Chapter 18

eighteen

T he next morning, Adam woke up to find himself tangled in the sheets with Serenity. He closed his eyes and tightened his grip on her. The scent of plumeria and the unique scent of Serenity. He opened his eyes again, he looked down at her. She slept like the dead as usual. He wanted nothing more than to slip into her again, but they had made love to her twice the night before. She needed her rest.

As carefully as he could, he slipped out of bed. After a quick trip to the bathroom, he slipped on a pair of board shorts and padded barefoot into the kitchen. The coffee had been brewed and one glance told him Mick was sitting on the back lanai. He filled a coffee cup up to the brim, took a sip, then headed out to sit with Mick. The sun was just peeking out over the horizon.

"Best view of the sunrise we've ever had."

Adam nodded as he took the seat next to Mick's.

"Looks like we might have some high winds tonight."

Which meant there was a chance that they could end up with power outages.

"Good thing we aren't planning on going anywhere," Adam said.

"And thank God we got that generator."

They sat in silence for a few moments watching the orange hues dance over the sky as the sun rose. Adam's mind went back to the night before. There had been something going on with Mick.

"So, you want to tell me about last night?"

Mick glanced at him, then back out over the beach to the water.

"What are you talking about?"

"You seemed a little possessed last night."

"Complaining?"

"Not one bit. But it wasn't just about sex last night."

For a long moment, he said nothing. He took a long sip of coffee. It was so unlike him that worry started to grow.

"Mick?"

"I just realized that I was in love with her last night."

Adam blinked. "You just realized that?"

Mick looked at him. "Yeah. What, you knew before I did?"

Adam chuckled. "Listen, you have always been obtuse but never to that extent."

"I didn't expect it to change so much."

The annoyance in Mick’s voice almost made Adam smile. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Again, hesitation. "It's not just us. It's been us for so long, and I thought that was what I wanted."

"I thought that was your plan all along. You wanted a permanent woman in our bed."

"I didn't plan for this, okay?" He got up and started to pace. "I didn't expect that I wouldn't just want you in bed with me. It was like we were missing a part of ourselves when we were on the job. She wasn't there and while we were together, it wasn't the same."

Adam smiled and leaned back in his chair. "So, you realize now that this is a big deal. You didn't before."

"I did. It's just that, I didn't think she would matter so fucking much in just a few weeks. I can't even think of what it was like before her. I don't want to."

"And that's why I didn't want to do it in the beginning."

Mick stopped his pacing. "What?"

"I knew it would change everything. Good and bad. I also knew there was a chance that all of us could end up hurt in the end. Long term threesomes are not always easy to deal with."

Mick shoved both of his hands through his blond hair. It was nice to see him so frustrated. Ninety percent of the time, Adam was the one who suffered. He often found himself at odds with everything his lover wanted to do. Every now and then, Mick had to deal with the situation, and it was gratifying that Adam got a chance to witness it.

"So, what do we do?"

"What do you mean? Because you're feeling vulnerable you're worried?"

"I..." he fell silent.

"Exactly. Think of it from her perspective. We've had a relationship for years. She's the one taking the chance."

A noise sounded behind him and he turned to find Serenity watching them through the screen door. She was wearing one of their white dress shirts and probably nothing else. Her hair was a tangle of curls over her shoulders.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but you two were being so loud.”

One glance in Mick’s direction told Adam he wasn’t ready to cover for them. So, he turned back to Serenity with a smile.

“No worries, love. You were the topic of discussion.”

She blinked. “That’s honest.”

“Why lie? You heard us. Get a cup of coffee and join us.”

She held up her hand to show she already had one. He motioned with his head.

She joined them, but she didn’t hurry. When she reached them on the lanai, she stood apart from them. Adam didn’t like that. If they were going to move on to a more established relationship, they were one unit. Not just them and her.

He stood, grabbed her hand, pulling her closer to him. Sitting back down, he said, “Sit down.”

She moved to the other seat that Mick had just vacated. They needed another seat.

“No, over here.” He patted his lap, then smiled up at her. Part of her stiffness seemed to dissolve, then she did as he requested.

“I don’t know what you heard. We haven’t done this before so we’re bound to fuck things up. We’re men.”

She sighed and raised her gaze to his. “I thought you said you had.”

“We played with women in threesomes. We never invited any of them into our lives.”

She glanced at Mick, who was still standing off to the side. “I…I’m not coming in between you?”

He shook his head as he skimmed his hand over her thigh, moving the bottom edge of the shirt up.

“Not at all. It is just new and different. And because we’re men, like I said, we fuck things up. See, Mick just realized he was in love with you.”

Her eyes widened as she looked over at Mick. He glanced over to find his lover looking out over the ocean again. Idiot.

When she looked back at him, there were tears in her eyes.

“That makes you sad?”

She shook her head. “I only have one friend in the world I know loves me for me. She never put a price on our friendship. It was a new thing for me. Now this.”

That was about the saddest thing in the world he’d ever heard. He had looked her up, saw that she had won a few awards, been nominated for a lot of fan favorite kind of things, and no one had ever said they loved her.

“What about your parents?”

“My parents were divorced and my mother…well, she saw me as a commodity. It was never that she just loved me for me. She loved me for what I could give her.”

He sensed that Mick was paying attention now.

“Well, then this is a first for you too.”

“What?”

“You have two men who are in love with you. In fact, I don’t think either of us wants to think about being without you in our lives.”

She blinked again, causing her tears to cascade down her cheeks.

“I’m sorry,” Mick said rushing forward.

She shook her head. “Don’t be. It makes me so happy.”

“Yeah?” Mick asked.

She nodded and sniffed. “I think I might be in love with you two, also.”

“You think?” Mick asked.

She shrugged. “I’ve never been in love before, so I guess this might be it. I feel happy most of the time, but also overwhelmed and scared.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I sound like an idiot.”

The next moment, Mick was kneeling beside them. He wrapped his arms around her.

“No. It’s normal and probably amplified because you’re dealing with two of us.” Mick pulled back and then cupped her face. “I love you, Serenity.”

Then he kissed her, long and deep. When he pulled back, Adam did the same.

“I love you, too.”

She sighed and opened her mouth. “No. You take your time.”

“Okay.” She scrubbed her face dry. “I’m hungry.”

Adam laughed. “Yeah, well so am I. I thought maybe we could go to Koko Head Café, after.”

“After what?”

Mick was already moving into the house.

“After I have a little taste of Serenity.”

He offered her a hand and she smiled. It was all he needed right now.

“Hmm, and I think I need a little taste of Mick and Adam.”

He laughed as he led her back into the house.