Trouble : Boston Bolts Hockey

Track 10

GOOD FOR YOU

Despite my bravado at the restaurant, the moment we step inside my house, nerves riot inside me. Cade drove Melina back while I waited for the food and then walked back to where I left my truck at the station. As I enter the dining room where I fucked Melina only last night, their low voices go silent.

My stomach lurches, and insecurity grips me. What if Cade has changed his mind? What if he’s not actually attracted to me that way? Being bisexual doesn’t mean he’s attracted to every man he meets.

And I’m his best friend. Maybe he feels like he has to do this because I’m interested and he doesn’t want to turn me down.

Or maybe Melina is uncomfortable. Maybe she was just pretending to find my interest in Cade hot.

In the span of a couple of heartbeats, I spiral. Fuck. I need to get a handle on these thoughts and trust that they’d tell me the truth.

It’s just…I’ve never done this.

And I don’t just mean fooling around with a man. I’ve never done the whole dating thing, period.

My relationships with both Melina and Cade, separate and together, are firsts for me. From what I know about them, neither has ever had a real, healthy relationship either. There’s a good chance that none of us has the experience necessary to guide us through this.

“Your parents loved each other,” I say to Cade.

Fuck. I shouldn’t be surprised that I’m spouting nonsense. This happens every time I get nervous. And when Melina is around, I just start fucking talking.

They blink at me like I’m an idiot. They’re not wrong.

I set the food on the table and fold my arms across my chest. Might as well own my statement. “Well, didn’t they?”Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

Cade glances at Melina and then looks back to me. “Yeah. They loved each other a lot.”

I nod and take a deep breath. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Melina is facing me, but she furrows her brow and side-eyes Cade.

“He knows what a healthy relationship looks like,” I explain, heading toward the kitchen to grab cutlery.

When I return, they’re both still quiet.

Annoyed, I huff. Why must I explain myself to everyone? Why can’t they just get it without so many goddamn words?

“Do the rules from last night still apply?” I ask.

Their looks are dubious. Okay, then. Looks like I’ll have to spell it all out.

“The honesty. The trust. You’ll tell me if you’re uncomfortable. If you don’t want to do something. Stop means stop. I can handle it if this is all too much for you.” I look from Melina to Cade. “Or if you’ve changed your minds.”

Melina’s shoulders relax, and she breaks into a wide smile. “Oh, he thought you’d forgotten about his promise to kiss you in the time between when we left him at the bar and when he got here.”

I roll my eyes. She’s teasing me. But I’m grateful she dumbed it down and laid it out in plain language. Because sometime in the thirty minutes we were apart, my mind spun out, and I began questioning everything that happened while we were in that bar.

Though I’m not questioning whether I want to do it.

I know exactly what I want. That hasn’t changed since I opened up to Melina about it.

But am I ready for what this all means?

Are they ready? Are we ready?

My heart pounds loudly in my ears. Crossing this line with Melina is one thing, but crossing it with Cade? We’ve got to be damn sure we’re ready for the fallout.

I’m not willing to risk our friendship.

“I promise I’ll tell you how I feel.” Cade’s eyes are bright with intensity. I find myself stepping closer to him, and he lifts his chin up, holding my gaze before adding, “And there is nothing you could do that would make me say stop.”

My cock jumps at the confidence in his tone and the implication in his words.

Any doubt I may have harbored about my attraction to my best friend goes out the window in that moment, leaving room for thoughts about all the very filthy things I’d like to do to him. The way I want to use his body. I could never treat Melina like that, but Cade—fuck, Cade is so filthy, he would probably love it.

“Good.” I pull out the chair and settle in for dinner.

“Good?” Melina questions, her eyes dancing and a smile playing at her lips.

“Eat. Both of you.” I look from her to Cade. “You’ll need your energy for what I’ve got planned.”