Three Strikes - 31. Recovery - Shane POV

I hadn’t expected him to show up last night. Hell, I wasn’t aware he knew where I lived, so imagine my surprise when he was the unexpected guest blowing up my front door. I wished I could’ve said it was hard to watch him breakdown before my eyes, but I can’t. If I was willing to admit it or not, my masculinity had desperately needed the encouragement that I wasn’t a total failure, that I wasn’t unwanted, and that my feelings weren’t one sided.

In general, it had been weeks since I’d looked forward to the morning. Ever since shit hit the fan with Gordy, my sleep had been fitful at best and non-existent at worst, but going to sleep while knowing he’d be there in the morning changed everything. For the first time in weeks, I didn’t want to sleep in—I wanted to wake up. I wanted to start my day with him.

There was one thing I should’ve known about Gordy—never make assumptions. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t learn from my mistakes. Waking up alone shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but it did. In fact, waking up alone after an amazing night with Gordy was quickly becoming a PTSD nightmare. The one time I’d managed to wake up with him there, I suffered a different kind of PTSD. I was zero for three and seriously doubted I’d ever get ahead. The reality that things would never work out between us was starting to become blindingly obvious. Take the hint, Shane.

As I contemplated packing my shit and moving to another country to find a cute pool boy who wanted nothing more than a lurid affair, I heard my phone vibrate on the nightstand.

[Aaron] Am I picking you up? Let me know ASAP, loser

[Me] This number is no longer available. If you think you’ve reached this recording in error, please hang up and try again

I set the phone back down. We were supposed to go to breakfast, but I wasn’t feeling up to it anymore. Instead, I was going to get some work done, maybe even get some shit done around my house. I heard my phone vibrate, again. Ignoring Aaron, I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling. I’d long since given up on trying to not think about the unhinged teeter totter that was quickly becoming my love life. In past relationships, I never stuck around for that shit.

As Aaron threw open my bedroom door, he shouted.

“You need a new phone, mother fucker!”

Aaron, Kurt, and then Drew took a running jump and landed on top of me. I struggled under the massive weight of three athletic men. Individually, I was bigger than all three of them, but there wasn’t much I could do when it was three against one.

If I hadn’t been tied down by the blankets, I probably could’ve got the upper hand, but my legs were trapped, which made it very difficult to use my lower body—the key to any good wrestling match is using your legs to immobilize your opponent.

“Did you think you could just cancel and we’d turn over and take it without a fight?”

Drew tried to pin my arm, but he was the smallest of the group and didn’t stand a chance. I grabbed his arm and yanked him off of me and down onto the bed. Before I knew it, both Aaron and Kurt were straddling me. Aaron was sitting on my stomach, fighting my hands, while Kurt was sitting in the opposite direction, with his back against Aaron, as he tried to pin my legs.

There was only one way to get them off so I started thrusting my hips up and moaning. “I’ve dreamed about this scenario for years. A three-way with my two hot, straight, best friends!”

Aaron looked confused until I licked my lips and jerked my arm outs, which he was holding, forcing him to lose his balance and collapse on top of me. Before he had a chance to do anything, I leaned up and planted a big old fat kiss on his lips. He jumped off of me quicker than I’d ever seen him move before.

“Oh, my god!” Aaron wiped his lips as he laughed, hysterically.

I sat up as Kurt looked back to see what was going on, wrapped my arms around his chest, and pulled him against my chest as we slammed down onto the bed. I quickly rolled us over so Kurt was face down on the mattress and I was lying on top of him as I proceeded to dry hump him like a dog.

I tried to moan without laughing. “Fuck, Kurt, you feel so good! Your virgin ass is so tight!”

Kurt was thrashing around under me as he tried his hardest to get out from under my assault while Aaron and Drew were laughing in the background. Finally, I rolled off and slapped his ass for good measure. His foot caught on the blanket as he tried to jump off of the bed, which sent him face first onto the floor. I laughed so hard, I could barely breathe as Kurt pulled himself up.

“Gross! You sick fuck!” he chided, although he wasn’t trying hard to hide the amusement on his face.

“Sorry, but I can’t resist being straddled by two muscular hotties. After all, I’m only a mere man,” I cupped my dick and shook it for effect, which made them laugh.

I'm sure they were a little weirded out, but it was nothing out of the normal for us—as lifelong friends, we’d done plenty of things to make each other uncomfortable over the years. The guys joked back and forth and made their way to the kitchen while I took a quick shower and got dressed before loading into Aaron’s truck and going to breakfast.

Aaron had been eyeing me suspiciously the entire morning and it was starting to get on my nerves. So, by the time we reached the restaurant, I was done with it. He’d done worse things to me than a little dry humping and I never threw a bitch-fit about it. Not even when they left me stranded in the desert.

After catching him looking at me on the sly for the thousandth time, I snapped. “Dude, seriously? Stop freaking out. I was only joking!”

He looked confused for a moment then started to laugh. “I know you’ve wanted my ass for years. I’m surprised it took you so long to try and get my dick.”

