Sated in Ink

by Carrie Ann Ryan

  “The painting is taking its time. They sometimes do that. And don’t worry about it. I was taking my frustrations out by cooking, so I made way too much food. But I had fun. Check out the pinwheels in the fridge. I put extra bacon in, just like you like.”

  “Frustrations over your work, or me?” Ethan asked as he went to the fridge and took out two wheels. They were tortillas filled with cream cheese, shredded lettuce, and bacon, then rolled up and cut into little rolls.

  It was seriously heaven in his mouth.

  He groaned as he took a bite and handed the other one to Lincoln. Lincoln just smiled at Ethan and ate his.

  “Both. Frustrations in both. But don’t worry. You’re here. And Holland will be here soon. I guess we should form a plan.”

  “A plan?” Ethan asked, taking a sip of his beer to wash down his pinwheel. Such good food.

  “A plan, for when Holland gets here.”

  Ethan looked at Lincoln, frowning.

  “We need a plan?”

  “Okay, maybe eat a little bit more so you can think. We are bringing a woman over, one we both find attractive and like. And we want her to be our friend. Or maybe we just want to hang out with her. Whatever. Regardless, we have never been fully attracted to the same woman before. So, are we going to acknowledge that or not?”

  Ethan took another sip of his beer, this one a bit bigger, and then set the bottle down on the counter as he leaned back. “I don’t know. All I know is that Holland said she needed friends. And we could be that for her. If she wants something more? With either of us? I’d be fine with that.”

  Lincoln stared into his eyes, and Ethan swallowed hard. “You’d be fine with that? If Holland was attracted to me as well, and I asked her out, and she said yes. You’d be fine with that.”

  No, he wouldn’t. Because Ethan loved Lincoln. Loved. But he could never be with him. Ethan just needed Lincoln to be happy. And if that meant being with Holland, someone that Ethan also liked, then that was fine.

  It had to be.

  “If you guys were happy, sure. I’d be fine with that.” That was the truth. Fine would be great. He wouldn’t be happy really, but he’d be fine.

  “If you’re happy, then I am. But you know, this is all probably moot because she’s not going to want to date. Let alone us.”

  “What’s wrong with us?” Ethan asked, affronted.

  “Well, we’re a couple of bachelors who spend far more time with each other than we do with anybody else. And we invited her over to play Mario Kart. Like we’re twelve.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with Mario Kart.”

  “Other than your ability to play it,” Lincoln said with a grin, and Ethan punched him in the shoulder. “Jerk.”

  “Well, I would say that hurt, but you don’t have any force behind your hits. Maybe you should work out more.”

  “You’re going to pay for that later,” Ethan mumbled, and Lincoln just grinned, that wicked gleam coming to his eyes that Ethan loved so much. Seriously, he needed to get laid. And to figure out what the fuck was wrong with him. Because he clearly had a problem when it came to his best friend.

  Thankfully, he didn’t have to worry about that long, though, because the doorbell rang. It had to be Holland.

  “Ready?” Lincoln asked, looking ridiculously hot.

  “As ever. I’ll go get the door.”

  “I’ll take out the rest of the food. Because, apparently, I’m feeding an army.”

  “Hey, all that racing takes a lot of energy.”

  “Yes, sitting on your ass and trying to play with a controller takes up so much energy. Hence why we’re going on a jog tomorrow morning.”

  “Great,” Ethan mumbled but was still smiling when he opened the door.

  Holland stood there, those deep eyes of hers staring right at him. That look went straight to his gut—and his dick.

  “Hey, you found the place,” Ethan said, taking a step back. Holland walked in and handed over a bottle of wine. “I wasn’t sure if you drank, and then I figured I might as well bring the same type that I was drinking out of that paper bag. Sort of bringing it all full circle, you know?”

  Ethan just grinned and then leaned down and kissed her cheek, surprising them both. He stood back quickly and noticed the widening of her eyes, and the blush on her cheeks, but she didn’t pull away. Maybe she was just surprised. Or perhaps she didn’t mind. After all, friends kissed cheeks all the time.

