Three Player Game

by Jaime Samms

  Vince petted his shoulder and his cheek: simple touches to let Lee know he was there, listening, waiting for however long he needed.

  “I hated you so much. And then you just . . . did the right thing. And Blaire fought back. I had to jump on board, because that was the only chance I had. I figured I could rebuild my tower.”

  Gently, Vince removed the blindfold and turned Lee’s face so he could see into his eyes. “Your cage. In that lonely apartment.”

  Lee blinked at him. His gaze was moist and delicate.

  “You don’t need a cage, Lee. You don’t need that armor anymore.”

  “The only time in my whole life I haven’t been blind was the last few hours when I couldn’t see a damn thing.” He sniffled, and the tears began to fall, sprinkling off his rapidly blinking lashes to dampen his cheeks. “How stupid does that make me?”

  Just as carefully as he’d removed the blindfold, Vince cupped Lee’s chin to keep him still so he could kiss him. “Not stupid at all. Who have you ever had to show you what safe even was? A dad who was never there. A mom who worked more than she mothered and died too soon. A system that let you fall through the cracks when you were too young to know you were lost. A lover who didn’t have the first clue how to protect you.” He rolled his eyes. “Oscar Caruthers. I mean come on.”

  Lee chuckled wetly. “Every time I cough too hard or sneeze wrong or slip or . . .” he bit his lip, “orgasm too hard . . . all I know is that my inability to see back then what is so obvious now, that will always be my weakness. Everything I do reminds me how stupid I was.”

  “I hope,” Vince said softly, nestling down close to him, “that any time your back acts up from now on, you’ll remember how safe you are with us, how much help you have, how you never have to do things alone again. Let it be about how you finally figured it out, okay?”

  “You make is sound so easy. You always do.”

  Vince grinned and nuzzled against his neck. “Love is easy, Lee. Don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise. Love. Is. Easy.”

  Pete’s phone rang while he was brushing his teeth. As he spit and rinsed, Lee’s face flashed across the screen. He snatched up the phone and accepted the call.

  “Hey, m—”

  “Don’t you dare,” Lee warned.

  “Morning.” Pete grinned, paused, then added, “Pumpkin.”

  “You’re an ass.”

  Pete laughed. “Just tell me he fucked you stupid when you got home. Give me wank material for the rest of this stupid job.”

  There was a long hesitation.

  “Lee?” Pete plunked down on his bed, worry curdling the rot-gut room coffee he’d drunk in an attempt to wake up.

  “Don’t laugh.” Lee’s quiet voice was so serious. So intense, even for him.

  “What?”

  “It was kind of . . . magical.”

  Pete’s brows shot up. “Vince. Was magical?”

  “Well. Yeah.” There was rustling and then Lee grunted. “He did everything right and I didn’t even know what I needed him to do.”

  “He is like that. But if you think about it, he’s been watching you a long time. He sort of pays attention.”

  “He sort of does.”

  “So you guys are going to be okay until I get back, then? No more running away from him. Because I gotta say, that’s getting old.”

  “No more running away. When are you coming home?”

  To hear the word home on Lee’s lips was like ambrosia. Never mind the triple shot Pete was hoping Kylee was arranging to have ready for him, hearing that energized him like nothing else could. It made the announcement that he was going to be away longer than anticipated easier to voice “I’ll be back by Tuesday. You can make it until Tuesday?”

  Lee sighed. “I miss you.”

  “Miss you too, peanut.”

  “You have to stop that.”

  Pete laughed because no. He would never have to stop finding the most ridiculously sweet things to call his new lover.

  “You want to talk to Vince?”

  “Nah. He’ll call when he needs me. It’s cool.”

  “You guys don’t talk a lot when you’re away, do you?”

  It was Pete’s turn to pause. “I can’t. I have to focus. I have to be more . . . me here. Dialed up. He makes it easy to turn it all down and quiet so I can hear myself think and my heart beat and my chi flow. I need that too, but I can’t have it here. Here I have to be something else. Something bigger and louder and brighter.”

  “There is nothing as bright as you, sunshine.”

  Pete snickered, but he liked the nickname. “I gotta go, okay? You going to be okay?”

