Adventure

by Quinn Ward

  "Hell if I know," I shot back. "Not my night for Tony watch."

  "Shit!" he snarled. "You need to find him. Quick."

  "What's going on?" Now I was getting nervous. Peter still hadn't returned, my brothers were all acting weird, and Freddie was practically vibrating with anxiety. "Did something happen at home? Is Mama okay?"

  "Yeah, she's fine," he reassured me. "Just trust me, you need to find Tony and get him back in that seat in the next two minutes."

  "No pressure, right?" I scoffed. "Seriously, you going to tell me what's going on?"

  "Nope. Sorry, but you need to trust me on this one," he pleaded. "It'll be worth it."

  I shoved my way through the bar, muttering the entire way because this was bullshit. Freddie could've left the domineering bullshit at home for the night. If this was what the rest of the night was going to be like, I'd much rather sneak out the back door and send the guys a text saying I'd meet them back at the apartment. It was hard enough trying to remember I couldn't reach out and touch Max or lean over the bar for a quick kiss the way Tony did when he handed me a drink, I didn't need my brother's shit too.

  "Hey, you okay?" Max asked when he stepped in my path, sliding his hands down my sides. I stiffened briefly, relaxing as Max leaned close enough to whisper in my ear. "Settle. I can see all the guys and none of them are looking this way."

  He stole a quick kiss then pulled me into the hall. I rested my head against his chest, grateful for his calming presence. "Have you seen Tony? Freddie's got a burr up his ass and is demanding I have Tony back in his seat within two minutes."

  "What about me?" Tony asked, stepping out of the employee restroom. Add not standing in line when you have to piss to the list of perks.

  "Freddie's losing his shit because you're not out there," I told him. I leaned in, pressing my lips to Max's one last time before heading back. "Thanks. Sorry, I freaked for a second."

  "Totally understandable," he reassured me. "Get out there and enjoy the rest of the show. Jordan's offered to close so I can join you once it slows down a bit."

  "You don't—" Max cut me off before I could finish my sentence, sealing his lips over mine.

  "I know I don't have to, but I want to." He gave me a gentle shove and swatted my ass. "Now go, before your brothers come looking for you."

  I led Tony back through the sea of people, most of whom were taking advantage of the intermission to refill their drinks. Tony and I took our seats, and I tried to ignore the way the rest of our group eyed us.

  The stage lights came to life, but there was no sign of the band. I looked around, trying to figure out if this was some sort of technical issue, when Max ran onto the stage, reaching for the microphone.

  "If I can have your attention, please." His voice boomed through the room and the music from the jukebox came to an abrupt halt. All eyes turned to Max, who was walking directly towards us. "Tony, Enzo, it's a little early, but it was important to your brothers you all be able to celebrate together. And they've asked this wonderful woman to join you for the rest of the night's festivities."

  He turned back to the audience, holding up a hand to silence the cat-calls and whistles. "Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together and give a warm welcome to tonight's very special guest, Miss Marilyn Monroe!"

  The noise grew to deafening levels as Marilyn glided across the stage with her perfectly coifed blonde wig and diamond drop earrings glinting in the light. Max held out a hand to her, escorting her to the center of the stage where he carefully removed her faux-fur stoll, revealing a low-cut, skin-tight gown. While it was probably what would be considered champagne or something similar, under the stage lights, the dress appeared the same shade as her skin, the rhinestones shimmering.

  To my left, Tony gaped at the impersonator while to my right, our brothers struggled to keep from laughing. "Marilyn" took the microphone from the stand and took a couple tentative steps in our direction. She inhaled, turning her head to the right before squaring her shoulders and lifting the microphone to her lips.

  "Happy...birthday...to you." Unlike the huge show during Pride, this wasn't a track the performer was singing along with. It was really her. She was good. When she got closer, I realized Freddie hadn't lied earlier when he said nothing was wrong with Peter. Peter was Marilyn.

  I looked at Tony who had obviously realized the same and looked like he was in physical pain, trying to not spring wood for the second time while watching our future brother-in-law performing in drag.

