19. Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

RILEY

H ot. I was too hot. The sweat on my arm stuck uncomfortably to the comforter.

I tried to kick the covers off but it was stuck on something. My foot made contact with a warm body.

Not something, someone. Memories of the last day came rushing back. Colton and Justin surprising me at the coffee shop, wanting a three-way relationship, eating dinner at my place, having sex.

My eyes flew open. The city lights cast a warm glow into the dark bedroom from where I had forgotten to pull the shades closed. The soft light illuminated the faces of the sleeping men on either side of me. I turned my head slightly. In sleep, the hard edges of Justin's face melted away and he looked content. The covers were low across his chest as he lay on his back, arm stretched above my head.

I turned my head to the otherside. Colton had the covers pulled up to his chin like he was cold. I couldn't understand how. He was like a furnace. Sweat was beading on my upper lip and there was no falling back to sleep like this. I carefully extricated myself from the covers, slipping down to the foot of the bed. I'd figure out sleeping arrangements when I got back.

I padded into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water. Taking small sips, I let the cool liquid slide down my throat and cool off my body temperature. I picked up the empty takeout containers littered on the coffee table and stuffed them into the trash.

Entering the bathroom through the living room door, I softly clicked the bedroom door shut and turned on the light above the sink. I went to the bathroom and washed my hands. I grabbed a washcloth from under the sink and wet it, patting my face with the cool cloth. Clicking the light off, I opened the bedroom door. Justin blinked sleepily at me, the remote for the overhead ceiling fan in his hand. The ceiling fan circled on low but I could already feel the heat in the room from the extra bodies dissipate.

He rolled into the middle spot and crooked a finger at me. I hesitated only for a moment but then climbed back into the bed. It should have been weird to slide in next to him but like with Colton, things with Justin just seemed easy.

"Colton's always been a furnace," he whispered sleepily, shoving the comforter over onto Colton and lifting the sheet for me to slip under. He really was and usually it wouldn't be too bad but with another extra body in the bed, I was roasting.

I lay on my side facing him and he pressed a sleepy kiss to my forehead. His eyes were already fluttering shut as he slid a hand on my hip. The comforting weight and the cooler air lulled me back to sleep.

The next time I woke up, the bed was empty but I could hear clattering in the kitchen. I turned and picked up my phone from the bedside table. I blinked at the time. 9:00 AM? I didn't usually sleep this late.

Messages from Ryan popped up on my phone .

I'm assuming by the fact that you haven't texted me about my box-stacking skills you aren't at the office yet.

Not that you should be at the office.

Nor should you be answering me.

You should be getting dick. Lots of dick.

I'm going to stop texting you now so you can get the dick.

I rolled my eyes and opened my messages to respond to him.

Slept in. Don't want to know about the boxes.

My fingers hesitated and then I typed a message I knew would make his day.

Slept in because of the dick last night.

The flurry of emoji's I got in return had me laughing.

Think I'm going to go back with them. Maybe stay for a while.

YASSSS GIRL. GO. GET. THE. DICK. - Ryan

Ryan was definitely on board with this plan. I didn't know when we were leaving but I figured the guys probably couldn't miss that much work. I didn't even know who they had covering for them while they were both here with me. Maybe Jake?

I'm bringing you some boxes. I can ship whatever you need when I ship out the special editions. I'll be there in thirty with boxes and donuts!

I didn't even bother to protest. Ryan wouldn't listen to me anyways. I sighed. Probably best to get dressed and go warn the guys.

When I padded into the kitchen, both of them looked up, coffee mugs in their hands. Justin held out an arm and I accepted a hug from him before Colton stole me away. I half-expected things to be awkward in the daylight but instead they felt so right and comfortable that I knew I made the right decision.

"We were going to make you breakfast but you don't have much in the fridge." Colton told me, nuzzling his cheek against my hair.

"Well, Ryan's apparently bringing over boxes and donuts in thirty minutes. I might have spilled the beans that I was going back with you."

Justin's smile was devastating and I swallowed hard .

"Good," Colton murmured, pressing a quick kiss to my lips.

Justin came up and sandwiched me between them and I sighed, burying my head into Colton's chest. We just stood there for a few minutes and I soaked it in. This was real, it was really happening. I had found not one but two men that I wanted to be in a relationship with and they wanted me too. It felt like a dream I didn't want to wake up from.