“Ha. You flatter yourself. You’re not my type. If anything, I’d be into Kurt. Tall, dark, and quiet. So manly, yet, I bet he’d be a power bottom.”

I looked to the back seat in time to see Kurt roll his eyes to himself as he shook his head, which made everyone in the truck laugh.

“Gross,” he mumbled.

I adjusted the mirror so I could see Drew, who was sitting behind me.

“Besides, we all know it’s Drew who wants to be tapped. For real though, since when have you been gay?”

“What the hell are you talking about? I’m not gay.”

I dramatically rolled my eyes. “Straight guys always get boners when they flirt with Donovan.”

“I—”

Everyone snapped their heads toward Drew and waited to hear what his excuse was. He looked uncomfortable, which was strange because no one would have cared. Out of everyone in my life, it was my best friends who were the most supportive when I came out.

“I’m not gay,” he crossed his arms and looked out of the window as he pouted. “Who are you to judge, anyway?”

“I’m not judging, I’m only curious is all. It’s painfully obvious that something is going on with you. You know we’re all here for you, right?”

As he continued to stare out of the window, “I’m not gay.”

Aaron chuckled. “Yeah, you keep saying that. It’s not that we don’t believe you, but maybe your bi? Or curious? At least admit you have the hots for our little Gordy.”

“Objectively, he’s an attractive man with a solid personality—”

“Who you desperately want to fuck or, at least, get a BJ from,” Kurt interrupted.

Drew didn’t deny it. Actually, he didn’t say anything at all. I wanted to look back and find out why he hadn’t answered, but I didn’t.

The awkward tension continued to build until Aaron finally broke it.

“You really do have a crush on him.”

“Fuck, I don’t know! I’m not gay, but—”

“But Gordy gets you too hot to trot. So, how long have you been attracted to guys?”

“Uh, I don’t know. I’m not always attracted to guys. The first time I noticed a guy was Chris, from college.”

My feelings were hurt because he didn’t feel he could confide in me about his sexuality. Especially regarding something I’m knowledgeable about. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“Because I’ve seen your dick!”

“What the hell does that have to do with anything?”

“Because I didn’t want you to try to fuck me!”

I snorted. “For a group of uglies, you all think highly of yourselves. Except Kurt, who’s always humble, which is why I’d fuck him in an instant.” I looked back and winked at him.

In unison, everyone mocked Kurt’s typical response to almost everything he didn’t like. “Gross!”

After settling into a weird silence, I said. “You know you can’t have him, right?”

Drew furrowed his brows with confusion. “Donovan?”

I nodded.

“Yeah, Yeah.” Drew rolled his eyes. “Bros before hoes.”

I glared into the mirror. “That’s not—”

Drew interrupted and chastised me, “I don’t know what it is about Donovan, but you get so damn testy!”

“Maybe the fact that he’s my boyfriend and you don’t need to be jealous.”

Aaron looked at me from the driver's seat with disbelief and wonder. “Wait! What? When did that happen? The last I knew; you guys were broke-up…big time broke up.”

“I don’t know, last night? Maybe. We’re not together, but we’re not not together, either.”

Aaron tapped the steering wheel excitedly, as if he’d won the lottery. “Tell us everything!”

I looked at Aaron, who was overly excited about something relatively trivial, and smiled. We’d always had a weird relationship where we were men’s men, but also overly invested in each other’s lives. I had to admit though, it was always fun to over share my sexual exploits and try to see how far I could take it before one of them cried uncle. The joke was always on me since they took gay sex like champs.

We took our seat in the café and I told them every little detail—Donovan showing up unannounced, the crying, the talking, the sex, the sex confessional followed by more sex, falling asleep, and then waking up alone. Only silence remained when I was finished.

Kurt sighed. “I don’t know. Hector, my pool guy, is married with two grown kids, but I can ask him if he’d be down for a little “man dish” on the side. He might not be the pool boy you were dreaming about this morning, but you don’t have a lot of room to be picky at the moment.”

“Gross! Hector is in his sixties!” Drew cried.

“I’d agree with you if it wasn’t for the fact I just found out Donovan’s clingy friend, the chubby one, is boning Uncle Mickey.”

I looked at Aaron, who wore the same, scrunched up, sour face as I had and, together, we all said, “Eww!”

I vaguely recalled Donovan mentioning something about it, but honestly, I thought he was exaggerating. “Is anyone else trying not to picture it?” I asked.

If I was going to be mentally scarred for life, I was going to take everyone down with me. There was a wave of grunts and groans, then Aaron punched my arm.

“You know what, screw you. To think Nick and I went to Donovan’s house last week and talked you up before sending him your way. I was the best wingman ever and what do I get in return? The visual of Uncle Mickey ramming a screaming Sammy. I’ll be surprised if I ever get a boner again.”

I laughed as Aaron shuddered at the imagery. Our conversation halted when the waitress came to take our order, but after she left, Aaron resumed. “So, do you fucking love him?”

“Yeah, I do.”

