Chapter Twenty-Five
Aiden
We spent the evening all stretched out on the sofa together, playing video games and watching play-through clips on YouTube while Hunter tried to teach me how to crochet.
Bailey and I made dinner together as he walked me through their nutrition plan, answering my questions about their favourite foods and how their plan worked and changed over the season.
Hunter kept coming to check on us and eventually asked if, next time I had a kitchen, I could bring him a couple of white chocolate sprinkle cookies because he’d really liked those when Jonny had taken some to training.
I’d smiled and nodded, telling him I’d bring him whatever he wanted and casually mentioning the cookies would freeze if that helped.
I’d still been wearing Hunter’s rugby shirt, since we’d avoided getting cum on it, and a pair of shorts I’d borrowed from Bailey that I’d had to tie tightly around the waist because they kept slipping down off my hips.
I could see the satisfaction on both of their faces every time they saw me, pleased I was here, in their space, wearing their clothes.
Possession had never been my favourite thing, but on them I found it amusing rather than annoying.
The whole night was surprisingly soft and domestic. It didn’t even occur to me to be afraid of it until I crawled into bed and by then it felt too late to be scared. The evening had happened, I’d enjoyed it, and that was okay.
I slept in Hunter’s old bed because as much as I liked the idea of sharing with my boys, it wasn’t going to happen with their current arrangement.
I liked my space, hated getting too hot, and I woke up early.
And I didn’t think I’d get much sleep with Hunter sprawled across me like a starfish.
For one thing, he was a foot taller than me and I’d end up getting squashed.
And I was an absolute bastard when I was tired.
Both Jonny and Bacon would attest to that.
Hunter and Bailey had seemed a bit reluctant the first night when I’d insisted on sleeping apart, but now it was part of the routine we’d suddenly slipped into.
Another thing I wasn’t thinking too much about.
And sweetly, I could sometimes hear them talking softly through the wall.
It didn’t make me feel lonely. It made me feel…
Something beginning with L and ending with E. The one thing I refused to consider as an option.
At least out loud.
The bubble popped the next morning when I was stood in the kitchen in an old T-shirt of Hunter’s that I’d nicked, sipping a mug of tea I’d stewed for so long you could practically stand a spoon up in it.
My phone buzzed on the counter and I frowned as I picked it up, not recognising the number calling me.
But I was still waiting to hear from my insurance, who’d been delayed coming out to see me due to staff shortages, and the building management about my rent queries.
“Hello?” I asked cautiously, mostly expecting to hear some machine voice.
“Hello, is this Aiden Gregory?”
“Speaking.”
“My name’s Jeff. I’m from Insurety. I’m wondering if you’re around for me to come and look at your commercial kitchen this morning? I’ve got another job to do in the morning, so I can pop by afterwards.”
“Er, yeah. What sort of time?” I asked, trying not to let panic rise in my chest. I was over an hour away, not dressed, and half my shit was still at Jonny’s. Fuck it, as long as I had clean underwear and my keys, I’d probably be okay.
“Should be about eleven. Can I confirm the address with you?”
“Yeah.” I listened to him read off the address and confirmed it was right, then double-checked what I needed to bring before I hung up. “Shit! Shit! Fucking shit!”
“Everything okay?” Bailey asked, sticking his head around the kitchen door with his bag in hand.
The two of them were getting ready to head to training.
I was glad I’d gotten the call now at least. Then I wouldn’t have to leave them with nothing but a message dropped in the group chat, explaining what had happened.
There was an uncomfortable, gnawing sensation in my stomach as I looked at Bailey’s worried face. We’d spent two nights together, and I’d been careless enough to slip into something comfortable with them. But now it was time for me to get back to reality, and I didn’t know when I’d be coming back.
I had a kitchen to clean, a business to rescue, and a life to sort.
I couldn’t stay here, living in a fantasy. No matter how happy it was making me.
“That was my insurance,” I said before draining the last of my tea and putting the mug in the sink. “Someone can come and look at my kitchen today.”
“Shit. Talk about last minute.”
“Yeah, they’ll be there about eleven.”
“Do you need anything?”
“Clothes,” I said. “Then, I don’t know, I can grab breakfast on the way. Lunch too. I’ll probably spend the rest of the afternoon cleaning the kitchen, once I know what I can do. Then I can go shopping this evening.”
Bailey nodded, uncertainty on his face. I knew what he wanted to ask, the question hanging in the air between us like a neon sign. “Are you planning to stay there then?”
“Yeah, I’ll go back to mine,” I said. It wasn’t what he wanted to hear but I didn’t have a choice.
I couldn’t afford to commute from Lincoln every day.
And it was way too early in whatever this was for me to live with them.
I wasn’t going to live with Jonny and Devon either, because as much as I loved my brother, neither of us would survive more than forty-eight hours in the same house.
“Makes sense. I guess you’ve got a lot to do,” Bailey said. He was trying to pretend he wasn’t upset, but he wasn’t a very good liar.
“I do. The kitchen needs scrubbing, the equipment needs boiling to within an inch of its life, if it’s even still useable, and I need to work out when the hell I’ll be able to open again.
I might have to take Bacon up on using the pub kitchen.
He’d clear space for me, and I’d be out before they opened for lunch. ”
My mind was already whirring with the thousand and one things I needed to do.
It was going to be a long day, and a late night, but that was my fault for spending two days dicking around instead of scrubbing.
