43. A Couple of Addendums

Hollis

I race up the steps, tapping the wooden railing on the porch, breathing out hard and victoriously.

"How's that for a streak?" Spinning around, I hold my arms out wide. "But really, I don't even need to gloat. It's too easy beating you guys every single time."

"And yet you gloated anyway," Rhys remarks as he flies across the yard, joining me seconds later.

Gavin's next, finishing the Saturday morning run, which turned into a race, naturally. A race I won, since I always do with them.

"It's okay," Gavin says dryly. "Men who need to gloat…"

I fold my arms across my chest. "Men who need to gloat…what? Have small feet?" I challenge. "You've seen my feet, and they're as spectacular as the rest of me."

"You think I was looking at you last night?" Gavin retorts as I tap in the code to unlock the door, excited to see Briar again.

"No, man. I just think my dick is impossible to miss," I say as I swing open the door. Briar was still sound asleep in her bed when we woke, so we texted her that we were going out for a run and that the first guy back would get to kiss her.

Donut's bouncing already behind it, jumping up to say hi. I give her a pat on the head, then a scratch on the chin while Briar leans against the counter, drinking a fruit smoothie, looking like all my sex dreams come to life.

My heart stutters. Then it does a race of its own, like it's trying to run to her. Or maybe I'm just amped up from the run. That must be it. But damn, she's pretty, so laid-back and carefree, dressed in sky-blue exercise clothes.

"Yes, Hollis's dick is fantastic," she says, setting down the tumbler.

I pump a fist.

"Briar, love. Wouldn't you say I have really big feet?" Rhys calls out as he enters the cottage right behind me.

"So big you need clown shoes," she says to Rhys as I close the distance to her and stop a foot in front of the beauty, my pulse speeding up all over again in double time. "I won. Do I get a morning kiss?"

She eyes me up and down, as if she's appraising my sweat-soaked shirt, the sheen on my face.

"C'mon. Sweat is sexy, baby," I goad.

Shaking her head, she grabs my shirt with her free hand. "No, what's sexy is you guys carrying me to my bed last night. Walking my dog this morning and putting her back in bed with me. Making me this smoothie. Letting me sleep in. So this kiss is for all that."

She drops her mouth to mine and kisses me hard, making my head spin with lust. Don't want to get her all sweaty, so I set a hand on the counter behind her, then give her a kiss that says I can't stop thinking about her.

I gather her hair in my other hand and pull it—not too hard, but just hard enough to jerk her head back more.

Something I'm learning she likes.

To surrender.

To give in. To be…consumed.

She murmurs into my mouth and I swallow the sound, then somehow find the will to wrench away.

When I stop, she blows out a breath. "Wow."

My chest swells with pride. That's the real streak I don't want to break—making her happy.

"How was your run?" she asks, like she's getting her bearings after that kiss.

Gavin strides past us and into the kitchen. "Good. Hollis beat us by five seconds, but I guess he usually comes first."

I turn around and stare him down. "Oh no you didn't."

Gavin flashes an evil smirk as he pours a glass of water. Rhys swings by to drop a quick kiss on Briar's cheek, like he's sneaking one in. She says hi to him and glances at Gavin. Hmm. He didn't kiss her. Not sure why. She stands straighter, looks around, like she's checking the mood. Maybe before she says something?

Shit.

Was last night a one-and-done? Did she want one night with all of us and that was it? The second that thought lands in my mind, I want to ball it up and toss it in the trash. That won't do. I need so much more than what we've already had.

No idea how the other guys feel since we deliberately didn't discuss her on the run this morning. When Rhys brought her up on the way back to the house, asking what would be next, I said I felt weird discussing that without her around. Making sex plans was entirely different.

But now we're here and I need to know where she stands, stat. "So, I was thinking?—"

"Guys we should talk," she says at the same time, then gestures to me. "You go first."

I shake my head, hiding my worry that she's had enough. "No. You. Ladies first."

"What do you want to talk about?" Rhys asks, and he sounds strung tight too.

"About…us," Briar says, chin up, confident. "This project. After last night, I thought we should discuss it and what's next. Like, for tonight."

All my tension vanishes. I'm so damn proud of her instead. I wrap my arms around her waist and lift her up. "You fucking rock."

She laughs. "Why?"

"Two days ago you didn't want to talk about orgasms, and look at you now. Having one with us unlocked you, baby."

She rolls her eyes, but she's smiling as I put her down.

Gavin's not though. His brow is creased. "You. Never. Had. One?"

"Not with another person," she says. "Until the night before, and then last night."

"Oh. Well. That's good," he says, his lips twitching, like he's excited.

Well, yeah.

I rub my palms, ready to get down to business. "Last night. Tonight. What is on your mind?"