I was head over heels crazy in love with him. The effect he had on me was instant and it multiplied like crazy. It was all so new for me and more than anything—it was incredibly terrifying.

“That explains why you’ve been such a giant D-bag this whole time. I have only one question. Why the hell are you here with us?”

“He bailed this morning. I might be in love with the guy but that doesn’t mean it’s going to work between us. You know what they say, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Last night, I wanted so badly to believe things were different, but waking up this morning was a reminder they aren’t. We did what we always do, and it hasn’t worked before, why should it now? Nothing’s changed.”

“My guess is, he probably had to work and didn’t want to wake you up. I doubt you would’ve woken him up if the roles were reversed.”

“Possibly, but what does it change? Nothing. Sometimes wanting to be with someone isn’t enough.”

“Maybe,” he shrugged. “Shouldn’t you at least have a real conversation with him before making any decisions? A conversation when sex isn’t an option.”

I mulled it over. He wasn’t wrong. I just didn’t want to get my hopes up.

“I’ll talk to him today.”

Everyone smiled encouragingly. I’d never been big on relationships so they knew it was a big deal.

“Awesome. I’m excited for you. You’re kinda dating Donny Allerton. How have we not talked more about this? Donny-fucking-Allerton. The guy you were obsessed with.”

I’d never been a fan boi of anything, but I had to admit—I went crazy over Donny. He was so good looking and watching him play baseball so effortlessly was a turn on. He was talented and graceful in how he moved and oh, God…his smile.

I hadn’t seen him for almost ten years so it wasn’t exactly surprising I didn’t recognize him. I smiled knowing the only person I’d ever been infatuated with ended up being someone I dated. I had sex with Donny Allerton. I wanted to shove it in Thad’s face, but he’d gone home before we found out the truth.

Being always the humble one, Kurt added, “He’s just Gordy to us. You should find out if he wants to join us today for the pool party then maybe you’ll get your pool boi after all!”

“Yeah and then you guys can do it in Kurt’s pool and leave jizz everywhere,” Drew teased, trying to get a rise out of Kurt.

“Gross!” We all responded at the same time as Kurt.

“I’ll ask, but if he’s working, he won’t get off until six.”

“That’s fine. It’s a heated pool so we can go all night. Make sure to let him know his friends are coming, too.”

I nodded and looked around the table. Lunch with the guys was a painfully slow process. I wanted to go and see Donovan, but I didn’t have a car—until I spied Aaron’s car keys sitting on the table next to his wallet and sunglasses.

While everyone was busy talking, I pocket his keys and excused myself. After I’d gotten to the front door, I jogged to his truck and took off toward the hospital—I’d always wanted to pay them back for leaving me in nowhere Nevada during our post college road trip. Waking up in a hotel alone, only to find out they’d driven the rest of the way to California without me, was not the highlight of the trip.

I was nervous during the drive. Any calmness I’d found earlier was gone and I was back to over thinking. I was definitely going to the hospital to see Donovan, but my fall back plan was to pick up some paperwork that’d been left for me last week. If I misread the situation, and Donovan didn’t want to see me, I’d simply use work as the reason I’d stopped by.

After parking, I made my way to the front desk.

“I think Mr. Humphrey left some papers for me, Shane Kelly.”

It took her less than a second to know exactly what I was talking about and rushed to another room before returning with a large manila envelope with my name on it. I thanked her, kindly, before continuing on with my journey.

Thwack, thwack, thwack. I nervously hit the thick envelope against my thigh as I waited for the elevator.

*** *** *** ***

The fact Calvin and Donovan broke into uncontrollable laughter upon seeing me did nothing to calm my nerves so I tried to use the five minutes, while Donovan tied up a few loose ends, to pull myself together, but it didn’t work. As time progressed, I became one hundred percent positive that things were over between us. He finally finished up and we walked to the elevator.

As Donovan pressed the ground floor button on the elevator, he asked. “So, what have you done, so far, today?”

Ever so articulately and not at all awkwardly, I replied, “You weren’t there this morning. You left.”

“Yeah? What gave it away?”

He was beautiful. His eyes were still slightly puffy and dark, nothing too noticeable, but I was sure Donovan was probably late for work from trying to do something about it. It was the look in his eyes that slowed my nervous heart. They were genuinely happy and the smirk on his face was playful. There wasn’t any sign of nervousness or regret when he looked at me.

He was fine, we were fine, and I rolled my eyes at how ridiculous I’d been.

“Damn, you’re cute as fuck.” He grabbed the fabric of my shirt with both hands and pulled me close. “You were nervous, weren’t you? Were you thinking I’d hightailed it, again?”

“Pfff. No.” My response partially caught in my throat.

He looked at me with one brow arched, as if to call me on my bullshit.

“Maybe,” I replied, honestly. “Mornings aren’t exactly our thing.”

I regretted my words when the playful light in his eyes had disappeared. It was clear he’d taken my comment personally, though it wasn’t how I’d intended it.

“I didn’t mean—”

He interrupted me by patting my chest.

