Chapter 29
TWENTY-NINE
BLUE
Not long after I brought in my rule of no off-the-job sex, my dating life shriveled up like a raisin.
It was hard to find guys who understood that I’d have sex for work but not outside it.
After a few disaster dates, I stopped trying.
I met my need for closeness with platonic snuggles with friends, and I guess somewhere along the way, I’d given up on having a love life.
Consequently, I was trying to get ready for my first date in years. And it was with Jax and Asher. I’d never dated two guys at once before. Not in any capacity. Separately or together. Intimidated? Me? Never.
Okay, so I was nervous as fuck. My bed looked like a tornado had whipped through my closet, scattering my entire wardrobe across it.
I’d tried on so many different outfits that they all had started to run together after a while.
In the end, I would up wearing a soft gray sweater and a pair of skinny jeans.
According to Jax, who had planned the whole date, casual but nice would do.
My phone buzzed with a text from Asher.
Asher
what are you wearing?
that’s not dirty talk
I can’t decide what to wear
help!!!!
Laughing at his familiar distress, I used the full-length mirror on my wall to snap a selfie for him. Then, to show him that I empathized with him, I took a picture of my destroyed closet and sent that too.
I feel your pain
But you’ll look good no matter what you wear
Says the supermodel
[laughing emoji] I’m hardly a supermodel
Your humble demeanor will not help me choose an outfit
Wear something dark red, maybe a burgundy if you have it. Then pair that with your favorite pair of jeans or something.
I DO have something red. thank you xxxooo
We’re not nervous at all, are we?
Not even a little
My eyes caught the time on my phone, and I let out a little curse. “Shit.”
gtg. Jax will be here soon and I need to finish getting ready. See you soon, gorgeous
xoxo
Shoving my phone in my pocket, I made a mad dash to the bathroom to tame my mop of hair.
It was getting a bit long and it would need a trim soon, but I hadn’t found time yet.
I had, however, found time to retouch my roots, turning everything a satisfying shade of almost platinum blonde.
Was it good for my hair? Not really. Did I care? Not a bit.
I’d just managed to get my hair to cooperate when my phone buzzed with a notification from the front door of my building. Jax was here and waiting for me. Instead of making him walk to my apartment to get me, I texted him that I’d be right out and I met him in the lobby.
He stood with his back toward me, facing outside, so the first thing I saw were his wide shoulders and the way his body tapered to a narrow waist. His jeans fit him like a glove, and they made his ass look remarkable.
I’d always thought Jax was hot as hell, but now that he was mine, there was something even sweeter about looking at him.
“Hey,” I said and he spun around at the sound of my voice. His gaze raked over me even as he stepped closer, reaching for me like he couldn’t get his hands on me fast enough.
“Hey, yourself. You look incredible.” Jax brushed a kiss against my cheek, but when I angled for one on the mouth, he laughed and pulled away. “If I start kissing you now, we’re going to be late picking up our other boyfriend, and that wouldn’t be very nice.”
“Our other boyfriend. I wasn’t aware that was a term we were using.
” I twined our fingers together and let him lead the way outside.
Having Jax drop the B-word so casually, like it was a foregone conclusion, healed something in me.
It seemed like I’d waited forever to feel like I was really important to someone the way they were to me.
“I figured it was time to make it official. When we pick up Asher, we can break the news that he’s stuck with us.” Jax squeezed my hand.
“I don’t hate the sound of that,” I admitted to him, even though I could feel the heat rise in my cheeks.
“It’s about damned time if you ask me.” Jax chuckled softly.
“I can’t believe you just sat on your crush on me for what? Three years? You should have said something.”
Jax opened the passenger door of his car. “I don’t know, Blue. I think it’s working out exactly how it was meant to.”
He dusted a kiss against my cheek then motioned for me to get in the car.
All the way to get Asher, Jax’s words rolled around in my head.
Three years ago I definitely hadn’t been ready for someone like him.
The time I’d spent avoiding relationships had also been spent getting to know myself.
Three years ago I was a guy who’d felt like he needed to be in love to be worth something to someone.
And when they didn’t love me back, it destroyed me.
I’d tied so much of my self-worth up in how people felt about me.
I probably had daddy issues, but who didn’t?
Jax didn’t. I stole a glance at him as he drove. Admiring his profile, the upward tilt of his mouth, the smooth, freshly shaved face. Without my consent, my gaze traveled lower to his thick thighs and the bulging denim. When I dragged my gaze back to his face, I was met with a grin.
“Like what you see?” He glanced at me. “I told you I owned real pants.”
“I might burn all your basketball shorts.”
He gasped. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“I might. Have you seen your ass in these?”
