28. Cole
Cole
Sloane slips a little keycard out of her dress – she must have stashed it in her bra – and unlocks room three. Inside is a huge bed – easily the size of two super kings pushed together – with what must be custom-made sheets.
Though the room is elegantly furnished, I notice little touches that speak to what activities might go on in here. The little metal loops on the bedframe and ceiling, the slightly ominous armoire, and the total lack of duvet, all say that this is very much a bedroom where no one comes to sleep.
“This is my favourite room,” whispers Sloane, with a giggle. She’s definitely had more champagne than either of us, and I find myself wondering exactly when the party started.
“Been in here a lot, have you?” asks Freddie with a smirk, holding her hand above her head while she does a little twirl.
“Maybe a couple of times,” she says with a shameless grin. I don’t have any right to feel jealous, but I still feel a pang of it in my chest. She’s not even told us she’s ours. I don’t know why I’m feeling so possessive.
“I bet you’ve got a few stories,” he adds, as she tugs him over to the bed and they drop onto the mattress.
“A lady never kisses and tells,” she says, just as a soft knock comes at the door. “Come in!”
There’s a beep, and Giancarlo the bartender appears with a bucket of champagne and three flutes. He places everything on the table next to the door.
“Thank you, darling,” she says, blowing a kiss to him. He grins and catches it before bowing out of the room.
She stands, pours three generous glasses, and then plonks back down on the bed.
“Come on, daddy, come here.” She raises her eyebrows at me and I roll my eyes.
“Why do I get the distinct impression you’re out to cause trouble tonight, firecracker?” I say, kicking my shoes off. We all sit together in a little triangle on one side of the enormous bed, with Sloane holding our rapt attention.
“I thought we could play truth or dare,” she says, the corners of her mouth lifting into a wicked smile.
“Oh, this beats strip snap,” grins Freddie. “You game?” He turns to me and lifts his eyebrows in challenge.
I hate truth or dare so I’m not entirely sure what makes me say yes. Maybe I just can’t say no to him.
“Ok, Freddie, you go first. Truth or dare?” She grabs a glass and takes a sip of champagne as he gives her a lopsided smile.
“Truth.”
She taps a finger thoughtfully against the glass, eyeing him up.
She cocks her head. “Have you ever been in love?”
Freddie laughs under his breath. “That’s a pretty big opening gambit, princess.” He takes his time with his champagne, eyes glinting over the rim of the glass. “There are many people in my life I love,” he says carefully.
“That’s it?” she protests.
“A gentleman never elaborates.” He glances over at me.
Sloane snorts.
“Fine. Your turn.”
Freddie points at her immediately.
“Truth or dare?”
“Truth.” She tosses him her trademark smirk.
His grin widens.
“What’s the naughtiest thing you’ve done in this room?”
She arches a brow, clearly pleased with the question, before taking a generous sip of champagne.
“Let’s just say this bed has a few special features and leave it at that.” She nods towards the cut-outs at the foot of the bed which, now that I notice them, look suspiciously like stocks.
Freddie lets out a bark of laughter and she preens, amusement all over her face.
“Your turn.”
She turns her gaze on me.
“Cole. Truth or dare?”
“Truth.”
She studies me for a moment, head tilted slightly. “What’s the worst date you’ve ever been on?”
I laugh.
“Easy. He was an arrogant bore who spent most of the date talking about his debilitating allergy to Brazil nuts. In my defence, I didn’t know he was an estate agent when we set the date up.”
She laughs.
“Freddie, your turn again. Truth or dare?”
Freddie shifts slightly beside me, his knee brushing mine on the mattress. “Dare.”
Sloane’s eyes widen just a fraction and she leans into him, bringing her face close to his.
“I dare you to kiss Cole.”
My stomach drops through the floor and my heart rate triples. Somewhere in the distance, I hear Freddie laugh.
Time moves in slow motion as he looks over to me, his smile fading slightly as we lock eyes. His movements are confident and sure, and I can only watch as he kneels up on the bed and comes closer to me.
I think I’ve stopped breathing. All I can hear is white noise as he’s suddenly right in front of me. One large hand comes up to cup my cheek as he searches my face. I give the barest of nods, then he’s pressing his mouth to mine.
Time stops.