“No, you’re right, it really hasn’t. But I promise, this morning was innocent. It’d been a long night and I didn’t want to wake you. Hell, I didn’t even want to go to work, but I had to. I should’ve left you a note or sent you a text. I wasn’t thinking.”

He looked at me with the cutest puppy dog face and big pouty lips. I wondered what all he’d gotten away with by using that face. Lord knew I would’ve let him do anything.

I smiled. “Fine, but next time, you stay in bed.”

The elevator dinged, the door opened, and we almost had to fight our way out as people rushed to reserve their spot on the elevator.

He looked over and winked. “I’ll be there…naked of course. You can even tie me down if you want—you know, to ensure I don’t flee.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

He smiled and shrugged as he stepped out onto the sidewalk. “Where do you want to go?”

I wasn’t hungry. I’d already had breakfast with the guys. I doubted I’d be able to take another bite without being sick. “Honestly, I just came back from breakfast with the boys, but we can go wherever you want.”

There were a few food trucks a block over so I followed Donovan. We were talking about nothing important when he grabbed my hand like it was the most natural things in the world. I’d never been big on PDA and, though I doubted hand holding was considered PDA, it was still something I didn’t do with any of my previous boyfriends.

My first reaction was to pull away, but the truth was, I didn’t hate it. I adjusted my hand so I had a better grip as he intertwined our fingers. He had the same dopey smile I had, and that made me happy. As we stood in front of the Thai truck, he asked.

“Are you sure you’re not hungry?”

I nodded my head and he ordered his plate. When he went to pay, he realized the truck only accepted cash—no cards.

He looked at me.

“Seriously? Who the hell carries cash anymore?”

As I pulled out my wallet and handed the food truck guy a ten.

“Me. I almost exclusively pay in cash, especially when dealing with a small business because it’s expensive for them to run cards.”

Donovan stuck his tongue out and walked to a vacant picnic table. I smiled as I watched him slightly sway his hips—he was no doubt putting on a show for me. He had the perfect, little, tight butt. It was round, firm, and totally fuckable. On top of that, his incredibly sexy shoulders led down to a narrow waist. More than anything, I loved how balanced he was: he had a perfect athletic body; a touch of soft and feminine; and was tall, but not too much.

The food truck guy cleared his throat, which pulled me from my mid-day fantasy. He had a knowing smile as he handed me Donovan’s lunch, which I grabbed and quickly made my way to the table.

I smiled as I set the bowl on the table in front of him, along with a few napkins and cutlery.

“Lunch is served.”

“Thanks, Jeeves.”

He went to work on his lunch while I straddled the bench so I could watch him enjoy his meal. Even the way he ate was a blend of savage and grace. He ate in a hurry, yet the way he twirled the noodles before putting them into his mouth was smooth and with skillful precision. From what I’d seen of him, he was one of those guys who was, literally, good at everything.

He took the last bite and wiped his face with the napkin before placing it, along with the dirty utensils, into the bowl before pushing it away. I could tell he’d used his tongue to make sure he didn’t have any food fragments stuck between his teeth and, as soon as he felt he was post-lunch presentable, he turned his attention to me and gave me one of his award winning smiles.

“Did you enjoy that? Lunch and a show—I should’ve charged admission.”

“I would’ve paid, too. Actually, I did since I bought your lunch.”

Donovan swung his leg over the bench, so we were both straddling it. He leaned forward and kissed me with warm lips that smelled of Thai spice.

“Thank you for that.”

I grabbed his shirt, pulled him back in, and pressed his lips to mine, again. That time, the kiss was more than just a little peck. I loved the softness of his mouth against mine so much, I could’ve sat there all day kissing him, but I pulled away before things went too far. Donovan was watching me and his eyes were shining as I licked my lips.

“You taste good.”

He laughed as we sat there, knees to knees, and watched each other. He had one elbow on the picnic bench and was resting his cheek on his fist while I let my hands wander innocently up and down his thighs.

“I’m sorry,” he said, out of nowhere. I looked at him with surprise. I hadn’t expected another apology. “For last night. I just showed up, looking and acting like Courtney Love. I was so pathetic—”

I gently grabbed the side of his neck, pulled him toward me, and shut him up with my lips.

“Stop. It was perfect. Honestly, I needed it—we both needed last night just the way it was.”

I let go of him, grabbed his thighs, and pulled him into my lap until he was comfortably straddling me. He wrapped his arms around my neck and, from that position, he was looking down at me. It wasn’t sexual—I just wanted him closer.

“It’s hard to admit, but I need you. I can get a bit ahead of myself and kind of bitchy. Looking at my life, I’ve realized I’m an asshole, but you humble me. I need you to keep me reeled in and grounded.”

“Well, I need you, too. You push me out of my comfort zone. I tend to stick to the things I know, even if they aren’t good for me, but you knock me off of my track and I need that. I need you to push me to be better, even when I push back.”

“That’ll be easier said than done. I doubt you’ll like my pushing you around much because I can be really fucking pushy,” he teasingly shoved me back and almost made me lose my balance.

“Well, I don’t think you’ll like me reeling you in, either, but I’m going to do it.”

