Of course it was Josiah who saw all of that. Josiah who put it into words. “Thank you. Are you ready to head back to the house?” he asked.
Josiah nodded. They grabbed Mateo and went back to the beach house. Once there, they laid down for a nap. Well, Mateo and Josiah did. Tristan lay awake beside them, thinking about the phone he had hidden, and the call he needed to make. What would the man find out for him? Would it have anything to do with these men who he needed so much?
At three, he woke up his lovers. “We need to get ready if we’re going to make our reservation.”
“Where are we goin’?” Mateo asked.
Tristan didn’t hesitate before saying, “Wine tasting. I told you I would convert you, and if there’s one thing I am, it’s a man of my word. Get up.” He stood before Mateo could argue with him. “We have dinner and wine tasting reservations. I reserved a private room for us. If you don’t find anything you like, I won’t ask you again.” He looked Mateo’s way and added, “But you’re going.”
He already shook his head, but it was Josiah who spoke. “Tristan’s right. You are.”
He knew it wasn’t the wine as much as the thing Josiah had mentioned in the souvenir shop.
“Nah. I’m sittin’ this one out. It’s all you guys.”
“Mateo,” Tristan warned. “You’re going.”
A brief spark went off in Mateo’s dark eyes. That initial reflex to fight, then desire, before he covered them both up.
“I brought clothes for you both to wear,” he said before Mateo could argue. Tristan went to his bag and pulled out the slacks he’d gotten for both of them, a black shirt, a white one, and then a simple black jacket for all of them.
Mateo opened his mouth, no doubt to argue, but Josiah grabbed onto his waist. “We can all be someone else for tonight. We can all belong to each other, out in the open. We need you with us, Teo.”
And because neither of them could ever deny Josiah anything, Mateo nodded his head.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Mateo
Mateo stood in the bathroom, looking at himself in the mirror. This was so fucked up. He tugged on the collar of the shirt, wondering how in the hell people breathed in these things. Wondering if people would take one look at him and know what a goddamned fake he was.
Why the fuck had Tristan insisted on this?
Mateo glanced over his shoulder when Jay stepped into the doorway. “I’ve never worn shit like this in my whole life.”
“It’s not that bad, Teo.” He could see that Josiah tried to bite back a smile. Tristan and Jay could have their damn suits as far as he was concerned.
“Maybe for you.” This time he let his eyes run the length of Josiah, the way the clothes molded against him. His blond hair and how it was the lightest thing on him. “Mmm, you look fuckin’ sexy, mi precioso. You look like you wear shit like that all the time.”
Josiah shook his head. “So do you. You’re gorgeous, Teo, no matter what you wear. I have to say, this is doing it for me, though.” He brushed the back of his hand down Teo’s face. “You should wear that jacket while you’re fucking me.”
Mateo stepped toward him, but Josiah moved backward. “That fuckin’ mouth.”
Josiah smiled at him, and then they headed for the bedroom. The door was closed, and Mateo pushed it open just at Tristan pushed a phone into his pocket.
“No working this weekend,” Josiah told him as Mateo tugged at the neck of his stupid fuckin’ shirt again.
“Deal.” Tristan moved toward them, grabbed Mateo’s wrist and pulled his hand away. With nimble fingers he unbuttoned the top button on Mateo’s shirt. Thank fuck for that.
“Didn’t know if I was supposed to button them all,” Teo told him.
“You’re supposed to do whatever you want.” He ran his hands down Mateo’s clothes as though to straighten them. “I...” he started, but then trailed off.
“I know.” And Teo did. He knew Tristan didn’t really give a shit about these things. He wasn’t trying to make them into other people. He was just giving them the kind of night they never would have had without him.
“I love that. Love the way you’re starting to get each other,” Josiah said as Tristan turned his way and started straightening out his clothes as well.
“Look at you, fussin’ over us. That’s usually Jay’s job,” Mateo teased, getting a laugh out of both of them.
It was a bit of a drive to wherever Tristan was taking them. When they got there, Mateo wondered for the hundredth time what the hell he was doing here. He didn’t try to argue with them, though, just got out of the car and followed them inside.