"The three of us set down the rules the other night. You, Rhys, and me," she says to me. "It seems we have an extra person so maybe we need an addendum. For the rest of this…boyfriend project."

It's like a noose tightens around my chest from the reminder. The first few days have flown by too fast. They can't be ending this soon. But yet, the calendar doesn't lie. It's Saturday. On Wednesday morning we take off. We have a charity thing in Chicago with the children's hospital there, then a stretch of road games that begins in the Windy City.

There's a heavy pause in the cottage, like we were all just slapped with the realization that this ends very, very soon. A darkness passes across Rhys's eyes. Gavin's mouth is a ruler. And Briar gives a little sigh.

But the clock only spins forward. "Time's a ticking," I say, trying to keep the mood light.

"It is," Briar says, then gestures to the table.

We sit and I grab a sheet of paper from a notebook that the property manager left here and a pen. "What's that for?" Gavin asks.

"It's paper," I say. "You use it to write things down. Like words and stuff."

"No shit. But what are you doing?"

"Making a new list of rules since you're the addendum."

Gavin's quiet for a beat, then nods, his expression somber. "Right. Of course."

Ah, shit. I realize what's going on. He's not giving me a hard time for fun. He's the guy who's never negotiated sharing a woman before. That's why he didn't kiss her a few minutes ago. This is new terrain for him. I ease up on the teasing, patting his shoulder. "Hey, this'll help. It'll be good to get everything out in the open. Okay?"

"Yeah. Sure. That's how it's done, right?" It's said earnestly, and I'm proud of him too—for being vulnerable and asking that kind of question.

"Communication is key," I say, then look to the blue-eyed beauty across from me, eager to learn what's on her mind. No, make that downright antsy. I want to know everything about her. Everything she wants. So we can give it to her. "What do you have in mind, baby?"

She's like a new woman. This is not the Briar who sorted wooden spoons when I called her on faking it. "Well, first," she begins, "it ends on Wednesday when the three of you leave. Like we talked about."

My chest twinges. A dull ache. Maybe that's from the run. "Right, done," I say, staying businesslike. Don't want to think about the end right now. Then I add a rule of my own. "We need to be safe and communicate. Like we've done so far."

"Like you and I did the first night," she adds.

Gavin's brow knits again.

Shit. I've been a bad friend. A bad leader. I give him an apologetic look. "Briar and I hung out the first night. Before you got here."

I brace myself for any fallout.

Gavin chuckles. "Yeah, I figured that already."

I blink. "You did?"

He flaps a hand at me. "Dude. You got her a sex toy. Yeah, I fucking figured."

Rhys cracks up, dropping his face into his palm. "You're so obvious, Bouchard."

"I guess that was a dead giveaway," Briar deadpans.

I hold out my hands in surrender. "I suppose it was," I say, then move things along. "Boundaries is another guideline. If someone doesn't want something, he or she will say it." Everyone nods, then Briar adds, "Here's one of mine. I'm on birth control, but I want to use condoms."

"Noted," I say, then I add, "And consent. Like last night when Gavin asked if Briar wanted to be spanked."

Briar's eyes sparkle. "I liked that."

"Good," Gavin says quietly.

Rhys clears his throat. "Here's a guideline. If someone wants to be alone with Briar, they don't need anyone else's permission. Just hers."

Doesn't surprise me that he says that. I just hope the man doesn't fall in love with her. That'd be a mess.

She doesn't want anything more, and as easy as it would be to fall for her—the easiest thing in the world since she's a feisty, strong, badass babe I can't get out of my head—falling is a bad idea.

"That works for me," she says, and I write those rules down too.

But there's something I want as well. I look her in the eyes. "I want you to win the ‘what makes a great boyfriend' contest. I want you to get that prize money, show that jackass he can't steal your ideas, and then show all those dudes who read his site how to treat a woman well." I go for the kill. "Which means I want us to romance you too. Show you how a good boyfriend would do that. That work for you?"

Briar smiles, wide and bright, like it comes from the center of her soul. "Lucky me. I have three boyfriends this week to teach me."

Her response makes my heart beat fast again. Makes my skin go all warm. Makes me want to just tell her she's kind of amazing. Ah, hell. I can't just worry about my friends. I've got to look out for myself, too, since I'd better not fall in love with her either.

I really better not. Especially when she says to the other guys, "Does that work for you two? To romance me with Hollis?"

Rhys doesn't bother to hide a smile. The man is too far gone. "Yes."

Gavin gives a nod. "Same."

"Awesome," I say, writing that down, more excited than I'd expected to be. But the more we all give her, the more she seems to glow.

I set down the pen. "Are we good?"

Briar reads the list, then looks up. "I'm good."

But Gavin raises a finger. "I just have one condition."