  Marilyn maintained the breathy, stilted delivery to the very last note. From what I'd heard of the original version, Peter had flawlessly pulled off Marilyn's infamous rendition of “Happy Birthday”. After the last word, she turned off the microphone, handing it to Max who wasn't far behind her keeping customers from accosting the beautiful blonde in their midst. Seeing him acting like a bodyguard was hot. I wondered if he was into role playing at all because I wouldn't mind playing Whitney to his Kevin Costner.

  Marilyn leaned forward, fisting the front of Tony's shirt in her hand. "Happy birthday, beautiful," she said, still maintain the breathy tone of Marilyn's voice. Then, in a move sure to have Tony at full attention, she closed the distance between them and kissed him hard enough to leave bright red lipstick smears across his face. Then, she shuffled over to me, giving me a much more subdued peck on the cheek. "Happy birthday, Enzo. Was it worth it?"

  "Oh yeah," I responded, laughing because it looked like Tony's poor brain was about to explode. "Thank you."

  Peter moved down the line, accepting hugs from the other brothers as well as Levi and his friends who'd joined us at some point. I expected Peter to go back and change into his street clothes, but he apparently wanted to torture Tony further by spending the rest of the evening in his evening gown that left nothing to the imagination other than where in the hell his dick was hiding and how he managed those hips and that ass.

  "Did you know about this?" Tony asked once he regained the ability to form a coherent thought.

  "Nope. Even when Freddie sent me to find you, he refused to tell me what was going on," I informed him.

  Max pulled up a barstool and pushed his way between us. Where everyone could see, he draped an arm over Tony's shoulder. Out of their view, he slid a hand up my thigh. "Think you boys can forgive me?"

  "You knew about this?" Tony gaped at him. "Like, you knew before just a little while ago?"

  "Why do you think I was trying to hype the band playing so hard?" he asked, laughing at Tony's mock scowl. "If there's ever a night you say you're not coming down, it's when there's a band playing. You hate the crowds. Seriously, it didn't seem strange to you there was a table reserved right at the stage for your family?"

  "You mean that's not a regular occurrence?" Well damn, strike that from the list of perks.

  "Maybe a little, but I figured you were being nice since I'd told you everyone was coming out tonight," Tony admitted. "And here I thought I was special."

  "Oh, you are, babe," Max reassured him. "Just not special enough for prime seating most nights. Besides, I'd much rather have you up at the bar where I can check out your ass when you get up to dance."

  Max pulled Tony closer and kissed him. Then, he turned to me, giving me little more than a platonic peck before he stood. "Happy birthday, Enzo."

  "You're not going to hang out for a bit?" Frankie asked, clapping Max on the shoulder. "Thanks again for helping us put this together tonight."

  "You know I'm always game for anything that'll leave Tony speechless," he quipped, shooting me a devilish smirk. "I should be able to sneak out after the band starts back up. Eli’s probably back there cursing me already for being gone this long."

  "Good thing you had Cal talk him into letting you take your break during intermission, huh?" Frankie gave Max a quick one-arm hug, thumping him on the back as he whispered something in Max's ear. Max responded with a simple quirk of his eyebrow.

  My gut twisted as I watched Frankie and Max inte
ract. I'd been so focused on our little bubble I'd never stopped to consider how what we were doing would impact other people. Would their friendship survive if and when we stopped hiding? Would they blame Max rather than believe we all wanted to be together?

  As I watched Max walk away, he held up five fingers and jerked his head to the side. I nodded, letting him know I'd break away soon to meet up with him. He'd disappeared through the crowd before I finally let out my breath. Somehow, I realized in that moment, we'd figure out how to be okay. If our friends and family figured out what we were doing, we'd face them together. All three of us.

  "Please tell me you're not crushing on Tony's boyfriend." Matteo's observation snapped my attention back to the table. Luckily, everyone else was still rehashing Tony's epic reaction, once again, to seeing Peter in drag.

  "Nope, not crushing on anyone," I lied. Or maybe it wasn't a lie since what I felt for Max went way beyond a crush. I swallowed hard, trying to clear my throat.

