Page 60 of All of Us

I was so happy. Should I feel bad about dating two men? We were all adults, and this was normal for people; it wasn’t something that I had ever done, though. At this point, I was ready to embrace it and see how things turned out.

I ran into the bunkhouse, where I showered, changed, and grabbed some stuff in case I spent the night at Dusty’s again. It wasn’t long before I knocked on his door. As soon as he opened it, I was overwhelmed by his bright eyes and gorgeous body, on display in nothing but pajama pants. The smile he gave me made a ton of butterflies take flight. It was a beautiful thing that I would love to experience a thousand more times. He was gorgeous, sweet, and seeing him felt like I was finally home.

He opened his arms to me. I walked into them and pulled him hard against me. When he looked up, I more than happily gave him the kiss he had silently asked for. Everything felt right with our arms around each other.

“Did you have a good day?” I asked before I went back in for another kiss. This time, he deepened it, and my toes curled in my boots.

“It was good. I made a sizable dent in my things to do pile.”

“Get comfortable, there is pizza on the way. I hope you still like sausage, onion, and extra cheese.” I turned and looked at him. All these years later, he remembered my pizza toppings—he liked mushrooms, pepperoni, and ground beef.

I took off my boots and settled onto the couch. He handed me a Dr. Pepper, then sat next to me. “You know it feels like you are still my best friend. Nobody has filled that role all these years. I mean, other than your namesake.”

He thought for a bit. “You know what. It’s the same for me. Montgomery and I are pretty close, though, but it’s not quite best friend range.”

We spent the rest of the night talking and laughing. Eventually, he grabbed my hand and asked me to share his bed. His body was amazing, and I loved being buried in him, making him beg and then scream my name. When we were done, I rolled off him, happy and sated for the moment. It was fun, and that was the best part of being with him. No pressure—it was fun and felt good.

“I’m really glad you’re back in my life, Jacob.” That made me smile.

“It feels really good to be in your life again.” He squeezed my hand, and I squeezed back.

I loved this man; it was uncharted territory, but grown-up Dusty was as great as the teenage one. Getting to know him was fun, and hanging out with him was natural. Before long, my eyes grew heavy, and I pulled him against my chest. It felt right having him in my arms as I fell asleep.

Chapter twenty-two

JOE

It felt like it had been forever since I watched the two men I was dating reunite. Both had shared their feelings about the other with me. Once my brain caught up to what I had witnessed, it felt as if I had lost them both instantly. Montgomery went full big brother mode as soon as he realized what had happened—he was the only person who knew my relationship with them.

I didn’t handle the situation well. My chest had felt like it was being crushed, and I was unable to breathe. It took some time to make sense of the situation, but I ran into the house to escape\. I heard them yell for me, then try to follow, but Mont told them to figure things out between them before they went after me.

When I burst through the front door, Arthur and their dragons all surrounded me, helped me to the couch, and asked what was wrong. That was when I had to tell my brother that I was involved with two men. Then I explained what they had both told me separately about the person they had a bond with but had lost, which caught him up to why I was now in his living room hyperventilating.

When both of them reached out to me the following day and wanted to spend time with me, the hope that had vanished returned. I knew at some point I needed to let my heart free to fall for one of these men, but I wasn’t ready.

It was almost 2:00 p.m., and Gentry would be here to pick me up. There were knots in my stomach as I paced back and forth. I kept telling myself to be cool because what I really wanted to do was pin him to the wall and kiss the shit out of him, but I had no idea if we were still in that place.

There was no way I could even pretend I hadn’t missed him. We’d been getting to know each other better, and I knew he was charming and sweet. Our emotional connection grew stronger whenever we were together, and the physical connection was amazing. I was now fantasizing about being topped, and Gentry was the one I wanted in me.

Even though I tried not to think about it, I wondered if he and Dusty had been together. It didn’t bother me like I thought it would. After all, I had been with both men. What surprised me was that, over the last few days, when I lay in bed and thought about them, I felt left out. If they were together, I was okay with it, but I wanted to know. Something inside me kept saying I wanted to be part of it, not physically because I wasn’t interested in that, but to be included.

I heard the gravel under the truck tires, and I tried not to bust out the front door at a full run. Instead, I tried to casually open the door but ended up hitting it against the wall, then walked away too fast, tripping on the bottom step. Denying that I missed him and that I was happy he was here was useless.

His smile made my stomach do back flips, and my heart did some sort of dance. All those feelings made it obvious I had fallen for him.

“Hi there, sexy.” He said it easily, as if we greeted each other this way all the time.

“I’ve really missed you.” He handed me a bouquet of red and pink roses.

“I’ve missed you, too. These are gorgeous, come in while I put them in some water.”

“I have one more thing in my car, let me go get it.” He turned and jogged back to his truck.

When he returned, he held a cake box from a local bakery. He lifted it, and inside was what looked like a cheesecake, but each slice was a different flavor.

“You remembered that I like cheesecake?”

He nodded. “Of course, I remember everything you tell me, Joe. You are very special to me.”