Chapter 5
Chapter Five
JACKSON
J ackson popped an antacid in his mouth, which he chased with a swig of soda and a bite of Sky’s pepperoni pineapple pizza.
He and Tyler had stayed late at work the previous night, finalizing his project wrap-up presentation. Technically, Jackson didn’t need to be there, and Sky knew that, but instead of pointing that out, Sky had shown up in the conference room at eight with pizza and sodas, and refused to leave until they were finished. Tyler enjoyed having an extra set of eyes and ears on his presentation, and Jackson drank in every moment he got to spend with his two men.
Unfortunately, they’d been having such a good time, Tyler had missed the final train home. Practically bursting at the seams with excitement, Sky had insisted he stay the night, even though they just as easily could have offered to drive him home. Tyler cast them both a knowing look before giving an exaggerated huff and saying this was why he kept an extra set of clothes in his filing cabinet.
A small pit had opened up in Jackson’s stomach when he realized this was probably a practice he’d developed after spending the night with partners and hookups in the city. When he followed Tyler into his office to retrieve his spare clothes, however, he noted that the shirt was one he’d seen Tyler wear no more than two weeks before.
He blamed the long evening for his inability to hold his tongue. “Do you have multiple pairs of the same shirt?”
Tyler blinked owlishly at him, before biting his lip and ducking his head. He played with the cuff of the shirt before shrugging. “Uh, no. I wore it a week or two ago and realized it’s not really one of my favorite shirts, so I figured maybe I’d just leave it here on the off chance I ever needed it.”
The floor seemed to fall out from underneath Jackson, and the only thing he could do to steady himself was throw an arm around Tyler’s shoulders. “It is a pretty ugly shirt,” Jackson murmured, and Tyler glanced up at him before letting out a belly-shaking laugh.
It had been three weeks since they’d agreed to be boyfriends, and thus far, almost nothing had changed. Jackson had sort of hoped the shift would provide clarity around how their polyam relationship could look longterm, but it still sort of felt like they were just hooking up on weekends. They’d gone on several group dates, and Sky had even taken Tyler on a solo date the previous week. They always occurred right after work and then Tyler would head out to the suburbs afterwards. Jackson had accepted that Tyler didn’t like having sleepovers on school nights, but he didn’t know what to do with the fact that Tyler had left a change of clothes in his office as opposed to asking to leave it at their place.
Sky met them at the elevators and cast Tyler’s stack of clothes a cursory glance before turning back towards the closed metal doors. “Sorry that Jackson and I–and, let’s face it, it’s really just Jackson–have so many clothes. We’ll clear you out a place in the closet to leave some things at our place.”
“Hey!” Jackson protested right as Tyler tried to voice his own dissent.
Sky turned his head to glare at each of them in turn, and they both fell silent.
They spent the rest of the evening cuddled up on the couch, and in the morning, he was surprised to find Tyler curled up on his chest. Their sleeping arrangements shuffled almost as rapidly as their sex positions, but he’d definitely never woken up with Tyler’s erection pressing into his stomach.
He tried to gently shift Tyler off of him, but this only succeeded in rubbing their cocks together.
Tyler moaned, and his eyes cracked open, the warm brown almost entirely eclipsed with black.
Ten minutes later, Sky emerged from the bathroom, fully dressed and ready to go, to find Tyler enthusiastically riding Jackson. “You two are absolutely going to be late for work, and I’m leaving without you,” Sky said as he blew them both a kiss and wandered out.
The two of them had to rush through their showers, and while Jackson usually tried to pack healthy lunches, they ended up both shoving tinfoil wrapped pizza into their bags before running outside to catch a ride share together.
Jackson groaned as he considered taking another antacid. He wasn’t sure if it was having two meals of acidic pizza in a row or if it was that blasted “relationship heartburn” again. Sky laughed at him anytime he said it, but it was a real thing!
Waking up and getting to fuck his boyfriend before getting teased by his husband wasn’t exactly what Jackson would call his dream life, but it was pretty damn close. All he had ever wanted was to live happily with the love—and, hopefully, loves —of his life.
