Something More (7 page)

“Mmm, come inside me, baby,” I whispered…then wondered exactly why. I’d never talked dirty before, and I was nervous it had come out sounding porny and cheesy.

Much to my surprise, Jay seemed to really be into it. Maybe I hadn’t done such a bad job at it, after all. His fingers dug into my hips, holding me still and steady as he pressed himself deep. His mouth was smashed against my neck, blocking the noises rumbling deep in his throat. It was definitely hot to see him lose control since he was normally so composed.

Once we cleaned up, we settled into a comfortable huddle on the blankets. I fell asleep ridiculously fast—the week had worn me out, and well, the ambitious sex we’d had didn’t help my exhaustion. I must’ve fallen asleep curled against Noah because the next thing I knew, he was carrying me to bed. I opened my eyes and watched his face, so soft and tired. Cupping his cheek with my palm, I smiled at him when he turned to look at me.

“Thank you,” I said. “I could have walked.”

He rolled his eyes and laughed as I burrowed my head closer to his body. I was reminded again how nice it was to be cared for. When we got to the bedroom, Jay pulled the blanket back and Noah set me down carefully, unwinding my arms from around his neck. The cool sheets felt good against my still-naked body, and I wrapped myself around Jay. Noah slid in behind me, curling against me in a similar way, and I closed my eyes. I knew it wasn’t possible to be happier than I was right at that moment.

The next morning, I was the first to wake up. When I looked at the clock, I almost gasped out loud. I couldn’t believe we’d all slept until past ten. I snuck out of bed as carefully as I could then found a giant T-shirt of Noah’s to wear. I went to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee before getting out everything I needed to make a decent brunch. Since I had no idea where they kept anything in the kitchen, it took me a bit to gather up the nonfood supplies I needed, but I got there eventually. I worked on making scrambled eggs, bacon, and some hash browns I’d found in the freezer. I’d never been the best cook, but I could hold my own with breakfast.
 

A sleepy-sounding voice surprised me. “Good morning. Can I help?” Jay asked.

I turned and smiled, taking in the fact that he’d put on boxers. “Good morning,” I said. “Yeah. Sure, you can help.”

He walked up behind where I stood at the stove and wrapped one arm around my waist; the other went to the plate next to the stove as he stole a piece of bacon. The obscene sounds coming from his mouth as he ate it did nothing to help my reaction to the fact that there was a half-naked man pressed against me. One of my hands moved up and behind me to pull his mouth down to mine. The salty grease of the bacon took away the normally sweet Jay-taste, but I eagerly kissed him anyway.
 

When we broke apart, I smiled to myself as he wandered away. I felt like I was fifteen and boy-crazy again, my heart beating faster and my thoughts getting carried away into the future—to what it would be like to be so close to them in ten years. To what they’d done to me the night before, and fast-forwarding mentally to the next time we were in bed.
 

From behind me, I could hear Jay grabbing plates and setting the table. He passed by on his way to the fridge where he grabbed the orange juice and gave me another sly smirk.
 

“It’s nice having you here,” he said quietly. “Different, but nice.”

I appreciated his honesty. It was odd to wake up in a house I wasn’t entirely familiar with and to be comfortable enough to make breakfast and find my way around. I usually didn’t spend the night anywhere, even when I was dating someone. There weren’t sleepovers or long weekends together. There were fun dates, and some gratifying romps, but it never went deeper than that. I always told myself it was because I was too busy at work, not in the right place in my life to commit to anyone.
 

In a way, I was glad. I hadn’t been tainted to the experience of this connection. There was nothing negative to compare it to. It terrified me, though because, at the same time, I had no idea what to expect. What happened next? Would any of the regular rules even apply?

I was brought out of my thoughts by the sound of the toaster sliding down, the sharp metal grating against metal startling me.
 

“I’ll go grab Noah,” Jay said, leaving me with one last kiss.

I dug around in several drawers and cabinets for serving platters, but I couldn’t find any. It was slightly frustrating—I knew they had them since they’d used them during our last dinner together, I just didn’t know where they were.
 

