Effortless (Less Is More Book 3)

by J. M. Lamp

  Will and Elliot’s relationship is the complete opposite of Ethan and Cody’s. Yes, they both love each other, but Ethan and Cody seem normal compared to Will and Elliot who are lovebirds compared to Ethan and Cody.

  I look over at Oliver and catch him smiling at me.

  I mouth the word “what,” and he mouths back “nothing.”

  “Are you excited, Oliver?” Ethan smiles at him and looks over at me. “We have all been dying to see you outside of Gregor’s.”

  Oliver nods. “I’m just thankful I was invited. Meeting Sam has made moving to the city way smoother than I could have imagined, but you guys being so nice, too? That’s just awesome to me.”

  “We’re very glad you moved here, too,” Elliot says. He looks over at me, and he smiles. “And I know that Sam is very glad, too.”

  “Do we need to bring anything besides clothes and such?” I ask Ethan.

  He shakes his head and looks over at me. “Just make sure you don’t forget something to swim in. Hadley did that when we went last month, and it a was bitch going with her to find a bathing suit she liked.”

  “Where is your beautiful sister?” I ask him.

  Ethan looks over at Elliot and then, he looks back over at me. “She’s not been… in the mood to do anything lately.” I put my hands behind my head and look at him, confused. He looks over at Cody who doesn’t say anything. “Her and Ian kind of stopped being a thing, so she’s been a tad blah the last few weeks.”

  “Oh.” I look over at Cody, who takes a drink of his beer and looks across the table at the people close to us.

  “Our flight leaves at eight on Friday,” Will says, changing the subject. “Back in the morning on Wednesday.”

  “Still can’t believe you got such cheap flights,” Cody says.

  “Benefits of knowing a lot of random people,” Will says.

  I scoot back from the table and make my way out of my seat. “I have to go use the bathroom.”

  I slide past an old man into the bathroom and find an open urinal. I hope Oliver is enjoying himself; he seems to be at least. The bathroom door opens as I go to wash my hands.

  “I like him,” Ethan says beside me. I look up in the mirror and meet his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.” I shake my head and put my hands under the paper-towel dispenser. “Just wondering if Oliver is having a good time or not.”

  “What makes you think he isn’t?”

  “I don’t know,” I say. I cross my arms and lean against the sink. “Overthinking, I guess. By the way, what’s the deal with Hadley?”

  “It’s nothing.”

  “Cody seems bothered by it.”

  He sighs and goes over to the urinal. “Cody and Ian aren’t really talking at the moment, either.”

  “What happened?”

  He shrugs. “All I know is that Ian isn’t really talking to anyone. Him and Hadley didn’t fight or anything, but one day he just shut down and they haven’t talked. Cody tried talking to him, and the same thing happened.”

  I move out of the way so he can get to the sink. He doesn’t raise his head or meet my eyes in the mirror.

  “Are you guys doing OK?” I ask him.

  He nods. “We’re fine. I just wish we knew what was going on with him so we could help him with whatever it is. Him and Cody don’t really talk about a lot of personal stuff, but if something were going on then I’d hope he’d trust Cody enough to let him know. I don’t know, Samuel.” He turns off the faucet and flicks his wet hands at me. “Seriously, Oliver is awesome. It’s gonna be a fun Fourth of July.”

  ***

  I open the door and see Oliver’s bright, beautiful smile. He sets his bag down and puts his hands on both sides of my face.

  “Hi,” he says. He kisses my cheek and wraps his arms around my stomach, laying his head on my shoulder.

  I kiss his forehead and look up at the clock on the wall. “You’re early.”

  “I know.” He pulls away and moves his bag across the floor. “I wanted to see you, alone, before we met the rest of the guys.”

  “Everything OK?”

  He nods and makes his way over to the dining table. He sits down on the chair and looks up at me.

  “I just wanted get your opinion on something.”

  I sit down next to him and put my hands behind my head.

  “I learned today that Gregor’s is going to be going up for sale soon,” he says.

  My eyes widen. “Why?”