“We’re going to fight a lot, aren’t we?”

I laughed at his sad frown, and smiled when his nose squished in pouty disapproval of my response.

“Guaranteed. Tons of fighting and lots of makeup sex.”

I made him purr as I squeezed his hips and pulled him against me.

“Sounds good. Go ahead and insult me. I’ll slap you then you can take me (he looked around the area) over there in the bushes,” he nodded toward a small bush that wasn’t big enough to hide a cat, let alone two grown men.

“That’s not really how this works plus, you have to go back to work.”

As I pushed him off, he whined then grabbed his garbage and cleaned up the area before leaving. We held hands during the walk back to the hospital—I was happy. It was too soon to say for sure, but I genuinely felt things between us were different. I had no illusions about us always being dramatic, but I thought we were on the right track to handling it.

He was the first guy I’d ever dated who truly balanced me and pushed me off of my one track mind. I knew I had unhealthy habits that’d been ingrained into me for years, but it wasn’t until Donovan that I had any desire to change. And he was right, as much as I’d thought he walked on water, he could’ve been somewhat of a diva.

The pride I’d felt when he told me that I kept him grounded was immeasurable. I wanted to be someone who encouraged him and someone who he respected and valued as a person and a partner. Until then, I’d never wanted to be more than a boyfriend.

“Kurt’s having a pool party at his house, today. You should come over when you get off of work. It’s nothing crazy, just a few of us hanging out.”

As we walked through the double doors, Donovan pulled me to the side and through the doors that led to the stairwell until I’d pinned him against the wall.

“A pool party? Hmm, sounds good.”

I could see the gears turning in his head as he pulled me forward until our lips met. I loved being able to freely kiss him as much as I wanted, and I wanted to…a lot. He got a little frantic and grabbed me everywhere and, of course, he ended up kneading my ass. My automatic reflex was to push him away, but before I had a chance, he started to moan.

“You’re so fucking sexy, Shay.”

I groaned. I’d never liked it when people touched my butt. Years of being made fun of, plus the incident in college, had shaped the way I felt about being fondled. But things appeared to be changing. I still didn’t like it, but I didn’t hate it, either. I especially didn’t hate Donovan’s reaction, so I allowed him to continue even though it made me moderately uncomfortable. I wanted that, right? I wanted him to push me out of my comfort zone.

“I really need to get going,” he whined as he pulled away. He was flushed and flustered, his lips were red, and his eyes were slightly dilated—he was perfect.

“Do you want me to walk you up?”

“Nah, I need a few minutes to settle down, but I can’t do that with you around.”

I gave him a chaste kiss. “You flatter me. Will I see you at Kurt’s?”

“Sure, I’ll see you there.”

I watched him as he took the stairs (two at a time) until he was out of sight. We still hadn’t really talked. Baby steps.

*** *** *** ***

“You damn Yeti! I’m going to tie you to a tree and put peanut butter and bird seeds on your cock and balls!” Aaron ranted as I walked through the door.

“I love you, too!”

I tossed him his truck keys, which he fumbled a few times before securing them in his hand. Aaron was hot on my tail as I walked into the kitchen, toward Kurt and Drew, who were trying not to laugh.

“Don’t walk away from me, you asshole! You stole my fucking truck! Do you know what our Uber driver looked like? I’m surprised we’re alive! I should call the cops, nay, the FBI. Grand theft auto is a serious crime punishable by two years in jail, three if it’s a county jail, and up to five thousand dollars.”

He wasn’t mad, mad. He was only yelling because he liked the sound of his own voice.

“I see you used your time wisely by googling fantasy shit. Tell me, Aaron, what happens when you leave your friend at the Bates Motel in butt fuck, Nevada? You want to talk to me about an Uber ride? Well, fuck you.”

I play punched him in the kidney and he groaned then laughed.

“One time! We left you one time. When are you going to let it go?”

“One time in the middle of the desert, you fuck wad!”

We moved throughout the kitchen and pulled things out to BBQ later. The guys were already in their swim trunks and ready to get the show on the road. Aaron laid the steaks out on the cutting board and started to trim the meat.

“Details, details. Can we put it to rest now? We’ll call it a wash. We left you in Nevada, but you left all three of us across town so the way I see it, it’s kind of fair.” His smirk told me he didn’t think it was fair, which it wasn’t. I’d left them eight miles from Kurt’s house, but they’d left me four hundred miles away from mine. No matter which way you spun it, there was no wash and I wasn’t ever going to let it go—I had too much fun bringing it up at the most inopportune times.

“Or you can be my beer bitch. Bring me a microbrew when you’re finished manhandling the meat.”

Aaron groaned as the rest of us went outside toward the pool.

*** *** *** ***

We were lounging poolside and talking. The nice thing about having friends who you’ve known since day one is how easy everything is. We could argue, fight, cry, laugh, and talk about our deepest feelings—or nothing at all. As we’d gotten older, we had less free time to hang out and do nothing, so it felt amazing. Kurt, Aaron, and Drew were bitching about customers that were too lazy to do the work, but then bitched about the price of having someone come do it for them. I, on the other hand, recounted how incredibly awkward my one encounter with Davis was, since the fiasco at the bar when the doorbell sounded.

