Blake
BLAKE
His prediction about drunk people wanting a fire proved accurate. By the time the sun was almost below the horizon, found himself in charge of the bonfire. While the party picked up, with the dozen and a half guests either drinking or watching others drink, busied himself stacking the wood, lighting the kindling, and building the flames.
The sky above blazed with smears of orange and yellow as the first flames caught the paper in the stone pit. By the time he got the fire high and hot enough to light the logs, the sky was quickly turning purple and blue, with the first twinkling of stars.
smiled benignly down at the fire as it caught, the flames licking higher. So long as it wasn’t allowed to suffocate, and someone kept up a supply of firewood, the fire would burn through the night if allowed. The sound of happy chatter and the growing noise of the night insects made it perfect in his mind.
“Hey, you got it going,” Eric said, appearing at his side. “That looks good.”
glanced at him. “Are you drunk?”
Eric frowned. “What, why?”
“Because you’re being nice,” pointed out.
That brought on a scowl. “I’m allowed to be nice. I am nice.”
“To my brother and yours, sure.”
“They’re also not a pain in the ass.”
“Weren’t you just bitching at Sean, like, twenty minutes ago?”
“He was trying to start a threesome!”
blinked. “What?”
Eric huffed. “I’m telling you that man shouldn’t be allowed to drink and deal with other people.”
“He was seriously trying to get into a threesome?” asked slowly.
At first, was sorely tempted to admit he was probably part of the reason Sean was so far into his cups. That thought was quickly shoved aside because the last thing he needed was a drunk Eric giving him shit because he’d started the whole problem. The second thought, one he wasn’t sure how to handle, was a sudden flush of annoyance racing through him.
Sean was a full-grown man, and if he wanted to flirt with anything that walked, wouldn’t get in the way. It wasn’t as if he could give Sean what he was looking for anyway. Sure, the attention had been nice, and there was something absurdly flattering about having Sean, the king of casual, laidback, and quiet, being interested in him. On the other hand, he was a heterosexual man who didn’t find men interesting in any romantic or sexual sense.
Even if he felt a little warm when he remembered Sean’s breath on his neck and his body against ’s back.
“He wasn’t asking for a threesome,” Blaine said as he walked up behind Eric, wrapping an arm around his husband’s waist.
Eric leaned his head back to frown at Blaine. “Really? Because it sure as hell looked like it to me.”
Blaine chuckled, kissing Eric’s forehead. “I was close enough to hear. He was being nice but wasn’t trying to start anything.”
“Nice,” Eric repeated, unimpressed. “You mean, he was flirting. With one of your Marine buddies and his girlfriend.”
“I’m sure it seemed like flirting,” Blaine admitted. “But you know how friendly Sean gets when he has enough alcohol in his system. He wasn’t trying to get with them, I promise.”
“So he was flirting but not trying to get into their pants. That’s comforting,” Eric said sarcastically. “My brother turns into a total slut when he’s drinking. I don’t even know if he would sleep with a guy given the chance, but he sure does like the attention.”
Blaine chuckled, glancing sidelong at but saying nothing. wouldn’t try to dissuade Eric from his belief about Sean. That wasn’t his business. Though he was beginning to wonder if perhaps Blaine suspected more than Eric did and simply hadn’t said anything.
“Speaking of, he was looking for you earlier,” Blaine said, watching .
Eric snorted. “Oh yeah, just what we need. to be his babysitter.”
“He’s an adult, he doesn’t need a babysitter,” told him, a little more quickly and sharply than he would have wished.
“Well, he doesn’t need you feeding him more alcohol,” Eric said accusingly.
“You know I’d never let Sean go too far,” shot back, growing irritated.
Eric opened his mouth, lips twisting in annoyance. Something flitted across his face, and the anger fell away with a heavy sigh.
“Yeah,” Eric agreed. “You’re right. You’re an absolute pain in the ass, but you’d never let us get hurt or do anything to hurt us. Sorry, I just get...cranky when Sean is?—”
“Out of control? Loose?” supplied, unable to hide the surprise in his voice.