  “You look great,” Ethan said, and he was serious. She wore a cute, long shirt thing that had a v-neck that showed off just a little cleavage but covered her butt, and she wore it over leggings that hugged her sexy legs. She also had on knee boots. The whole thing just really worked. She had her hair down, the soft, auburn waves touching her shoulders, and he really wanted to reach out and play with it.

  But he wouldn’t. He wasn’t that much of a cad.

  Okay, maybe he was a little. But…whatever.

  “Seriously, though, thanks for the invite,” Holland said, grinning. She paused. “You look great, too. Sorry, I’m not really good at this whole thing.”

  “What thing?” Lincoln asked, walking into the room. He leaned down and kissed her other cheek, and Ethan just grinned.

  Okay, this was starting to feel more and more like a date with the three of them. And that was fine. Because Ethan knew the truth. It wasn’t. But, in the dark pits of his mind, he could imagine it was. After all, his cousin was in a permanent threesome and was even married to both of them. One legally, but both in her soul.

  It wasn’t completely unheard of.

  So, in his fantasies, he could imagine that this was a real date. And, of course, playing Mario Kart would just clinch the deal. He was so bad at it that she would go running, screaming into Lincoln’s arms. And that’d be fine. Seriously. Because as long as Lincoln and Holland were happy, that was all that mattered.

  “I like your place,” Holland said, and Ethan looked around.

  “Thanks. I’m not here often, so most of my decorating came from my mom. Sorry.”

  “I helped,” Lincoln said, and Ethan nodded.

  “You did. You picked out my furniture. Mostly because I have no taste.”

  “It’s true,” Lincoln said.

  Holland just laughed, looking between Lincoln and him. “You guys have been friends for a while?”

  “Forever, it seems,” Lincoln said and then looked up at Ethan. Ethan swallowed hard again and then pulled his gaze away so he wouldn’t get a hard-on while standing between them. Tonight would be difficult enough without his dick getting in the way.

  “Okay, Lincoln cooked up some pretty amazing appetizers, and probably made enough for a whole army, so let’s pour you a glass of your wine—unless you want a beer or something else I have in the fridge.”

  “I brought over some wine, too,” Lincoln said. “So, you could have some of that, some of yours…anything you want. And, yes, I made too much food, but I was stressed.”

  Ethan grinned.

  “Why were you stressed? And Ethan doesn’t cook?” Holland inquired.

  Ethan blushed then. “I was at work, and I got lost in it. I’m a jerk, and Lincoln did all the prep for this get-together, even though it’s my house. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay,” Lincoln muttered. “And I’m just stressed about work. But, no worries. Tonight’s about fun.”

  “And, apparently, Mario Kart?” Holland asked.

  “Yes, it’s a family and friend tradition. We were actually just joking about it at first, but now I kind of want to play,” Lincoln said, grinning. He handed her a glass of red wine, the one that Lincoln had brought, and the three of them clinked their drinks. The guys had beers, Holland had her wine, and they each took a sip.

  “To new friendships,” Ethan muttered after the toast, and Lincoln rolled his eyes.

  “That’s not how you make a toast, you have to say the words beforehand.”

  “Well, you caught me off guard with clinking before
I could say anything. I suck at this.”

  “I’m sure it’s fine.” Holland tapped her glass to his bottle again. “See? And now it’s a real toast.” She took a sip, her gaze fixed on his, and Ethan quickly chugged down a gulp. Lincoln did the same next to him.

  Okay, then. This night would be interesting.

  “We seriously do not have to play Mario Kart.”

  “No, I want to see how bad you are at it.”

  “Great. Well, there goes all my prowess.”

  “You have prowess?” Lincoln asked, and Ethan flipped him off.

  “Okay, I think tonight is going to be pretty fun. At least from the way you two act. And, my God, this food looks amazing.”

  “Lincoln’s a fantastic cook. I always thought if he didn’t decide to paint, he would have gone to culinary school.”

  Lincoln frowned. “Really?”

  Ethan shrugged. “I told you that.”

  “You’ve never once said that.”