Drew smiled, excitedly, as he hopped off of the chair and practically ran to the front door.

“It must be the DONNAS!”

Kurt muttered under his breath, “It must be the twins.”

We laughed. I hadn’t been around the twins since the night at the bar when I found out they’d had a three-way with Donovan the night he broke up with me over a misunderstanding. Technically, we weren’t together so he was free to do as he pleased. I wasn’t mad about it, but I wasn’t happy, either.

That didn’t protect me from feeling hurt or angry because the man I’d been falling in love with had banged two guys while I was an emotional wreck. I didn’t blame the twins, but I also had no desire to see them, let alone hang out with them.

“And this is the pool,” Aaron announced as he guided the guys through to French doors that lead from the kitchen to the back deck.

Sammy, Olie, the twins, and Allé looked like typical American tourists as they walked through the doors. Sammy wore a knee-length, spandex Speedo and a matching long-sleeved swim shirt. One twin wore flamingo boardshorts while the other twin wore penguin boardshorts, Oliver wore a shorter version of Sammy’s Speedo, and Allé wore an actual Speedo bikini.

Sammy’s eyes were wide as he took at his surroundings before running to the edge of the pool in awe.

“This house is nice. And the pool!”

Kurt’s pool was large with a diving board and a rope swing. His yard was a high end oasis—the perks of owning one of the largest yard maintenance companies around. As the newbies gawked at Kurt’s set up, Aaron leaned toward me.

“I have to say, their outfits make your pink lady-shorts look conservative.”

I flicked his forehead with my fingers. He winced and rubbed his forehead as he pulled back.

“First of all, they’re not pink, it’s called Salmon. Secondly, they’re not lady-shorts, asshole.”

They always teased me about my shorts. I always struggled with boardshorts because they’d never fit right. If they fit my butt then they were giant in the waist and baggy in the thighs. If they fit my thighs then they were too tight on my butt. I also hated the way they clung to my legs when they got wet—I always had to adjust my pants to keep them from falling.

Five years prior, I’d found swim shorts that fit perfectly. They were shorter than I typically wore, going to mid-thigh, but they fit my waist, butt, and legs perfectly. At the time, I was so happy to find swim trunks that fit, I bought all they had in stock (in my size) along with the next two sizes up—in case I got bigger, which I did. I didn’t care what color they were, I only cared about the fit, which was why I ended up in “pink” shorts.

“Plus, ten bucks says Donovan loves my lady-shorts,” I smirked because I knew he’d appreciate the fit, regardless of my feelings about the attention.

“No doubt. Donovan is the type to love pink lady-shorts. You’re a match made in heaven. I can see it now (he lifts his hand to the sky as he casts his vision), a house with a white picket fence, two point five dogs, and pink lady-shorts. ‘Merica!”

I shook my head. “I cannot understand why you’re single.”

Aaron stretched out on his lawn chair and swept a hand over his body, “We both know nobody’s qualified to handle this!”

I laughed because truer words had never been spoken. Aaron was a great friend, but a terrible boyfriend. He prioritized work and his friends over every girl he’d ever been with. I’d always wanted him to meet a girl who could bring him to his knees so we could give him a hard time, but I didn’t believe that day would ever come.

We lounged on the chairs for a while and watched as Drew and Kurt splashed around in the pool with our guests. It amazed me how different our groups were. We rarely used the pool, but when we did, we either played a water sport or drank beer in our floaties. The DONNAS were loud and full of energy as they splashed, rough-housed, and tossed each other around.

We were boring ass men compared to them, but I’d bet it would’ve been different if they’d had the same access to a pool as we did. It was a new, shiny toy for them while it was something we always had at our fingertips. I couldn't help but notice that Drew and Nelly didn't stray too far from each other. Drew made eye contact with us a few times and his annoyed eye roll made it obvious he knew what we were thinking. In a vain attempt to prove us wrong, he’d move away from Nelly. It never lasted more than a few moments before they ended up in close proximity, again. Finally, Drew gave up and stopped giving a damn, which was fine by us. We weren’t judging him, only giving him a hard time because that’s what friends do.

It was five o’clock in the afternoon when the doorbell rang again. Aaron and I looked at each other with confusion because Donovan didn’t get off of work until six.

“Maybe he got off early?” Aaron suggested, knowing I was thinking the same thing.

I figured he’d let me know when he got off so I checked my phone, but didn’t see any messages. I hopped out of the chair and rushed to the front door to greet my blushing boyfriend. Excited to see his beautiful smile and green, exotic eyes, I opened the door. Instead, I was shocked to find my grandfather, flanked by his friends who were all had beach towels draped across their shoulders—it was almost as if they’d been invited to our pool party.