  “Yeah. I’m good. Just. Thank you. For calling him last night. Sending him after me.”

  “Baby cakes, I didn’t send him anywhere. Not that I wouldn’t have if I could. I only told him what I knew. That he called you and came for you is on him. Because that’s what he does when he loves something. He protects it with everything he is.” There was a knock on his door and he hurried to let Kylee into the room. “And now I really do have to run. You can call me anytime. If I don’t pick up, leave a voice mail. I’ll always call back when I can.”

  “But you said you can’t have that when you’re working.”

  “Him. I can’t talk to him. I can be as bossy as I want with you. I know you’ll let me get away with it. He can’t.” Pete made a kissing noise. “Talk soon, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “Love you.”

  “Yeah. Me too.”

  Pete made a fist and drew it in toward his body as he hung up. He grinned at the phone. It was early days, so he hadn’t expected Lee to say it back, but it was sweet to hear the admission.

  “Okay, so I know you like your phone, dude, but the goo-goo eyes?”

  He turned to Kylee and stuck out his tongue as he pocketed his phone. “You ready, K? I want to go home.”

  “You know it, boss.” She handed over his drink. “Onward to the trenches!”

  Pete grabbed his key card and wallet and his laptop bag and followed her out. This job could not end soon enough.

  The bed under Lee shifted slightly. Something shivery slid under the covers along his side, and he hissed and jerked away.

  “Shhh!” A cold hand splayed over his chest. “Don’t wake Vince. He needs to sleep.”

  “Pete?” Lee peered groggily at the pale moon of a face next to his on the pillow.

  “You wouldn’t let just anyone climb into your bed, I hope.”

  “It’s . . . What time is it?”

  “Just after one.” Pete snaked a freezing arm around Lee’s sleep-warm waist. “Ooh.” He patted Lee’s naked ass. “This I like.” He shimmied closer and began leeching heat from Lee. “Go back to sleep.”

  “I thought you were coming home tomorrow.”

  “They’re all grown-ups. They don’t need me to hold their hands back to Bluewater Bay, so I came early. I missed you guys. Now go to sleep before Vince wakes up.”

  Lee stared at him through the dark, tracing the outline of his curls and the dusky slash of eyebrow over his pale skin in the vague light as his eyes adjusted. “You’re cold.”

  “Shhh.” Pete planted a sweet, lingering kiss on him, and Lee forgot how words were supposed to work as he kissed back. They fell asleep amid the lazy kisses and soft touches.

  “Well, well, well.” Vince’s steely voice jerked Lee out of sleep. He gazed up past Pete’s sleep-mussed hair to find Vince standing next to the bed, arms crossed, watching them.

  Pete was snuggled into Lee’s chest, and Lee had wound his limbs over and through Pete’s. They were a pretzel of warm morning muzziness.

  “Mmm?” Pete stirred softly against him, and Lee instinctively held him tighter.

  “Cozy?” Vince asked. He was already dressed.

  “Yeah.” Lee stroked Pete’s back as he stirred. “Is that a problem?”

  “Probably not for Pete, but Blaire might have an issue with it, since we�
��re supposed to be meeting with some of the video developers today and he wanted us all to be there.”

  “Shit! What time is it?”

  “Eight thirty.”

  “Shit!” Lee began carefully extricating himself from the tangle of limbs.

  Pete grumbled but didn’t open his eyes. “Don’t get up,” Lee whispered, planting a sweet kiss on his temple.

  A weird, protective vibe quivered through to his gut and he gently pulled the covers back up over Pete’s shoulders. He paused there, looking down on him. Pete’s rumpled, sleepy self made Lee’s heart clench. “Are you sure—”

  “He’ll sleep at least until noon,” Vince assured him quietly. “First thing he does when he gets home from these things is sleep twelve hours straight, then he’ll get up to take a shower and then go back to sleep. I bet we get home to find him in bed, naked and shower-soft and with his hair so tangled you’ll have to wash it again for him to get the curls unhooked. But right now, you have about twenty minutes to shower and get dressed. Our first meeting is at nine thirty, so let’s get going. I know you want to stop at your place for more clothes, and I want to stop and get you coffee and food on the way in.”

