21. David

21

DAVID

Rebecca's voice sounded odd on the phone. I stroked Fitz's head and considered walking outside to meet her. I'd been almost glad when the little dog showed up. It gave me an excuse to call her, to see her. After the disaster of a conversation where she ended things under Ethan's encouragement, I'd run through a dozen scenarios where I walked down to her house and asked her to change her mind.

Desperation never looked good, and it felt even worse. I'd cleaned to try and block out the need, then gone shopping and turned on a history documentary I'd wanted to watch for weeks. It played in the background, the narrator's monotonous tone droning as he explained the map on the screen.

I'd never been that guy before, the desperate one who couldn't take no for an answer. It was weird finding that aspect of my personality at my age. I didn't care for it. I also didn't care for the careful tone in Rebecca's voice or the hesitation when she'd agreed to come down and pick up Fitz. "I would have taken you to her." I tucked Fitz under my arm and carried him to the couch. It would've made more sense than her coming here. "Doesn't matter, does it? I still get to see her."

Tires crunched on gravel. I stayed seated through the soft cadence of footfalls that carried Rebecca up onto the stoop. Two shadows appeared on the other side of the small window beside me. I twitched the curtain aside.

Ethan stood behind Rebecca, staring down at her with the same look of adoration and longing that I'd felt on my own face too often.

Damn him. I stood and yanked the door open before either of them could knock.

Rebecca squealed and held out her arms. "Fitz, you little terror. How are you getting out?"

I handed the dog over with one hand, the other fisted around the doorknob as I stared down Ethan. "I'd be happy to come over and check out the apartment. Maybe there's a loose frame he's squeezing through."

Rebecca kissed Fitz's head. "That would be great." Her soft expression could mean anything, but the languid way she moved, like all her bones had gone soft, was something I'd only seen after we'd had sex.

"Can we come in?" Ethan made it a question, but the arched brow and solid hand on Rebecca's spine made sure I said yes.

Opening the door wide, I stepped back. "Not that it's any of my business, but what the hell are you doing with Rebecca?" My voice carried my anger, making sure neither of them missed it.

"Sit down, David." Ethan perched on the edge of the nearest chair. Rebecca sat on the arm, her foot swinging back and forth. She crooned to Fitz, but her gaze swung back and forth between me and Ethan.

She devastated me with a look that made me want to crawl on my knees over my own hardwood floors while begging her to change her mind. No woman had ever taken me this low, not even Carrie. I hated it.

"Why are you with Rebecca?" I shot the question directly at Ethan.

Ethan sat forward, bracing his arms on his thighs. "Rebecca and I talked earlier." He twitched toward her but kept his eyes on me. "We had sex, David. Rebecca and I were in bed when you called."

"Motherfucking, backstabbing bastard." I lunged to my feet, ready to choke him. Or punch him. I'd take any kind of release from the hot, searing pain tearing through me. Betrayal. I'd felt it this hard one other time and swore I'd never feel that much ever again. "After all that bullshit about keeping our distance so we didn't lose our jobs or hurt Rebecca, you go behind our backs and do this?" My hand swept out in an arc that knocked into the lamp on the side table. It wobbled but stayed upright.

"Like you and Cole went behind mine?" Ethan stood. A flash of fury sparked but then fizzled. He held out both hands. "You're right. What I did had nothing to do with you and Cole. I wanted Rebecca. She agreed."

"Is that true?" I turned away from Ethan. If I looked at him much longer, I might do something I'd regret. "Did you change your mind? About him? About us?"

Ethan was the main reason we'd agreed to leave Rebecca alone. She gave us that big speech and then left, and Ethan reiterated her points. He made sense, but what I felt for Rebecca went beyond sense. I'd ignored Ethan the first time he warned us away from Rebecca. I should have ignored him that time, too. If I had, it could have been me in Rebecca's bed today.

Rebecca stood slowly, her body flushed and cheeks pink. She walked right up to me until every breath brought the scent of her straight to my brain. "Yes. Ethan and I talked, and even though the risks are high, I wanted to have sex with him." She held me hostage with a look. "I still want all of you. Even though I know I shouldn't. I should keep my distance and protect you."

"We can protect ourselves." I plucked the strand of hair that had fallen over her cheek and rubbed it between my thumb and forefinger. "I appreciate the concern, but we should make decisions for ourselves."

"I'm going to call Cole. He deserves to be here too." Ethan backed into the kitchen with his phone to his ear.

I scratched Fitz under the chin, never breaking eye contact with Rebecca.

"Don't be mad at him." Her silky tone shivered through me. A flash of a frown appeared, then fell into worry. "I don't want anyone mad about this."

"I'm not mad at him." I chuckled when she scoffed. "Okay, I'm a little pissed." I tipped her chin up. "I'm more upset that we could have been together this whole time. I've missed you."

