Chapter Thirteen | Chad

I was in the kitchen when Skylar walked in through the door after spending two nights at Owen's. It had been strange at first, imagining him sleeping over there and not in our bed. To be honest, I had wept the first night. By the second night, I'd pulled myself around.

Images of Skylar fucking Owen got me through.

"How's my burly bear?" Skylar joined me in the kitchen and wrapped me up in his arms. He rocked me back and forth, his gaze wandering all over my face as if my features constituted the most exquisite piece of art he'd ever beheld. I placed my hands around his waist and nuzzled his neck, inhaling. He smelled like the natural pine soap he kept in his toiletry bag.

"I've been up since 4 am for some reason." I swept my arm to draw Skylar's attention to the counter on the far side of the kitchen. "I made pies."

Skylar laughed as he surveyed all five of them. "You certainly did."

"We have two apple, two peach, and one blueberry. Had to stop. Ran out of fruit."

"I wouldn't mind a piece of the blueberry pie with my morning coffee."

"You didn't have coffee at Owen's?" It was 7 am. Maybe he'd snuck out while Owen was sleeping. That wouldn't be like him. He'd probably railed Owen before leaving him this morning .

"I spent Thursday morning with him. I wanted to get home to you this morning."

"Mm … my sweet man." Skylar had a way of making me feel special.

"I need you to kiss me."

He didn't need to ask twice. I gripped his face and welcomed him home with my lips. I had considered his cock would probably be worn out . I released his mouth without making any moves to entice him into the bedroom. We had plenty of time.

"I told Owen I'm in love with him." Skylar perched his ass on the edge of a stool. He held my hands in his lap, waiting for me to say something, his thick lashes slowly blinking.

"How did that go?"

"He said it back then we made love as often as we could."

My breath hitched. Made love . That felt strange. My husband had made love to someone else.

"Was the sex good?"

"I don't feel comfortable talking about that unless Owen says it's all right."

Fair enough.

"I want to talk about something else too." Skylar squeezed my hands. "It's about you and Owen. I know we touched on this already, but I'd like you both to smooth things over."

I exhaled hard. "I said I was willing, but do I have to?"

"Like I said, I think the two of you would be good for one another. Plus, I'd like it if I didn't have to keep my relationships with you both completely separate."

"You want us all to hang out?"

"Someday, maybe." Skylar pulled my hands to him, causing me to shuffle forward until I was within his thighs. He tightened them on my hips. "Or you could pursue more with him. "

I tipped my head. "Because the sexual tension is thick between us."

"What if I gave you a green light to explore where that tension might take you?"

"Did you bring this up with Owen?"

"I did. He's willing to try and mend things with you."

"And what about the more ?"

"He said he'll think about it."

I blew a breath out. "Okay. Just keep in mind there might be nothing there once I get to know him better. I still think the guy is a prick. But you love him, so I'll try to get on with him."

Skylar nodded at me. "You can text him. He's awake."

"Right now?"

"Is there a better time you're thinking of?"

I nearly rolled my eyes. "No." I pulled out my phone.

Me: Hey.

Owen: Hey.

Me: Let's meet for coffee.

Owen: Sure. Tomorrow at 10. Salish Sea Café.

Me: Okay.

I tucked my phone back away. "All right, I did it. We're meeting for coffee."

Skylar relaxed. He'd been tense ever since he walked into our kitchen. This was important to him. I'd try to make it work. I might even ease up on pranking Owen.

I recognized the guy behind the counter at the coffee shop. Hard to forget those crazy shirts of his. I'd seen him talking to Owen at the Lion & Pheasant . Must be one of his friends.

Hence why Owen wanted to meet here .

It felt like an ambush.

I approached to place my order. The guy glared at me. "What can I get you, Chad?"

"A large medium roast with room for cream." I removed my wallet from my suit jacket pocket. "You have me at a disadvantage. I don't know your name."

"Ethan."

"Nice to meet you, Ethan. I'm not here to mess with your friend."

"You've messed with him plenty already. He's told me everything."

"The pranks?"

"That and the attack kiss."

My lip twitched. He knew about that too. "Owen kissed me back. He's not innocent."

"You've confused him. He's my best friend and I don't like that you're seeding all sorts of ideas in his head. I'm sure you know how he feels about your husband."

