AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Of course she fucking did. He looks like Ryan Gosling’s better-looking younger brother.
“I told her I’d see her at dinner tomorrow.” He checks his watch. “Or more like tonight now, I guess.”
Zeke pours himself another Scotch and sits on a stool. “So we’re doing this again?”
Xander hops up and sits on the counter while I stare at Zeke, his face etched with worry and a deep-seated sadness that makes my heart feel heavy. “Do you want to try this again?” I ask.
“It’s not my decision to make,” he replies with a shrug, staring into his glass.
“No. It’s all of ours, Zeke.”
He lifts his head, his dark eyes piercing into mine. “But you and Fitch want to, yeah?”
I glance at Xander who nods. “I do. I mean I love you both, you know that. But…”
“We’re a lot to handle on your own,” I finish for him.
He closes his eyes like it pains him to admit that, but I get it. Zeke and I are pretty full-on.
“I’ma lot to handle,” Zeke adds before downing his drink.
Xander runs his hand through his hair. “I never fucking said that, Z.”
“It would be a whole lot easier if I could just fuck random strangers like you both can though, wouldn’t it? Or if I wasn’t so messed up that I made all the others go running for the fucking hills as soon as they find out the shit I’m into.”
“You are not messed up,” I tell him. “They didn’t all leave because of you. They left because the three of us together were too much, Zeke.”
Xander runs a hand through Zeke’s thick hair and gently tugs his head back. Zeke doesn’t pull away from his grasp, which is unusual for him. “It’s all three of us or none of us, Z. Like it’s always been.”
Zeke’s eyes land on mine again. “You want to do this, West?”
I didn’t think I’d want this again. When we agreed that Ebony would be the last one, we meant it. But that was before Lily. With her sweet laugh and sparkling green eyes. And legs I can’t stop imagining wrapped around my neck. I knew in my office today that Xander and I liked her, but now that Zeke does too… “I think it’s worth one more shot.”
He shakes his head. He’s fighting this, even though I know he wants Lily just as much as we do. But something changed on the ride home. Like once he knew she was a possibility, he closed himself off again. “What makes this one any different than the others?”
“We all met her separately and liked her, despite not knowing how the other two felt,” I say. “That’s never happened before.”
Zeke shakes his head. “That’s a nonissue. What matters more is how she’ll respond to us. The women we’ve done this with before have been…” He rubs a hand over his thick beard.
“Been what?” I ask.
He sucks on his top lip, as though he’s searching for the right word. “Experienced. They weren’t some kid fresh out of college who works as a fucking bike messenger.”
Xander snorts and drops his hand from Zeke’s hair. “Judgy much?”
“You know what I mean,” he says with a heavy sigh. “We’ve always found women through recommendations. Women who we knew would be into group stuff. She’s so fucking young and naive.”
“Young, yes,” I admit. “I don’t get a naive vibe from her at all. And if you’re going to hold her job title against her, may I remind you of Helena?”
Xander snorts a laugh, but Zeke frowns. “Helena?”
“Guinea pig number three,” Xander answers. “She did those singing telegrams.”
Realization dawns on Zeke’s face, and he rolls his eyes. If I recall, she barely lasted a month, so she probably wasn’t the best example. “Maybe something different is what we need,” I add, before he gets lost in the memories of all the women who haven’t worked out for us. My gut tells me that Lily’s worth taking a risk on.
“Maybe we do everything different?” Xander suggests.
I scowl. “What do you mean?”