"Cole's on his way." Ethan returned, taking his seat and crossing his ankle over his knee.

I tried to ignore him, but Ethan's personality always took up more space than any man should. There was a reason we tended to listen to him. Fuck if I knew why I'd let him persuade me this time. I'd known leaving Rebecca alone was an unsustainable goal. I understood how Cole felt when he found out about me and Rebecca. I didn't like not knowing. "He treated you well?" I asked Rebecca, but Ethan's eyebrows rose.

"Are we going to start sharing all our sexual encounters?" He picked up a book from the coffee table and flipped through it. "Are you going to tell me what happened between the three of you?"

"No fighting." Rebecca lowered Fitz to the floor and took my hand. She led me to the couch and tugged me down to sit beside her. "This only works if we're all open and honest with each other."

"Then we should wait on Cole." I tucked my spine into the corner of the couch. Rebecca followed me down, her shoulder notching into the space between my ribs and the cushion. Her cheek settled on my chest, and I watched Ethan while I played with her hair, winding it around my finger, then letting it go and smoothing it down her arm.

He watched every movement, but there was neither anger nor jealousy in the look. He almost looked curious. Maybe even a little bit turned on by the sight of Rebecca with me. I tried to imagine him and Rebecca together. I made it as far as Rebecca on her knees in front of him before I slammed the mental door closed. No sense torturing myself.

"I like your hands." Rebecca picked up my other hand and held it up to her face. "You have strong hands. Long fingers." She traced the veins running across the back of my hand, then down over my knuckles. "What did you do before you became a history professor?"

My hand stilled on her arm, the fingertips just shy of her breast. "I worked with my dad. He was a farmer in Texas."

"I thought so." She kissed the row of calluses on my palm, the ones I'd never lost despite years in a classroom. "You have manly hands. I like them." A sexy huskiness crept into her voice. "I like when you touch me with them."

A pounding knock slammed the front door. Cole shoved his way into the house, eyes wild and hair standing on end like he'd run all the way. "I'm here."

"Great." Ethan snapped the book shut. "Let's figure this shit out for real this time."

Rebecca started to rise.

"Stay." It wasn't an order as much as me begging because I didn't want to stop touching her.

She relaxed with a quiet sigh. "It's hard to be serious when I'm draped over you like a blanket."

"I like it." I kissed her forehead.

Cole's eyes narrowed. "What's going on?"

"Ethan and I had sex. Now we're trying to decide what happens. Do we go back to ignoring each other or" —Rebecca waved between all of us— "are we giving this a shot?"

"I vote give it a shot." I raised my hand. Rebecca's laugh bounced against my stomach.

"Before we go all in, I need to talk to Rebecca." Cole followed the line of her body with a scorching look. "Alone."

This time when Rebecca pushed to sitting, I let her go. The look on Cole's face held enough seriousness that I followed her up. "Why?"

"We'll explain later." Cole took her hand and pulled her through the kitchen. His head lowered to her ear. His whispered words were too low for me to hear, but the look on Rebecca's face spiked my pulse.

I took a step toward them. Ethan slapped a hand to my chest. "This only works if we trust each other."

"Easy for you to say," I snapped back. He was right, and I hated him for being right. Stiffening, I crossed my arms. "Fine. What's your plan, then? Are we making out a calendar? Do we each get two nights a week? I need details."

"We haven't figured anything out yet." Ethan ran a hand through his hair and knelt to pat Fitz when he planted his paws on Ethan's leg and barked. "I fucked up when I said we should back off. And it's my fault you didn't know about today. Rebecca asked if we should tell you. I convinced her to wait."

"Why?"

Raised voices from the kitchen snatched my attention back to Rebecca. She'd gone pale, her hand to her mouth and her eyes wide. What the fuck had he said to her?

Cole hugged her, and when she melted into him, the pain in my chest eased. "Why were you afraid to tell me?"

"I wanted to be alone with her this one time." Something in his expression, the vulnerability of the moment, stopped me from getting pissed.

I could understand. "I don't think there's any rule that says we all have to be there every time." I made myself smile. "Pretty sure we get to make up our own rules."

None of us had ever been in a relationship like this. My earlier questions came back to me, and I grinned at Ethan. "Maybe we'll need that calendar, after all."

"Maybe not." Ethan jerked his chin toward the kitchen. "That looks ominous."

Cole draped his arm over Rebecca's shoulders, and they walked back into the living room. The kitchen light haloed around her head, catching on her hair and making me want to make love with her right there in the morning when sunlight poured in through the windows. I wanted her bathed in light.

"There's something I need to tell you." Spine straight and hands clasped loose at her stomach, Rebecca stepped out from Cole and approached me. "I should have told you before, but since we broke things off, I thought it wouldn't matter anymore. Now that we're… talking, you should know that I think you used to date my stepmother."