“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill that motherfucker.”
I walked over to the armchair and sat across from him. “I’ll give you three. Your sister loves him. He’s been clean for years. You’re really more of a lover than a fighter.”
Cole let out a drawn-out breath. “I’m not saying any of those things are false, but—”
“Oh, and they’re having a kid,” I interrupted. “One that probably wants to have a father.”
The bassist ran a hand over his face. “Fuck. I’m going there to make peace with him, aren’t I?”
“Get that sentiment tattooed somewhere on you at the airport so you won’t forget it.”
He gulped down his beer. “Well, at least my parents will be happy if I come back to them with news of a truce. They’ve been too careful with me these past few weeks, treating me like I’m fragile or something. This fucking place, man… I love it because it made me who I am, but I also hate it. There are too many memories I don’t want to be thinking about. Being here puts me on edge.”
I nodded in agreement, knowing exactly what he meant. We’d all lost things here.
“The rehearsals have been going really well, don’t you think?” he continued. “Three more weeks, and then we’ll be out.”
Shifting in my seat, I gave Cole a look.
“What?”
“I’m not really rushing to leave,” I said.
He looked confused for a quick moment before a grin settled on his face. “You, too, huh?”
I shrugged.
“There’s something about her that I can’t quite figure out, but I’ve never felt an energy like this before,” Cole said, scrubbing at his chin. “I feel it, man. I know Ezra does, too.”
“Even Abel,” I added, which made the bassist frowned.
“You think so? I can’t really tell if he’s warming up to her.”
“It’s because you don’t pay attention. He looks at her like she’s something he wants to devour.”
Cole’s expression turned thoughtful. “We’ve never had a woman we’re all interested in.”
“Well, I’m not stepping aside for anyone. Let the best man win.”
He met my words with a contemplative look. “Or we could all win if you stopped being so greedy.”
I scoffed. “Dude, I’m not like you and Ezra.” I knew they shared women and enjoyed it, but I’d never understood the appeal. Thankfully, over the past ten years, we’d gravitated toward different kinds of people.
Until Adeline. To her, we were drawn like moths to a flame.
“Why do you guys enjoy it so much?” I asked Cole, suddenly curious.
He rubbed at his chest. “It’s hard to explain. Why do certain things turn us on more than others? There’s something incredibly hot about pleasuring a woman together in ways she may not have experienced before. It also takes the pressure off. I think for Ezra, that’s a big thing. He’s spent his whole life taking care of people. When we’re both with a woman, it gives him permission to get out of his head and just enjoy it. Does that make any sense?”
I nodded. “Yeah, it does.” Hearing him describe the experience was stirring something new in me. We’d never talked about it in detail before. “Don’t you ever get jealous, though?”
“Not with Ezra,” Cole said definitively. “I’d never do it with some random guy, but I trust Ezra. I know he’s got my back, and we can talk through whatever we need to. Just like with you and Abel, when he’s not being an asshole, that is.”
“But what if the woman decides she likes one of you more than the other?”
Cole chuckled. “You’re really thinking it through now, aren’t you? When we’ve done it before, it’s mostly been on tour, so it’s never gotten that far. It’s never turned into a steady thing, you know? But look, I don’t like to spend time thinking about what-ifs or trying to talk myself out of doing something that excites me. All I’m saying is that with you guys, I know that whatever happens, we can figure it out together. Don’t get me wrong, the past few weeks have tested that belief, but I remain an optimist. And I think this thing with Adeline and us could be…intriguing,” Cole concluded with a smile.
Did I want to compete with my best friends for her attention? Or was I willing to push myself outside of my comfort zone? Cole’s point about taking the pressure off resonated with me. During moments of self-reflection, I sometimes thought the intensity I brought to my romantic relationships was because I felt compelled to give my partner everything. If I didn’t, I was afraid they’d leave and find it somewhere else. But what if we were all focused on meeting her needs? Wouldn’t that work out better for everyone?
