32. Bradley
Bradley
I t’s been a few hours and I’m still fuming. When I got home I went straight to the kitchen and the bill from the bank was missing.
Jefferson fucking took it. He used my vulnerability to snoop through my home and take my personal papers. Yes it was to pay the bill, which I both hate and love him for, but it wasn’t his place. He violated my privacy.
I’ve gone back and forth, wanting to rush over to his house and confront him.
But I keep chickening out.
Then we’d be face to face, and I’d have to hear him tell me he doesn’t want to see me anymore. It’ll kill me, but I know it’s what's happening. They each have the love of their life back so I’m not needed anymore.
“Aghhhh,” I scream at the top of my lungs, not even caring if the sound carries over to my neighbors and they complain.
I finally tire of pacing the house and drop down on the couch, phone in hand, trying to build the courage to message the two of them. To confront them, and end it before they have a chance to destroy me.
I create a group message with the three of us and start to type.
A sharp knock at the door shatters the stillness of the room, slicing through the haze of indecision that's firmly wrapped itself around me like a second skin. One that for the life of me, I can’t remove.
I ignore it, figuring it’s the neighbors coming to confront me for being loud.
My eyes stay locked on the half written message, regret already swarming my headspace about wanting to send it.
My fingers hover over the screen, ready to finish and hit the send button, when another knock sounds through the house, louder, more demanding.
“Fucking neighbors,” I murmur. The knock comes again and I slam my phone down on the coffee table, harder than I intend. “I’m coming!” I shout.
Standing, I walk, or more like stomp, my way toward the door, ready to give whoever’s on the other side a fucking piece of my mind. I take hold of the handle and pull the door open, my breath catching when I see them standing there.
Both of them. Together.
They’re standing side by side, like some perfectly played out scene in a bully romance when you find that the character you fell for is with the villain. The big fuck you punch line of the story. Smiles tug at the corners of their lips, warm and amused.
Curious.
“Are you going to invite us in?” Jefferson asks, leaning just slightly forward, his eyes flicking past me into the hallway behind me.
My mind is a jumbled mess, my mouth dropping open, as I blink.
“Why are you here?” I manage to say.
Jefferson just smiles as Malcolm winks, as his teeth drag along his lower lip, pulling it into his mouth.
“Are you going to make us stay out here all night? We don’t have anywhere to be, so we can.” His voice smug. “So, I’m going to ask you again. Can we come in?”
My mouth is already moving before my brain can even tell it no. “Yeah. Yeah, come in.” Stepping back, I let them pass by, stepping across the threshold into my home.
“I’ll let you slide for the snippy ‘come in’.” Jefferson calls out sternly. “This time.”
What the hell? Guess I don’t need to worry about that message seeing how they’re here. Seems like they had the same idea and are teaming up to break up with me.
When I step into the living room, they’re sitting on the couch, a cushion empty between them.
“Come sit down.” Jefferson pats the empty spot between them.
“I’m good.” I cross my arms over my chest as I rock back and forth on my feet.
“I didn’t ask if you were good. I said to sit,” he orders, as Malcolm lets out a soft chuckle.
My legs are moving, my cock pressing against my zipper at the commanding tone of his voice. It’s everything I’ve wanted and needed at the same time. But it’s not mine. He’s not mine. Neither of them are. They belong to each other.
The air in the room is tense as I sit down between them, the cushion dipping with my weight. Both Jefferson and Malcolm shift their bodies, angling them toward me as their legs press against mine.
I keep my head down, my hands resting in my lap as I pick at my nails. Malcolm reaches over taking my hand in his, and I let out a shuddered gasp. My eyes drift to Jefferson to catch his reaction. But there isn't one.
He’s not mad. Not seething at the physical contact. No, he looks, content. Happy.
Finally, not able to take it anymore, I break the silence. “Why are you here?”
“You’ve been avoiding us. This was the only way to see you.” Jefferson speaks first.
“Why did you ghost us? Disappearing like what we shared didn’t mean anything?” I can feel the anguish pouring from Malcolm’s words.