  “Bruce wants to move away,” he shrugs. “It won’t be until the end of the year, but he plans to sell everything and travel the world.”

  “And you’re thinking of buying it?”

  He nods.

  I sit up straighter in my chair and let out a deep breath. “I, personally, think that’s an amazing idea…”

  “But?”

  “But,” I laugh, “that’s going to be really expensive, isn’t it?”

  He smiles. “There’s something you don’t know about me.” He gets up out of his chair and leans against the counter. “I—“

  Kelsey appears from the hallway, and I realize that I completely forgot that she was even here. She raises her eyebrows and smiles.

  “Oliver,” I say, getting up out of my chair and pointing to Kelsey, “this is my sister.”

  Kelsey beams and makes her way closer to us, extending her hand.

  “It’s nice to finally meet you,” Oliver says.

  “I know, right?” she says. “He’s been hiding you or something. Afraid I’ll embarrass him.”

  “If there are secrets that he is embarrassed of,” Oliver smirks, “I would love nothing more then to hear every single one of them.”

  Kelsey laughs and grabs her shoes from underneath my chair. “Rain check on that, Olli.” She slips her shoes on and looks up at me.

  I look at her with confusion. “Where are you going?”

  “Out,” she says. “It’s Friday.” She hugs me and looks over at Oliver again. “Seriously, once you guys are back from your little trip. Deal?”

  “Deal.” Oliver nods and laughs as Kelsey makes her way out the door.

  I look over at him and smile.

  “She’s fun,” he says.

  “I honestly forgot that she was even here. She’s been sleeping all day. Anyway.” I get up out of the chair and walk over to him. “What is this thing that I don’t know about you?”

  He grabs my hand and leads me over to the couch.

  “When I finished school, I was twenty-two. Right when I graduated, I got a job at a huge law firm. During my first year there some shit happened, and I basically was paid to keep my mouth shut. I felt bad about it for like a year, but something else happened after I left and it didn’t matter anyway. Basically, I have a bunch of money and that’s why I can, so comfortably, live as a full-time bartender.”

  I put my hands behind my head and nod. I look out the sliding-glass doors to my balcony and look back over at Oliver.

  He makes a duck face, and I laugh. “I mean, that’s… cool, I guess. As long as people aren’t constantly watching you and shit.”

  “No.” He shakes his head and leans back against the couch. “Really, it’s fine. Anyway, I’m debating now on whether or not to buy the bar. It’s always been a dream of mine, so I feel like I really shouldn’t pass up the opportunity. Then again, I have no fucking idea how to run a business. I know I have a degree in business, but I lack the experience, and that scares me.”

  I smile. “You’ll figure it out. Are you going to rename it?”

  He shrugs and lets out a sigh. “I haven’t even thought about that, Samuel.”

  I flip around and lay my head down in his lap. He runs his fingers through my hair, and I look up into his eyes.

  I move my hands around in the air, and I say, “Olli’s.”

  “I love it,” he says.

  I look up at the clock and see that it is getting close to the time when Will and Elliot said they’d pick us up.


  “I’m really glad you’re coming with us.” I look up into Oliver’s eyes as he looks down into mine.

  “You’re friends are pretty cool,” he says. “I think it will be a pretty bitchin’ time.”

  I laugh, and I say, “Bitchin’, huh?”

  “Totally, bro.”

  I hear a brief knock at the door and in walks Elliot.

  “Are we ready, boys?”

  I look up into Oliver’s eyes. He widens his and laughs.

  Chapter Ten

  Oliver

  T HE VACATION HOUSE IS JAW-DROPPINGLY gorgeous as we pull into the driveway. The outside of the two-story house is lined with fake palm trees and as I look back behind the house from the side, I can see the walkway that leads out to the sand and ocean. The outside is layered in white-oak wood and a wrap-around porch surrounds the house. Lit up along the porch are multiple porch lights, and the walkway behind the house has a couple overhead lights that show the path clearly.

  “Very nice, Ethan,” Sam says. He looks over at me, and he smiles. “Hi.”

