by Daisy May
“We’re here.”
I gave Reuben’s hand a final squeeze before exiting. When he emerged, he looked at the house in some awe. “Nice,” he murmured.
I coughed, slightly self-conscious. Our place had always been a bit showy for my taste. The real estate agent had called it a “miniature French chateau.” The exterior was charmingly rustic, while the inside had been torn out and redone with shiny new appliances before we moved in.
I’d insisted on all the best back when we bought it, forgetting that our needs didn’t necessarily correspond with the “best.” It was way too big for two people, for one thing, and we had no plans to grow our family.
“It’s all right,” I said. “Come on in and I’ll get you another drink.”
Obediently, Reuben followed me up the steps to the front door. He’d definitely had enough at the bar, because he was a little wobbly on his feet. It felt like we’d been there for hours, waiting for Charlie. I couldn’t wait any longer. And from the looks of it, neither could he.
“You’re sure Charlie won’t mind giving me a ride back to the bar when we sober up?” he asked as I unlocked the door. “I mean, later tonight or… whatever?”
I grinned at him, fully conscious of what he was asking. “We don’t do overnights with other people, but he can give you a ride later tonight.”
“Oh… I see.” He stepped inside and looked around, clearly impressed by the glossy wooden floors and spiral staircase. “No problem.”
I wondered whether he’d expected to stay the night. Well, I was getting ahead of myself. I hadn’t even gotten him into bed yet. Charlie wasn’t even here yet!
“Anyway, let’s have another drink,” I said. “Beer? Wine? Something stronger?” I led him into the kitchen and opened the liquor cabinet.
He gaped openly. “You have so many choices,” he said. “All these bottles. It’s like a bar in here.”
“Sure,” I said. “What else would we have?”
“Most of my friends drink their alcohol as fast as they buy it.” He swayed slightly, leaning on a chair.
“We’re not huge drinkers,” I said. “Just helps to loosen up once in a while.”
“I don’t drink too often, either.” He sank into the chair. “I'm kind of a lightweight.”
That explained why he seemed so tipsy after only a couple of beers. “We don’t have to have another if you’re not up for it. Let me see if Charlie’s said anything.” I opened my phone. “He says he won’t be much longer.” I slid into the chair beside him and grabbed his hand again.
God, I couldn’t wait for Charlie to get here so I could get this gorgeous man out of his clothes. I wanted him and he wanted me, and as soon as Charlie showed up they were going to want each other. So what was the hold-up, already?
“When’s he going to get here?” Reuben asked, staring into my eyes with unmasked desire.
“Soon,” I said softly. “I don’t know exactly.”
I swallowed, wondering if I could just lean in and kiss Reuben. I’d implied as much to Charlie over text, but now that I had Reuben alone, I felt strange doing anything without my husband.
I rubbed Reuben’s hand, feeling heat build within me. I couldn’t hold myself back any longer. I didn’t want to.
“Let me send one last text,” I said. To Charlie, I wrote, Haven’t done anything yet… but I’m about to kiss him now.
And then I looped my arm around Reuben’s neck and drew him in. He gave a soft whimper, and I felt like doing the same. His lips were supple, his touch hesitant, and kissing him was so damn different from kissing Charlie.
His smell was different, his taste… There was no thick beard in the way. I put my arms around him, and instead of the broad back I was used to, I got narrow shoulders and slim biceps.
I pulled my chair closer to his, wanting to feel him even more. God, I couldn’t wait to get him into the bedroom. Not until Charlie got here, though. All of this would be so much better when Charlie got here.
Suddenly I was aware of my hardness, and I took rasping breaths as I tried to get my cock to settle down. It wasn’t time yet, but soon. So soon. A quick glance at Reuben’s groin suggested he was in the same state, and a glance at his desperate face confirmed it. Where was Charlie?
I was panting with lust when I heard the sound of the front door.
Reuben
The kiss was everything I’d hoped it would be. Deep, fervent, passionate—although it hadn’t lasted nearly long enough.