Jefferson speaks up, softer this time. “When we talked with each other tonight, specifically about you, it's how we put the pieces together. How we know we both found you through Foxy’s. Why we think you’re avoiding us.”
I purse my lips, letting out a sharp breath of air, pulling my hand from Malcolm's, shifting my focus to Jefferson. I’m going to handle his betrayal first. “Oh, maybe it’s because you went through my personal shit?”
I can feel Malcolm’s body flinch beside me. “Jefferson, what did you do?”
Well, it seems he didn’t tell him. Guess Jefferson thinks he can do whatever he wants and nobody needs to know.
“Bradley,” Jefferson says my name deeply.
“Don’t Bradley me. You went through my things while I was fucking asleep.
You knew about why I was working at Foxy’s.
You used a moment of vulnerability and trust to rifle through my mail and not tell me.
Then…what? Paid it all off behind my back, like I was a fucking charity case?
” I can feel my heart pounding against my ribcage. My blood boiling with anger.
Jefferson clears his throat. “It wasn’t charity. It was care. It was me taking care of someone I,” he glances over at Malcolm, “no, we want in our lives. Who we are growing to love.”
I shake my head. Disbelief in what I think I heard. My head shifts from Jefferson to Malcolm, who smiles warmly at me as he nods.
“You what?” I ask, my voice as raw as I’m feeling. “Someone you what ? Love? You barely know me and you just decide to play heroes? To take control of my life as if I can’t take care of myself?”
Am I overreacting? Maybe. But I have to do something to keep from thinking about what he said. They love me.
“It wasn’t about being heroes,” Jefferson says firmly. “It was about making your life easier. About helping. Because I…we care about you.”
This can’t be real. I laugh loudly, rubbing my face firmly with my hands.
“But why? I was just a hired date, remember? A fun distraction.” I direct my comment at Jefferson before turning to Malcolm.
“I was just a means to become comfortable with who you are in public. To help you be able to come out to your family so you could be with him.” I nod my head toward Jefferson.
My voice falters. “I was temporary. You both got what you wanted, and I’m not needed any longer. ”
Malcolm scoots closer to me, taking my hand, holding it tightly, even when I try to pull away. “You were never temporary. You were never just a hired anything.”
“But I was. I was the one who helped you two find each other again,” my voice drops lower.
“That was the whole point. For the two of you to reconnect and be the man each of you needed. You didn’t have to come here to tell me that you want to end things.
Thank you Bradley, but we won’t require your services any longer. ”
Malcolm’s brow furrows. “You really think we came here to end things?”
“Why else would you be here?” I ask. “Just look at the two of you, here, happy, perfect and together, and I’m the leftover mistake. I don’t need your pity.” I look back at Jefferson. “As for the money, I’ll be paying it back. Every cent.”
Jefferson just gazes at me, hard and determined. “I don’t want the money back. It was a gift. A way for me to help you. And we’re not here to end anything. We’re here to continue something and to hopefully start something new with the three of us.”
I bite down hard on my tongue, the coppery tang filling my mouth. So, that’s what this is.
“I’m not a fuck on the side to make things interesting.” I blurt and go to stand. Jefferson and Malcolm both take hold of one of my arms, pulling me back down.
Malcolm's fingers brush lightly against my wrist. “You're not some extra in our story, Bradley. You’re not a casual booty call to spice things up. You’re the one we can’t stop thinking about. The one we’re falling for. We came here to fight for you and start an official relationship with you.”
I just shift my gaze between them. Unsure what to say. What to do. If any of this is real.
“We’ve already begun building a personal relationship with you individually, but we want to have one with all three of us together. We want to date you, Bradley. To call you our boyfriend. Go on dates. Kiss, and make love.”
“You want me, but you went through my stuff. Went behind my back. How can I trust you? All you’re saying could be just words,” I mutter quietly, because it’s easier to go back to the betrayal than admit how much I want to believe what they’re saying is true.
“Because they’re not just words, Bradley. We mean them. As for Jefferson, well, he can be an overbearing prick at times, but his heart is pure as gold. He loves deeply. Helping you is how he shows it, and he’ll never expect anything in return.”
“Please say you want us too. That you’re ready to take a chance on what we can be.”