Colton pressed a kiss to my forehead. "I'm going to grab a quick shower before he gets here." He transferred me into Justin's arms and I went willingly, almost like I was still a little sleep drunk.

Justin chuckled, his chest rumbling against my ear. "Do you want any coffee?"

I sighed. "I guess."

He laughed and nudged me towards one of the bar stools. "Go, sit and I'll make it for you."

I sank into the seat as he made me a cup of coffee, setting the cream and sugar in front of me so I could fix it how I liked. He studied how I made it like he was committing it to memory. He came and sat down next to me and we finished our coffee in silence but it was a comfortable silence. When I was finished, he took the mugs from me and I headed into my bedroom closet to retrieve my suitcase.

Loud knocking echoed through the apartment and I hurried to the door. Colton was still getting dressed in the bedroom and Justin had hopped into the shower.

Ryan stood in the door frame with a box from a local bakery in one hand and a stack of boxes under his other arm. He was dressed in dark skinny jeans and a periwinkle silk shirt.

"Where are your delicious Kentucky boys?" He asked, blowing past me and dropping the boxes on the back of the couch.

"They're in the bedroom," I rolled my eyes. "Good morning to you too. Want a cup of coffee?"

"I'll get it."

Ryan had been at my apartment many times before and he made himself at home in my kitchen, getting a cup of coffee started and plating up my favorite donut, a chocolate frosted donut with peanut butter drizzle.

"Alright, spill." Ryan said once I had my first bite. "I fully expected coming in here having to convince you to leave with them and you've already gotten there without me."

I placed my donut back on the plate as nervous butterflies fluttered in my stomach at his words. "I mean…" I started out. "I mean it makes sense. I don't– I don't really have much tying me here outside of the office and you. I don't know. Maybe I am crazy for considering moving."

"Nope," Ryan shook his head. "We're not talking ourselves out of this. We'll always be friends t but you're right, you don't have much of a life here." He said gently, giving me a look like he knew I knew he was right. "You have a chance to build a real life there with them and you deserve it. Go and live your life."

"I just bought this place six months ago," I said, not really in protest but more as a thought.

Ryan shrugged. "So? Sell it or sublet it. And we both know that you only bought this place to prove to them that you could."

The ‘them' he was referring to were my parents.

He looked towards the bedroom door and lowered his voice. "Have you talked to them and told them about?" He tilted his head towards the bedroom door.

I shook my head. My parents and I didn't speak that often. It was for the best. Nothing I ever did or achieved was enough for them. I had spent most of my life– well all of my life if I was honest– trying to prove my value to them but it never worked. After I left my marketing job to start writing full time, they let me know loud and clear what a mistake they thought I was making and how I shouldn't come crawling to them for support. Not that they had ever supported anything in my life. But it was the straw that broke the camel's back so to say and our conversations dwindled to a few phone calls a year .

"Christmas is still six months away." I said, referencing the time of year I usually called my parents or suffered through a trip to Michigan where they lived.

Ryan scowled like he usually did when my parents were mentioned. "Go," he said. "Go and build a life with them and if that's far away from here, all the better."

"We've only known each other a few months," I murmured. "Isn't it too soon to be moving in with them?" It was a question that had danced in my mind since Colton brought it up yesterday. The guys had seemed so confident and I was like eighty percent there but the other twenty percent of myself had doubts.

"I don't think so. It's not like you're eighteen. You're thirty-three and you're all adults who know what you want and let me tell you something, they want you."

The conviction in his voice had my eyes watering unexpectedly. "You think?" I hated how my voice sounded when I said that, thready and weak.

He grabbed one of my hands and squeezed. "I know. They look at you like you hung the moon. You've been running a thousand miles a minute since I met you, always trying to prove something to someone. The question isn't do you think this will work, it's are you willing to stop and let them catch you?"

Fuck, he made a good point. I had been on my own for so long, constantly chasing success to prove to my family that I was enough, that I could make it on my own. Colton and Justin were showing me what it was like to be with someone who just wanted me for me. I just had to be brave enough to let them catch me.

I sighed. "I want to try."

Ryan nodded. "Good. Then let's get packing."