Chapter 32 Trouble
Trouble
“Tell us about yourself, Trouble.” Mat’s eyes are shiny and he has a glazed look on his face.
“Uh-uh, no, no, we don’t have to do that,” I say firmly.
“Sure we do.” Mat smiles. “Talking is Will’s favorite part.”
I’d love to argue, and usually, I definitely would. Ordinarily, I’d be up and flitting out the door right now. Ordinarily, I’d be laughing at the guy I left worn out in bed and feeling smug and pleased with myself. I’d be totally sure I came out on top, even if that time, the top was the bottom.
I’m not laughing now. I’m not at all sure who came out on top of this little fuck fest. I honestly couldn’t tell you. I lost track of how many times they both came, but judging by the taste in my mouth and the copious amount of spunk leaking from my ass, my money’s on them.
“Do you need anything, Trouble?” asks Will.
I shake my head.
He puts a heavy arm on my chest and tucks his other arm under his head, curling up so he’s facing me. “Well, in that case, answer Mattie’s question.”
“I, uh, I’m twenty-five years old, five foot nine, and I’m originally from Portland.”
“Hmm, doesn’t look like he’s very good at the talking game, does it, Mattie? Guess we’ll have to teach him.”
“‘Kay. I’ll go first,” says Mat. “Will likes fried egg on toast and coffee with lots of milk. He looks scary as fuck, but he’s not.
Okay, fine, he is a little scary, but he also likes taking care of people.
He likes staying home and watching reruns because he finds it relaxing to know what’s going to happen next. ”
“Mattie likes drinking old-school British tea, even though it tastes like brown water. He gets weird about it if you don’t pour it the right way.
He likes laughing and making people feel good about themselves, but he gets shitty real fast if you try to feed him garlic bread that isn’t garlicky enough. ”
“Will gets pissed when I can’t find my wallet.”
“Mat doesn’t like it when I have serious girlfriends.”
“It’s not that I don’t like it, okay? It’s just that they’re always around.”
Ungh.
The soft boy is possessive of the hard man?
Christ, how much more can I take?
“And you don’t like that, Mattie?” I bat my lashes sympathetically.
“No. I mean, I don’t mind it. It’s not like I don’t like it, the girls he dates are always cool, but sometimes it’s nice when it’s just us at home.”
“And what do you do when it’s ‘just us?’” My imagination immediately drifts to two big, buff guys having pajama parties, eating ice cream out of the tub, and telling each other they deserve better.
“Normal things,” says Mat.
“Normal like braiding each other’s hair and trying on each other’s clothes?” I suggest helpfully.
“No, not like that.”
“Why do you like it when you’re alone then.”
“Because,” Will teases, “he likes getting the good cuddles, and he doesn’t like anyone being around when he gets them.”
“There are good cuddles?” My voice lilts up to a worrying pitch. Oh, Jesus, yes, please. “Please, please tell me about the good cuddles.”
“It’s no big deal. It’s just something we’ve always done,” says Mat.
“When Mattie’s upset, he likes…Fuck, Trouble, you’re making this sound weird when it isn’t. It’s no big deal. It’s just when something’s wrong or he’s feeling tired, or whatever, we sit on the sofa, and I hold him until he feels better.”
“Oh my God,” I squeal. “There aren’t enough words in the English language that could possibly convey the unbridled joy this conversation is bringing me.”
“See? And you thought you wouldn’t like talking.” Mat smiles.
“I had no idea it would be this good. Let’s circle back to the cuddling for a minute. I don’t think we’ve covered that in nearly enough detail. Who cuddles who? Who starts it? How do you know when it’s about to happen?”
“Ugh,” says Mattie. He’s up on his knees and jumps over me, making the bed bounce as he lands and lies beside Will. He rolls Will onto his back and drags his arm around him, nuzzling his head into the meaty spot where Will’s arm meets his body. “We do this, okay? It’s no big deal.”
Well, that’s not strictly true—this conversation is pretty much my bread and butter. It’s pretty much giving me life. It’s the very cornerstone of my entire thing for being with two unawoken bi guys. My dick has the nerve to twitch despite the fact it’s never been more worn out in its whole life.
Mat wraps an arm around Will and tightens it.
“That’s it,” says Will. “That’s the whole cuddling thing. We just stay like this until he feels better.”
“And you do the hair thing sometimes,” adds Mat.
I blow a long breath out through my mouth and clamp my fist tightly against my lips. “Th-there’s a hair thing? A hair thing?”
“Don’t make a big deal out of it,” Will warns, letting his hand fall to Mat’s head, gently running his fingers through his curls.
Damn.
I’m so fucking lightheaded.
“Come on, we told you something real. Now you have to do it too,” says Mat.
“Fine.” I search my mind for something decent and un-incriminating.
It’s a struggle, but I come up with, “I like music and clothes and people who do weird things with their hair. You know, people who cut short bangs or dye their tips magenta and teal.” Neither reacts to that other than giving a little chin dip to show they’ve heard me.
Looks like they’re going to need more, so I tack on, “My mom and dad have been together for thirty years, but they don’t live together and aren’t married.
Oh yeah, and my mom has a girlfriend named Clara. ”
They still don’t react except to hold eye contact and nod supportively. Interesting. Providing people with that little nugget of information tends to be how I assess people’s level of chill. Looks like my favorite blunt instruments just breezed through that test.
“Do you have any siblings?” asks Will.
“I’m my mom’s only child, but my dad has two other kids, and Clara has a daughter who’s like a baby sister to me. They all live back in Portland.”
“Will’s the eldest of three,” says Mat, “and I’m the youngest of two. My sister is way older than me, so I felt a bit like an only child growing up.
“That’s why he liked it at our house. It was always madness, and Matt’s madness too.”
“And it’s why you liked it at my place. Structure, rules, and boundaries.”
“Yeah, everything has a place in Mat’s house.
Meals are at set times, and they always eat at the table and talk about their days together.
His mom had one of those big boards in the laundry with the times and dates of all his activities.
She made him a snack to take to school until he was in the eleventh grade. ”
“She only stopped because I asked her to.”
“Why’d you ask her to? Those snacks were the best.”
“I dunno. Guess I was trying to be like you or something.”
Jesus, grab the wheel, babe. I’m losing control of the vehicle.
It’s quiet for a few beats. Will’s breathing grows heavy.
“How do you take your coffee, Trouble?” Mat’s voice has gone soft and dreamy.
“Uh. Oh, no, no, no. I’m not staying. I-I don’t do that. I’ve got to go.”
“Sure you’re staying,” says Will with a dark smile so sexy that if I wasn’t already flat on my back, it sure as shit would have put me there. “But because we’re both nice, we’ll let you choose if you’re going to stay voluntarily or if you’d like me to cuff you to the bed.”
“Y-you have cuffs?”
“‘Course I have cuffs. What kind of question is that? I have fluffy cuffs, metal cuffs, leather cuffs, wrist-to-thigh cu…”
“Fine.” I laugh. My dick and my hole twitch this time. “I get it. I’ll stay. But only if everyone understands I’m doing so entirely of my own volition.”