Cash looked startled. “Why wouldn’t we?”
“Because she’s involved with both of us.” He hesitated. “I don’t want you to think any less of her.”
“The only thing I think is that she’s wastin’ her time with you two losers,” Jackson said with a crooked grin. “The lady should’ve chosen me.”
With that, the Texan succeeded in lightening the mood, much to Dylan’s relief. “I’m pretty sure she made the right choice staying away from you,” he retorted. “Your good ol’ boy charm would’ve annoyed her eventually.”
“Never.” Hopping off his chair, Jackson headed toward the set of steps in the pool’s shallow end. “All righty, time for another dip.”
“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.” Seth took a last sip of beer and stood up. “Maybe a few laps will help me process all this.” Those gray eyes found Dylan’s. “I need you to know that I’m not judging the whole sharing-a-girlfriend thing. With that said, I really think this is gonna blow up in your face.”
“Noted.”
Seth stripped off his T-shirt and dove into the water, leaving Dylan alone with Cash.
Who immediately narrowed his eyes, lowered his voice and murmured, “There’s more to this whole arrangement, isn’t there?”
Dylan shrugged.
“You and Aidan… You’ve always been more than roommates, haven’t you?”
His hand was a little shaky as he picked up his beer. “Jen said something, huh?”
The surprise in Cash’s blue eyes didn’t look feigned. “Jen? What does she have to do with this?”
“She really didn’t tell you?” He suddenly felt like an ass for doubting Jen, who’d promised him time and again that she knew how to keep a secret, even from Cash.
“Jen knew that you and Aidan…?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, she didn’t say a word about it to me.” Cash hesitated. “So you swing both ways, huh?”
Dylan shot a discreet look at the pool, but Jackson and Seth were too busy racing each other to the deep end to pay him and Cash any attention.
“Yes,” he said in a quiet voice.
“Huh.” Cash nodded. “Cool.”
Cool?
That was it?
Dylan smothered a laugh and had to wonder why he’d bothered stressing about this conversation in the first place. He should’ve known his buddies would support him no matter what.
“Oh, and BTW, that night when I…” Dylan lowered his voice even further “…sucked you off…I wasn’t playing out some secret fantasy I’d been harboring about you. It was definitely a spur-of-the-moment thing, and more for Jen’s benefit than mine.”
“So, what, you tolerated having my dick in your mouth to please my girlfriend? Asshole.”
Dylan burst out laughing. “Are you seriously offended that I’m not into you in that way?”
“Well, why aren’t you?” Cash raised both eyebrows in defiance. “I’m way hotter than Aidan, I’ve known you longer. Oh, and I’m a generous lover. What’s not to like about that?”
“I honestly don’t know if you’re f**king with me right now.”
Cash broke out in a grin. “Mostly f**king with you.”
“Mostly?”
“Hey, you know I have a sensitive ego, bro. It needs stroking every now and then.”
“Uh-huh. I’m sure it’s your ego that needs stroking.”
“And look,” Cash added, his tone going somber, “I know it’s easy to brush off whatever Seth says because he’s such a smartass, but I think he’s got a point. You need to be careful, really know what you’re getting into before you commit to this. You know, dip your toe in the water before diving in. Check under the hood before you buy the car. Lick that little taste spoon at the ice cream parlor before ordering two scoops. Um, read the fine print before—”
“Holy shit, I get the point!”
“Hey D-Man, is McCoy bothering you?” Seth called from the pool.
“Yeah, but I can take him,” Dylan called back.
“You sure? Because I’d be more than happy to kick his ass for you. My punching bag at home doesn’t always let me release all my aggression, so I have no problem bashing his pretty face in.”
Cash grinned. “And that is why he’d never make it to Mordor.”
Dylan strode into the condo an hour later to find Claire and Aidan tangled together on the couch. Claire was on her back with her arms twined around his neck and her mouth glued to his, while a bare-chested Aidan lay on top of her, trim hips moving sensually as he ground his pelvis into hers.
Dylan watched in amusement for a moment, then cleared his throat.
Both their heads swiveled in his direction, their eyes hazy with passion.
“Am I interrupting something?” he asked politely.
Claire offered a sheepish grin. “We got bored waiting for you.”
“I can see that.”
“You joining us or what?” Aidan lifted one eyebrow.
“You know what? I think I wanna watch for a bit.”
Unzipping his fly, he headed for the armchair and twisted it around so he had a better view of the couch. He yanked his surf shorts down his hips, sat bare-assed on the chair and wasted no time fisting his hardening dick.
He gave his erection a few lazy strokes and waited for Claire and Aidan to resume fooling around, but they were just lying there watching him.