It wasn’t long before Alex figured out where he was taking her. “Lake Underwood.” She whispered.
There was some land the Bradford family owned that had a small fishing cabin on it. When Cash had earned his driver’s license, he would drive the three of them there whenever they all had free time. They would fish, hang out and take sometimes take a canoe out on the lake. It was their little hideaway.
Alex was surprised to see Cash’s car parked in from of the cabin. “What’s going on?”
“We’re going to have that talk we should have had a long time ago.” He pulled his vehicle alongside Cash’s.
“You two aren’t going to kill me, are you?” She laughed uneasily.
“If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it when you put that frog down my back when we were ten.”
She couldn’t help but giggle at that memory. Those were happier times. “Okay. But if you two murder me, I swear to God, I’m coming back to kill the both of you.”
“Duly noted. Let’s go.”
She followed him inside the cabin where Cash was waiting. The inside was sparsely decorated but it had a cozy feeling about it. It brought back so many good memories. But somewhere along the way, things had changed between the three of them. She wasn’t sure if they could go back to where they used to be or what they had been to each other.
“Okay. I’m here. I’m not sure what all the secrecy was for, but talk.”
“Maybe, you should sit first?” Cash gestured to the closest chair.
“I think I’ll stand.”
Rusty grinned. “Suit yourself.”
Cash started to pace back and forth as he began to speak. “With my father’s death, I realized how precious life is and how I don’t want to spend it living a lie. We’ve been friends since we were kids, but along the way, I fell in love with you. I tried to fight it by telling myself it was just hormones or any other silly excuse that came to mind. But every time we were together, I wanted to tell you how I felt, and how you make me feel. But I couldn’t, because I didn’t want to destroy the friendship we had. I figured I would rather have you as a friend than as nothing at all. But, that was until this guy told me that he had feelings for you as well.” He jerked his thumb toward his brother.”
Rusty offered a sheepish grin. “Yeah. What he said. Look, I’m not as eloquent as Cash and a lot of times I end up saying the wrong thing, but I know what my heart wants and it’s always been you.” He took a step forward, reached out and gently caressed her cheek with the back of his hand.
Her mouth fell open. Alex wasn’t sure if she should pinch herself. This had to be a dream. There was no possible way that Cash and Rusty, her best friends since she’d been in diapers, had both declared their love for her.
“Say something,” Rusty whispered.
“I, uh… I think, I need that seat now.” Somehow she made it the couple of feet to the chair and plopped down on it. It seemed incredulous that after almost two years of ignoring each other, suddenly, they were in love with her. Both of them. “Is this a joke?”
Cash shook his head. “Trust me. Neither one of us would joke about something this serious.”
“The last couple of years, we haven’t exactly been on friendly terms. Besides,” she cut her gaze toward Rusty, “you were dating Tabitha. You know how much that girl has made my life a living hell. A friend wouldn’t do that to another friend.”
“You’re absolutely right.” Rusty nodded his head in agreement. “But a friend would sacrifice his own happiness for the sake of someone he really cared about.”
“I don’t I follow.”
Cash stopped pacing the room to face her. “We pretty much figured our mother had said something to you after you stopped coming around. She’d been dropping hints for months about how she didn’t think it was such a good idea that you were around us so much. Knowing our mother the way we do, it was only a matter of time before she confronted you. Whenever you’d come by the house, we made sure you were never alone with her for a second to give her a chance. What we didn’t count on was her actually going to your house. And for that, we’re sorry.”
Rusty placed his hands on top of his head and sighed. “As for the Tabitha thing. It was my fault. If I hadn’t been so impatient to show you how I felt by kissing you in the hallway that day, Tabitha and I would never have happened. We were so caught up in our conversation that none of us noticed that she had slipped around the corner and watched us. She snapped a picture of us on her phone of me kissing you. And then, Cash kissing you. She confronted us with the pictures and told us to stay away from you or else she’d make copies and post them all over town. If that happened, our mother would have probably fired Miss Ida Mae. So, I had to pretend we were seeing each other. Every time she touched me and tried to kiss me, I was sick to my stomach. But I did it for you because I wanted to protect your reputation and your grandmother’s job.”
“And, I had to promise to stay away from you. Even though, it killed me to do it,” Cash added. “We also made a deal with her that she leave you alone. No more bullying.”
Alex figured that Tabitha and her crew had stopped harassing her because she had finally gotten what she wanted. Now, it made sense. It was because Rusty and Cash had told her not to. She had no right to be upset with either of them for the deal they had cut with Tabitha. Hadn’t she done the same thing when she’d had vowed to stay away from them because of the conversation she’d had with their mother? But it had been more than the threat made by Mrs. Bradford. Alex didn’t want them to know she’d discovered her new found feelings for them.
She pinched the back of her hand with more force than she’d intended. “Ow.”
Cash raised his brows. “Why did you do that?”
“I just wanted to make sure this wasn’t a dream I’m going to wake from. It has to be, right?”
