“Okay, big boy, we’re gonna climb down. I’m gonna go first.” I grab the top of the ladder and turn myself so that I’m facing Zac. He’s just standing there, staring at me with a slightly panicked expression. “Just don’t look down.”
“Cayden, I better never find you up here again.” Zac slowly spins around and joins me on the ladder. “Son of a mother! This shit is not funny, Cayden.”
“Oh c’mon it’s a little funny.” I giggle, continuing my climb down.
“Why does everybody tell you to not look down? I mean as soon as the words leave their mouth, the person does it anyway. Holy fucker of the giant hairy monkey balls.”
Oh hell, the laughter is about to become uncontrollable. I keep Zac talking until we reach the bottom. Hopping off the last step, I completely lose my shit and double over guffawing.
Tears of laughter flow down my cheeks. Zac finally jumps off of the ladder, and his chest is rising and falling because he’s breathing hard. “Zac, goodness! Are you that afraid of heights?” Still trying to catch my breath from laughing, I ask.
“Yes! Damn it! Especially from that height.” Zac points up to the top of the water tower.
I grin. “But you’re so tall.”
Zac peers down at me, and I can see the mischief in his eyes. That’s my cue to make a run for the Jeep. It doesn’t take long before Zac catches me and lifts me into the air.
“My height is an advantage.” His statement makes my body tingle. “Let’s get out of here and clear the air with the others.” He places me back on the ground, and we both climb into our vehicles to head home.
When we stroll through the front door, everyone whips around, their eyes glued to us. “Hey.” We both wave in unison.
“What the fuck? Bout’ time y’all got back.” Cydney beckons us over to the couch.
We make our way over and take a seat. Silence engulfs us. Zac breaks the slight tension in the air and begins explaining everything. I glance around the room, noticing the sadness in Dex and Mav’s eyes, my sisters have tears rolling down their cheeks.
“And that’s the whole story,” he finishes.
My hand rests on Zac’s thigh, and I give it a squeeze.
Maverick is the first to speak when Zac is done, “No kidding man? I’m glad you told us. You’re family, and we’ll support you.”
“Agreed.” Dex extends his arm toward Zac to fist bump him. Callie and Cyd get up and bombard us with hugs.
After all the talking is done, everyone retires to their rooms. Zac and I go upstairs too. I start to walk into my room.
“What are you doing?” Zac asks.
“I’m going to my room,” I respond.
“No, you’re in my bed tonight, and every night from now on for that matter.” Zac leads me to his room. I lean against the dresser, waiting for him to come out of the bathroom, and when he returns, he’s naked. Oh holy hell! That’s a gorgeous sight. “Wow, that’s nice!” I lick my lips.
Zac smirks. “Thanks.” His eyes roam over my body. “Nice clothes.” He makes quick strides to me. “I really think you have too many on though.”
“Oh!” I back up until I’m against the wall.
“Yes…oh.” His arms are on either side of my body, caging me in. Looking into his deep hazel eyes, I see the lust there. He removes his hands from the wall to place them on my shoulders, slowly moving them down my arms. Zac reaches my waist, gently moving his fingers under the hem of my tank top, pushing it up until he lifts it off, tossing it to the side. “Beautiful!” He lowers his head, kissing my lips before moving his mouth to the crook of my neck. “You’re mine now, Cayden.”
“Always,” I whisper, leaning my head back against the wall.
Zac steps away from me to wrap his arms around my lower back before moving his hands over my ass and behind my thighs, lifting me. I wrap my legs around his waist and clasp my hands onto his shoulders in order to hold on tightly. He walks us over to the bed and lays me down gently.
Hooking his finger under my lace panties, he leers. “You have plenty of these, right?” I nod my head yes. With one quick pull, he rips them off.
Roving his eyes over me, Zac pumps his hard cock a couple of times before sliding it through my wet slit. In one smooth motion, he enters me, and we both moan in pleasure. He moves, setting a slow pace, hitting my g-spot perfectly.
His mouth descends to give my breasts some attention, swirling his tongue around my nipples, sucking them in his mouth, and ending with a slight nip. I gasp. I know I’m not going to last much longer since Zac’s hips are moving faster.
I’m lost in the exquisite feeling, and my legs start to shake as my belly tightens. “Zac!”
“I know, baby. Show me your eyes.” I open my eyes, and Zac increases his pace. With sweat dripping from our bodies, I can feel him getting closer. He rocks his hips a few more times. “Now Cayden!” He demands, groaning.
“Zac!” I scream his name, letting my orgasm crash over my body.
One final thrust and Zac follows me into orgasmic bliss.
* * *
I’m no longer mad at Brody, so I’ve been trying to figure out what to say to him. Today, I’m going over to his house to talk to him about everything. My only hope is that the anger doesn’t come back when we have our discussion.
I sent him a text this morning, letting him know that I would be over this afternoon. He responded quickly with he would be waiting for me. With one gulp of my coffee, I place the cup in the sink, grab my keys off the counter, and head over to Brody’s, leaving before Zac figures out that I’m gone.
On my short drive over, I get my final thoughts together. This isn’t going to be easy by any means, but it has to be done. He's the boy next door, a childhood friend, but nothing more.
