CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Nash
The scotch burned as I finished off the glass and stared out of my best friend’s window.
The New York lights glowed and sparkled, but they held little interest for me tonight.
I couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t get the last few hours out of my head.
Grant.
Journey.
Me.
The sex had been wild.
So why was I so dissatisfied?
Was it because it wasn’t my arms she’d fallen asleep in? Was it because it was in Grant’s arms she still remained? Was I just being a spoiled brat and wanted her all for myself?
No.
Well, maybe.
Shit.
Ten years ago, none of this would have mattered. Grant and I would share a girl and go about our day. Of course, none of those women had been Journey.
She mattered.
Damn it to all hell, she mattered.
“You okay?”
I hadn’t heard him approach, and I nearly dropped my fucking glass, but I managed to hold on to it. I headed back to the bar and poured me another, lifting an empty glass. He nodded, and I poured him one too.
After handing him one that was nearly as full as mine and sitting on the couch opposite him, I held it up. “To Journey.”
He clinked. “Yeah. To Journey.”
Forcing myself back into Fun Nash, I smirked. “That was pretty wild, don’t you think? I mean, seriously. Of all the women in New York City, how in hell’s balls did we choose the same one?”
He made a scoffing sound. “I know. In the same week.”
I snorted and took a drink. “The way this thing is playing out, we probably met her on the same day.”
Grant studied his drink. “I met her the day we sparred.” My mouth sagged, and he just shook his head. “You too?”
“Yeah. I went for a run in the park, and she was teaching this senior citizen class. Some guy stole this old lady’s purse and she took off after him. Girl can run like the wind. I helped her take him down.”
Grant was still shaking his head. “That was you? She told me the story about the purse snatcher. That’s incredible.”
“So, when did you meet her?”
He took a drink. “Before we sparred. I was heading for that landlord meeting across town and saw a firetruck in front of one of my buildings. Went in to see if I could help and there she was.”
Un-fucking-believable.
“You’re the son of a bitch who owns her building? The one who renovated her apartment?” I pointed a finger at him. “The one who let that pervy asshole on the first floor hang around?”
Grant’s eyes narrowed, his face growing deadly. “Charlie Gains. What else has he done that she hasn’t told me about?”
I held up a hand. “Nothing bad. He’s just got a weird vibe about him, you know?”
The scowl grew deadlier. “Yes, I know. And Journey promised to let me know if there were any problems.”
I shrugged. “She’s a nice girl. Self-sufficient too. It would probably take a lot for her to come tattling to Daddy.”
That almost got a smile from him. “True.”
“You like her, don’t you?” Shit. That wasn’t what I wanted to say. “What I really mean is… are we okay with this?” I pointed between him and me. “Cause, I’m serious. I’ll set out.”
He gazed into the amber liquid in his glass. “You like her too. She likes you.”
“True, but man…” How did I say this? “I don’t do relationships because I simply like playing the field. You don’t do them because of…” I touched my lip in the same place his scar was. “If you open up to someone, it’s damn serious. In all these years, this is the first.”
He met my eyes. “I don’t know. All this messes with my head.” I knew what it cost him to admit that. “All that old shit is right back in my face. I’m distracted. Can’t focus for shit. Plus…” he pointed at me, “I didn’t care that she was dating someone else, so just how serious could I be?”
I stared at him, tried to read the poker-faced bastard. “So you knew she was seeing someone else?”
He nodded. “She’s honest like that. No details, just facts.”
“Yeah, she was like that with me too.”
“Hey… are you all talking about me?”
And there she was, looking embarrassed and uncomfortable, but also brave.
Damn. She’d chosen to wear Grant’s shirt, and the white looked good against her skin. She looked from Grant to me, then to the floor. It would be telling to see whose couch she went to first.
“Can I get you anything?” Grant asked.
Her stomach growled so loud we all laughed.
Oh yeah, we’d fucked instead of ate.
“We’ll warm up dinner.” Grant was on his feet, his entire face changing as he approached her. Journey glanced at me before taking his hand.
Then… she did the sweetest thing. She held out her other hand for me.
Warmed, I stood and took it.
Yeah. Maybe Grant needed her, but maybe I needed her too.
We all relaxed as we pulled the food from the fridge and began to warm up plates of prime rib and vegetables.
We loosened up more by the time we’d finished a bottle of wine.
I sat back in my chair, my hands covering my full belly. “Okay, so what’s the ground rules?”
They looked at each other and then back to me. “What do you mean?” Journey asked.
“Well, do we keep going like we’re going? You date us separately? We stick to threesomes from now on?” I held Journey’s gaze. “You make a choice. Him. Me. Neither.”
She blushed and looked down at her hands.
Grant scrubbed at his face but didn’t say anything. We both knew this ball needed to stay in her court.
Finally, she looked up. “In my mind, when this all started, I gave myself the three weeks that Jaz is gone to be wild and free, and then I was going to go back to my old life with fond memories of the two of you.”
She licked her lips and reached for wine, then chose the water instead. She took a long drink before continuing.
“I thought that would be easy. After all, neither of you seemed interested in anything longer term.” She lifted her shoulder. “It was exciting and fun, and I don’t want it to be over.”
The breath I didn’t realize had been lodged in my throat seeped out.
“So… in my opinion,” I threw out, “it doesn’t need to be over. We’re adults, and if anything changes for any of us, we need to have the balls…” I glanced to Journey, “or the ovaries to discuss it.”
They were both nodding.
Journey licked her lips and blushed. “I’m glad. I might not have a lot of time to get together when Jaz gets back, but when I do… could we… I mean…”
I laughed. I thought I might have been able to fry an egg on her face.
“Say it, Journey,” Grant commanded in a low voice.
She looked at him. Nodded and let out a breath. “When we can, can we do what we did tonight again?”
I clapped my hands together loud. “Heck, yeah.”
Grant smiled, and the look he was giving Journey gave her her answer. He stood, and with one hand, swept all the plates to the other side of the long table.
Journey yelped when he picked her up and laid her on the clean surface. “We can start right now.”
I stood and began unbuttoning her shirt. “We certainly can.”