Rusty stalked across the room until he was next to her. He took her hand and pressed his lips against the spot she’d pinched. A wave of heat flared through her body. “No. This isn’t a dream. I know it’s a lot to take in but I’m tired of living a lie. I needed you to know how I feel. How I think I’ve always felt for you, even when we were just kids.”
Alex opened her mouth then closed it. Words defied her. What could she say when the past couple of years, she had died a little inside every time she saw them, knowing their friendship was dead? Now this. She tugged her hand out of Rusty’s grip. “I…uh, I mean, are you both okay with having feelings for me?” She swung her gaze toward Cash and then back at Rusty.
“Trust me, it’s not something either one of us counted on and we’ve come to blows over it a few times,” Cash explained. “Our mother noticed the tension between us, and it’s probably what prompted her to have her little chat with you. Both of us wanted you and neither of us was willing to back off. So we figured you would decide who you wanted to be with. But, it soon became clear that you might actually have feelings for the both of us. I couldn’t put my finger on why. It was just a hunch. But, I knew for sure after that kiss. You couldn’t have kissed the both of us the way you did, if you didn’t love us at least a little. You’re not that kind of person. Was I wrong?”
Alex lowered her head and sighed. “No,” she whispered. “But, this can’t work. Rusty and I are going away to school and Cash, you have a couple more years at the university to finish up yourself. Not to mention, what would everyone say? My grandmother already thinks I’m going to shame her in some way like my mother did. And, what about Tabitha?”
Rusty gripped Alex by her forearms and pulled her out of the chair until their bodies touched. “I don’t give a flying fuck about Tabitha. Let her do her worst, we can handle her. As far as everyone else, fuck them, too. What matters is how we feel about each other, and I love you, Alex. I’ve always loved you and I need you. We need you.”
Before she realized what was happening, Cash moved behind her and pressed his body against her back. He slid his lips along the side of her neck, as Rust
y slowly lowered his head. Alex was mesmerized, within the power of his intense gaze. Powerless to do anything else…she surrendered.
Chapter Four
Alex had nearly called out of work the next day. She was so exhausted she could barely keep her eyes open. Somehow, she made it through the day without causing any major disasters. As she headed to the parking lot, she contemplated not going home, because she didn’t know if Cash and Rusty would be waiting for her.
“Hey Alex, wait up,” Georgia called out to her.
Alex stopped long enough for her friend to catch up. “I thought you were working a double today.”
“I am. I’m on break right now, but I wanted to catch you before you left.”
“Oh? What’s up?”
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to you all day and I was wondering if you were feeling okay. I noticed how spacey you’ve been so I went behind you to make sure you didn’t have a mishap like yesterday. I don’t want our supervisor breathing down your neck. Does that letter you had yesterday have anything to do with why you’ve been so distracted?”
Alex groaned. “I’m so sorry. I did my best trying to do what I was supposed to but I just couldn’t concentrate.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“You’re going to make me tell you, aren’t you?”
“Well, if you expect me to keep covering your butt, I think I’m owed some kind of explanation. We’re friends. And, I’m worried about you.”
Georgia could be quite persistent when she wanted to be and there was no point in keeping it from her. “I had some visitors last night.”
“Was one of those visitors responsible for that letter?”
Alex nodded. “It was two of them, actually. A couple people from my past who want me to go back to Bradfordville with them.”
“What for?”
“They say it’s because my grandmother wants to see me, but I think they want me to stay for good.”
“Who are these people? Are they more relatives?”
“No.”
“Is one of them an old boyfriend?”
Alex wasn’t sure how to answer that. She, Cash and Rusty had never established a clear title for what they were. That day they confronted her in the cabin with their feelings, she gave them her virginity. She’d heard stories from many girls who said that their first time was painful and terrible, and though it had hurt little and been somewhat uncomfortable, the overall experience had been incredible. She had loved them with all her heart and knew they were who she wanted to be with forever. It didn’t matter that she was only eighteen, Alex realized she’d never love anyone the way she loved Cash and Rusty Bradford.
They agreed to keep their affair a secret until they all finished school so that there would be no one who could object to their union. Rusty and Alex graduated and Alex continued to work at the diner to save money, but every bit of free time she had would be spent at the cabin, sometimes with Cash, other times with Rusty. But her favorite times were when they were both there. They played, laughed and loved, creating a word all their own until it all came crashing down around them and Alex was the one to pay the consequences.
“No, I wouldn’t say that,” she finally answered.
“Okay, it’s clear you’re not going to expound on that but what about your grandmother? Yesterday, you said the two of you weren’t close but you if she’s asking for you, maybe she wants to make her peace with you.”
Alex shrugged. “Maybe. But, you know how the saying goes. You can never go home.”
“That’s bullshit. You can go home if you want to, but you’re being stubborn. Whatever happened between you and your grandmother can’t be so bad that you aren’t willing to make peace with one of your few living relatives left on this Earth.”
“You don’t know the half of it, Georgia.”