Jasper pulled back slightly, and I guessed he was thinking about his husband. I’d mainly agreed to this out of curiosity about being with two men at once, but at this point I hardly cared about the missing person. I was so ready for Jasper to rip my clothes off that I didn’t care if Charlie never showed up. I was barely holding back from suggesting we get started without him.
A sound came from the other end of the house, and Jasper sat up straight. “He’s here,” he whispered, his eyes bright. “I’ll go get him.”
I nodded, clutching the edge of the kitchen table. I suddenly felt a little dizzy, as if after semi-sobering up, the alcohol had just hit me all over again. This was really happening. A man I’d never met before was about to come in here. Now that Jasper and I had built up so much tension, I doubted his husband and I would even waste time getting to know each other. So this man I’d never even seen before was about to have his way with me.
My heart sped up as I listened to Jasper’s footsteps making their way through the house. I could just barely make out his voice as he got to the door. “About time you got here.”
There was a pause, when I assumed they were kissing. Imagine that, Jasper greeting his husband with a kiss while he had a hard-on for another man. For me, specifically. The thought of it was so bizarre yet so arousing that I almost felt like it couldn’t be real.
Something was going to go wrong. Suddenly I felt it as an utter certainty. Things like this didn’t happen. Me, hooking up with not one but two gorgeous older men? Something would get in the way before it happened.
No, Reuben, you’re being ridiculous. They’re over there right now. What’s going to happen in the next ten seconds before they get here? Nothing, that’s what. They’re going to come in here and you’re all going to get naked and fuck each other late into the night.
Oh my God. Oh my God. It was really happening.
I tensed up as I heard another voice. That had to be Jasper’s husband. “Frank asked me to stay. I couldn’t argue. Trust me, I wanted to be here.”
The voice was deep and masculine, which made me wonder once more what Charlie was going to look like. He had to be fucking sexy with a voice like that. Although there was something familiar about that voice, which I couldn’t quite put my finger on right now.
Taking deep breaths, I tried to calm myself by remembering how Jasper had described this guy. Tall, buff, and bearded … oh fuck, he sounded so good.
Footsteps were heading back toward me now, and I stood up with my heart pounding harder than ever. Maybe another drink would be a good idea after all.
Jasper came through the doorway, a huge smile on his face. “Reuben,” he said, his excitement visible. “I want to introduce you to Charlie.”
A hand came into my line of vision first—a big one, slightly darkened as if the owner had spent the whole day working with oil and grease. Hot. A powerful forearm followed, the muscle built by honest work in the sun. So hot. A broad shoulder, a strong chest, all of it hulking about half a foot taller than me.
My mouth watered. I’d made the right choice by accepting Jasper’s offer.
Now I looked up at the face. A face that already had two eyes staring through me and a mouth hanging open in unmasked shock.
No. This couldn’t be. I took a step back, my hands automatically rising to cover my mouth. I ran through the description Jasper had given me. Tall, buff, beard—check, check, and check.
And Jasper was completely correct about his husband’s sex appeal. I’d bee
n more than aware of that right from the first time he’d walked into my coffee shop.
“Mr. Angrypants,” I breathed.
“You two know each other?” Jasper asked.
“Mr. Angrypants?” Charlie shouted.
I shook my head. I couldn’t breathe anymore.
I fled toward the door.
Jasper
Well, there goes my erection. “Wait here,” I told Charlie, and raced after Reuben. If he wanted to run away, I would’ve let him run away, but he didn’t even have transportation.
I found him sitting on the porch, his head between his knees as if he were hyperventilating. I touched his back gently, then took my hand away as if I’d burned it. Touching him was definitely not a good idea at the moment, or that vanishing hard-on just might make another appearance.
“Want to tell me what just happened?” I asked quietly.
“I… well…” He heaved himself into a cross-legged position, his eyes still wild and panicky. “Your husband comes into my coffee shop. He’s not my favorite customer.”