But they weren’t…

I hadn’t talked to any of them since the reunion. I’d gotten the impression they weren’t too thrilled about everything that had happened with Donovan, and I wasn’t in the mood to be lectured by retirees—regardless of their knowledge base. I stood there like a statue while trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

Grandpa Thomas raised his brow, questioningly.

“Arby (I furrowed my brows at the name, since he’d never called me that before), you’ve been ignoring me. I’ve tried to call you several times since the reunion. You’re usually good about calling back, what’s changed? You even had Kurt stop by and pick my Goodwill clothes,” his expression told me he knew exactly what changed and why I hadn’t returned his calls.

“Uh—work—uh—baseball—uh—busy.” I stuttered under his powerful gaze.

“Mmm, hmm,” he hummed his annoyance. “I’m going to hold my peace for now, so as to be respectful of our host, Sammy, not you jerks who never invite us to anything. But we are going to talk tonight.”

There wasn’t any room for negotiation in his voice and he didn’t wait for an answer as they shoved their way past me. I couldn’t do anything except watch them as they walked in as if they owned the place. When I finally came to my senses, Aaron was standing next to me and watching the strange event take place. We both looked at each other with panic in our eyes. It wasn’t that we didn’t like our grandpa’s, we just didn’t spend time with them and having them show up unannounced was…weird.

“What’s going on?” Aaron asked, never taking his eyes off grandpa Jack.

I shook my head, shrugged, and continued to watch as the DONNAS waved them to the pool. With surprise and a little unease, I watched the old men take off their shirts, followed by their pants, only to find each and every one of them had worn bikini bottoms!

“Nooooo,” Aaron moaned.

Drew and Kurt took one look at the situation and swam to the ladder as fast as they could; joining Aaron and I by the French doors.

Kurt rubbed his face, “What the fuck is happening? I’m so confused.”

“It’s April fools? I don’t know, it’s all I can figure.”

“Dude, it’s August! Who invited them? My idea of a leisurely pool party is not spending it with our grandfathers.”

“Sammy.”

Drew was right. The only explanation that made any sense was Sammy must’ve invited Kurt’s Uncle Mickey. Our eyes darted between each other as the reason settled deep into our conscious mind. At almost the same moment, we all realized everything we’d suspected to be going on might’ve actually been legitimate.

We groaned as the same mental image burned through all of our minds.

“Gross!”

“I’m not swimming, this is too fucking weird!” Kurt cried. He was too paralyzed as he watched his uncle flirt shamelessly with Sammy. They didn’t even try to hide it—it was balls to the wall for them.

Apparently, we didn’t hear the knock on the front door because the next thing I knew, Donovan was standing next to us and watching the twenty-somethings swimming with the seventy-somethings.

“Whoa—” he said, just as surprised as us.

We nodded in agreement as the new and old swam around the pool.

“Well, they are pretty cute together.”

Our heads snapped toward Donovan and he looked surprised by the sudden attention.

“What? It’s true,” he rolled his eyes and brushed us off. “You guys need to get over yourselves. They’re happy and that’s all that matters.”

As Kurt pouted off to the side, he grumbled, “They better not get too happy in my pool or they’re paying to have it cleaned.”

“If Mickey can get off in the pool, then I’ll clean the damn thing myself.” Donovan did a little pom-pom cheer that ended with one hand on his hip and one hand in the air. “Go, Mickey!”

Aaron nudged me, “I found your pool boy.”

That made me laugh.

“Where can I change?” Donovan interrupted.

Kurt gave him directions to the bathroom and it only took a minute before he walked back, wearing nothing but a pair of form fitted, navy-blue swim shorts with white trim. They reminded me of the seventies style underwear he had on the night of the reunion when I’d stopped by and he was drunk. He looked amazing that night and he still looked amazing. The shorts highlighted his tanned skin, long legs, and toned abs.

“Holy shit,” I mumbled, and gawked at my smoking hot boyfriend,

“Careful dude, your lady shorts don’t hide much,” Drew teased.

I wanted to retort with something about Nelly, but I was too busy watching Donovan set his scrubs on a dry spot then pick up his towel and set it on one of the empty lounge chairs before rejoining us.

“Are you guys going to swim?”

Everyone quickly shook their heads. Donovan looked at me and raised his brow before he nodded for me to join him then rolled his eyes when I didn’t immediately follow.

“Suit yourselves,” he said as he walked to the edge of the pool.

He looked absolutely amazing as he stood there. The afternoon sun did all of the right things against his flawless, olive skin. I decided to damn the consequences and snuck up behind him and jumped into the pool with him in my arms before he could react.

If it wasn’t for the Cheshire cat grin on his face when he came out of the water and faced me, I would’ve thought he was mad by the sheer volume of cuss words he was raining down.

I decided swimming with Donovan was going to be my new favorite pastime. The way I saw it, there was no downside. He was mostly naked and I could touch him all I wanted, toss him around, and play with him to my heart's desire. The way he interacted with the others as he splashed around the pool, and seeing how happy he was, made me genuinely happy.

