“What does that mean?” I ask, looking down and realizing that Otto comes in a very close second to me. Brady is moving his eyes from one to the other.
“It means sausage for everyone,” Otto laughs. Brady, who is standing between us, puts his arm around me and then around Otto. All three of us shake our hips a few times before we jump off the dock together and into the lake. We swim toward the shore easily, laughing and splashing each other until our three naked bodies are on the beach.
Chapter 27
Berlin
Brady
I’m laying naked on the beach of a lake outside Berlin with 40 percent of the men I have slept with in my entire life. It takes a second to do the calculation, but I’ve slept with five guys and I have one on each side of me. I’m not great with math but I’m able to calculate this. I have no idea what will happen when I hit my next prime number.
We are staring up at the sky through the leaves of the silver white trees that gather around the edges of the water. I can see my chest rising and falling in front of me after the intense swim to the shore. It’s been years since swimming sprints in high school and while I remember the movement, I can feel my muscles responding to the strain. The air is cool but the filtered sunlight is warm and after all the tension from today, I’m enjoying the release from the impromptu skinny dipping.
I move my head to my left and see Hayes’ hairy chest rising up and down. I grabbed my sunglasses before we lay down so I am able to discreetly examine his dick. Soft but still plump and looking like it could be ready to play at any minute. I turn my head to the other side. Otto’s body is less hairy all over but there is a dark patch in the center of his chest, which is toned and not as beefy as Hayes. My eyes scan down Otto’s body and I’m able to do an easy head-to-head comparison, so to speak. Otto’s piece is not nearly as thick but the length is beyond standard issue. I think that I would likely need them both in my hand and mouth to be able to tell which is…
I sit up and shake the thought from my head. A three-way would be so insane, and they would never go for it. But when I look at both of them naked in front of me, I have to admit it could be fun. Hayes has made it clear there is no future for us, so it’s not like there would be any emotional attachment. In fact, it would help me prove to myself that I’m not interested in him beyond the obvious physical connection. I know Otto is interested in me sexually. He’s made that clear and I wonder if all of the tension between him and Hayes might be relieved with a night of animal passion. Hayes is an incredible lover, but I think the very idea of a three-way is out of his comfort zone.
Hayes stretches his arms over his head, displaying his sexy armpits, and Otto takes notice because he gets up and grabs his phone. “The light is perfect right now. Let me get some photos for your content. Then the three of us can head to town and really have fun.”
“Sounds good,” Hayes says, and he gets a towel and wraps it around his waist.
“I don’t think that is necessary, Hey-yas,” Otto says. “You want to keep your engagement up, don’t you?” I know Hayes is trying to show me how much he has changed, how free and open he is, but there is no universe in which Hayes would allow someone to take nude photos.
“Otto, this is basic social media. Not OnlyFans. I think we both need to be covered up a bit,” I explain.
“Oh, OnlyFans. You two would be incredible. You know people love to see real life couples going at each other. It heightens the thrill.” Otto stands in front of us, showing no intention of covering up.
“This is just for the camera,” Hayes says, wrapping the towel tightly around his waist. “Brady and I have not been together for a long time.”
So that’s how it’s going to be? He is going to declare there is nothing between us and there never will be, even after the amazing night in Barcelona. Is he that pissed that Otto is here that he won’t even give us a chance to talk about what happened? I pull on my shorts and throw a towel around my shoulders.
Otto looks at me and then at Hayes. He tilts his head.
“That’s right,” I say, trying to make my voice sound believable. In Barcelona I thought maybe there was a chance we might revisit things, but I don’t see that happening anymore and apparently neither does he. “There is absolutely nothing between us.”.
We move closer to each other and Hayes robotically puts his arm around me. He’s technically touching me. The skin of his forearm is in direct contact with my bare skin, but I refuse to let it have an effect on me. The fact is Hayes Carter and I work together, but do not worktogether.
Chapter 28
Berlin
Hayes
I roll off the couch I’ve been sleeping on and land on the floor. I’m not sure what hurts more – my erector spinea from sleeping on various pieces of hotel furniture since I refuse to take the bed or the fact that things with Brady have gotten so bad we are barely communicating. From the ground I can see his figure in a cocoon of covers on the bed.
My phone buzzes. A text from Brady, even though he’s less than ten feet away:
Meeting Otto in an hour at Checkpoint Charlie.
I text back:
Got it.
Brady slides out of bed and into the bathroom. I hear the shower turn on and get up off the floor and stare out the window as Berlin starts another day. On the street below delivery trucks unload boxes of groceries, and in the distance, I watch the U-Bahn snake around the city and disappear into a tunnel.
We are almost done in Berlin, and then it’s Capri and home. I tell myself that I’ll never have to see Brady again but that thought makes my heart ache. It’s not Brady I want to escape. It’s me. I don’t like who I am when I’m around him. I overreact, like peacocking at the lake, trying to be the rule breaker he wants. Or I’m the opposite. I dive deep into being the stoic enigma that has gotten me through most situations, silent so I can’t make a mistake. Hiding things from him only to protect myself.
I stare at myself in the reflection in the window and place my knuckles against the cool glass. Somewhere there has to be a version of me that feels comfortable between these two opposites of overcompensating or silence.