  "You sure about that? You were watching him pretty intently for a straight boy," he quipped. Since he'd been with Levi, Matteo had become much more outgoing and no longer kept his thoughts to himself. Most of the time, that was a good thing. Tonight, it pissed me off, and I'd had just enough alcohol to say what was on my mind.

  "That's funny." I tipped back my drink, draining the glass in a single swallow. "You'd think people in this family would know by now assuming anyone's going to be the token straight guy is a bad bet. Sorry to burst your bubble, but Freddie's the closest we get to straight."

  I shoved away from the table and stormed outside, needing to get some air. Tony called after me, but I pretended I couldn't hear him over the drone of the crowd gearing up for the band's return to the stage. I plowed through the door to the smoking patio, doubling over when I found a quiet corner. Fuck, it was so much harder than I'd thought it would be. I was finally, fucking finally, happy, and I couldn't tell anyone.

  "Hey, what's going on?" Tony asked, keeping his voice low and steady as he led me to a bench along the outer wall.

  He rubbed my back, giving me time to talk, or not. What I really wanted was for us to be someplace I wouldn't have to worry about being interrupted so he could just hold me and tell me it would all be okay. I wanted to go back to our bubble and keep the rest of the world out. Most of all, I wanted off this fucking roller coaster where I went from feeling like we could conquer the world to convinced it would implode around us the moment someone knew our secret in a matter of minutes.

  "Do you want to get out of here?" he offered.

  "No, Frankie and the guys planned this for us. I need to get over the bullshit in my head."

  "We knew it was going to suck," Tony reminded me, bending down to press his head to mine. It wouldn't seem too weird if one of the brothers walked out to check on us; they were constantly giving us shit about how close we'd always been. Little did they know... "Just remember what you said earlier when I asked if you wanted to come out. We'll get through this, and at the end of the night, all of us will be back in our bed and life will be good."

  "But for how long?" I asked, turning to look at him. The slight shift put our lips dangerously close to one another. So far, he and I had never done anything when it was just the two of us. Cuddling while we watched TV didn't count because it was something we'd done before that night. Everything in my life now felt delineated as before or after the night everything changed. "How long can we keep this up? How long before Max and I slip up and they all accuse him of cheating on you with me? How long until you decide it's too much for you?"

  "How long before you learn to have faith in us?" Tony shot back. "And I don't just mean Max and me, I mean Frankie, Freddie, and Teo too. Honestly, it's going to be a shock to them at first. But we'll frame it in a way that'll force them to see this is what makes us happy. Because Enzo, I can't speak for you or Max, but this past month, I've been more content than ever, and it's because of you guys. Can you say you don't feel the same?"

  "I do, but—" Tony pressed a finger to my lips.

  "No buts," he scolded me before pressing his lips against my ear. "Not until we get home then there will be butts galore. Is yours too sore from earlier, or are you going to let Max fuck you while I pound him?"

  "Tony..." I complained, dragging his name out a few syllables. "You can't say things like that."

  He kissed the side of my neck then pulled me off the bench. "It worked thought, didn't it? You're not letting the doom and gloom overrun your mind anymore. Now, let's get back in and enjoy our early birthday party so we can go home and really celebrate. Do you think Max would let me tie a pretty bow around his cock and offer him up to you as my gift?"

  "Just because I've been dying to have his dick in my ass doesn't mean you get to claim he's my birthday present, you cheapskate," I teased.

  A bit of the weight lifted as I followed Tony back into the bar. Not all of it, but enough that I was able to enjoy the night with my brothers.

  Chapter Nine

  Tony

  My head throbbed the following morning. I heard my alarm blaring from somewhere in the apartment, but I burrowed my head under the pillow, figuring the incessant chirping would stop eventually.

  "Tony, get your ass up and turn that thing off," Max grumbled, shoving me out of my own damn bed. I landed on the floor with a heavy thump, narrowly avoiding clobbering my head on the nightstand. When Max leaned over the edge of the bed, he was biting his lips to keep from laughing. "You okay?"

  "No thanks to you," I complained, rubbing my hip where I was certain there would be a bruise later.