  “Hi, yourself.” I tap him in the shoulder with my fist and grab my bag from the trunk of the van. The air is cool, and all I want to do is take my clothes off and go jump in the ocean—even though it is, mostly likely, freezing.

  We make our way inside and follow Ethan up the stairs.

  “I’m not sure how exactly you guys are wanting to… sleep,” Ethan says.

  Sam looks over at me and back at Ethan.

  I shrug, look over at Sam, and I say, “Together is fine.”

  Sam nods as Ethan turns around and heads into the bedroom.

  “This bedroom has it’s own bathroom,” Ethan says, pointing to the side of the room.

  I slip into the bathroom and quickly walk over to the toilet. I’ve had to take a piss since we got off the plane, and my bladder is on the verge of exploding. I flush the toilet and look at the walk-in shower. The first thought that crosses my mind is having sex with Sam in it, and I smile.

  “We’re aloud to have fires and shit,” I hear Ethan say as I walk back into the bedroom. “We can’t shoot guns or anything, though.”

  “I’ll keep mine in my bag,” Sam says.

  “A house down the way from here had one last month and cops were everywhere.” Ethan walks over to the doorway and knocks on the side of the door with his fist. “If you guys need anything, we’re gonna be in the room right across from you. Will and Elliot are staying in the one at the end of the hall. I think Cody is already in bed.”

  I look at my phone and see just how late it is. Ethan walks across the hall and into his room, while Sam shuts the door and looks up at me.

  “I hope he isn’t planning for us all to go to breakfast or something early in the morning,” he says.

  I laugh and pull back the covers on the bed. I slip into them and adjust the pillows. Sam gets in after me and slips off his shirt and shorts. I slip off mine and lay my head against his chest once he lies back.

  I shut my eyes as his hand slips into my hair. The motion he makes back and forth soothes me, and I can feel myself getting more and more tired by the second.

  “Elliot said the fireworks are Sunday night,” he says. “They do them out towards the boardwalk in the water.”

  I yawn and run my fingers along his right nipple. “I love fireworks.”

  “I love that you came this weekend.”

  I smile and look up into his eyes. “Well, I haven’t exactly came anywhere yet.” He raises his eyebrows at me, smirking. I laugh and lower my head back down to his chest. “Tomorrow morning, before breakfast. Deal?”

  “Deal.”

  ***

  I lean back onto my elbows on the blanket that Sam and I have lain out on the sand. The sun is slowly dehydrating me, and I love it.

  “I’m glad we’ve been swimming these past few weeks already,” Sam says. “I would’ve been too white for this.”

  He flips over onto his stomach and turns his head towards me. He rests his head on his crossed arms, and I can make out the vein running through his arms as he tightens them.

  I watch as sweat runs down his face and sides, and I say, “You get dark really easy. I got burnt the first time we spent all day at the pier.”

  I look up and see Ethan tossing a Frisbee back and forth with Elliot. Cody and Will are sitting up watching them, and I’m on the verge of falling asleep.

  Sam woke me up around nine this morning with one of the best blowjobs I’ve ever had. The fact that the bed gave me the best night of sleep ever only added to the amazing morning. Even so, running on only five hours of sleep is starting to hit me.

  “I’m tired,” Sam says.

  “We could go take a nap?”

  He opens his eyes with a smile and gets up onto his knees. “Yes, please.”

  I lift up the blanket once Sam gets up and fluff it out to get all of the sand off. Sam wipes the little sand that is on him and walks over to Ethan and Elliot. I fold the blanket and rest it under my arm, making my way back towards the house.

  I get to the door, and Sam runs his fingers down my back, catching up to me.

  “Ethan wants me to order pizza before I lay down,” he says, rolling his eyes. “They’re gonna come in soon, too.”

  I sit down at the bar counter that sits across from the refrigerator. “He have any plans for tonight?”

  “There is a gay-bar about ten minutes away that is nice, I guess.”

  “Okay,” I nod. “Hopefully the drinks are good.”

  “If not, you can get back there and show them how to properly do it.”