“Maybe not, but I know what it’s like wondering, what if? I told you about my family and how my parents got divorced because my father was a raging alcoholic. He was mean and abusive. He made us all miserable. I was so glad when Mom finally left him. But years later, he got sick and he wanted to see me and my brother. Jack went but I refused. I didn’t want to grant his one dying wish because I didn’t feel like I owed him a damn thing. And then, he died. And I never got to ask him all the things I wanted to. I never got that closure. I had the opportunity but I didn’t take it. I’ve regretted that for a long time, now. Don’t do that to yourself. You might not regret it now, but one day you might and there won’t be a thing you can do about it. As for that fella that’s got you all twisted in a knot, I’m guessing you probably still have feelings for him, otherwise it wouldn’t be affecting you this much. You should consider taking some time off. You never go on vacation, so I’m sure you have plenty of time saved up.”
Alex couldn’t argue with her friend’s logic because everything she said made perfect sense. “I’ll think about it.”
Georgia patted her on the shoulder. “That’s a start. I should go back in but I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Okay. Goodnight.”
Alex replayed her conversation with Georgia in her head over and over again as she drove back to her apartment. By the time she arrived home, she was so exhausted all she wanted to do was slip into bed and fall into a deep dreamless sleep. That, however, wasn’t to be, because as she approached her building, she spied Cash and Rusty standing by the entrance. Her first instinct was to turn around and get back into her car and drive off. But remembering her friend’s words, she knew she had to confront them or else she’d never find the closure she needed to get past the pain she still carried deep within her soul.
***
Rusty tensed as Alex got closer. Dressed in dark blue scrubs, she still looked amazing to him. Seeing her the night before had only reaffirmed his decision to come here. The last eight years had been torture. There were so many times when he wanted to come get her. Once, he drove the six hours just to catch a glimpse of her. It had taken every bit of willpower he had not to go to her then. The time hadn’t been right. The only reason he managed to hang on to his sanity these past years was his knowing that he and Cash would claim her for their own once again and there would be no stopping them.
Alex released a heavy sigh once she reached them. “How long have you been waiting out here?”
Rusty put his hands behind his back to keep himself from pulling her into his arms. “About twenty minutes. We figured you’d be getting home around this time.”
She raised a brow. “So you’re stalking me now?”
“Not exactly. Are you going to let us in?”
Alex shrugged. “Might as well.”
Cash moved in between them. “We brought dinner.”
“I’m not that hungry, but thanks anyway. Come on in.”
He and Cash followed Alex as she led them to her apartment. Rusty couldn’t help but watch the generous swell of her ass as her hips swayed from side to side. His dick jumped to attention. Alex had put on a few pounds these last few years but they suited her, making her already abundant curves even more inviting. He had barely slept last night as thoughts of burying himself between her silky thighs again kept him awake. Rusty had a feeling he was in for another sleepless night.
Once they stepped into her apartment, Alex threw her keys on the table and kicked her shoes off. “Why don’t you two take a seat at the dining table and I’ll get some plates and utensils.”
Rusty settled into a chair across from his brother. “Well, at least, she didn’t tell us to leave. We’re making progress.”
“Yes but I think it’ll take some convincing for her to come back home with us.”
“I say we just take her.”
“And have her hate us more than she already thinks she does? No. We made the mistake of rushing things before. This time, we do it right.”
As much as Rusty wanted to argue, Cash made sense. Impatience had gotten them all in a jam the first time and it had nearly destroyed them the secon
d time. There wouldn’t be a third.
Alex returned shortly and placed everything on the table. She placed some cups, eating utensils and soda on the table before taking a seat. “Looks like an awful lot of food for just the two of you.”
Cash grabbed one of the bags started taking out cartons. “Are you sure you don’t want anything? We got all your favorites. Moo shoo pork, sweet and sour spare ribs and hot wings.”
Her eyes widened as she stared at buffet laid out in front of her. “There’s no way I could eat all of that, even if I did have much of an appetite.”
Rusty pushed a pizza box her way and opened it. “We also got you this.”
Alex licked her lips when she eyed what was inside. “Pineapple and ham pizza with extra onions. I haven’t had one of these in ages. You remembered?”
Rusty grinned. “How could we forget? You could eat an entire large by yourself but afterwards, your breath could melt metal.”
Alex giggled. “It was almost as bad as when you’d eat those gross garlic knots. Those things were pungent. You’d eat so many you could have killed a vampire.”
“I know. I kept a supply handy to keep Tabitha away.” The second he said it, he wished he hadn’t. It killed the silent truce they had seemed to form. “Uh, well, if you’re not going to eat anything, I think I’ll have these wings.”
“It’s okay. I’m not going to fall to pieces because you mentioned her name. You know what? I think I’ll some of this after all.” She grabbed a slice of pizza and took a bite.
The three of them ate in an awkward silence until Rusty couldn’t take it anymore. He pushed his plate aside. “We need to talk.”
Alex shrugged. “Then talk.”
“We want you to come back home with us,” Rusty stated plainly seeing no point in beating around the bush.
“I am home.”
Rusty crossed his arms against his chest and narrowed his eyes. “Are you saying that because you really mean it or because you’re scared to give your heart to us again? Because if you say you don’t have any feelings for us at all, you’re a liar.”
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