  Lee bent and kissed Pete’s cheek one more time, then dashed for the shower when Vince tapped his ass a little less than gently.

  The stop for clothes was short and businesslike. He’d have to do something about that. He couldn’t keep living in two separate locations like this. He was already tired of it, and it had only been a few days. But the thought of giving up his apartment made him a little queasy. Interesting that he didn’t entertain the idea he would give up sleeping in Vince and Pete’s bed. There wasn’t time to worry about it now, though. He had places to be and things to do.

  His presence at these meetings was a courtesy. He was part of the team, but he hadn’t had the necessary screen time to do all the reading Vince had sent him to know the ins and outs of hiring a team to create their game. He trusted Vince’s research, and if Vince said it was more cost- and time-effective to find the right-sized existing company to build the game for them, rather than assembling their own team, he would back him. From the beginning, Vince had impressed him with his ability to hunt down any and all details pertaining to whatever topic Blaire put in front of him.

  They took a short lunch break and finished off the last of the meetings by five. Lee was exhausted when they were done. He wasn’t sure why he was so tired, but he wanted nothing so much as he wanted to go home and check on Pete, eat a quiet dinner they thawed from the freezer, and crawl into bed between them.

  Vince had gone to walk the last potential game developer out to the parking lot when Blaire turned to study him.

  “You okay?”

  Lee shrugged. “Tired. It was a long day. But my back is basically better if I’m careful for another few weeks and make sure I don’t jar it again. The new desk equipment is perfect. Thank you for that.”

  “My pleasure.” Blaire studied him a moment. “Keeping up with your two young love birds isn’t going to be a strain?”

  Lee’s heart jolted and he jerked his head up to look at Blaire. “Excuse me?”

  Blaire grinned at him. “You think I didn’t know why you both stayed home from work on Friday? I appreciate that you came in yesterday and today, believe me. New love is pretty intoxicating. It can be hard to concentrate on the rest of your life.”

  “I—”

  “Lee, if you’re happy, that’s the important thing. Tell me that, and I’ll stop being a busybody.”

  “You care if I’m happy?” It had never occurred to Lee that Blaire would care what went on between Lee and Vince, so long as business wasn’t affected.

  “Of course. Why would you think otherwise?”

  “You barely know me. You’re my boss.”

  “Not your friend?”

  “I—” He’d never thought so. He’d never allowed it, if he was honest.

  “I hope that can change,” Blaire said, maintaining such eye contact Lee couldn’t look away. “We’re here for the duration, Lee. You and me. Bluewater Bay isn’t our natural environment, but that doesn’t mean it can’t become home. And home is always what you make it, isn’t it?”

  All Lee could do was nod.

  “So then let’s make it a point to make it the home we want, yeah?”

  “And that starts by being friends? Us?” Lee tried to imagine that. There was no real reason for Blaire to trust him after everything that had happened between them.

  “I think it does, yes.” He grinned. “But maybe not this instant. Pack up and get out of here. Our plan to close the office for the rest of the week stands. I’m going to go over our notes for each company, and we’ll get together on Monday to talk, the three of us. I want to take Frederic out of town for a few days. He needs some time away from that bakery for his sanity.”

  “Everything okay with Frederic?” Vince’s warm, calm voice behind Lee startled him.

  “We need a goddam bell on that door,” he complained.

  Vince laughed and placed a hand at the small of his back.

  Blaire tugged his shirtsleeves straight under his leather jacket. “Everything is fine, Vince. Thank you for asking. Frederic isn’t very good at turning work off. I need to drag him away every now and again to give him perspective. It’s time to do that. I have the notes from our meetings, and I’d appreciate it if the two of you go over your notes and rate the companies from best to worst for our purposes. On Monday, we’ll compare.”

  Lee nodded and Vince murmured his agreement. So they had time off, but not work-free. Still. He could live with that if it meant five whole days with both Vince and Pete in one place, with him.

  “Now out,” Blaire ordered.

  He didn’t have to tell them twice.

