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“I’m sure you would have,” Lucas said. “But isn’t it nice to have a genuine surprise every now and then?”
“I don’t know,” Chase cut in. “Sometimes those are the sorts of things that people dread. How often do you really have a good surprise?”
His air of quiet intelligence made her want to pick his brain. Summer wasn’t just interested in his mind either. She wondered what the deal was with these two. However, just coming right out and asking was dangerous. Any hint that she might be interested in a threesome could give them the wrong idea about the kind of lady she was.
And that was just it. Summer considered herself a lady, a good girl.
Of course, they did make a move on her. They were just casual hints, followed by attempts at trying to invite themselves back to her place for ‘coffee.’ Being stationed at the military base made it impossible to invite women over. So, the ball was in Summer’s court there and it was nice to have that much.
“I would invite you two lovely boys back to my place for a cup of coffee. But we just met. And I do have to get my butt to work bakin’ before dawn. You understand?” She lathered on the sweet southern charm as they said goodbye.
They weren’t coy about wanting her, though they did a good job restraining themselves. It was rather gentlemanly really. Summer wouldn’t have shared her dilemma, but she’d been finding it hard to restrain herself too.
They asked for another date. She said yes.
Chapter 7
Summerlyn
They had to wait until the following week. Summer hired Brooke on part time, but that was only for two or three shifts a week. Getting her in for a full day put payroll over budget.
By the time their second date the following Friday night rolled around, Lucas and Chase were more than ready. They’d gotten Summer’s number the first day they’d met, and at first only exchanged a couple messages to sort out the details of their date. As the days passed, the messages increased to several per day, the texts increasingly sultry.
They met at Ruffini’s, an Italian place of Summer’s choosing. It was a simple family restaurant, but the pizza was on point and their pasta was to die for.
“I’m surprised you boys asked me to choose where we ate this time,” she said once they were again sitting together at a table for three.
“So, Ruffini’s, huh?” Lucas asked. It was hard to tell if he was unimpressed with the way he constantly smiled at Summer no matter what was said. That wolfish grin was difficult to read.
“The food smells good,” added Chase. He seemed more down to earth in some ways, despite being more distant. They both seemed nervous.
Summer nodded and gave a little shrug. “I’m sure you boys won’t pretend you don’t love a big bowl of homestyle pasta and some garlic bread dripping with hot butter. Are you?”
“Of course not. To be honest, I was just surprised you didn’t choose something a little, uh—”
“Fancier? I’m a southern girl and I like good food. I’m not exactly fancy.”
“I didn’t take you for a snob. What I meant was, you’re an amazing baker. You can probably cook just as well, too.”
“We were just worried you might choose something a bit, well, beyond our capacity to appreciate,” Chase explained, choosing the words very carefully. There was a moment of silence as Summer realized why they had reacted strangely to her choice in the eatery.
“You were worried I’d have us eating something strange and exotic like oysters on the half shell? Oh, that’s adorable. But didn’t you, yourselves, choose a French restaurant last week? I believe they even had escargot on the menu.”
“Well, since we’re being honest, we chose that place to try to impress you,” Chase said. He was more awkward than his friend, but there was a type of honesty that was refreshing too. He shrugged and grinned before his face returned to his usual cool stare.
“You got us,” Lucas said. “Hey, we’re just a couple of military boys after all. You think they’ve got us eating five-star meals over at Camp Lejeune? Shit.”
“Shit indeed,” Summer echoed, laughing. It was nice that they were becoming so comfortable being honest. It helped her to feel like she might be able to trust them.
It was a little awkward for Chase as the one sitting on a side by himself. Lucas had claimed the seat next to Summer with a cool, challenging stare. It hadn’t mattered at the French restaurant because the two men were opposite each other, and Summer was on a side between the two of them. Ruffini’s larger tables could accommodate more people. They had also been given a booth since they’d booked in advance and Summer was a regular. That left herself and Lucas looking like they were a couple with their friend joining them.
Halfway through the meal, they decided it would only be fair that they swap sides. That wasn’t Lucas’ idea, but he went along with it easily enough. “I suppose that would be alright,” he said with his good-natured smile. The two men swapped seats so that Chase got to sit with their date for an equal amount of time.
Summer could feel the other people in the restaurant looking at them with a little confusion. At least one older lady was certainly suspicious of what was going on. Maybe it was all in her head. Either way, it was kind of invigorating for Summer to think people assumed something was happening. Something maybe a little taboo, a little naughty.
By the time they’d finished the meal, Summer was ready to accept their gentle probing about what she was doing later.
“Okay, I think you boys have earned yourselves that cup of coffee you’ve been pining for,” she said slyly.