  He gets off the phone with the pizza place and puts his arms behind his head.

  “You do that a lot.”

  “Do what?” he says.

  “Put your arms behind your head.”

  He laughs and leans on the counter on the opposite side of me.

  “Not that it’s a bad thing,” I assure him. “I just notice that it’s your signature move.”

  “When I was younger, I was sledding down a neighbors hill on a giant inner tube with friends. I went down and slammed my head back into the ground and got a concussion. It left a huge bruise on the back of my head, and the only way that I could stop it from hurting was if I put my hands behind my head and pulled forward.”

  “Wouldn’t that make it hurt more?”

  He shrugs. “Probably, I just made that up.” He makes his way from the kitchen towards the stairs. “I really did just start doing it as a kid, though, and the habit never went away.”

  I laugh and follow him up stairs.

  ***

  We get to the bar “Lenni’s,” and it is a lot more toned down than I expected for a gay-bar at the beach. The vibe is very relaxed, and the music is softer, rather than deafening. Ethan escorts us over to a table closer to the back, and we all sit down.

  “What do you want?” Sam asks me. He and Elliot get up from the table and turn towards the bar.

  I smile, and I say, “Surprise me.”

  “So,” Ethan says once they make their way over to the bar, “I know you probably hate getting asked this, but what’s the deal with you two?”

  I laugh, and I say, “We’re just friends.”

  “Are you guys seeing other people then, too?”

  I look down at the table and focus back onto him. To be honest, the thought of seeing someone else hasn’t really crossed my mind, and I definitely haven’t wondered lately if he was seeing other people, too. My stomach grows nervous, and I feel uncomfortable.

  “I’m not.”

  “He isn’t either,” he says, shaking his head. “According to him, at least. I just wasn’t sure how all this worked. I mean I know how friends-with-benefits works, but you guys seem a lot closer than just friends who have benefits.”

  I look over towards the bar and see Elliot making his way back over. Sam is still up there talking to the bartender, and I instantly get jealous. I close my eyes and look away from the bar, focusing back o
nto Ethan. He notices the shift in my mood and forces a smile.

  “I’m really glad you came with us, by the way; for a lot of reasons, but mainly because Sam has been a lot happier since you came around.”

  This surprises me, because since I’ve known Sam, he hasn’t seemed unhappy at all. I never would have known that he was unhappy to begin with. Some tension leaves me, and I look back over to Sam who is on his way back over to the table.

  “I’m really glad you guys invited me,” I say back to Ethan. “And Sam has made me a lot happier, too.”

  Sam sits a beer down in front of me and scoots closer into the table in his chair.

  He turns towards me and raises his eyebrows. “I miss anything?”

  “Nope,” I say, shaking my head back and forth.

  “The bartender actually owns this place, too. I was telling him about you and that you were thinking about buying Gregor’s.”

  “What?” Elliot says.

  I laugh, and I say, “Not everyone is supposed to know about that, Samuel.” I look at Elliot. “Gregor’s is going up for sale later in the year, and I’m thinking about buying it.”

  “That would be awesome,” Will says. “I always thought it would be fun to own a bar.”

  Sam smiles and looks over at me. “It’s one of Oliver’s dreams. I think it would be cool, too.”

  “I heard about Bruce,” Ethan says. “It’s sad.”

  I look over at him, confused. “What?”

  “Cancer,” he says. “That’s why he’s selling the place and traveling.”

  I take a deep breath and look over at Sam.

  “Which you didn’t know…”

  I shake my head, and I say, “He just told me he wanted to travel. He never mentioned that he was sick.”

  “He hasn’t told a lot of people,” Ethan says. “I only know because I over heard him talking one night at Gregor’s to a friend of his, and he saw me and explained everything to me.” Silence fills the table, and Ethan lets out a deep breath. “But I think that’s awesome, too. How about a dance, Cod?”

  Ethan and Cody make their way over to the dance floor, and everyone scoots closer in.

  “Well,” I say, taking a drink of my beer, “going back to work Wednesday night will be interesting.”