He doesn’t pull away instantly. I feel the moment he hesitates, then the tentative touch of his tongue against my seam has me opening up for him.
I groan at the first swipe of his tongue, and suddenly I’m threading my hands through his hair, angling the kiss to deepen it.
I stroke my thumb against his jaw, feeling the soft stubble there, and a tiny whimper escapes him.
It’s this that seems to bring him back to his senses.
He pulls away and I sit there, mouth slightly open, as I try to process what just happened. Did I get too into it? Take it too far? My chest feels as though it’s been cracked wide open.
There’s a small, worried frown line between his eyebrows, but otherwise his expression is uncharacteristically blank.
“Well, fuck,” comes Sloane’s voice from the side of us. For a moment, I’d forgotten she was there. “That was insanely hot.”
Freddie blinks, and then an easy smile appears on his face, but he doesn’t look at me.
“Your turn, princess. Truth or dare?”
They continue playing, but I’m sat frozen where I am. Freddie just kissed me. And he didn’t just do a quick peck as part of a dare. He kissed me. My teenager self is throwing air punches right now, but my adult self is seized with panic. What the fuck does this mean ? Was it just a stupid dare?
“Cole?” Sloane cuts through the noise in my head.
“Yeah?”
“Where did you go? You looked lost for a moment there.” I glance over at Freddie, but he’s looking down at his champagne.
“You know, I think I might just pop to the loo,” I answer, sliding off the end of the bed and walking over to the en suite.
I don’t look back as I close the door and lock myself inside, taking off my glasses and sinking down to sit on Salt’s beautiful tiles.
Even the grout they’ve used is perfect. Luke really does have great taste.
Five minutes later, there’s a knock on the door. I’ve been in here long enough, I suppose. Can’t hide forever. I stand to unlock it, and Sloane peeks in. She suddenly looks a lot less merry.
“Cole, are you ok?”
“Yeah, of course. Just needed a moment.”
“Did I fuck up?”
“No, love, it’s fine.” I try to summon a calm headspace even though my insides are roiling.
She bites her lip, worry written all over her face. I reach out a hand to cup her jaw, stroking a thumb along her cheekbone. She leans into my touch and gives me a soft smile.
“Do you want to talk?”
“No, not right now.”
“Ok. Will you come back out?”
“Yep.”
As I come back out, Freddie looks up at me, a note of relief on his face. The champagne sits forgotten on the side.
“Will you lie with me?” Sloane asks, crawling into the middle of the bed next to him. I smile and nod, sliding onto the bed. She reaches down and holds both of our hands, and I’m reminded of our shared moment at Slick Love.
For a beat or two, we all just lie there in silence.
“Truth or dare, firecracker?”
Sloane rolls over, turning to face me.
“Truth,” she whispers.
“What is this to you?” To her credit, she holds my eye contact. Behind her, Freddie sits up slightly, propping himself on an elbow. He wants to know the answer just as much as I do.
“What do you want it to be?” She poses the question carefully, as if our answer will guide her own. It’s not the first time I’ve seen the vulnerability in her, and I want to do all I can to show her that we could do this.
We could have a proper relationship.
I reach out and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
“I can only speak for myself. But I want this. I want us. I want all three of us to be in this thing together, exclusively, as a relationship.”
Whatever the fuck that means for Freddie and I will have to get worked out in the mix.
She closes her eyes for a moment and then opens them again. There’s the slight sheen of tears and she swallows before speaking. I track the movement in her throat.
“I think I’d like that too,” she says softly, before rolling onto her back and looking up at Freddie.
“I can think of nothing I’d like more,” he says, leaning down to press a playful kiss on her nose.
“So we’re doing this, then?” I confirm, needing to be sure. “We’re together? We’re a… throuple?”
Sloane smiles.
“If that’s what you both want. I’m not going to lie, I’ve never really done an actual poly relationship before. And you don’t study psychology without becoming acutely aware of your own flaws and issues. But yeah, I kind of like having you boys around, if you’ll have me.”
Freddie gives us both a big beaming smile as he scoops our girl into his arms and starts peppering kisses all over her face. She giggles and squirms, her breath catching as Freddie moves down her neck.
He looks up at me for a beat and gives me a lopsided smile. There are conversations to be had, but I think we’re all going to be ok.