Arriving at his house, I sit there for a minute before I get out and climb his front steps. Just as I’m getting ready to knock, the door opens, making me flinch in surprise, but somehow, I manage a smile when I see him standing in front of me. "Hey, Brody, how's it goin'?"
“It’s goin’.” Brody looks like he hasn’t slept much. His beard is growing and seems rough, and there are bags under his eyes. He appears worn out from head to toe.
“Are you sure about that?” I raise my brow in question because he wasn’t very convincing.
“Yeah, I’m good. Just lots of work on the ranch. Come on in.” He opens the door wider, allowing me to enter. I stroll over to the couch and take a seat. Brody follows behind me, grabbing a seat next to me. There’s a little bit of silence, but Brody breaks it when he speaks, “What did you want to talk about?”
“Zac—” I begin, except Brody holds up his hand to stop me.
“Jesus, do we have to talk about him again?” His voice is harsh.
I squirm and adjust myself on the couch to face him directly. “Yes. Yes, we do, Brody. It was never your place to force him into telling his story before he was ready.” I slap my hand on my thigh in an effort to stay calm, but I can feel my irritation growing.
“Right, because he was going to give it all up on his own.” Brody jumps up from the couch in a huff. “I would go to war for you, Cayden. Can’t you see that? You needed to know the truth.” Brody stops in his tracks. “Let me ask you something. Why him? Why not me?”
“Brody…” I blow out a breath. “If you truly loved me, then I wouldn’t have been merely some prize to be won. It was never a competition. And now, I know the truth about Zac. You see, there’s a difference in loving someone and being in love with them. When you love someone, you feel great being around them, but when you’re in love with someone, you can’t wait to see them. You want to spend every waking moment with them, and their happiness is your happiness. The sight of them makes your heart try and jump out of your chest.”
“Then why the hell did you want to have a threesome?” Brody throws his arms up in the air.
“Brody, after you confessed your feelings, I didn’t know what to think. And the threesome…I felt like it was something I needed to get out of my system, to see what it would be like. I needed to confirm my feelings for each of you.” I shrug my shoulders, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Well, that’s just fuckin’ great, Cayden. All I wanted was for you to be mine.” Oh boy, this is not going well at all. “We’ve been friends since we were kids.”
“And that doesn’t mean anything except that we’re friends.” Friends are all we were ever supposed to be. Maybe we crossed the line when we made it friends with benefits? I lean back on the couch. “Brody, I would have never chosen you. I’ve never had those type of feelings for you.” I gaze up at him, studying him, and see the sadness in his eyes. He’s finally realized that we will never be together. My heart belongs to someone else. There’s not much more to say. I glance down at my watch noticing that the time has gotten away from me. “I need to go.”
“Cayden?” Brody whispers.
I raise my head, eyeing him one more time. “Yes?” I mutter in return.
“I do love you, but I also understand that you will never truly be mine. I don’t want to get in the way of your happiness. There’s no way I would ever force you to be with me. I thought I could take a chance and win you over, but I know now where I stand.” Brody holds his hand out to me, defeat in his eyes. “Maybe it was wrong, but I had to try.”
I place my hand in his, and he yanks me up from the couch. “I know you love me, and while I love you, I’m not in love with you. It’s a different kind of love. We will only ever be friends. There’s someone out there for you, but it’s not me.”
He walks me out to the Jeep, and while we’re standing beside it, I give him a hug. I don’t want to cry, but I can feel the tears welling in my eyes. It’s hard being happy, and at the same time, breaking someone’s heart. Even though I love Zac, I had to make sure Brody knew where I stood.
He pulls back from the embrace, places his hands on my face, and gently moves his thumbs across my cheeks. "Go and be with him. Don't hold back anymore. Be happy, be loved, and definitely don’t let anyone stand in your way." He kisses my cheek. “Goodbye, Cayden. You can let Zac know that if he doesn’t take care of you like he should, I’ll kick his ass,” He says with a fierce gaze, returning to an upright position, and removing his hands from my face.
“Hey, what’s with this goodbye business? I’d like to say see you around. And I have no doubt that Zac will take care of me.” I know full well everything will work out. “Brody, you’re gonna be alright. I know it. Someone special is waiting for you. You’re gonna knock her on her ass. Better yet, she’ll knock you on yours.” I snicker, climbing into the Jeep with a smile.
I’m on my way home, where my heart truly belongs…with Zac. Hopefully, I’ll make it back before anyone realizes that I’ve been gone. For now, we simply need to work through a few more things–a little unfinished business–before we can move forward.
I’m pulling up to the house and find Zac standing there. The mere sight of him makes my heart swell with joy. I park and jump out, and he’s already walking down the steps to meet me.
Standing in front of each other, I say, “Hey there!”
Zac wraps an arm around my waist as I hook my arms around his neck. He replies softly, “Hey there, yourself. Where’d you go?
“I went to see Brody. I needed to let him know, I made my choice,” I explain. There’s no more holding back and no more running.
“Oh, you did, huh? And what choice would that be?” Zac hugs me closer and smiles.
“You! Always you!” I beam.
“Thank fuck!” His lips crash down on mine, making me melt into a puddle of goo. Yes, a puddle of goo.