"Well, if I didn't, this would be a shit way to find out. Thanks for that."

Asshole.

Ethan walked away from the till to fill my cup once I tapped my credit card. He returned and set the ceramic cup on the counter with enough force that some spilled over the rim.

I took my coffee after muttering a few obscenities under my breath and went to fill the cup with cream. Something we didn't keep in the house but that I missed.

We had oat milk in our fridge.

I found a seat and waited for Owen. He was five minutes late. It annoyed me more than it should. He was starting us in a bad place. I hated it when people were late.

Then when he strolled in, he spent the next three minutes chatting and laughing with Ethan as though he was deliberately trying to piss me off. He'd seen me sitting here and hadn't even held eye contact. I almost stood and left. The urge was strong but then Owen was there, taking a seat across from me. "I was sitting here, waiting for you." I couldn't help myself.

"Sorry. Got tied up with a client. You know how that is."

I breathed hard out through my nose. What the hell were we going to talk about? Work? It seemed that's where Owen was going. What else could we possibly have in common?

"Any prospects for sales?" I asked.

"I have a few people who are in the stages of deciding which house they want to put an offer on. I should have a sale or two in the next couple of days."

"Me too, but it's been frustrating. I've shown one couple more than ten houses. I've exhausted the entire inventory of suitable properties."

"They might have to wait until the spring to find a new home."

"They're under contract with their house already. We're running out of time."

"Tight spot to be in."

I grunted. "Yeah." Then we fell silent and spent the next few minutes sipping our coffees. I decided to break the quiet. "So, elephant in the room. Skylar tells me the two of you are in love."

Owen set his cup down. "We are. Is that a problem?"

"I never said that. I'm just wondering where that leaves us."

"Where do you want it to leave us?"

"My husband wants us to bury our differences. Get along. I'm willing to try."

For Skylar.

"I'm on board with that. Can we start with ending the practical jokes?"

I nodded. "I'll stop."

"Baby steps. "

"What about that kiss of ours?" I was bursting with curiosity about what Owen would say.

"We'll leave that on the back burner. Let's try for a friendship of sorts for now."

I wrinkled my nose. "Agreed. Should we meet again soon?"

"How about dinner while Skylar is out of town? At Noah's pub."

"Are you going to keep me near your friends every time we meet?"

"I feel as though I need backup."

"Fine. Tuesday night work for you?" I asked.

"Let's meet at 7."

I'd need to forego my video call with Skylar, but he'd be pleased with the reason why. I rose from my seat. I'd barely touched my coffee. I wanted out of there. Being around Owen made me feel uncomfortable. A disconcerting combination of dislike and arousal.

"See you Tuesday night." I couldn't get out of there quickly enough. I drove back to the agency and locked myself away in my office. I didn't want to run into Owen again.

Two days after Skylar left Victoria for Toronto, I walked into the Lion & Pheasant . At least it was familiar surroundings. My colleagues often drank there after work.

Of course, Owen's friend Noah gave me the evil eye.

I sighed and looked around. Owen was in a booth by the windows. He had a pitcher of beer on the table. I'm assuming for both of us. He was settling in for the long haul.

"Chad," he said as I slipped onto the bench seating across from him.

"Owen." I lifted the menu. I was craving some kind of meat.

"The Shepard's Pie is good. I'm sure it's not often you get to eat lamb. "

"Skylar would be horrified if he found out." I set the menu down. "I'm going to get it."

"Me too." Owen lifted the pitcher and filled the second glass on the table.

"Thanks." I raised it to him to acknowledge I needed a drink.

"Where should we start?"

I leaned back and crossed my arms. "At the beginning. Tell me about your childhood."

"Not much to tell. Average middle-class family, struggling to make ends meet. Four boys. I'm the eldest. We're a blended family. My stepdad brought one of the boys with him."

"I grew up with younger siblings, too. Two brothers. One sister. They were a pain to deal with. We grew up on a farm so at least there were opportunities to get away from them."

"What kind of farm?"

"Canola and a small beef herd."

"Whereabouts? Skylar said he met you in Calgary."

The server came by, far too bubbly, and we placed our food order.