Eric flopped down beside the fire. “Yeah. It’s just...weird. I don’t like weird.”
With Eric not paying attention to him, glanced at Blaine, then nodded toward Eric in silent communication. Blaine gave a jerk of his head and a twitch of his shoulder, fingers in a cup-holding motion. raised a brow, tilting his head as he looked Blaine over. His brother shook his head, silently chuckling and pointing his chin toward where the rest of the party was happening. held up his hands, patting Blaine’s elbow and walking off with a grin.
Silent communication had always been something the brothers had been particularly good at. A whole conversation could happen between them without so much as a grunt or sigh. had been worried about Eric, but Blaine assured him he was fine and just a little tipsy. When wanted to know if he needed to stay, Blaine told him everything was fine and to go back to the party and have fun.
Considering Eric had not only been nice but apologized to for being a grump, he was more than happy to step away. He was not ready or prepared to deal with some things in life. And Eric being genuinely apologetic and nice was one of them.
squeezed through the crowd to enter the house and walk around the bar. A few clean glasses were left, and he grabbed one to fill with a beer from a random keg. He had already had a couple of glasses of the stuff he’d been giving Sean, but as good as it was, it wasn’t what he considered a long-term kind of beer. Sean was delighted to find something fruity to offset the hops, but had always liked the taste of a strong beer after he’d drunk a little.
“Please tell me you are not trying to force more beer down my throat.”
Sean’s voice jerked out of his reverie. He snapped the tap up, cutting off the flow of beer, and turned around. Sean was leaning against the wall. In the half-hour since had last seen him, Sean had lost his suit jacket, loosened his tie, and undone the first couple of buttons on his dress shirt. His dark hair was mussed, and , with another annoyed flare of heat in his chest, wondered if someone else had messed it up.
“Well,” said, grabbing his beer. “Don’t you look like you’ve been having a good time?”
Sean laughed, the sound loose. “Might be.”
“Your brother doesn’t approve very much,” told him.
Sean ran a hand through his hair at that, rolling his eyes. Despite repeatedly telling himself that he wouldn’t get too focused on what Sean did in his personal time, felt a slight twinge of relief at the gesture. Apparently, the only hand in Sean’s hair had been his own.
“Don’t mind Eric,” Sean told him, scratching his collarbone idly. “He doesn’t quite know what to do whenever I’m not quiet and well-behaved. You’d think he was the one who took on the parental role with me rather than the other way around.”
“He does Mother Hen pretty well,” admitted. “I can’t tell if that would make him a good parent or not.”
Sean cocked his head. “Have they spoken about having kids?”
shrugged. “I don’t know. Blaine’s never brought it up. I think they’d do pretty good, though.”
Sean smiled warmly. “I think so too, but let’s allow Eric time to adjust to being married before we start wondering aloud if they plan on having a family.”
stepped closer, away from the few people mingling by the bar. “You’re very articulate for someone drunk enough to try to hit a couple up for a threesome.”
Sean let his head fall against the wall and chuckled softly. “Eric told you, did he? Those two should be so lucky as to have me pull them into bed. Plus, where was I going to sleep with them?”
“I don’t think that’s the kind of sleeping he meant,” said, watching Sean.
“Neither do I,” Sean said, looking up at with a smirk. “I’ve seen the beds back there, not exactly what you’d call roomy, especially for three people. Or would you prefer I have myself a good threesome and come crawling back to our shared bed?”
While that accurately described their bed, couldn’t help a shiver at the way Sean referred to it. Almost immediately, he chided himself for acting like an idiot. If he wasn’t absurdly annoyed that Sean might be up to something with one or more of the party guests, then he was reading into Sean’s words for an intent he shouldn’t be looking for in the first place.
Sean’s eyes were still on his face, watching him closely, and felt his mind go blank. On some level, he’d always known Sean was a confident man, though it was so quiet, it was easily missed. wasn’t sure if the confidence he was witnessing now, which was blatant and on full display, was the product of the beer or something else.
“You have,” Sean said, leaning forward, “the most interesting face.”
blinked. “I...don’t know what to say to that.”