Uh-oh… I could guess where he was going with this. As much as I adored Charlie, I was aware that he could be a bit prickly at times. No one could fault him for it once they got to know him. But I also couldn’t blame anyone for hating the side of him that came out after a long, stressful shift.
“So you really hate him?” I asked.
“Not hate. I mean, God knows he’s my type.” So there was hope! Except that Reuben was still talking. “Last time he came in —last night, actually—he was a real prick, and I kind of yelled at him. Told him to never come back.”
Well, shit. This definitely wasn’t the foreplay I’d imagined.
“I should go,” Reuben said.
“No, wait. Stay and talk for a little while. Maybe get to know him in another environment.” I clutched at his hand, unwilling to see him walk away. “There’s no reason this has to ruin everything.”
“I can’t do this with him.” He looked genuinely regretful, and I could see how much he still wanted me. “You’re great. I mean, you’re amazing. But him? I don’t think I could look past this.”
I bowed my head. “I understand.”
He sniffled, just once, but that was enough for me to get the message. He was serious about leaving, and I wasn’t going to be able to make him stay.
“Could you call me a cab?” he asked.
“Okay.”
For the few minutes that we waited, I sat with my arms around him, each of us resting our feet on the porch steps. I couldn’t think of anything to say to him at this point. I was sorry for what Charlie had done to him, but a tiny selfish part of me was angry at both of them. Charlie for being an asshole, and Reuben for not being able to look past this.
A yellow cab pulled into the driveway, and the two of us slowly stood. I hugged him again, inhaling his sweet scent for maybe the last time. This was only supposed to be a hook-up, anyway. It’s not that big a deal. But somehow, even though this was only going to be a night of debauchery, not getting what I wanted felt like a massive loss.
Before Reuben could get in the car, I pressed my lips to his again. “I’m sorry about this.”
“Don’t mention it.” Then he was gone, leaving me with lips still tingling from his touch.
I swallowed, taking a moment to steady myself before heading inside. What could I even say to Charlie at a time like this? I wanted to yell at him, but with all the unfulfilled desire that’d been building up, I wanted to fuck him too.
Smiling sardonically to myself, I went back to the kitchen. Angry sex could work. I just wished it was with three people.
“What the hell did you do to that kid?” I asked when I saw Charlie.
He’d poured himself a glass of scotch, yet the hand he wasn’t drinking with was still squeezed into a tight fist. He shifted around in his chair, clearly uncomfortable. “I didn’t think he hated me that much.”
“He made it sound like you’ve been terrorizing him.”
“Terrorizing?” He snorted. “Did you hear the name he gave me?”
“I sure did, and I wonder what made him give it to you.” I sat, placing my hand on his knee. A vague sense of guilt came over me, as if I’d betrayed him by touching Reuben like this earlier. Or did I feel like I was betraying Reuben by touching Charlie now? “I know you have a tendency to be a little bristly.”
“I like that coffee shop, though.” He took a gulp of scotch. “Wasn’t I just telling you that I do? Sometimes I ask for some modifications, but I go there because they get it right in the end and they understand I’m not always going to be smiley. Or ever smiley.” Another gulp. “At least I thought they understood that.”
I let go of his knee. “So you go to them because they accept you being rude, but now they’ve had enough?”
“I’m not rude.”
“Do you say please and thank you?” I asked, and he shook his head. “Do you even say hello and goodbye?”
“I’m stressed when I’m there,” he said. “That’s why I’m buying coffee. It’s a perk in my day.”
“And it’s not a perk in everyone else’s? And yet other people operating in society manage the absolute minimum of politeness and civility.”
He heaved a sigh. “I didn’t know I was being so terrible.”
Once again, my desire was gone. I just felt sorry for both Charlie and Reuben now, and sorry for my own fantasy that obviously was never going to come true.
“You do agree he’s cute, don’t you?”
