Chapter Three
Bailey
“Everything okay?” I asked, sliding off my trainers as the front door of the flat closed behind us. “You were a bit quiet today.”
“Yeah, fine,” Hunter said with a casual shrug which could mean anything from actually fine to I don’t want to talk about it.
He could be notoriously cagey with his emotions, and even after six years of friendship I still found him difficult to read.
I’d had to learn to leave things be half the time, trusting that he’d open up when he was ready.
Occasionally I had to push, and once or twice I’d demanded he talk to me when I’d had a gut feeling something was wrong, but mostly I tried to wait because I didn’t want him to feel smothered or cornered.
I nodded and smiled. “I’m gonna change the sheets quickly before Aiden arrives. I know he said he’d be another hour or two but I’d rather be ready.”
“I’ll get a fresh set.”
“Cheers.” There was no need to debate which bedroom we’d use because mine had become the default for everything.
Hunter even slept in there most of the time.
It was a bit cramped with two of us in the bed, but we made it work.
I’d rather do that than have him feel abandoned or have to go through things on his own.
He’d once told me that when he had bad days, the slithering voices of his disordered eating and exercise obsession were loudest at night.
It was then, in the dark and the quiet and the stillness, that they crawled out from whatever godforsaken place they retreated to and whispered to him.
And I wasn’t prepared to let that happen. Not again.
Hunter had been in recovery for nearly five years, and he’d worked hard to get to the place he was now. Being a professional athlete meant facing up to those voices over and over and over again and not letting them have the final say.
It might not be my job to protect him, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to.
Hunter was my best friend. The person I would choose every single day. And I didn’t take that responsibility lightly.
“So, I was thinking,” Hunter said as we finished buttoning up the duvet cover and shaking it out. “And I… I think I want to ask Aiden to top me. Today.”
I blinked slowly, schooling my face out of whatever unsurprised expression it was trying to wear. Hunter wasn’t as subtle as he thought and I was well aware of the fact he’d ordered a dildo back in April. And that he’d been using it.
We spent virtually all our time together, so him shutting himself in his room meant literally one thing. He’d been doing it a lot more recently—which was fine. Wanking was good for him. I did the same. But I could usually hear him through the walls, and his mattress squeaked.
Plus he’d left the box, and the order note, in the kitchen recycling bin. I didn’t know if he’d intended for me to see it, but it was bloody hard to avoid when it was sitting right there.
I hadn’t said anything—I didn’t want him to get upset if he was keeping it private—but I wasn’t exactly surprised. The way he’d blushed when Aiden had talked about getting his strap out had made me wonder if he’d been considering it. Apparently, he was.
And from the way my cock stirred in my pants, it was very interested in watching him get fucked.
“Okay,” I said. “As long as you’re comfortable with it. I think he’d love to fuck you.”
“Would you… mind?”
“No, why would I?” I walked around the bed to where he was standing and put my hand on his chest, feeling the beat of his heart.
Usually, it was steady, almost unflinchingly stoic.
But now it raced like he was thirty meters away from the try line with nothing between it and the opposition on his heels.
“I don’t know. I don’t want you to be… upset.”
“I won’t be. How could I? I want you to enjoy yourself.” His question had thrown me, and I had no idea where it was coming from. All I could do was reassure him. With honesty. “And I… I want to watch Aiden fuck you.”
“Yeah?” Hunter’s lips twitched in that casual smirk which always fucking killed me.
“Yeah. I think it’ll be hot as fuck.”
“Maybe you can fuck his mouth while he fucks me?”
“Mmm, I’d like that. Then I can watch both of you.”
His smirk widened and he tilted his head down towards me.
We hadn’t kissed since the last time we’d been with Aiden, but I didn’t know why.
Maybe it was because it felt like too much of an admission of something we’d always ignored.
It was why we’d never gone beyond platonic touches, why we’d never hooked up with each other without another person between us, and why we never talked about our friendship in more than nebulous terms.
Because acknowledging our feelings meant dealing with them. And things always got messy when emotions were involved. I’d seen it time and time again over the years. Bad breakups, ruined friendships, and the ending of things that were never meant to be broken.
If keeping each other at arm’s length meant staying together, then I’d take it.