Sean reached up, fingers brushing ’s eyebrows and the corner of his mouth. “It’s expressive. When you don’t have several thoughts and feelings going through your head, anyone can read what’s going on in your mind.”
“Several, huh?” asked, unable to help but trace where Sean’s fingers touched him.
Sean nodded. “Normally, you have one, maybe two emotions on your face. But lately...you’ve had so many it’s impossible to read anything for certain. You are conflicted, though.”
“I feel like you should be charging me for this little talk,” said with a shaky laugh.
Sean gave another laugh, his hand dropping to rest on ’s chest momentarily. “Do you really want to stand around and talk about your life’s issues with me?”
“Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do when having drinks?” asked.
Sean’s fingers tightened against his chest before he slowly pulled his hand away. “There are other things you can do while drinking with people. Things that don’t make me think of my office.”
“You are, by far, the least subtle flirter I’ve ever met,” blurted out, unable to contain his snicker.
“If you were even remotely less straight, I’d probably be even less subtle,” Sean told him, eyes sparkling mischievously.
’s heart skipped a beat. “That so?”
“I have to admit,” Sean said, sliding along the wall, away from . “You haven’t exactly been putting up a fight.”
“Trying to insinuate something, Dr. Andreas?” asked in amusement.
“Simply observing, Mr. Edwards.”
And God save him, the chuckle Sean gave, all throaty and deep, had ’s face warming again. Never in his life would anyone have accused him of being coy or shy, but damned if Sean being playful with him didn’t have him acting the part.
Sean stopped a few feet down the hallway, smirking. “Something on your mind?”
Other than finding himself more distracted by the few inches of skin showing over the top of Sean’s unbuttoned shirt. Or the fact that he could still feel Sean’s fingers on his face as if they’d left marks on his skin that would take time to fade.
“Uh, no,” said roughly.
Sean continued smiling as he turned and headed for what assumed was the bathroom. Despite the numerous beers he’d consumed, there didn’t seem to be the slightest stagger to Sean’s walk, and also noticed he hadn’t been drinking while they’d been talking. The smell of beer had been heavy on him, but had been too distracted by everything else to notice it much.
A soft voice chuckled behind him. “Well, that couldn’t have been any more of an invitation if he’d shoved a paper one in your hand.”
turned around sharply, not realizing they had been watched. A woman sat on the other side of the desk, leaning on the bar top with a grin.
“Evening, Ash,” he grunted, not wanting to meet her bright, amused gaze.
Ashley tossed her straight blonde hair over one shoulder. “And a good evening to you too, . Thought I’d come in and say hi, it’s been a while.”
“I appreciate that,” said, clearing his throat. “You’re looking well. I guess Liam has been treating you good?”
Her smile turned warm. “He has actually. And I owe it to you and Blaine for getting the chance to find that out.”
laughed. “I don’t think I deserve any credit. All I did was sleep with you.”
“Once,” Ash pointed out. “And then when Liam came to visit Blaine, you saw the way he looked at me and suddenly, you were Mr. Matchmaker.”
“Easier said than done,” grumbled. “Idiot had to use ‘damn, I love natural blondes’ as an opener.”
Ash chuckled. “He’s still like that. He recently told me he loves that I have a ‘healthy’ appetite.”
groaned. “My God. Only you could fall in love with a man like that.”
“Yeah,” she said fondly. “But you were just as eager to get me with him, so I guess you knew something.”
shrugged, not sure what to say to that. He and Ash had been seeing each other very casually, and the moment he’d seen the look on Liam’s face when Ash walked into the bar, he’d known what to do.
“So,” Ash began, playing with her glass and grinning widely. “When did you make the switch?”
“The switch?” asked, confused. And then the realization hit him, and his face warmed. “Oh God, Ash, I’m not...no, I haven’t switched anything.”
Ashley’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. “Really?”
“Really,” he told her.
She hummed thoughtfully. “I don’t know, . From this angle...you weren’t looking too hetero.”
laughed. “Sean’s just been...flirty, is all. It’s kind of weird to see.”