His life with Sky was so good, and adding Tyler to the mix was only making everything ten times better. Most nights, he came home from work, which was filled with flirty glances and even a few stolen kisses from Tyler, and would fall into bed with Sky. He was literally burning for the day that he’d be able to regularly fall into bed with both of them.
He glanced up at a soft knock on his door and grinned when he saw Tyler standing in the doorway, holding his own slice of pizza. “You know, if every walk of shame comes with pizza, I might have to do it more often.”
Jackson’s stomach swooped, and he took another sip of ginger ale, hoping maybe that would help cool the fire. “You watched Sky clear out a corner of our closet. Your walks of shame won’t even be that shameful if you’re wearing clean clothes.”
Tyler studied him while taking a long, slow bite from his pizza. Jackson could just barely see the hickey he’d left on the tender skin right below Tyler’s neckline. He was sure when Tyler got undressed tonight, there would be bruises on the crests of his hips, too. Jackson was much gentler with Sky, given he was practically half Jackson’s size, but Tyler was another story. He liked to push Jackson, spurring him on faster, begging for him to grip tighter and fuck harder.
Jackson rolled his eyes and reached for his pill bottle again. “And I’m sure there can be more pizza.”
* * *
“Oh my god,” Sky shouted from the other room, and Jackson didn’t even bother looking up from his laptop.
It was one of the every other Friday nights where Tyler was busy watching his niece, so Jackson had decided to catch up on emails while Sky replayed one of his cozy game obsessions.
Jackson had never really seen the appeal. Sky, on the other hand, had been playing games like these his whole life, and yet still celebrated almost every time he paid off a mortgage or unlocked a new recipe. Sometimes Jackson would sit with him on the couch, and he’d loyally lift his head from his phone, book, or laptop to approve of each of Sky’s new pieces of home decor or congratulate him on a well-caught fish. He figured since he was in the other room, he was excused from this now, so he scrolled through a report before attaching it and sending it off for final review.
“Oh! My god!” Sky called again.
Jackson felt his eyebrow twitch up, but he forced himself to begin drafting an agenda for his Monday morning all-hands meeting.
“Jackson!” Sky shouted, and Jackson finally looked up, right in time to see Sky running into the bedroom.
He was an absolute vision, wearing nothing but his floral print robe, silky boxers, and fuzzy raccoon socks. Emails immediately forgotten, Jackson closed his laptop and placed it off to the side.
“What is it, love?” he asked, arms spreading open to catch Sky as he lunged into bed.
“I was scrolling social media, just minding my own business–”
“Stalking Tyler,” Jackson corrected.
Sky huffed and gazed up at him. His cheeks were pink, which meant he’d probably broken out the wine to go along with his cozy night in. Given the overly sweet smell on his breath, Jackson guessed it was Moscato, and he’d probably had a lot of it.
“Minding my own business!” Sky said, a bit louder this time. “When I just so happened to come across a status update from Tyler.”
Sky brandished his phone in the air, and Jackson grudgingly accepted it–and was nearly blinded in the process. “Sky–we’ve talked about how bad this is for your eyes. Are you sure you won’t give night mode a try?”
Sky glared up at him and dramatically threw an arm across his face. “A hundred million years ago, man discovered fire–”
“There is absolutely no way it was a hundred million years ago. I’m pretty sure dinosaurs were still alive then,” Jackson said, as he fumbled through Sky’s settings until he could at least lower the brightness.
Sky shoved Jackson’s chest, succeeding in doing very little except dislodging himself from Jackson’s lap. “Okay, mister ‘I do finance but also have a strange amount of history trivia knowledge.’ When did man discover fire, then?”
Jackson squinted at him. “Maybe ten million years ago?”
Sky snatched his phone back, quickly cranking the brightness all the way up, before typing in his question. Jackson realized this was probably going to take the rest of the evening, so he pushed his laptop farther away and gathered Sky back up in his arms.
“It was actually two million years ago,” Sky said, proudly shoving his phone in Jackson’s face.
“Okay, so I was close at least.”