“I have. And I know it looks good.”
“So humble.”
When Jax pulled up in front of Asher’s building a minute later, he killed the engine and stole a kiss. He tasted like cinnamon and as much as I wanted to sink into the kiss, we’d never get out of the car if I indulged in what I wanted.
Jax pulled away and let out a slow breath. “Damn you, Blue,” he grimaced, shifting around as he adjusted his package. “Why do you gotta kiss me like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like you don’t want me to stop.”
“Because I didn’t. And I don’t. But I do want to get Asher and get his reaction to all of this.” My stare traveled down Jax’s body, letting him know that his efforts were appreciated, and when we got out of the car, he wasn’t the only one who had to adjust their erection.
Jax held my hand all the way to Asher’s door and when I knocked, a familiar voice let out a curse, there was a crash, another curse, and then the door practically flew open. Asher stood there, breathless, trying to look casual, though his face was slightly pinched.
“You okay, babe?” I asked, scanning his body for injury. He seemed whole, just flustered.
“Fine,” he squeaked. Then his gaze settled on Jax, and his eyes practically bulged out of his head.
“Hot, right?” I dropped Jax’s hand. “Give him a little spin, Jax.”
He indulged me, of course, but I didn’t miss the way he looked at Ash over his shoulder when he showed off his ass. Ash’s mouth flopped open, then he snapped it shut again.
“Hot damn. Are you sure we have to go? I have a perfectly good bedroom—actually it’s a mess. But I do have a living room we can make use of.”
“I didn’t put on real pants just to let you two strip me out of them ten minutes into the date.” Jax took a step toward Ash.
I got to watch him slide a hand around the back of Ash’s neck and haul him up into a kiss. It was short and chaste, but that didn’t stop my dick from noticing how good they looked together.
We knew that all three of us on a date was something we wanted to do more of, but we’d also discussed having solo dates. Where sometimes there would be just two of us, but I was happy that our first real date was going to have all three of us. It felt like we were getting off on the right foot.
After Jax pulled away, Asher practically threw himself at me. “Where’s my hello kiss?” He wrapped his arms around my neck as he asked.
I loved his energy, how no matter what he was doing, he gave everything a hundred percent of himself.
“It’s right here. You just gotta get it.” My words didn’t match my actions because it was me who couldn’t wait another second. It was me who closed the gap between us and pressed our mouths together.
“We need to get out of here before we can’t leave. And you two have to stop that.”
Jax sounded a little grumpy, and I glanced over at him just in time to watch him adjust himself again.
For our first date, we decided to keep it simple and do dinner and then a walk through the night market, followed up by dessert at a little cafe that sold the best cupcakes on the planet.
The three-pronged date approach was Asher’s idea.
He liked the idea of everyone choosing part of the date, and I had to agree with him.
Dinner was first and after a short game of no, you sit in the front, I insist, we arrived at the place Jax chose.
It was the kind of restaurant you take someone you want to impress without it feeling pretentious or ostentatious.
The tables weren’t crammed in like they were in some places I’d been to—okay, most places.
Instead, they were spaced out, offering a bit of a buffer.
Quiet instrumental music played through speakers I couldn’t see as our host, Ricky, led us to our table.
Our server for the evening was a stunning person with long, raven black hair that hung down their back in a thick braid.
A name tag told me their name was Andy, and they used they/them pronouns.
Hello, Andy. Their hair wasn’t the only thick thing about them.
Andy had thighs that could crush skulls.
If they shattered a watermelon with their thighs, they’d have people lined up down the block offering to lick the juice off their skin.
“They’re gorgeous, right?” Asher said the moment Andy left the table. “Is it bad that I look at them and think wow, they could make a fortune working for Lukas?”
Jax shook his head, but he had a smile on his face that let me know he was amused by this. “Let’s not recruit talent on our first date.”
Asher looked down and frowned. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to overstep.”
I was about to interject on his behalf when he looked at Jax and grinned. “We both know that’s a second date activity.”
“I was thinking it would be a fun third date,” I said, playing along with Asher. “We could hit up the saunas and the hot tubs at the pool. I definitely wouldn’t mind a date that involved less clothes.”
Jax shot me a look through narrowed eyes. “Basketball shorts are bad, but you want more skin. Make up your mind, Blue.”
“Oh, believe me.” I looked at him, then Asher, then him again, letting my gaze linger so they would hopefully catch the weight of my words. “I have.”
It was as I was reaching for Jax’s hand and hooking my foot around Asher’s ankle that our drinks arrived, and my phone buzzed to life in my pocket. I had it locked down in do not disturb mode, except for my boss, Rex. I always let his number ring through in case of emergency.
Oh, shit.