  Ethan just started piling food on his plate after he’d handed Holland one. “I thought I did. Well, I thought it anyway. I never starve when you’re around. Thank God.”

  “I do like to take care of you.”

  There was an awkward silence after that until Ethan cleared his throat. “Well, I’m glad you do. Because, sometimes, I get too lost in my work, and I forget to cook. Or eat.”

  “I would think it would be the other way around, with Lincoln being the artist and all.” Holland looked between them, interest in her eyes.

  Lincoln shrugged, taking a bite of some bruschetta. “Not really. Ethan’s the one who forgets little things. I tend to want to make sure I get every little thing completed around me before I can actually sit down and work. It’s not a very creative way to go about things, at least according to most stereotypes, but it works for me. Or it usually does.”

  “Well, since I run my own business, sometimes I have to eat while on the job, or I forget altogether. But, I’m glad the two of you have each other.”

  “Well, now you have us, too.” Ethan looked at her, and Holland just grinned.

  “I like that. Now, do we eat? Or do we play? How does this work?”

  “Come on, let me show you how bad I am at Mario Kart. Ethan’s not the only terrible one.”

  “This should be amazing,” Holland sing-songed, and Lincoln laughed, leading her to the living room. Ethan watched them go and took another bite of his food, willing his dick under control. Watching them together, just laughing and talking, made him so hard it hurt. His dick was already pressed against the zipper of his pants, and this wasn’t even a date. He had to keep reminding himself that, no, this was not a fucking date.

  Everything was fine.

  He was not losing his damn mind.

  It was tough not to want more when she was here, though. Or when she made Lincoln smile. Ethan would do anything to keep Lincoln smiling.

  Even if it meant walking away.

  Ethan followed the pair into the living room.

  “Okay, I didn’t ask if you’ve played before,” Lincoln said as he sat down on the couch. Holland took the spot next to him, and that left just enough room for Ethan on the other side of her. He set his plate down on the side table and took his seat, doing his best to ignore the heat of her near his thigh.

  He was going to lose his mind.

  “Oh, I’m a pro.” Holland quirked a grin.

  “Dear God,” Ethan groaned. “This is not going to end well.”

  “Wait until you see how many times he hits himself with a green shell,” Lincoln grinned.

  “Lincoln, I used to do that a lot,” Holland said gently.

  “When you were like five, right? Because it’s always when you’re five. Because you learn things by the time you’re in your twenties like us.”

  Ethan put his head in his hands and groaned, while Holland and Lincoln laughed. “I don’t think this is funny anymore. Let’s just watch a movie.”

  “No, no, you lured me over here with Mario Kart and drinking. Let’s get this done.”

  “So you can have more than one glass of wine?” Lincoln asked.

  “I took an Uber over here. So, yes, I can have a couple more glasses.”

  “Then let’s have some fun,” Lincoln said, and Holland grinned.

  Ethan just hoped to hell they weren’t making a mistake.

  * * *

  They were four bottles of wine in and a couple of hours of games down when Ethan rubbed his head, groaning.

  “I’m really not good at this.”

  “You’re really not.” Holland giggled.

  Her cheeks were rosy, her eyes bright, and he knew that she was just as drunk as he was. In fact, it was kind of hard for him to string words together, but that was fine. He figured Lincoln could sleep on the couch, and Holland could take the guest room if they got too drunk. He really didn’t want her to end up in an Uber all alone when they were drinking this much. Though once they’d started, it was kind of hard to stop. And this was fun.

  “Okay, let’s make this interesting,” Ethan said, the devil on his shoulder suddenly coming out to play.

  Lincoln walked into the living room, three shot glasses in one hand, and the tequila bottle in his other.

  Even though Ethan had been the one to mention shots, he’d almost forgotten that Lincoln had gone to get them.

  “You asked me to get some tequila shots ready, and now you want to make it even more interesting?”

  “What, I figured we could make a point system. Loser has to take a shot.”

  “A point system, in Mario Kart. You’re going to get drunk as fuck,” Holland said, reaching for a shot glass.

  “I’m already pretty much there,” Ethan said, snorting.

