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Training for the Lightning had already begun too, and he was loving being back in the swing of it. Summer was surfing and swimming, but winter was rugby, and any chance he got to play was awesome. He couldn’t deny that the couple of months off after the season had wrapped in September was good, though. Bryce had finished up his exams, leaving only a few more subjects from his degree to complete, which he could do remotely, and he’d helped finish the two builds they had on the go. It was a glimpse of Bryce’s future after his playing career was over, and it was a hella good motivation to wrap up his degree the next year. He loved playing, and playing professionally was literally a dream come true, but he knew he had a future to look forward to working with Ava and Cole.
The problem—one Bryce was only realizing now that they were in front of friends—was that their relationship had become insular. Bryce hated hiding Cole, so it was easier to decline invitations to go out with mates or other couples than to explain why he’d tagged along. Both Ava and Cole were homebodies, so it didn’t bother them, but Bryce had no idea how much he’d missed his friends until that very second.
On the spur of the moment, he asked, “If you feel like catching up for dinner tonight, give me a yell. I don’t think we have anything planned, do we?” Bryce looked to Ava and Cole, hoping they didn’t mind, but Ava’s enthusiastic headshake and grin relaxed him.
Cole kept his serious face on, but the tiny tilt of his lips upward was enough to reassure Bryce that he was up for it. “No,” Cole responded. “Nothing on.”
“We’re staying in the building across the road,” Addy explained. “We could order takeout and stay there if you’d prefer that to going out. Save you being plastered all over social media.”
“Sounds good,” Liam confirmed, wrapping an arm around her. She snuggled into his embrace. They were comfortable together, their bodies pressed close. Bryce’s smile was half shock, half blind hope that his mate was in some sort of three-way relationship with Addy and her boyfriend. Could they have stepped into the twilight zone and found someone who might actually understand his, Ava, and Cole’s non-traditional relationship?
He beamed, shifting from foot to foot as excitement coursed through him. He wanted to catch up even more now.
“Will all of you come?” Liam asked.
“Yes,” Bryce answered at the same time as Cole shook his head and said, “No.”
Liam snorted out a laugh at their contradiction, but Bryce looked to his man, silently begging him to agree. They could be discreet, and they would be, but Bryce needed this and he couldn’t bear leaving Cole home by himself. Cole inclined his head, just a tiny dip, and Bryce’s smile turned triumphant. He resisted the urge to throw his arms up in the air and do a victory dance, but the laughter that bubbled up his throat said it all. “We’ll all be there.”
“Good. I’ll message you to sort out the time.”
*****
Liam met them in the lobby of their apartment building. Bryce was riding a high, excited to not only catch up with an old friend, but to be able to spend the night talking and laughing with all of them together.
Cole wore a frown now, one Bryce hadn’t seen in a long time, and it killed him seeing it. They’d been together almost a year and Cole smiled more often than not—his frowns reserved for when he was concentrating or when something went wrong on a build. He was nervous, closing those walls in on himself as a protective measure and wearing his scowl like a shield.
Bryce nudged his shoulder with his own and brushed his fingers over Cole’s. His man’s gaze snapped to his and Bryce stared back, wishing he could lean in and kiss him. Instead, he threaded their fingers together and squeezed, hiding their joined hands behind his body. Ava and Cole were his world, and Bryce may have selfishly wanted a night with friends, but he needed his man to know that they wouldn’t stay if he was uncomfortable.
While Ava made herself at home helping Addy pour the wine and open a few beers, Bryce passed a plate to Cole and watched as Liam rested his chin on King’s shoulder, snagging a spring roll off his plate. King, Addy’s boyfriend and clearly Liam’s friend, laughed and swatted his hand away. Liam looked giddy. His grin lit up his face and he shifted closer. Bryce turned to Cole, not wanting to intrude on what seemed like a private moment between Liam and King and met his man’s gaze. The private smile Cole shot to Bryce, the tiny tilt of his lips upward and the heat in his eyes had Bryce putting his plate down and reaching for Cole, wanting that connection with him again, even if it was as simple as holding his hand.
“Excuse us for a moment,” King said, tugging Liam out of the room.
Bryce paid them no notice. He was too busy concentrating on Cole. When the other two were gone and they were shielded from the ladies by the kitchen bench, Bryce reached out for Cole, joining their hands and squeezing. He mouthed, “I love you,” to his man and Cole’s shy smile in response lifted his spirits.
“Let’s dish up,” Cole murmured, grabbing two plates and heaping out a serving of the ginger chicken on each. Bryce did the same, adding rice and the garlic and pepper beef to theirs as well as the sweet and sour pork while Cole went for the rice. They were practiced moves. This was how they plated dinner every night, Ava looking after the drinks while they cooked or dished up the takeaway.
“Tuck in,” Addy instructed them when they sat. “King and Lee won’t be long.” Just as she finished speaking, the two men in question walked through the door, Liam’s smile dropping when they all turned to them. “What?”
“Is it just the two of you who’re together, or all three of you?” Bryce asked, biting his lip against the hope bubbling up in his chest. The hints were small, but they were unmissable. He figured putting it out there and seeing where the chips fell.
Liam visibly swallowed and King stepped back, putting some distance between them. Oh no. “What makes you ask that?” Liam hedged, a line of sweat dotting his brow.
“The love-heart eyes you three have been making at one another all night has been a dead giveaway,” Cole said blandly. “But the pash rash on your face makes it a no-brainer.”
Liam brought his hands to his cheeks, the pink glow blooming on them a welcome change from the colour leeching from his skin only a moment earlier.
Bryce laughed, grateful that he hadn’t completely screwed their night up. He got up from his spot on the couch.
“Is that like the love-heart eyes you two were flashing each other in the coffee shop?” Addy asked, hand on her hip and her eyebrow raised.
He knew she’d be a force to be reckoned with, not standing for any shit.
“They were?” Liam snapped his gaze to his girl and then back to where Bryce squeezed Cole’s shoulder before moving to lean against the back of the couch. “You were?”
“Probably, but hiding sucks and I can’t lie to save myself, so....” Bryce shrugged, like it was no big deal while his insides flip-flopped like a fish out of water in a nervous dance. Standing, simply because he couldn’t sit still anymore, he clapped Liam on the shoulder and added, “You look good, man. Regardless of who you’re with, we’re happy for you.”
“Hiding what?” Liam asked, focussing on what Bryce hadn’t said.
