Chapter Twenty Eight
“Is this your matchbook collection?” Karim asked.
Luis’s head snapped up to see Karim across his old apartment with the jar of matchbooks.
“Yeah.” Luis put down the cardboard box he was putting together and made his way over.
The movers would arrive in a few hours to take his furniture and whatever boxes they’d filled by then.
Luis didn’t officially have to be out of the apartment until the end of the month, so they had plenty of time.
Karim fished one out to look at the design. “They’re from shows you said.”
“Yeah. Cassie and I used to go to a lot of shows,” Luis said.
“Used to?” He asked.
Luis shrugged. “She moved four hours away last year for school, and it’s not as fun to go alone.”
Karim looked thoughtfully at the matchbooks, dropping the one back in. “We should go then, sometime. I didn’t mind the other place, I’d do it again.”
Luis blinked at him. “What?”
Karim shrugged. “It could be a date night. You have pretty okay taste so, I’m sure it wouldn’t suck,” now he was teasing Luis.
“Fuck you,” Luis said with a smile, taking the jar with the matchbooks from him.
Karim grinned, bending to drop a kiss on his mouth. “I love when you get all huffy. It’s cute.”
“Shut up,” Luis said, turning away as his face shot up with heat.
Karim chuckled. “So, pick the place and the time and let me know, I’ll get the tickets.” Karim turned to start packing a new box.
“Fine,” Luis said, trying not to smile like a lovesick fool as he grabbed the roll of bubble wrap to protect the jar. “But maybe after all this is done.”
“Yeah, sure. Just let me know,” Karim said.
By the time the movers arrived hours later, most of Luis’s things were packed. The movers were all vampires, a strong, silent lot that made quick work of moving even his heavy mattress down the stairs and to the truck.
Most of the night was gone by the time the movers finished bringing everything into the new place. Luis worked on setting up his bed and his desk and router for work. Julien and Karim helped themselves to unpacking his kitchen and bathroom even as Luis had tried to tell them they didn’t need to.
When his internet was working, his teeth were brushed, and the bed was made, Luis flopped onto the bed. He was exhausted.
After a few minutes, he heard footsteps come to his doorway and then beside his bed. He turned his head to see Julien.
“I’m going to change my work schedule,” Luis said. He’d been thinking about it all evening. “My hours have always been flexible and there’s a few vampires on staff, so changing to a night shift shouldn’t be an issue.”
Julien smiled. “Does this mean you’ll be spending some time during the week with us?”
Luis pushed himself to sit up. “If you’ll have me, if that’s… okay?”
Julien took a seat on the bed beside him. “More than okay. We were hoping something could be arranged, but we didn’t want to push you.”
“I want to. I–I like you both. A lot.” He tried to duck his head, but Julien caught his chin and tilted it up.
“We like you too, a lot,” Julien said, then leaned in and kissed him. It was soft and lovely, like sinking into a warm bath after a long day.
“Getting started without me?” Karim asked as he came in. A weight dropped down on the bed on Luis’s other side. Julien pulled back just as Karim turned his head to kiss him.
Karim’s was rougher, stealing the air from his lungs.
“So,” Karim said when he let Luis go, “how about breaking the new apartment in?”
Julien hummed thoughtfully. “Perhaps a little, before we have to go,” Julien said.
Karim immediately pushed Luis back on the bed, crawling over his prone form to kiss him again. Luis had no argument against this, grabbing Karim by the back of his neck, hand sliding into his hair.
On a whim he grabbed a fistful just to give it a small tug, and was rewarded by Karim growling into his mouth, nipping at his lip.
The heat came quick. It was three nights of being wound up and left to simmer. They kissed like desperate teenagers, pushing against each other like they were racing the clock before parents came home and busted them.
Except this was better, because it was Julien watching, Julien controlling just how far this went. The anticipation of that chain being yanked did something to Luis.
Karim licked hungrily into his mouth, and Luis groaned. Their hips found a messy rhythm, pushing against each other through layers of fabric.
Then a hand was slipping in under Luis’s, grabbing Karim’s hair and pulling him back. In a quick, smooth motion, Julien had Karim on his side, and then was moving Luis, rolling him onto his side and back into Karim.
And Julien was kissing him.
He felt Karim’s cock against his ass, the heat of Julien along his front. Karim’s arms came around him and he was surrounded, caught between them. Karim kissed Luis’s neck, as Julien took him apart with those sweet, soft kisses.
