratch my chest, and don’t miss Dash's gray eyes darting to the movement, tracking it for a moment before returning to the leash. “The dog didn’t have a scratch.”
Dash blinks at me through the room with curiosity lining his forehead. “No?”
I shake my head. “It was jam.”
“But,” he starts, dropping his voice to a volume he probably only uses over the pillow in bed. “She had blood on her, not just jam.”
Confused silence falls between us. I’d already considered that the two of them were coated in jam, but only Juniper had blood on her.
I lift my eyes to Dash as the coffeepot continues to fill. His lean, muscled chest is on display, his pajama pants low on his hips as he gets to his feet. I have no problem acknowledging that Dash is a movie poster type of guy.
Despite last night being great, the truth hasn’t changed: they make more sense together than she and I, and if Juniper even did like me, there’s no way she could like me more than him.
“Think the cut on her palm can account for it all? And can it all be attributed to a broken jar?” I ask, because he must see things like this as a cop all the time.
But Dash swipes a hand through his dark hair, hefting out a sigh. “It could. But if she just broke a jar of jam, where’d the dog come from? Why was she crying?” His tread eats the space between us until we’re nearly toe-to-toe in the kitchen, waiting for the coffee together. “It doesn’t make sense,” he says, gray eyes searching mine.
Despite the sudden dryness in my throat and the flutter in my chest, I grunt. “I agree.”
Dash’s dusky scent hits me as he lifts an arm, collecting two mugs from the open shelving in the kitchen. It’s criminal how good he looks in the morning, with sleep still in the corners of his eyes, his hair messy and skin imprinted with his sheets. The urge to unload the dishwasher hits me, so I bend over and open the door, pulling a frying pan out. Holding it over my crotch as casually as I can, Dash’s eyes drop to the pan, then come to mine.
The corner of his lips twitch, but he battles the smirk and wins. “Unloading the dishes right now? With Juni still asleep?” He looks at the pan again then reaches for the handle. His hand curls around the metal, right next to mine. His pinkie is warm against my thumb.
“I’ll put it away.”
His eyes pierce mine. “I’m right next to the cabinet, Sterling,” he deadpans, nudging the cabinet door open with his foot. I release my hold on the pan, because if I continue to hang on to it, he’ll surely understand that I was only using it to hide my erection.
He gets morning wood. He gets it. Maybe I’m not even that hard anymore. I’m probably not.
Relinquishing control, Dash yanks the pan to his side over the top of the open dishwasher, and falls into a crouch. He slides the pan into the waiting cupboard and closes the door, but as he rises, his gaze finds its way to my crotch.
Shock renders me quiet, because we’re a foot apart. There’s no way to misconstrue where his eyes are. Without a word, without so much as a smirk to acknowledge it, Dash reaches past me to the coffee and begins filling the mugs. Once they’re both to the brim he replaces the pot and levels a serious gaze my way, bypassing my cock, thank God. “Think she’s in trouble?” he asks, his voice lined with concern and a touch of fear.
I shake my head, happy to refocus on Juniper. “I don’t know.”
Dash sips his coffee. “I mean, she’s a jam maker. An ethereal moonbeam of glowing goodness and sweetness. Who in the world would have beef with her?” He wrinkles his nose, likely realizing now that his coffee is missing all his accouterments. On his feet, he grabs milk and sugar, getting his drink just right. Another sip and I’m transported back to last night, when Dash suckled at Juniper’s peach preserve-covered breast. My cock stirs at the fleeting thought, so I swallow a too big gulp of too hot coffee, shocking me into the present. Sweat bubbles at my hairline.
“I don’t know… but something’s up for sure.”
I blink rapidly to fight the burning sting in my eyes. Dash reaches past me for the carafe again, stopping halfway. “Hey, what did you want to talk to me about last night? I didn’t forget,” he says softly, his lips curving into an unknowing smile. That’s another thing about Dash that makes so much sense with Juni. They’re both naturally happy, always smiling.
I rake a hand up the back of my head, finding myself sweatier than I realized. See? Another thing that makes Dash the better man for Juni. She doesn’t want some garbage truck driver sweating over her in bed for the rest of her life.