“Uh-huh,” she said doubtfully. “Tell that to someone who hasn’t seen your turned-on face up close and personal.”
His eyes snapped up. “Excuse me?”
She laughed. “Your expression gives everything away. You wear your emotions on your face, even if you try to keep your heart off your sleeve. And if I could see it, I’m sure Mr. Psychiatrist over there could see it too.”
“I was not…” began to protest.
Ash screwed up her eyes. “And I’d say it’s a little off, trying to seduce one of the groom’s brothers, but that would be right up your alley.”
“I wasn’t,” tried.
“Eh, I guess it’s not that weird. You two aren’t related, even if that whole marriage thing exists. Stranger things have happened.”
growled. “I wasn’t trying to seduce him.”
She grinned. “True.”
leaned back, surprised. “Oh. Well, thank you...I guess.”
Her smile widened. “He was trying to seduce you. And if you weren’t half-hard while he was trying based on the look on your face, I’d be surprised.”
narrowed his eyes. “I was not half-hard.”
If only because he’d been so surprised by his reactions to Sean, he didn’t think his body quite knew what to do with itself. He wasn’t about to admit to Ash that if he’d been a little less confused, he might have been more than just half.
Ash chuckled. “First time, huh?”
“There’s no first time,” protested.
Ash shrugged, grabbing ’s beer and taking a deep drink. “It was a little weird the first time I got with a woman. Helped that she knew what she was doing, and well, she was pretty charming...and good-looking.”
“Am I going to hear about how you discovered you were bi again? I mean, it got me worked up once, but I don’t think that’s a good idea,” said.
The dirty look made him smile wickedly back at her. If it meant she got off the current topic, he was more than willing to irritate her. And if his eagerness was because of some strange parallels between what she was saying and the thoughts echoing at the back of his head, that was to be expected.
“My point,” she said because, of course, she wouldn’t be deterred. “Is that I got to figure out more about myself because someone was there to help me through it.”
shook his head, taking his beer back. “I’m almost thirty-one, Ash. I think it’s a little late in the game to discover some latent bisexuality or whatever.”
Ash shrugged. “There are guys who didn’t figure out they were gay until their sixties or older. Who’s to say you couldn’t be finding out more about yourself?”
“I think I might have noticed before,” pointed out. “It’s not like this is the first time another dude has hit on me.”
“Yeah, but it certainly looks like it’s the first time you were affected, which is a big deal. I mean, does it gross you out?” she asked with an arched brow.
leaned back, eyes widening. “What? No! No, it doesn’t gross me out. It’s...it’s Sean, Ash. He won’t gross me out because he’s being playful and flirty. It’s actually kind of nice to see him loosen up and enjoy himself.”
“Even if that enjoyment involves you?” Ash asked with a cock of her head.
“I…” began, shaking his head. “C’mon, Ash.”
She shrugged, snatching his beer away again. “All I’m saying is that maybe, just maybe, you’re a little interested. And if you are, it’s not a big deal. I mean, we’re at a gay wedding, for fuck’s sake.”
“I see being with a Marine has done nothing for your vocabulary,” said.
Ashley ignored him. “And if you have someone willing to help you figure things out, even if it’s just a bit of fun, then I say take it.”
“Ashley,” warned.
She hopped off the stool, mug held tightly in her grip. “Seriously. What do you have to lose?”
With Sean? Probably nothing, no, hell, he had to admit it would be nothing. If went through with it and found out he didn’t like it, Sean wouldn’t hold it against him. They’d be free to return to the friendly banter and platonic bond they’d built before.
Ashley seemed to read the answer on his face, nodding. “Then quit worrying about what you thought things were like and go with something that’s working for you now. Who knows, you might find something better than you had before.”
She left him to his thoughts then, taking his beer with her he noticed. There was another clean mug on the counter, though, and he took it and began filling it up. It had been a few months since he’d last spoken to her, but somehow, he wasn’t surprised that she left him thinking. Ashley had always been good at that. It was one of the reasons he’d been fond of her, though not necessarily attached.
As for her advice?
Well, would drink, think about it, and see what bubbled up afterward.