"That was later," I replied to Owen. "I grew up just outside Moosejaw, Saskatchewan in a small town that's too insignificant to even mention. Just a gas station and a convenience slash liquor store." I took a long draw off my beer. "Started working on the farm when I was seven."

Owen's eyes opened wide. "Seven?"

"Yup. Farm kids start young. Was driving a truck by the time I was eight. I could back that sucker into a barn with a trailer on the back without bother."

"Jeez, that's insane."

I shrugged. "That was my life. Mornings feeding cattle. Days at school. Evenings helping with whatever else needed to be done. I was being groomed to take over the farm. "

"What happened? Why didn't you take that on?"

"The gayness happened."

Owen furrowed his brow. "That negates you from being able to run a farm?"

I clung to my pint glass. "That negates me from being part of the family."

"They kicked you out of the family?" Owen leaned back. "Seriously?"

"Both me and my brother Harold. He's gay too. We came out to them together."

Owen leaned forward again. "And they said you were out of the family?"

"Kicked me out of the house too. They gave me less than an hour to gather my things and find somewhere else to go. Luckily, I had a buddy who knew I was gay. We'd dated briefly."

"And Calgary?"

"I didn't feel welcome in my community anymore. I needed a fresh start."

"Not exactly a gay-friendly place to move to."

"I didn't know that. I just knew I wanted out of Saskatchewan." I heaved out a breath. This was the most I had told someone new about my life in one sitting. "I ran a cattle ranch there for a while. Once my contract was done, I decided to look around at other careers. What I thought was temporary turned out to be the passion I've been missing out on all my life."

"Sales."

"Yup. The hustle spoke to me. Then Skylar came into my life and encouraged me to follow a dream I'd been having of being a real estate agent. I put my ass in gear and got my license."

"And moved to Victoria."

"I heard the gay community was strong here. "

Owen nodded. "You picked the right city for that. Plus, we have the incredible scenery."

"And amazing weather." I smiled at Owen. Talking to him was easier than I thought it would be. "Did you always want to be a real estate agent?"

"No, actually, my stepdad was grooming me to take over his auto mechanic shop."

Seriously?

"You like to work on cars?" My heart fluttered around at the possibility.

"I love working on cars. I have a '67 Mustang in my garage right now I'm restoring."

My knee bounced with excitement. "My dad taught me how to work on the farm trucks. I used to love it. It was my favourite thing to do on the farm."

We sat back as our food was dropped off. It looked and smelled amazing. I loved Skylar to the end of time, but I missed eating meat. I often indulged when he wasn't home.

"Do you want to come by and check out the Mustang?"

"Really?" My eyebrows rose. I hadn't expected an invitation. "I'd love to check it out."

"Skylar flies in tomorrow night, so maybe we can meet next Monday after work?"

"I'll bring the beer."

Owen grinned at me. "Perfect."

The rest of dinner passed easily. We mostly talked about work. Owen veered into talking about his recent sketches, including the ones he'd done of Skylar. It felt good to include my husband in the conversation with Owen. We had an amazing man in common.

I left the pub feeling optimistic.

Owen's home wasn't as large as ours. But then Owen didn't have the added benefit of having a rich husband. Skylar had come from a lot of money. He didn't need to work.

Neither did I.

There was a separate garage off to one side of the house. Illuminating the evening winter dark, light poured out from beneath a small gap under the garage door.

I headed for the side entrance.

Warmth greeted me as I stepped inside. I was glad of Owen's insight into having a heated garage. I set the case of cold beer down on a workbench.

Owen looked up from his car at me. "Hey."

"You got a beer fridge in here?"

He pointed to a back corner of the garage. "Over there. Hand me one first, though."

I passed him a beer and then put the rest in the fridge after grabbing one for myself.

"What are you working on?"

"New engine mounts. The poor thing was shaking herself to pieces."

"Can I help?"

"I was hoping you would. Much easier with two of us."

And that is how we spent the next three hours, moving from one restoration job to another. The only reason we stopped is because Owen started yawning.

The whole time we were working on the car, we shared stories of our youth. I used to get into a lot of trouble. Owen did not. Which didn't surprise me. We were polar opposites.

Other than our love for Skylar.

And I suspected a mutual longing to please him.

Maybe we would have more in common than I could have expected.