“Good morning, gorgeous,” Noah said, walking up to kiss me. He had a T-shirt and pajama bottoms on, but he wore them just as well as he wore nothing at all. “What’s wrong?” he asked, smoothing his fingertips over my wrinkled eyebrows.
 

“I can’t find those pretty platters you used the other day.” I tried not to pout too much. “Where do you hide them?”

Noah ignored my question and peered over my shoulder. “Smells so good in here. What’d you make? Oohhh, all of my favorites. You are too good to us.” He walked to the door next to the pantry—the door I’d assumed led out to the garage—and opened it. “Appliance and extra dishware pantry.”

“Thanks, sexy.”
 

I walked by him to grab a platter and he slapped my ass, making me giggle. Shaking my head, I grabbed what I needed and walked back to plate everything up as he closed the pantry and walked to the table. Jay piled the toast high after buttering it, and we brought everything to the table, setting things down and finally sitting and eating. When I got up to refill my coffee, I took their mugs, too. I smiled at the way the three of them landed on the counter when I set them down. The dark liquid swirled in each cup, and I was lost in thought as Noah walked up next to me.

“Need help?”

“Thanks.” I handed him back his cup as we walked to the table.

“So, movies today?” I asked, yawning. “Crap, I can’t believe how late we slept, but I could still go for a nap.”

“Movies, yes,” Noah said. “And maybe if you get lucky, a nap, too.”

“Can this just be my life?” I asked, sighing into my cup as I took a sip.

“Careful what you wish for.” Jay winked at me from above his own mug of steamy coffee.

He had no idea just how badly I already did wish for it. It confused me, wanting this life with them so much. Wasn’t I a solitary person? Were we moving too fast with everything?

“Movie afternoon or after dinner?” I asked. When Noah looked at me like it shouldn’t matter, I shook my head. “I’m a planner. I have to plan the day out in my head. Makes me feel better.”

“One of these days, we’re going to kidnap you and spend the whole day doing completely unplanned things,” Jay said. “You need to learn to quiet that mind of yours.”

That sounded like my worst nightmare, but at the same time, the best day ever. What would I do with all the energy I spent worrying and planning?

“Hush, you,” I chided. “Just answer.”

“After dinner,” Jay said. “But don’t think just because I told you that means you can clockwatch all day.”

I laughed, my brain spiraling into cockwatching instead of clockwatching. I was certain he’d have no problem with spending my day doing that…

Having finished our second round of coffee, we got up and loaded the dishwasher. Noah was even more fastidious about his dishes than I was, pulling things out and rearranging after I’d played a virtual game of Tetris with everything.
 

“Woman, you have
got
to learn to properly load a dishwasher.”

“Please,” I said dramatically. “Show me your ways, Master.”

Noah looked up from the dishes and made eye contact before he spoke. “Don’t start what you can’t finish, little girl.”
 

His grin turned wolfish, and I fought the urge to bite my lip. Then I made a mental note to maybe, perhaps, someday revisit that topic. Maybe. If there was some alcohol involved. A lot of alcohol.

He turned and finished rearranging dishes, then we hand-washed everything that wouldn’t fit or couldn’t go into the machine. I washed and Noah dried while Jay put stuff away, and I giggled to myself at how domestic it was. It was nice to be comfortable with them in the everyday moments, though. I knew enough to understand there had to be more than hot sex to keep a relationship together.
 

After we got dressed, we went grocery shopping. In my experience, two people at the store was almost always a bad plan, but three?
 

Noah pushed the cart to the left. “We need bread.”

“Don’t get that seedy stuff,” Jay said.

I looked at him, confused. “Seedy stuff?”

“Noah likes the bread with all those nuts and seeds in it…so gross.”

Laughing, I hip-bumped him.
 

In the paper goods aisle, I reached for my normal brand of toilet paper. “You guys seriously need to upgrade,” I said, tossing the pack into the cart.

“Raspberries or strawberries?” Noah asked in the produce area.

Naturally, Jonathan and I gave opposite answers.
 

As Noah and I loaded the groceries onto the belt at the checkout, Jay put a few candy bars in with the mix. Each time, Noah would put them back, and Jay’s attempts to sneak them in escalated.

“Why don’t you go check out a Redbox movie?”

“Nice try, Jonny.”