  “Then let’s play a game that Ethan can actually play.”

  “Like Chutes and Ladders?” Holland asked, and Ethan flipped her off.

  “I knew I liked you,” Lincoln said, giving her a high-five before pouring tequila into each of the shot glasses. Ethan had the good tequila, so they only needed a little salt and didn’t even need the lime.

  They clinked shot glasses and then tossed them back, the smoothness so good, he could barely taste the liquor.

  This was going to end badly.

  “No, we’ll figure out a way. And we’ll put it at the highest-level difficulty and figure out not the points on the actual score, but whoever hits each other the most. They get to keep their sanity.”

  “So, the people who get hit the most take a shot?”

  “Yup,” he said, answering Holland’s question.

  “Game on.”

  He was in that warm, fuzziness of buzzed, almost to drunk, and all he wanted to do was lean down and take her lips. Or Lincoln’s.

  He should really stop drinking.

  They played one round, with Ethan and Holland having to take a drink while Lincoln looked on like a cat in cream.

  “Okay, one more, and I’m going to kick your asses,” Holland said, wiggling on her butt where she sat on the floor. They had all settled on the carpet where there was more room. Each of them had taken off their shoes and socks, and Ethan noticed that Lincoln had been playing with Holland’s toes, mostly because she wore toe rings. Apparently, his best friend had a foot fetish. Who knew?

  They each did another shot, primarily to get the game rolling, and Ethan figured that was probably one shot too many. So, when he and Holland lost again, they looked down at the tequila, and Holland shook her head.

  “Okay. Maybe that’s enough for me.”

  “Yes, but we still lost. So, what should we do?”

  “Strip Mario Kart?” Lincoln said and snorted. “I was kidding.”

  “Totally not playing strip Mario Kart,” Holland said, leaning against the chair.

  “Well, so…what’s your penance for losing?”

  “I don’t know.” Holland looked between Lincoln and him and swallowed hard. “I won’t strip. But how about you kiss me?” she asked, then her eye
s widened, and she put her hand over her mouth. “Forget I said that. It’s the tequila. Mixed with the wine. I’m really not going to like tomorrow.”

  But Ethan wasn’t thinking anything. Instead, he swallowed hard and, before he could think too hard about it, he looked at Lincoln. His best friend nodded, and then Ethan lowered his head, pulling Holland to him. He smacked a hard kiss on her mouth. Her eyes went wide.

  “Oh. Wow. Okay.” She looked over at Lincoln. “But you were the winner. I mean… I guess you’re going to lose out.”

  Lincoln shrugged and then leaned forward, cupping her face and brushing his lips along hers.

  “No, I don’t think I’m missing out at all.” And then he deepened the kiss, sending a moan through her, and right into Ethan.

  His dick strained at his jeans, and he was suddenly just a little bit sober.

  “Holy fuck.”

  Holland pulled away while Lincoln sat there, his eyes dark. Ethan just swallowed again.

  “Okay, you both kissed me. And that…that’s a good way to win at Mario Kart. But now it’s your guys’ turn.” She looked between them, and Ethan froze.

  Her eyes widened again, and she shook her head quickly. “Shit. I’m sorry. You don’t have to do that. It’s the tequila talking. And I really didn’t mean that. Let’s go back to drinking. Or just playing for cheese or something.”

  But Ethan looked over at his best friend and figured he was almost drunk enough to have an excuse. Nearly drunk enough to pretend that this was only a kiss. That it was nothing.

  So, he leaned forward, and Lincoln leaned in even more. And then his lips were on his best friend’s. He knew this couldn’t be a mistake. He wouldn’t let it be a mistake. But tequila had never done him wrong before. And as he opened his mouth, his tongue brushing along Lincoln’s, he had a feeling that, right or wrong, this was going to change everything.

  Chapter 5

  It was as if every ounce of alcohol in her bloodstream had evaporated in that moment. Holland sucked in a breath and watched as the two men kissed, first hesitantly, and then harder. Her nipples tightened, everything in her body reacting as if they were the only three in the world, and this was all that mattered.