“I don’t think eight million is very close,” Sky said, shifting around until his back was against Jackson’s chest and he could hold the phone up so they could both see it. “I think if you gave your boss a budget and said ‘it’s close,’ and you were off by eight million–” Sky let out a shriek as Jackson tickled his sides. “Jackson! You know tickling is just going to end with us touching all over each other, and then fucking, and then I’ll never get to show you what I accidentally saw on Tyler’s profile!”
Jackson sighed and wrapped his arms around Sky’s middle. That was exactly what he’d hoped would happen. He didn’t use social media very much and wasn’t terribly interested in keeping tabs on Tyler. Would he enjoy seeing a picture of him with his adorable niece? Absolutely. But if Tyler wanted to show them, he would send it in their group chat like he had the previous time he babysat.
Sky held up his phone, and Jackson squinted at it. It wasn’t a photo of Tyler or his niece—or anyone else, for that matter. It was a relationship update.
It read: “Tyler Nielson is in a relationship.” Underneath, it showed that Sky was one of the two hundred plus people who had liked the update, and it had over seventy-five comments. The first comment was from Clara Nielson-Brenner and said, “Rooting for you, baby bro!” and had fifty likes. The next comment was from Stephanie Nielson-Brenner and said, “Wishing you nothing but happiness and fulfillment.” Underneath that, Tyler had responded with, “Why are you both on social media on date night!” and Clara had responded, “Why are you on social media with our daughter!”
Jackson had a stupid grin on his face, and when he glanced down, he saw Sky was smiling as well, but a very small one. Jackson’s smile faltered, and he shifted Sky in his arms to they could face each other. “That’s good…right? He wants to be public about the fact he’s taken?”
Sky nodded, but his knuckles turned white against his neon blue phone case. “He does…and yet, we still haven’t met his sister.”
Jackson tipped his head to lean against Sky’s. He had, of course, noticed this as well. He’d noticed a lot of things, like how it had been over two months and they hadn’t once been invited out to Tyler’s place. Or that Tyler would often catch a game or grab a drink with friends after work, and he hadn’t invited Jackson or Sky to join.
However, he also noticed other things. Like how Tyler had left a pair of pajamas in their hamper two weekends back, and the previous weekend, he’d thanked Sky profusely for washing them but had then proceeded to wear them the whole weekend because he hadn’t brought another pair. When Jackson found the familiar checker print pants in their hamper a second time, he’d smiled to himself all the way to work. He’d also noticed that Tyler had all of their favorite foods saved in his meal delivery app, and this weekend, he’d promised to cook for them, even though he admitted he only knew a handful of recipes and they were all Clara’s. He’d known, without asking, that Jackson would prefer shepherd's pie over pot pie, and he’d known to switch out the peas for green beans for Sky. He’d even offered to pick up Sky’s favorite wine–although after tonight, maybe he wouldn’t want to drink the rest of the weekend.
While Sky definitely had anxiety, he fought it tooth and nail and, for the most part, maintained a relatively positive outlook on life. The caved-in posture and dull look in his eyes was new and a little concerning. It could be the wine talking, or it could be insecurity clawing its way into his sweet partner.
“I don’t think that’s entirely unexpected,” Jackson said slowly. “We know he’s had a bad run of relationships, so perhaps he–and also maybe Clara–are taking things slow and not trying to rush into anything until everyone is ready.”
Sky gently rubbed his head against Jackson’s.
Jackson took that as a nod, so he continued, “Our families don’t live here, so it seems like a much bigger step to bring someone new home to meet them. Remember, we didn’t introduce each other and Connor to our families until almost five months in.”
Sky pressed his head against Jackson’s and then slowly rubbed it again, but didn’t say anything.
“I think just because Clara lives here, it doesn’t mean Tyler should be any more inclined to introduce us to her than we are to fly him out to meet our families,” Jackson concluded.
He’d forgotten how hard this was. If they had been talking about one of their friends, a family member, or some other third party, Jackson and Sky could have commiserated together and maybe even done some healthy venting. In a polyamorous relationship, though, Jackson didn’t feel right letting off steam about another partner, even if his feelings were similar. So, he tamped down his own insecurities and focused on reassuring Sky.