“Can I kiss you?” I asked, the words brushing across his face, our mouths barely an inch apart.
“Yeah, you can.”
For a second I hesitated, then slowly pressed my lips to his.
He tasted like beer and strawberries and something smoky. Different to how I remembered. But that whole night had been different.
The feeling was the same, though. Like I could finally breathe again. Or like, the feeling after someone had worked a knot out of my spine or taken off my sports tape—not pain. Relief.
Hunter’s tongue caressed the seam of my lips, and he groaned as I opened them, inviting him to take more. Warmth spread through me as his hand came to rest on my waist, holding me firmly, like I was grounding him.
A sharp buzzing from Hunter’s pocket snapped reality back into focus around us and we broke apart.
“Aiden’s on his way,” Hunter said as he pulled his phone out and casually tapped the screen. “He managed to sneak out.”
I chuckled. “Let’s hope he wasn’t noticed.”
“Eh, doesn’t matter either way. We don’t have to see Jonny until July.”
“True. He’ll have forgotten about it by then.”
Thank fuck Aiden was on his way. He was exactly the distraction we needed to stop us from focusing on… whatever the hell that had been.
I felt a little bad for using him, but Aiden didn’t seem to care that this was only sex. We hadn’t spoken since we’d last seen him and I doubted we would again until the next time he came to visit.
None of us wanted anything more, so I didn’t even know where the vague stab of guilt came from. I’d never felt it before about any of the numerous casual hookups Hunter and I’d had over the years.
That kiss had made me get in my head and I needed to snap out of it.
“Did you see Aiden’s new tattoos?” Hunter asked as he reached into my bedside drawer and pulled out the bottle of lube we kept there, shaking it and holding it up to the light to see how much was left. “Can’t wait to follow those instructions.”
“They’re the only ones you follow.”
“And you wouldn’t?”
“I didn’t say that.” I grinned. “He tastes so good all I want to do is eat him out.”
“He’s so fucking hot. Like, fuck.”
“You’re really desperate today, aren’t you?”
Hunter shrugged casually, but there was a flush spreading across his cheeks that I’d rarely seen. “It’s the end of the season. We deserve this!”
“Hey,” I said softly. “I never said it was bad that you’re desperate. It’s hot.”
“Thanks.” He nodded but didn’t quite meet my gaze. There was definitely something more going on, but now wasn’t the time to ask.
“And, just so you know, I’m fucking desperate for it too.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I need this today.”
“Me too.” He put the lube down, a little smile playing across his lips. “I’m gonna go grab a shower and maybe, er, clean up a bit.”
“Sounds good. Let me know if you need anything.”
I watched him go, trying not to let myself follow the rabbit down the warren of thoughts popping up in my head. I didn’t need to analyse anything. I needed to let go.
From down the hall, I heard the shower turn on and I shook my head, dislodging the last of my worries, before wandering through to the kitchen to fill a couple of water bottles.
Hydration was always important. I put them down near my bed and then flicked the large tower fan on to rotate slowly.
It wouldn’t do much in terms of keeping us cool, but it was better than nothing.
A sharp buzz caught my attention and a smile crossed my lips as I walked back into the hallway.
“Aiden’s here,” I called to Hunter as I pressed the button on the wall by the door to open the downstairs door.
The shower stopped and as I reached to open the front door, I heard Hunter come out of the bathroom.
I glanced over my shoulder and smirked when I realised he hadn’t bothered to bring his towel with him. I’d seen Hunter naked a thousand times in rugby club showers or during our hookups, but I very rarely allowed myself to look at him. That felt like crossing another line.
But fuck it, with the way things were going to be different today, who gave a shit if I looked? Hunter was gorgeous. He always had been. And I wanted to drink in every inch of him until his body was seared into my memory.
He noticed me staring and winked, gesturing towards my bedroom with his head. “I’ll be in your room.”
“We’ll be right there.” I gave him two seconds to disappear from view, just in case it really wasn’t Aiden behind the door, then pulled it open.
“Hey,” Aiden said with that beautiful cocky smirk. “Perfect timing.”
“Glad you managed to sneak away,” I said as I stepped back to let him in, watching as he toed his shoes off. He had a bag slung over his shoulder and it suddenly set in that I was about to watch my best friend get fucked.