Although I guessed spending all that time on the phone counted for something. But I could have done both.
“Will you… do you think you’ll be able to come up again soon?” Bailey asked. As he spoke, Hunter appeared behind him, obviously confused by what was going on. It didn’t help that Bailey’s expression made it look like someone had died.
“Everything okay?” he asked, looking between us.
“Aiden had a call from his insurance. They’re finally coming to look at his kitchen this morning.”
“This morning?”
“Apparently, they’re in the area,” I said. “I was just saying I’ll go back to mine afterwards. I’ve got a lot to do—I need to figure out how to get up and running again, or when that’s going to be possible.”
“Oh, er, yeah, I guess you need to do that.” He nodded but his face had fallen too. They looked like a pair of sad puppies who’d been told they had to go home from the park. It was both sweet and annoying.
I knew they were trying to act like it wasn’t a big deal, but it clearly was.
I didn’t get why they were so upset, though.
It had only been two days. And yeah, it sucked for things to end so suddenly after we’d had a nice time, but had they thought things would stay like this?
With me here, living in their spare room and wearing their clothes?
“I do,” I said, trying to keep a biting note behind my teeth. It wasn’t their fault I was allergic to emotion.
“Do you think you’ll be able to come up again soon?” Hunter asked, repeating Bailey’s question. The one I still hadn’t answered.
“I’m not sure. It’ll depend on how things go. I think I’m going to be busy for a while.”
“Maybe we could come and see you?” Bailey asked quickly. “We have Mondays off usually. And we’ve got a weekend off coming up at the end of October. Plus, if we play on a Saturday, then we have the Sunday off—like next weekend! We could come down for the day. Have some lunch. Chill. Fuck.”
That did sound nice. And there wasn’t much commitment attached either. Just sex and relaxation, only at my place instead of theirs.
I’d have access to all my toys if they came to mine too.
But that would mean giving them my address and inviting them into my space, and I rarely did that.
Bacon and Greenie only knew where I lived because they’d helped me move in and because Bacon brought me breakfast sandwiches at midnight every time I did something stupid and got too attached to someone.
Jonny and Devon might have it, but only if I’d remembered to message them with it, and I couldn’t say for certain that I had.
But I wouldn’t mind it, if Hunter and Bailey knew. There was a strange tightness in my chest at the idea of completely cutting them off and pretending they didn’t exist. And a sneaking suspicion they wouldn’t let me.
They might not know where I lived right now, but I didn’t trust them not to drive round Leicester until they found me. Even if I blocked their numbers, they could go to Jonny and Devon. And Jonny had access to my kryptonite: he knew where to find Bacon.
If there was a weak link in the chain, it was Bacon. Because that bastard had a softer heart than me, and he’d have no qualms about summoning me to the pub under false pretences or kicking down my front door and dragging me out by the ear.
I needed him to find a partner as soon as fucking possible to take his attention off me. Then I’d be able to get away with more shit.
“I’d like that,” I said, offering them both a small smile. I was surprised I’d actually said it because giving them the tiniest fraction of commitment was terrifying. But it was too late to take it back now. Once I got home, I could keep feigning unavailability until they lost interest in me.
“Awesome.” Bailey grinned victoriously, like he’d won something.
I didn’t have the heart to tell him there was a good chance nothing more would ever happen.
He stepped closer to me and leant down to give me a kiss, putting his hands on my waist. “By the way, don’t think you can avoid us and hope we’ll get bored and let you go. That’s not going to happen.”
I froze, looking up at him in shock. “I… what?”
He shrugged. “Just in case you were thinking about it.”
“In case we hadn’t made it clear, we like you, Aiden,” Hunter said, moving to stand next to Bailey, practically sandwiching me between them and the counter. “And we want you in our lives, whatever that looks like.”
“Yeah, this isn’t a challenge for you to avoid us and see how far you can push us,” Bailey said with a wry smirk and an amused eyebrow. “You might be stubborn, but so are we.”
I wanted to tell them to fuck off and hightail it out of there, but I couldn’t. They’d cornered me and cut off my exits, but it wasn’t malicious. This was their declaration. I was almost impressed.
And suspicious.
They’d known I was going to run and decided to do something about it.
This had John Andrew Gregory written all over it, and I made a mental note to kick his arse next time we spoke. Interfering bastard.
“If you really don’t want us, you have to say so,” Hunter said. There was a challenging note in his voice and I liked how it sounded. He was always so soft with me, but he was an imposing man, and watching him flex that was hot.
Which was not what I was meant to be focusing on, but I couldn’t help it.
I resisted the temptation to tell him to get on his knees, simply to test how quickly he’d fold, and looked up at him defiantly, ready to tell him I didn’t need them.
But the words wouldn’t come.
Hunter smiled and bent down to kiss me. “Let us know you get back to Leicester okay. We’ll be waiting for your messages.”
“And if I don’t send one?” I asked.
Bailey shrugged. “I hear there’s a very nice pub in Leicester we should visit. I think you know the owner.”
I snorted, laughter bursting out of me. “Fine,” I said, standing on my tiptoes to kiss him. “I’ll message you.”
I was still terrified, still unsure, still convinced that as soon as I got home, I’d go back to my old ways and push them out of my life, ignoring them until they gave up.
I was nothing if not predictable.
Even if it would be the worst mistake I made in my life.