“I know you’re right,” Sky said, but his voice was strained. “That’s why I liked the status update. I want to be there for Tyler and support him in every way I can…even if that’s by being patient.”
Jackson surged forward and captured Sky’s wine flavored lips in a kiss. Sky pressed a hand against his chest, and while Jackson hoped that would get something going and he could show Sky just how much he loved him and his bravery, Sky pushed back only a few seconds later.
“You should show your support, too.”
Jackson blinked at him, his mind already two steps into the love-making session they could be having. “My support?”
“For Tyler!” Sky said. He reached for Jackson’s phone, nearly toppling out of Jackson’s lap.
“Okay, okay! I got it, love, thank you.”
Jackson grabbed his phone, and Sky beamed proudly up at him. Jackson shook his head but planted another kiss on his lips. It took him a few tries to remember his social media password, and Sky took advantage of that time to begin taking Jackson’s clothes off.
“Alright, I liked it. Happy?” Jackson said, as he closed out of the app and reached for Sky’s robe.
Sky grinned Cheshire-like at him and slowly peeled his robe off. He’d managed to get Jackson out of his sweatshirt and t-shirt, and he placed his hands on Jackson’s belly and began running them up his ribs.
Jackson traced the familiar lines of Sky’s chest with first his eyes and then, when he couldn’t wait any longer, with his fingers. He hooked his fingertips into the elastic of his underwear—but then his phone started ringing.
Under any other circumstance, he would have ignored it, but it was the signature vibration Tyler had programmed in for his number. Jackson hadn’t even known that was possible, but apparently Tyler had special vibration patterns for all his apps and contacts.
Sky glanced at the vibrating phone and then back at Jackson. Without saying a word they both reached for the phone. Jackson answered the call as Sky scrambled into his previous position, reclining on Jackson’s chest.
Tyler’s tired face appeared on the screen, and Jackson’s chest filled with heat. The contrast with his bare skin made him shiver, and Sky quickly fisted their sheets and pulled them over both their legs. Jackson squeezed Sky’s waist in thanks and then turned to his phone.
“Hi, darling,” he said, just to watch Tyler bite his lips and look away. He was such a confident, sexual man, and yet, the tiny endearment never failed to elicit a response.
“Hey, Ty!” Sky chirped.
Tyler glanced back at the screen, a grin spreading across his face. “Hi. God, I already miss you both.”
Sky squirmed happily, and Jackson had to take in a sharp breath through his nose as Sky’s ass rubbed intoxicatingly against his crotch.
Tyler’s eyes widened, and he brought the phone closer to his face, presumably squinting at their state of undress. “Am I interrupting?”
“A little,” Jackson said, nuzzling his face into Sky’s hair, taking in his sweet smell. “But that’s okay. What can we do for you?”
Tyler pulled his phone back, so they were no longer staring at the pores on his forehead, and he lifted a hand up to run back through his hair. “I, uh…saw that you both liked my relationship post. I realize that maybe I should have asked you first, but…I’m here with Layla, and I was telling her all about you guys, and I thought maybe it would be good to show myself as taken? Cause I…I am.”
Sky grabbed the phone from Jackson and smooshed his lips against the screen in a loud kiss. “You’re so sweet, baby. You didn’t need to run it by us. We’re very happy being public. I know you can’t actually list us as the ones you’re in a relationship with, but you’re more than welcome to post about it.”
Tyler’s eyes widened, and his lips parted on a soft breath.
Jackson made pointed eye contact with the camera. “Did you think you couldn’t be public about us?”
This time, when Tyler bit his lip and looked away, it felt like ice water running through Jackson’s veins.
Jackson sat up straight, but before he could say anything Sky jumped in. “Is that because you’re not comfortable being out as polyam, or because you were worried we weren’t out?”
Tyler shifted his jaw back and forth. “I think maybe I wasn’t sure if, because you’re both married, I should be a bit more cautious about who I tell and what I say.”
He gripped the back of his neck and grimaced. Tyler’s headaches always carved deep grooves around his eyes, and they were beginning to form now.