I turned away from them to laugh, catching the cashier’s eye. We smiled at each other as I slipped a Twix bar straight into her hand, circumventing the boys. The cashier handed it right back to me after she’d swiped it, and I hid it in my purse until I passed it off to Jonathan in the parking lot while Noah loaded up the bags.

We put the groceries away, and after a shower, I sat at the breakfast bar while Jay and Noah cooked together. They demanded I sit and just enjoy as they made dinner since I’d made breakfast. The smells were amazing as they chopped and sautéed, working synchronously to make lasagna. Garlic wafted through the room, and when the bread went into the oven as the lasagna rested on the trivet, I licked my lips.
 

“Can I at least make a salad?”

“No,” they said in unison.
 

“Besides,” Noah said, “you need room for movie snacks. No salad.”

“True,” I said. “Very true.”

When they brought the giant pan to the table and Jay sliced it up, my mouth watered. I was famished as he slid a thick slice onto my plate. Noah passed a basket with the bread in it, and I took the biggest piece I could find.

“You two are going to make me fat.”

“Nope,” Jay said, looking at his plate as he served himself. “We’ll find a way to work it all off.”

“An answer for everything,” I muttered, smiling down at my food. “What movie are we going to see, anyway?”

“Well, you might be the tie-breaker. Noah wants to go see a documentary, and I want to see an action movie. Which one, sweets: hot, sweaty men, or snoozefest?”

I really wanted to go see the new romantic comedy I’d seen a trailer for. I wondered what would happen if I threw a third movie into the mix.

“I’ll make you boys a deal,” I said. “We’ll go see hot, sweaty men tonight, then Noah’s documentary next week, and the movie
I
want to see the weekend after.”
 

“I like this compromise,” Noah said, looking at Jay.

“Works for me,” Jay agreed.

We dealt with the messy kitchen much as we had after breakfast then got into Noah’s car and drove to the theater. I had to laugh when we had a similar disagreement to the movie selection in the snack line.

“Gross, Noah. Raisinets? Seriously?” I made a gagging face and noises.
 

“Please,” he scoffed. “As if I can even respect you anymore now that I know you’re a
popcorn
girl.”

He bumped his hip into mine, and I fell against Jonathan.
 

“You’ll share a Cherry Coke with me, won’t you, Jay?” I turned my best puppy-dog eyes on him.
 

“Diet Coke?” he asked, sounding almost apologetic.

I stood my ground, giving him a look. “No fucking way, dude. Movies are popcorn and Cherry Coke only.”

“All right,” he sighed. “But this means I’m going to have to sweat extra tonight.”

“I’m pretty sure I can arrange that, handsome.” I winked.

“Oh sure, and you two expect me to be able to focus on a movie now?” Noah complained.

“Yes, old man, we do,” I said. “Now pay up, sugar daddy. We have a movie to get to.”

We’d agreed that we would take turns paying for the movies and snacks, as well as dinners out. It was an awkward solution at best, but with three strong-willed people, it worked and felt fair to each of us.
 

There were only a few minutes until the movie began, so we went in the theater and I was grateful it wasn’t too crowded. Before a discussion could even begin about where to sit, I pointed to a row only a few down from the top and whispered, motioning Jay to walk down and sit. I was sandwiched between them, and I set the shared drink between Jay and me. Noah took my hand in his, and I thought about bitching that I couldn’t really eat my popcorn, but when he brought my knuckles up to his lips and kissed them so carefully, so tenderly, I couldn’t find it in my heart to whine. Besides, I had two hands. He lifted the armrest between us and sat a little closer to me, our bodies touching.

The lights dimmed and I settled into my chair, wiggling a bit first and then finding a comfortable position. At some point, Jonathan’s hand moved from the edge of our cup over the armrest and onto my thigh. He never ventured too far, tracing shapes and patterns, but it was just enough to make my mind wander to what we’d do later.

Although the movie wasn’t one I would’ve picked, it wasn’t terrible, either. I even suspected Noah enjoyed it since I’d felt his body shake with laughter at all the right spots. When the credits rolled, we stood up and stretched, and the anticipation was palpable. I was glad, frankly, that I wasn’t alone with these feelings. The drive home couldn’t go fast enough.