54 - Jocelyn
~ 54 ~
JOCELYN
“And he really told you about the garlic?” Kayden pressed.
“Yup.”
His brow creased in skepticism. “You’re not making this up?”
“Swear to God.”
The four of us were floating contentedly in the crystal clear waters, just outside our villa. Shielded from the wind on three sides, everything was calm. Still. Tranquil. Everywhere I looked, I saw the most gorgeous shade of blue.
But none as beautiful as Kayden’s blue eyes.
“You know,” I chuckled, “another minute or two, and I would’ve found out what he did to the basil.”
“No fucking way.”
“Hey, it’s not my fault if Bruschetta Joe’s sweet on me,” I smiled and shrugged. “Maybe he’s getting older. Maybe he realizes a recipe that legendary, that important, needs to be passed on.”
Kayden slicked back his hair and let out a long, frustrated sigh.
“Older, huh?”
“Yeah,” I grinned. “Face it, we’re all getting older.”
“And some of us; wiser!”
A splash preceded Bishop’s arrival, as it usually did. He swam over with long, powerful strokes, then proceeded to wrap his legs around me from behind.
“So what are you guys talking about?”
“Cooking,” I told him.
Those strong legs felt amazing as they snaked over my thighs. Squeezing me like a python, he pointed at Kayden.
“He still droning on about opening that restaurant?”
I tried not to laugh. “Not in the last hour, no.”
“We narrowed it down, at least. Concord or Derry.”
Two hands slid up the insides of my thighs, causing me to jump. A second later, Andre surfaced. He’d swam such a long distance underwater, I had no idea he was coming.
“Or we could go big,” Bishop shrugged. “Something near New York, or Boston.”
Andre twisted a finger in one waterlogged ear. “Are we talking about the restaurant again?”
“I don’t think we ever stopped,” joked Bishop.
Andre’s wild green eyes looked even wilder in the day’s dying light. Reflected in the shimmering water, the tan skin of his pecs and shoulder made him look like a Greek god.
“Chalk me up for going big, then,” he decided. “The bigger the better.”
“The bigger the more expensive,” Kayden lamented.
“Yeah, so…” Andre smiled, adding a shrug. “What’s the problem?”
Still wrapped around me from behind, Bishop must’ve sensed my confusion. “These two have a small pile of money,” he murmured into my ear.
“Oh, it’s not small,” said Andre.
“It’s not exactly ours, either,” cautioned Kayden.
“Like hell it isn’t,” spat Andre. “Remember the shitbags we took it from?”
If Kayden remembered, it wasn’t a memory he cared to recall. He looked at some distant point for a moment, then shook his head.
“It’s ours, trust me,” Andre reiterated. “And we’re putting it to good use.”
Kayden’s shoulders flexed with every slow movement of his pinwheeling arms. Looking thoughtful, he scratched at his beard.
“Boston, eh?”
Bishop and Andre looked at each other and smiled.
“That might not be bad, actually. Maybe on the outskirts, to pick up more rural customers too. I’ve got an idea for a place that’s more laid back. Slower-paced.”
“Slow-paced would be nice,” I agreed with a chuckle. “After the past few weeks.”
“Past few years for us,” added Andre.
“True.”
“It all sounds great to me,” said Bishop, his fingers slowly tracing my curves beneath the water. “Maybe I’ll co-chef.”
“Maybe you’ll go to cooking school first,” insisted Kayden.
“Maybe you should shut your mouth,” Bishop shot back. “I cook just fine.”
“I’m pretty sure we’re not shooting for ‘fine’,” mused Andre. “But don’t sweat it, I’ll go with you.”
Bishop contemplated for a moment. “Yeah?”
“Sure. If we’re going to run a successful fine dining establishment, we’ll need to know more than how to field strip our rifles,” reasoned Andre. “We’re leaving that stuff in the past, now. Remember?”
The boys stopped talking for a moment, and even the silence was comforting. I turned and looked out; to where the sky kissed the horizon. Everything was turning purple around the glow of the setting sun.
“Wherever you end up, I’m sure you’ll run the best restaurant around,” I told them proudly. “I’m sure—”
“We.”
Kayden’s interjection was so firm, it confused me.
“What’s that?”
“He said ‘we’,” Andre declared. “As in wherever we end up, you’ll be right there with us.”
“Yeah,” I rolled my eyes. “Okay.”
“Jocelyn…”
Bishop pushed me gently forward, then spun me around. He was no longer smiling. In those stormy hazel eyes, I saw a heartfelt depth.
“We’re talking about ‘we,’ because everything from this moment on consists of the four of us. You’re coming with us. And not just as our friend, or Jason’s little sister, or someone we grew up with.”
“But—”
“You’re ours now,” Kayden agreed. “We love you. We need you. You’ve always been interwoven in the fabric of our lives, but never like this.”
All of a sudden, I could feel every beat of my heart. And it was going fast. Crazy fast.
“We’re not going back,” continued Kayden, “because there is no going back. Besides, you have nothing left to go back to. You’re starting over, just like us. You said it yourself.”
So if you’ll have us…” said Bishop. “If you’re into it…”
“You’ll come to Boston, or wherever, and you’ll throw your lot in with the three of us,” smiled Andre. He sighed and shrugged. “I mean, what could go wrong?”
“What could go wrong,” I repeated numbly.
“Exactly.”
“But… but… how would it even…” I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t think. The words spinning through my brain were a tornado of random thoughts. “I mean, why would three of you…”
“Because we love you,” said Andre. “And you love us. You know you do.” He squinted at me. “It’s not even a question, is it?”