Again, before Jackson could open his mouth to try and relieve some of Tyler’s stress, Tyler gasped and brought the phone right back up to his face again. “Not that it’s a problem you’re married! I just meant, optics-wise, I wasn’t sure if it would mean something different to be out and polyam for you than it does for me!”
Sky burst out laughing. “This is the second time we’ve gotten a gorgeous view up your nose, baby. How about you pull the phone away and then Jackson and I can tell you there’s absolutely nothing to worry about.”
Tyler did as instructed, pulling the phone back to reveal a sheepish expression on his face.
Jackson spoke up before either of them had the chance to interrupt him again. “Sky and I are very comfortable being out and polyam. That includes at work, in front of our family and friends, and on social media. What you choose to share and with whom is completely up to your comfort level.”
Tyler’s face turned even more sheepish, but his signature smile returned. “Oh, thank god. I’ve been dancing around it with Clara and some of my friends, but I figured it's only a matter of time before I slip up. I’d also really love to introduce you to them, I just…wasn’t sure.”
Heat spread from Jackson’s chest into his belly, tingling its way down his legs and all the way to his toes.
“We’d love to meet everyone but on your timeline,” Sky said, completely negating his calm tone by bouncing eagerly up and down. “Whenever works best and feels best for you works for us!”
Jackson groaned, planting his hands on his troublesome husband’s hips. “Love, please,” he grunted, and he saw Sky’s wicked grin in the thumbnail on the phone screen.
Tyler tipped his head back and groaned. “God, I wish you both were here. I just put Layla down for bed, and it would be so amazing to curl up with you both, but…”
The screen flipped to the back facing camera, and they received their first glimpse into Tyler’s life.
“My room is pretty small, and I only have a queen-sized bed.” He panned the camera over the bed, which was indeed a fair bit smaller than Jackson and Sky’s king.
“I’m sure we could fit if we tried! Right?” Sky said, pressing his back into Jackson’s chest.
Jackson agreed, even though, realistically, it would be a pretty tight fit.
“Oh, yeah?” Tyler said, something in his tone changing. “I mean…if you really think so, maybe I should have you over sometime.” There was a brief pause before Tyler gave an awkward laugh. “My place really isn’t as nice as yours, though.”
Sky flicked his wrist dismissively. “We’d never judge. Besides, there’s obviously a difference in having one salary versus two.”
Tyler exhaled a soft breath. “Well, yeah, I guess that’s true.”
“So, feel free to invite us over whenever!” Sky said, beaming at the camera.
Tyler laughed, a warm sound that, even through the phone speakers, tingled through Jackson’s chest. He wished more than anything that they were all three together.
He buried his face in Sky’s hair again. “Just imagine what we could do with three salaries,” he murmured before he could stop himself.
Sky tensed in his lap, and Jackson glanced up at the screen in concern, but Tyler just chuckled. “Yeah, I guess that’s true, too.”
Sky asked him how his evening with Layla had been, and they chatted for almost half an hour until Tyler had to hang up because Clara and Stephanie had returned.
Jackson barely had the chance to turn off his phone screen before Sky was on top of him, fingers combing through his short hair and their mouths crashing together.
Sky always kissed him like it was their last time together. He claimed every crevice of Jackson’s mouth and ran his hands over Jackson’s face, neck, and shoulders. His fingers paused over a scar on Jackson’s collarbone he’d gotten playing flag football in college. Sky traced the jagged line and then dragged his fingers down to brush over his nipples.
Tyler had asked Jackson a while back if he liked nipple play. It wasn’t necessarily his go-to foreplay, and it honestly hadn’t been all that exciting with many of his past lovers. Sky knew exactly how to get him going, though. His finger circled the dark areolas, lightly flicking and pressing on the buds until they were hard and aching. He’d shown Tyler exactly what to do, and now both of his lovers liked to torture and tease him until he either begged or took what he wanted.
Tonight he felt a little raw, like that fire had scorched through him, leaving him charred and vulnerable.
He wrapped a protective hand around the back of Sky’s head and the middle of his back and laid him down onto the bed. Jackson kicked off his pants and underwear and Sky wiggled out of his boxers and wrapped his legs around Jackson’s back.