It folded over him like a drug, softening the arousal into a slow-moving lava flow. Still dangerous, but slow and sticky. Karim groaned against his throat, hips pushing needily against his ass, and Luis felt it down his spine.
It was addicting. He never wanted it to end.
Eventually the kisses did slow, and Julien pulled back. A hand raked Luis’s hair back from his face. “Time for bed?”
It probably was. Dawn was coming soon and they’d need to get home.
But they’d be leaving Luis here. He’d be sleeping in his own bed, alone, for the first time in days.
He met Julien’s eyes. His hand found Julien’s and wove their fingers together. Luis wanted to ask them not to go, to stay with him.
But he wasn’t that brave yet.
Behind him, Karim grumbled as he let Luis go and sat up. Luis didn’t reach a hand back for him, but he ached to.
“I know,” Julien said, as if he could pluck that thought out of the air. “I know. But we’re taking it slow. Sleep now, and tomorrow if there’s something you still want, you can tell us.” He leaned in for one last sweet kiss. “Now let’s get you tucked in.”
Between the two of them, they got Luis into bed and both of them dropped a kiss to his forehead.
“I’ll turn off the lights and lock up on our way out,” Julien said.
“Take the spare key,” Luis said.
Karim smiled at him, pulling the set from his pocket. “Already added it to our key ring.”
It was presumptuous, and Luis smiled sleepily up at him. “Okay, good.”
Then they were bidding him goodnight and leaving.
Leaving Luis alone, when all he really wanted was to be tucked between them, safe and warm and loved.
##
Despite how much Luis wanted to, he didn’t reach out or go to Julien and Karim’s place the first week back at work. Karim had texted once asking, and Luis had put it off, saying he needed to unpack and run errands.
In truth, he was scared. Without Julien and Karim around, the fears crept in and took hold of him.
Cassie groaned at him on the phone. “Just talk to them about it. It’s new and you’re taking it slow, but that doesn’t mean you can’t ask them about intent. About the future.”
Luis was lying on his bed, trying to will himself to get up and get dressed to sign into work. With the new work schedule, his and Cassie’s communications had shifted to mornings and evenings.
“I know, I just… what if they change their mind? What if I do? I’ve–I’ve never really done a relationship, let alone one with two other people in it.”
“And what if you isolate yourself in your apartment, never leave, never take any risks?” She asked.
“Luis, you know bad shit can happen. Yeah, tomorrow this could all blow up in your face, but at the end of the day–at the end of your life–you will have to live with the path you chose. So, do you want to be a person who tried, who chased what he wanted? Or do you want to be the person who stayed safe in your apartment, where nothing exciting ever happened?”
And wasn’t that the crux of it. He’d spent a decade wasting away under his mother’s thumb. He didn’t want to be that person, didn’t want to live that life.
“It’s amazing you didn’t go into therapy or creative writing,” Luis said.
Cassie laughed. “I did consider therapy. Wasn’t challenging enough.”
“Of course.”
“Just talk to them, Luis,” Cassie reiterated.
He knew she was right. She was always right. He wanted to be a person who took risks, for better or for worse.
It was just hard, changing your whole life.
“I will,” he said.
“Good,” he could hear the smile in her voice. “I can’t wait to meet them. Summer break can’t get here fast enough.”
“I miss you,” Luis said.
“I miss you too, so much,” Cassie said. “Now talk to your boyfriends so you all can live happily ever after, okay?”
“Okay,” Luis said.
##
By Thursday Luis was beginning to feel… frustrated with more than just his inability to spit out some words.
He hadn’t touched himself, hadn’t done anything around the pent-up arousal they’d left him with.
Julien had never said not to, but some part of him had felt like he should hold off.
Like it was only fair if he was in it with Karim.
So, Luis forced himself out of bed, out of the snatches of a lurid dream, and into the shower. He put the water on tepid, and stepped in under it, shivering.
He wanted to be good, wanted to see this thing through. The pain and discomfort were part of it, and when he thought about Julien wanting this outcome, it strengthened his resolve.
Luis washed himself in cool water, letting his erection flag.
Friday was just a day away.
There was no guarantee Julien would put an end to this game then, but at least he would see them. See them and figure out where this was all going.
And maybe having some answers would help.