  Vince had been right. Twenty minutes later, when they let themselves into a quiet house, they found Pete snoring pleasantly, body pale against the dark-blue towel he had draped over his ass. He was sprawled diagonally across the huge bed, one small man taking up the space all three of them could occupy comfortably.

  “Should we wake him?” Lee asked.

  “Yeah. Or his cycle will be completely fucked up. I’m going to find something to feed us all. You get him into the shower and help him sort out that rat’s nest on top of his head. That’ll help him wake up.”

  By the time Lee wondered if he should let Vince order him around like that, he had already crawled onto the bed and begun to kiss Pete awake.

  “Mmm?” Pete rolled to his back and blinked up at Lee. “Hey, dandelion. You’re home.”

  Lee couldn’t help it. He snorted. “‘Dandelion’?”

  Soft and sweet, Pete’s grin started a wiggling trail of want in Lee. “Sure. Been waiting all day to use that one.”

  “You’ve been sleeping all day.”

  “Mmm.”

  “Fuck.” Lee ran fingers over Pete: his face, his shoulder, down his chest. “You are edible right now.”

  “So take a bite.”

  “Oh. Tempting.” Lee bent to taste Pete’s throat when he lifted his chin to offer it. He tasted of sleep and sweat and sunshine. His little moans drove Lee to greater effort for the reward of more sounds. Lee gathered each one greedily, roaming his hands over the offering of smooth skin.

  “Oh fuck, you feel good,” Pete whispered. “Touch me.” He arched his hips, waving his erection in the air like bait for Lee’s wandering hands.

  Lee had better plans, and aimed his kisses lower as he pinned Pete firmly to the mattress.

  Pete groaned and panted, still trying to hump the air, making Lee growl and hold him down harder.

  “Fuck, yes,” Pete encouraged, and Lee’s gut clenched as he leaned his weight into Pete, stilling him with force that Pete both fought and clearly craved.

  “Lee?” Vince’s call from the other room froze him, midtaste. “Not hearing the shower.”

  “Shit.” Lee dropped his forehead onto Pete’s chest as Pete shivered and sti
lled.

  “Come on.” Pete ran his hands through Lee’s straw-straight hair. “Best not get carried away.” He shoved at Lee’s shoulders and gradually got him to lift his head. “We should get up.”

  “Will he be mad?”

  “No. But there’s an order to these things.” He smiled, distracted and dreamy. “I do better with Vince’s order when I don’t have my own.”

  “Why don’t you have your own?”

  “It’s hard, Lee. I work at it, and I’ve gotten good at it, but it takes so much energy. So much.”

  “Okay.” Lee saw the wavering in Pete’s eyes. He was vague and jittery already, so Lee had to do this for him. He shouldn’t have gotten sidetracked. “Come on.” Taking Pete’s hand, Lee pulled him off the bed. The towel lay forgotten as Pete allowed Lee to lead him to the bathroom.

  Once there, Lee got the spray going and pushed Pete inside so he could get undressed to join him. Pete stood under the spray, eyes closed, arms wound around his waist, as he swayed slightly. It was so unlike the Pete Lee had become used to, he sped his efforts to get naked and in there with him.

  Pete said nothing as Lee guided his head under the spray and got his thick mop of hair wet. He’d just finished when Vince appeared and handed him a bottle of children’s detangling conditioner. “He forgets to condition and dry it sometimes, and there’s no other way to get the knots out once he’s slept on wet hair. But he doesn’t like the sting in his eyes, so.”

  “So children’s brand.” Lee nodded, noted the bottle was the same brand name as the organic lube they had brought home weeks ago, and smiled. “He’s very earth friendly.”

  Vince chuckled. “He is. Supper will be hot in about a half hour. I’ll use the other shower. Take your time.”

  “Sure.” Lee watched him through the partly open door of the shower. “I’m sorry I . . . jumped him. I shouldn’t have done—”

  “It’s fine. It’s what he wants.” Vince winked. “You have a half hour. Try to get his hair done first or we’ll just have to do this part again.” He went to the bathroom door. “And, Lee, yes, he needs ritual. But there’s three of us now. No reason the rituals can’t morph to accommodate that.”