His easy going demeanor changed when he found himself next to Nelly, though. They both became awkward and I watched as Nelly said something I couldn’t hear before he pulled Donovan toward the far side of the pool. By the looks of it, Nelly was apologizing for spilling the beans, at which point Donovan relaxed and then he said something in return.

Both men looked sad, but content, as Nick swam to them. It was then that all three of them embraced. I was already feeling a little jealous watching him interact with Nelly, but watching all three of them in an emotional huddle was too much.

My rational mind knew there wasn’t anything going on, but it didn’t matter. I just needed to not watch. I got out of the pool and went to the kitchen to grab another beer.

“Why aren’t you making that little three-way a four-way?” Aaron teased as he followed me for another beer.

I didn’t find it funny and he knew he’d crossed the line.

“Look at you, getting all insecure over a guy.”

“I’m not insecure,” I huffed.

He nodded, disbelievingly, “Sure,” he drawled. “That’s why you were always moped with your other boyfriends. Not. Stop being a pussy and go back out there. You finally got him back. Don’t be a bitch and ruin everything.”

He was right, of course, but I wasn’t going to admit it. I lifted my beer. “I’m just going to finish my beer.”

I had half of a beer left. I hoped that would give them enough time to figure out their issues and part ways before I finished. I was about to take another drink when Aaron ripped it from my hands and poured it down the drain.

“Go!” he gestured toward the pool.

I didn’t say anything, I just pushed away from the kitchen island and walked outside. They’d finished their conversation and everyone was back to playing in the pool. Donovan watched me walk outside, he had a frown on his face, which made me feel bad. I should’ve wanted him to mend fences with his friends, and I did, but I was jealous.

I slid into the pool and slowly treaded my way to him. As I inched toward him, he inched away. We slowly distance ourselves from everyone else.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Nothing.”

He obviously didn’t believe me, made a weird gesture, and patted his hips.

“Come here.”

I looked at him like he was crazy. I had no clue what he wanted. He rolled his eyes and did it again. He could’ve done the same thing a hundred times and I still wouldn’t have known what he wanted—the motion made no sense to me.

He moved between my legs, grabbed the back of my thighs (just above my knees), and lifted me until I wrapped my legs around his waist. I started to laugh because I’d never, not once, had my legs wrapped around another man. It didn’t help that I was several inches taller and at least fifty pounds heavier than him. The more natural position would’ve been him wrapped around my waist. He continued to lightly slap my legs until I locked my ankles together. He guided us through the water and conveniently held me up by my butt.

We hadn’t moved far when he started to talk.

“Three things. One, I regret what happened with Nelly, but I can’t change it. I don’t want to lose his friendship and I’m already carrying enough guilt over the situation to punish myself for a lifetime. Is this going to be a big issue? I understand if it is, but I don’t want it to be.”

Sadness hung in his eyes like a leaf in the middle of fall. I shook my head no—I’d get over it—it wasn’t worth the problem. He closed his eyes with relief and when he opened them, his gratefulness shown through.

“That’s good, really good,” he sighed. “Two, those aren’t the shorts I’d have picked for you, but you look mouthwatering.”

It was amazing how quickly his eyes went from sad, to relieved, to lust, and then to desire.

“I’m glad you think so. Everyone calls them my lady-shorts.”

He laughed as he checked me out with his eyes. “I can definitely picture them saying that, but I have to say, you look nothing like a lady.”

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like it, because I very much loved when Donovan made me feel like a piece of meat. I leaned back until my upper body was floating on the water. My legs were still wrapped around his waist as my arms lightly treaded the water. I could feel his hands caressing my thighs, leaving me feeling all sorts of tingly.

“Are you coming over tonight?

“Do you work tomorrow?”

He nodded.

I closed my eyes and relaxed in the water. I enjoyed the gentle movement of Donovan between my legs.

“Then no.”

He stilled for a moment, then pulled on my waist (demanding my attention) and forced me to sit, chest to chest and face to face, at which point he silently demanded.

“Why?”

“We’re not staying the night unless I know you’ll be there in the morning. It’s my one non-negotiable,” I smiled because I knew he was the maker of the checklist so he couldn’t argue with me.

He tossed his head back and groaned, “Are you sure your ‘non-negotiable’ isn’t having me naked in your bed every night?”

“Sure, you can be naked in my bed every night—when you don’t have to work the next morning.”

He playfully glared at me. You’d think I was asking him to eat raw beets.

“Actually,” I gave him a genuinely nervous look. I wasn’t sure how he’d take my next words. ”I think we should slow things down, way down.”

I held my breath as I waited for some sort of response. His face contorted in confusion as he tried to figure out what I meant.

“Sure. I mean, not sleeping together when I work the next day will definitely slow things down,” he nodded slowly in approval.

“Or—” I smiled awkwardly as he side glanced my way. “I was actually thinking it might be best if we don’t have sex, at all, for a while.”

That got his full attention. His full, speechless, blinkless, breathless attention. He stuk his finger in his ear and wiggled it around then cupped his ear so he could hear better.

“I’m sorry, did you say it’s best if we don’t have sex, like, at all?”

“Yes.”

Blink.

Silence.

Blink.