35. Zac

THIRTY-FIVE

zac

WOW. WHAT A week.

I'd never gotten excited about spring break in the past, as a week of drunk revelry was not really my idea of fun. But a week living out every single fantasy I'd ever had—and some I didn't even know I had—might've just turned spring break into my favorite holiday ever.

One thing was for certain—I'd never be able to think of this time of the year again without visions of East and King walking shirtless on a beach, dancing in the moonlight, and rolling around naked on every possible surface of the island retreat.

It'd been the best week of my life, and as I looked across the private plane to where the two men responsible for that sat, I realized I didn't want it to end.

Which was insane, of course. And not at all plausible.

Out here, we were a world away from who we were back in the city. The titles and relationships we had with one another had melted away, leaving us to write on a blank page what we wanted to happen.

But the second we set foot back in Astor, East would revert to the leader of the Park Avenue Princes, the obnoxious pain in my ass. And King would become Professor Kingston, my boss and mentor, and possible leader of some organization who had their eye on me.

It was a strange predicament I now found myself in, yet one I wouldn't change for the world. King had said a week. That was all this would be. And no matter how much I wished it could be more, I knew the other two weren't interested.

"You're being very quiet over there." East stretched his legs and ran his foot up the inside of mine. "Worried you might get in trouble with your professor for not finishing your homework over the break?"

God, if someone had told me a week ago that East's outlandish mouth would be a source of comfort and normalcy for me, I would've told them they'd lost their mind. But his ability to make a tense situation less than with his sarcasm was something I was really coming to lo— like about him.

A rumbling chuckle left the man in question, as King's eyes found mine from across the plane. "I'm sure his professor will understand if he explains what he was doing instead."

East gasped and brought a hand to his mouth, then in his best Southern accent drawled, "Why, Professor Kingston, that would not be proper at all."

King's mouth tugged into that delicious smirk I'd forever associate with him now. It was a slow, sensual pull of his lips that usually resulted in something sinful coming out of them.

"You're probably right, but I'm sure he wouldn't complain."

Wait—so did that mean he was okay with us talking about this once we landed?

"Aww." East leaned over the arm of his chair and stroked his hand down King's thick bicep. "You're going to miss us. That's sweet."

King grunted and gave a slight shrug. "The way it has to be."

That tiny semblance of hope that had crept in for a second instantly deflated at those words. No, it wasn't going to be okay to talk about this once we got home.

This was not going to be easy.

How was I ever supposed to look at King and not want to kiss him or put my hands on him? To not have the freedom to do so?

And East… It wasn't much different with him. We'd never put a timeline on our hookups, but if they continued, they'd still be a secret. The last thing he'd want was for his friends to find out about us.

"I don't like it." I blurted the words out before I could stop them. But if there was one thing that had changed over the last few days, it was that I felt more comfortable putting myself out there, even if I hadn't meant to do it in quite that way.

King met my eyes. "I know."

East averted his gaze, choosing to look out the window as he brought his drink to his lips. He probably couldn't wait to get off the plane and back to his life. He hadn't been able to get out of the bed with us fast enough yesterday, and there definitely hadn't been a repeat of our little slumber party last night. Not that I hadn't considered it. It'd been nicer than I'd expected to wake up tangled in East, but I also wasn't here for anything one-sided.

King had tried to tell me he could see our being more, but there was no way in hell East would ever consider opening himself up enough to be in a real relationship.

Relationship.

The word was unfamiliar even in my own mind. I'd had a few short ones over the years that probably would fit better in the generic "dating" category, but I'd been too busy the last couple of years with school, learning the family business, and assisting King, and any other professor that asked for my help, that it didn't leave much time for anything more than a hookup. Something that seemed to suit East too.

Like he could feel my inner turmoil, King moved to the seat beside me and reached for my hand. He laced his fingers through mine and brought our joined hands up to his mouth, pressing a kiss to my knuckles.

"Everything will work out the way it's supposed to," he said.

I nodded, unable to speak with the small display of affection he was showing me—that East was trying and failing miserably not to notice.

"What about when we graduate?" East said out of the blue. "No one can say shit if none of us are at Astor anymore."

I looked at King to gauge his reaction, and he shook his head once. "It's probably not a smart idea."

"Whoever said we needed to be smart?"

" I always have to be smart. And think ahead."

East clamped his mouth shut, clearly getting the message, but then he couldn't seem to help himself. "So this week was you thinking ahead, huh?"

King lowered our hands and pulled his arm back from mine. "I wasn't thinking with any part of my head this week." He paused. "Not the one on my shoulders, anyway."

"Do you regret it?" The words were out of my mouth before I even realized I was going to say them, and now I wasn't sure I wanted the answer.

King settled back into his seat beside East and shook his head. "Not a second of it."

I wasn't sure if that made me feel better or worse. Now that I'd had this time with them, I didn't know how I was supposed to just forget about it.

"Me either," East said, eyeing me with a cheeky grin. "Especially knowing that tan of yours is all over now. Whenever I look at you back at Astor, I'm going to think about you lying under the sun working on those hard-to-reach tan lines."

I chuckled, East's words somehow managing to break through the clouds that had started to roll in with my mood. "Well, whenever I see you , I'm going to remember how nice it was to have someone other than me be able to shut you up."

East's eyes shifted to King's lap, and he licked his lips. "Me too."

I kicked his foot. "I meant in general, not with?—"

"His delicious cock?"

King and I both shook our head at his utter absurdity, but again, it was nice to be distracted from the inevitable.

I glanced at the watch King had put back on after leaving it off for a week.

Eight fifteen p.m.

T-minus thirty minutes until reality set back in, and our time in Wonderland was over.