I was floating between the three of them now, legs kicking, my arms outstretched. I spun my body in a slow circle, so I could see their reactions one by one.
“No,” I admitted, and the admission came with an unexpected surge of joy. “It’s not.”
“Then what’s the problem?” grinned Bishop.
The problem. Holy shit.
“There’s three of you!” I practically shouted. “And one of me.”
“And?”
“And!” I cried. “And? That’s all you have to say?”
“It’s all that really needs to be said,” Andre chimed in. “There’s three of us, and one of you, just as you pointed out.” He smiled, deviously. “How’s that been working out so far?”
My belly exploded with butterflies.
“It’s been… working,” I admitted.
Kayden laughed. “Really? That’s it?”
“Okay fine, it’s been fucking amazing, is that what you want to hear?” I blurted. “Every night is crazier than the last, and I can’t stop thinking about all three of you.”
They looked back at me in silent affirmation. Bishop grinned. “Go on.”
“The sex is off the charts,” I continued, “that’s obvious. But it’s much bigger than that. I love you, I’ve always loved you, and I’ll never stop loving you.” The words rolled effortlessly off my tongue. “Even you, somebody I only just met…” I spun toward Andre, “it feels like I’ve known you my whole life.”
More silence, more stares. Just three beautiful men, floating around me in a perfect triangle. Three pairs of boulder-like shoulders, and handsome, chiseled jaws.
“We still don’t see the problem,” said Kayden.
“W—What about New Hampshire?” was all I could manage. “What about Jason, and my father, and—”
“Wherever we end up, we’ll be just a few hours’ drive from home,” said Bishop. “You’ll see your family often. In fact, we’ll insist on it. Jason’s our best friend.”
“Jason…” I laughed. “And what about Jason?”
“What about him?”
“He’s going to kill us! All four of us!”
The boys looked back at me, nonplussed.
“Fine, he’s going to kill himself then,” I said. “While attempting to kill us. And my father—”
“Your father is fine, I’m sure,” said Andre. “And your brother will just have to get over it. You’re an adult now; a full-grown woman, one who makes her own decisions. You’ll always be his little sister, but you’ll each have to live your own lives.”
It sounded so simple when he said it like that. And yet, there was truth in it, too.
“We don’t have to tell him at first, either,” reasoned Kayden. “After all, we’ll be a few hours away. And sure, eventually he’ll suspect you’re probably with one of us. But we can ease him into the truth. Make him understand that, after all this time, we’ve fallen hopelessly in love with you.”
“And you with us,” Bishop finished.
I tried to imagine it, every possible scenario. Jason’s reaction would be beyond wild. His best two friends in the whole world, both dating his sister. Holy shit.
“He’s not going to take it lightly,” I murmured.
“Jason hasn’t gone through what we’ve gone through together,” Kayden pointed out, “and come out the other side. Yes, we’ll have to cross that bridge eventually. But there’s no way we’re letting you go.”
“Not unless you want to go,” Andre added.
They stared at me expectantly, perhaps envisioning a world where I’d actually say no. Maybe, on some level, they thought I might.
“I don’t want to go,” I practically whispered. “I… I want…”
I swallowed hard, then pointed at the three of them.
“I want this.”
A great weight lifted from my shoulders. But also from their own.
“But I’m scared,” I added.
“Of us?” chuckled Bishop.
“Of losing you. Of admitting how much I love this, and then wanting it, and then… well…”
They closed the circle, floating closer to me in all directions. It was almost like they’d been giving me space, letting me decide. But that was over now.
“You’re never going to lose us,” Kayden murmured softly. Reaching out, he slid one long arm around me. “We’re yours, Josie. We belong to you.”
He kissed me, and I swear I saw stars. Reluctantly and temporarily, I pushed those stars away.
“But do you really want to share a girlfriend?” I couldn’t help but ask. “All three of you?”
“Why?” asked Andre. “Don’t you like it?”
“I love it! But it doesn’t seem sustainable. It’s… it’s too greedy. I—I don’t deserve it.”
Andre pulled me in now, his hands on my hips. His face was serious, solemn.
“After what you did for us back there,” he jerked his chin over his shoulder, “you deserve everything in the world. You put your life on the line for us, without hesitation. That makes you one of us.”
The others nodded, underscoring the sanctity of the moment.
“But what if you want more than me?”
He shook his head. “We don’t.”
“What if you want more than the three of us?” asked Bishop.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s never going to happen.”
Andre kissed me, and this time I saw whole universes. His hands slid past my waist, gliding warmly over my naked ass. He squeezed me, possessively, and in that moment I knew where I belonged.
“I just… I just want it to be fair,” I murmured, when the kiss finally broke. “For you boys, I mean.”
“But it is fair,” argued Andre. “It’s been open season on this , in case you haven’t noticed.” Beneath the waters, he gave me one last squeeze. “And you haven’t once batted a pretty little eyelash.”
He passed me to Bishop, who folded me into his arms. I was getting dizzy, in more ways than one.
“You were made for us,” he whispered, “in every way. No one else can have you. You’re too fucking perfect.”
Tingles swept me as he pressed his lips to mine, his hot tongue rolling through my eager mouth. They all swam closer, until I could feel the heat of their arms and legs. Their hands touched everywhere, fingers roaming. A pair of lips dragged lightly along my neck. Another mouth closed over my shoulder…
“You’re our woman now,” I heard Andre whisper huskily. “You can’t ever leave. We’ve hidden bodies together…”
I would’ve laughed if it weren’t so absurdly, crazily true. Instead I gasped in pure exultation; as new lips found mine.
“And we’re yours,” the whisper went on, softly. My heart, ready to burst, never felt so amazingly full.
“Forever.”