  "Should've gotten up or, better yet, turned off your damned alarms before you came to bed," he quipped, holding out a hand to help me up. I swatted it away, not trusting him to keep me steady after the unceremonious wakeup. "Oh, come on. If I was the one on the floor, you'd be laughing too."

  "Would not," I lied. The phone quit screeching, and I glared at him. "I'd have taken pity on you and let you rot in peace."

  "You're the one who decided shots were a good idea," Max reminded me. I had, but only because Enzo seriously needed to unwind, and our brothers kept buying round after round. And since Max was at the table with us, it meant fucking Jordan had been mixing up his concoctions. Bastard. "I seem to remember warning you it was a bad idea, but you didn't want to listen."

  "Since you're up, make yourself useful and start the coffee while I shower," I said as I pushed off the floor and kneeled in front of the bed, waiting for the world to quit tilting. Shit. There was a good chance I was still drunk which meant the hangover that would come later was going to kill me.

  "Oh, so you tie one on, and now I'm supposed to play the doting boyfriend and care for you?" Although he acted put out, Max was already sliding out of the bed, leaving Enzo the only one who'd get to sleep in.

  "Yes, because this is all your fault."

  "How's it my fault?" Max scoffed. "Again, let me remind you I told you it was time to switch to water."

  "And then you let my brothers keep buying rounds of shots," I reminded him. "We were supposed to come home and fuck each other's brains out. This was not how the night was supposed to go. If you knew they were planning a surprise party, you should've told me, or at least not gotten my hopes up."

  "God, are you always this whiny when you're hung over?" Max asked as he followed me into the bathroom. It struck me then he'd never really seen this side of me. With him staying here, I wasn't going out as often, and before, I'd usually been up and out of the apartment before he woke.

  "Only when I also have a raging case of blue balls." He took a leak while I adjusted the taps in the shower.

  "You got off a few hours before you went to the damn bar," Max pointed out. "How in the hell could you have blue balls?"

  "Because I haven't fucked you in forever," I whined. Okay, so it wasn't that long, but it was definitely the longest I'd gone without feeling a tight ass gripping my cock. While I waited for the water to warm up, I sidled up beh
ind Max, holding him close as I ground my hips against his ass. God, I needed him. "When are we going to fuck?"

  "Tony, we've talked about this," he scolded me. "I want to make sure we're not rushing Enzo. I know you're a horny bastard, but once we go there, there's no turning back. Have you stopped thinking with your dick long enough to consider what's on the line here? Hell, the guy just about had a panic attack at the bar. He was worried about people seeing me touch him because your whole family is convinced the two of us are in a relationship."

  "We are," I pointed out. At least, as far as I was concerned, we'd moved past fuck buddies to all three of us being in a weird, complicated, polygonal relationship. Or something like that. Max's lip curled, and I realized I may have miscalculated. Shit. See, this was why I didn't do relationships. "I mean, I assumed we'd sailed over that line since you've been staying here every night lately."

  Cold air started blasting from the vents, sending my nuts on a retreat to warmer territory. I stepped up behind Max, wrapping my arms around him as I kissed the back of his neck. His entire body tensed. Lips still pressed against the top of his spine, I froze. That was pretty much the opposite of the reaction I was going for from him.

  "What the fuck did I do wrong now?" I asked, backing away. Having this conversation while I was buck naked and him fully clothed wasn't ideal, but it was obvious I'd taken a wrong turn in the conversation. The problem was, I had no clue how to get back to the playful banter from a minute earlier. Max swatted away my hand when I dared reach out to him again. "Seriously. You're the one who was all preachy about how we needed to talk. It's obvious I said something to piss you off, so talk."

  Max spun around, leaning against the vanity, lean legs stretched out in front of him. "After months of you swearing you didn't want to be in a relationship with me, suddenly you're all blasé about it as if it's no big deal for you to say we're more than just fuck buddies. And maybe it's just a little fucked up to me you were resistant until Enzo came into the picture. You'll have to forgive me for wondering if I'm the third wheel here, some sort of buffer for the two of you because you can't be together the way you want to be otherwise."