“Lube?”
“Don’t need it,” Sky panted as he arched his back, positioning his opening right at the head of Jakson’s leaking dick.
“Prep?”
Sky pressed their lips together and dug his heels into Jackson’s ass, forcing Jackson to slowly sink into him.
“Sky,” Jackson gasped, and he wrapped his arms under Sky’s back so he could better control the angle and depth.
Sky moaned, his head tipping back, revealing the long tender expanse of his throat. Jackson pressed first a kiss and then his teeth into the side of Sky’s neck.
“Oh god–yes! Yes! Jackson!” Sky keened, tilting his hips up to meet every thrust.
Jackson worked them into a slow rhythm, ignoring Sky’s pleas for more. He savored every roll of his hips and the shudder that ran down Sky’s spine.
“I love you,” he whispered into Sky’s ear, and Sky came with a surprised shout.
Jackson pulled him impossibly closer as he continued thrusting, the extra lubrication making the glide almost too perfect.
“Ahh–” Sky gasped, and Jackson thrust two more times before he came with a soft groan.
Sky pressed on his chest until, with a loud grunt, Jackson rolled onto his back. Sky climbed onto his chest, curling up like a cat in a puddle of sunshine.
“I love you, too,” he whispered, grabbing Jackson’s hand and pulling it against his heaving chest.
He knew they should probably get up. He always liked to wipe himself down at the very least, and Sky would need to pee and oftentimes liked to shower afterwards. His tired body seemed to have other plans, though. He wrapped his other arm around Sky and closed his eyes, quickly drifting to that halfway place between sleep and consciousness.
He would have happily fallen asleep, but Sky shifted around on top of him and mumbled something into his chest.
“Hm?” Jackson asked, stroking a hand down Sky’s clammy back.
“It would be better with three incomes, huh?”
Jackson grunted and pulled his hand back, tucking his arm under his head so he could look down at Sky. “Am I wrong?”
“No,” Sky said, still clutching Jackson’s other hand.
He waited to see if Sky had more to say, but when he remained quiet, Jackson tried to blink the sleep from his eyes. He slowly corralled them out of bed and into the bathroom. Jackson brushed his teeth while Sky peed, and they both decided they’d shower in the morning.
They crawled back into bed together, and Jackson was once again moments from sleep when Sky whispered, “I think things are going well?”
Jackson, who usually preferred to sleep on his back, turned onto his side and pulled Sky flush against his body. Sky wiggled for a moment until he settled into a perfect little spoon position. He knew Sky much preferred spooning to fall asleep, and he’d often curl against Jackson’s supine form. Tyler also loved to spoon, and he’d either sleep on Sky’s other side, pressing their smaller lover into Jackson’s side, or Tyler would shove his bulk up against Jackson until he rubbed his back or entwined their fingers.
“I think that was a very enlightening conversation,” Jackson said, running his lips over Sky’s disheveled hair.
There was a faint muskiness to his sweet scent now, and it, along with his perky ass, had Jackson’s dick trying to rally. Thankfully, his utter exhaustion kept it down.
“I’d really like to meet Clara and Stephanie,” Sky said.
Jackson hummed in agreement.
“And maybe one day Layla,” Sky whispered.
Jackson squeezed him gently. “I think it will all work out in due time.”
Sky squirmed, pressing impossibly closer. “If you say so.”
Jackson still had some of his own worries and insecurities, there was no doubt about that, but he was serious that their impromptu video chat had eased a lot of them. New relationships were full of uncertainty, but Tyler was slowly but surely easing his concerns.
“Hopefully we both have good dates with him,” Sky said, sleep turning his words slow and syrupy.
Jackson was going on his first solo date with Tyler the next day, and Sky had another solo date planned for the following Friday. Tyler had been the one to suggest solo dates but had fumbled a bit when it came to planning. Jackson and Sky had eagerly stepped in to help with planning.
Jackson really wanted to believe that, given enough time, he would feel the type of surefire love he felt for Sky, as opposed to the flash fire love he was feeling for Tyler right now.