“Of course he is.” He laughed bitterly. “I have a nickname for him, too, but it’s a bit more flattering. Cutie McCoffee.”
“Hmm.” I stood up, looking anywhere but at him. “I was really looking forward to this, you know.”
“I know. I fucked it up.”
“Yeah,” I said. “You really did.”
Reuben
As soon as the cab dropped me off, I collapsed onto my bed. This night had been a wild ride, and I was exhausted.
I slept terribly. In the morning, I dragged myself out of bed. At least I didn’t have to work. Thank goodness for small blessings, as my grandmother always said. I couldn’t have dealt with Hannah if she started asking me more questions. And I especially couldn’t have dealt with the memories of Charlie coming into Cup of Joy.
I went to an early-morning yoga class, the one I usually never made it to. Slight mistake, because the instructor was more energetic than I’d expected. Who in their right minds would want to actually sweat when it was barely past the crack of dawn?
When I couldn’t hold downward dog a second longer, I slipped into child’s pose. I stayed there for a while, even as the rest of the class did headstands. I had no need to flip myself upside down when the rest of my life had just done that for me.
The class blessedly came to an end, and I changed clothes in a hurry. This was when I often would’ve chatted with Gordon. It’d been months, but I still hated how he’d moved away. I needed another yoga buddy. I wondered what he would’ve had to say about my situation.
And just like that, my mind flew straight back to last night. I’d been about an inch away from getting into two gorgeous guys’ pants. If I hadn’t freaked out, Charlie might’ve still been up for the threesome. At least, I guessed that from how Jasper had acted after. I hadn’t actually looked at Charlie for more than a second, and then my only focus was on running away. There was no way to know if Charlie would’ve wanted to go ahead with things.
But there was no point to wondering “what if,” because the fact was that I had run away. I’d do the same if it happened now, too. Seeing him had been such a shock, and if human instinct was fight or flight, it was only natural to get as far away as possible.
It didn’t matter anyway. I hadn’t wanted to. And it wasn’t just that split-second instinctive reaction, either. Despite his looks, that man was a jerk. Even if I didn’t need to be in love with someone to have sex with them, the act did take some vulnerability, not to men
tion trust and communication. I’d done the right thing.
So why was I still picturing how things could’ve happened? As I got in my car, I shook my head at myself. These images of naked, sweaty, writhing men did not belong in my mind. I hated Charlie—he had to be one of my least favorite people on the planet. And I didn’t want him. Not a single tiny bit.
I wondered how Jasper had even fallen for him. Clearly he had worse taste than I thought. Although… Jasper was pretty great, and they’d been together fifteen years, so Charlie had to have some redeeming qualities. But still, I’d never seen those qualities in the months he’d been coming to Cup of Joy.
Which, apparently, was where I was driving. I’d been ambling along on autopilot, and now I was pulling into the coffee shop’s parking lot. I shook my head again and climbed out of the car. If I was here anyway, I might as well grab a coffee and chat with Hannah.
She was behind the counter along with another coworker, and she raised her eyebrows at me as I walked in. “What can I get for you, dear genuine, official customer whom I’ve never seen before in my life?”
“Could I have a latte?” I asked. “With whipped cream and caramel drizzle?”
She rolled her eyes. “If you want to get back here and make it.”
I stepped behind the counter. When the drink was ready, I took a seat at the nearest table.
“What brings you here?” she asked. “On the look-out for Angrypants? I promise I’ll kick him out if he shows up.”
I sighed. “Do you really think he deserves a ban? I mean, he’ll probably stay away anyway, but… is it possible that I overreacted to what he did?”
“Um, I don’t know.” Hannah frowned. “I just came out and found you yelling at him.”
“But you also take your breaks whenever he comes in. It’s because he’s awful, right? You did give him that name, too.”
“I think you gave it to him.” She glanced at the other barista, who nodded. “To be honest, I don’t think he bothers me as much as he bothers you. He’s a pain in the ass, but it’s also kind of sexy to watch the two of you facing off.”