The speech about Dash and Juniper making a good couple is more present in my mind than ever before. Last night… Maybe that was pity. Something’s up with Juni, and it’s true she gets comfort from me. Maybe that’s all I was, included for comfort? My final hurrah before they become a happy couple? I can’t even be mad if that happens. It makes so much sense. And I love them both. I want them both to be happy.
Another swipe of my palm, this time over my bare, damp chest. I scratch at my sternum, buying time as I sort my words. “I wanted to tell you—” I start, but just like last night, the speech is hampered by the appearance of Juni.
The yellow dog follows behind her, stopping when she stops, sliding into a seat at the kitchen table. If he’s not outside using the restroom, he’s glued to her. Her bare feet on my floor look different knowing she’s been dreaming in my bed all night. My poor cock hasn’t had a break since before last night. Watching Dash go to her, he crouches in front of her while gathering her hands with his.
His voice is so low, it vibrates through my spine, leaving a hot reverberation in my core. “You sure you don’t wanna talk about anything?” he questions softly as I pour her a mug of coffee. Taking a seat adjacent to them, I slide the mug to her. She passes me a soft smile, and my dick doesn’t realize the moment is brimming with angst, and hardens further nonetheless.
Juniper sips her coffee, green eyes ping-ponging between the two of us. “The only thing I want to talk about is us.” Nerves suddenly clog my throat as sweat slides down my lower back, colliding with the waistband of my pants. She wants to talk about us? I push back from the table, the feet of the chair screeching against the flooring.
Getting to my feet, Dash reaches out and grabs my wrist while Juniper’s eyes hold me captive. “Where are you going?” she asks, my eyes instinctively dropping to Dash’s grip on my wrist before jumping back to their faces.
“Let you two talk,” I stumble, my voice hoarse, words slow.
“No,” she says, more adamant than I’ve ever heard her. “The three of us. When I say us, I mean the three of us. Always.”
Something about that proclamation eases into my chest with weight and warmth, and my arms and fingers go a little tingly. “Okay.”
Dash releases me, but somehow, his touch lingers.
“Did you guys enjoy last night?” she asks, surprised that sweet Juni isn’t shy when it comes to discussing what happened. I mean, I was so busy replaying it in my mind all night and trying not to come all over my couch that I didn’t pay much thought to how we’d handle it.
But she wants to talk about it. Hell, it seems like it may be the only thing she wants to talk about.
My eyes dart to Dash where I discover he is watching me. “I enjoyed last night,” he responds, silvering eyes piercing mine.
“Sterl,” Juni calls, my name sounding like a one-word song.
Her eyes are soft, blonde hair framing her face in fuzzy whisps as she smiles at me from the table. Her at my kitchen table in the morning, knowing she was twisting in my sheets all night, her lips rimming my BLUEBELL WASTE coffee mug—I don’t want to get used to how good it makes me feel.
“Yeah?”
“Did you enjoy last night?” she asks again, both her and Dash’s focus on me causing my skin to warm.
I look at my roommate, who is as much my best friend as anything else. He’s frozen, as if suspended in time, waiting for my response.
“Yeah,” I say coolly, not wanting them to know that I likely enjoyed it more than anyone. “I had fun.”
I had fun .
Jesus, Sterling. It wasn’t fun. It was the most sensual and erotic night of your entire life. “It was cool.”
Dash smirks, and I’d give anything to know what he’s thinking.
“Do you guys still wanna hang out tonight?” she asks, and despite this being the strangest morning of my life, I still remember we had plans to bowl tonight. The three of us bowl together once a week.
“Bowling, sure, nothing’s changed,” I agree, taking in the sight of Dash on his knees in front of her, the two of them looking like a Hallmark moment.
Juniper’s bright green eyes narrow on me. “After we bowl, do you want to hang out together here tonight?” she clarifies, throwing all sorts of ideas into my mind.
I didn’t jerk off last night after… what we did. This morning is testing me.
I glance over at Dash and at the same time we say, “Yes.”
If this is the way that I get her, like him, I’ll take it. For as long as I can.
Eventually, the novelty of being their third will wear off. But until then, I guess I’m playing violin until the ship goes down.