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His flippant response pissed me the hell off. No, he didn't fucking know, because he wasn't the one who was here trying to keep Enzo from having a complete fucking breakdown. I was. I was the one who called into work that night because I didn't want Enzo being alone. I knew he wouldn't do anything stupid, but I also knew all too well what it felt like when the silence threatened to choke the life out of you.

  "No. Fuck that," I sneered. "Don't sit there acting like you know how either of us felt when Enzo looked out the front window and your car was gone."

  "You're right, I don't know that, but Enzo and I talked a bit about why I left, and he told me why it hurt him the way it did."

  That was a shock. I'd been arguing with Enzo all week to come clean with Tony, but the last I'd brought it up, he'd refused, saying it would only make life harder. Now I was curious as to what Tony said that got Enzo to open up to him. "Care to share what twisted logic you followed that made you run away from home for a fucking week?"

  "Max, reel it in a bit," Enzo called out from the kitchen, making it obvious he was trying to give us some time alone, but also wanted to hear what was being said.

  I crossed my arms tightly over my chest and glared at Tony as I awaited his explanation. As he spoke, I felt the ice in my chest begin to thaw a bit. I'd expected him to try and bullshit me, but the way he choked up as he talked about how he'd panicked when he saw Enzo and me together proved his sincerity. And made me feel like a total shit for spending so many nights in Enzo's bed this past week, even if it was only about me making sure Enzo knew he wasn't alone.

  When Tony finished, he clapped his hands against his knees and let out a heavy sigh. His entire body sagged as if he'd just finished an intense physical workout. "That's about it. Still pissed off at me?"

  "Yep," I admitted. I might've given up thoughts of wrapping my hands around his neck, but I was still angry. All of this could've been avoided if he wasn't so afraid of talking about anything emotional. "Not saying it won't pass, but it's not as simple as you saying you're sorry and all of us moving on like nothing ever happened. If that's even what you want. What do you want, Tony? Let's pretend, for just a minute, this was an ideal world where you weren't afraid of commitment and you didn't have to worry about all the other complexities that go along with what happened the other night. Where do you see us progressing from here?"

  The question I'd been asking myself all week was out. Enzo returned, carrying three bottles of beer. I wasn't sure alcohol was a good idea given where it led us the last time, but my throat was dry, so I graciously accepted the bottle he handed me. I kept my gaze fixed on Tony as I took my first swallow, waiting for him to answer.

  "That's not entirely fair, Max," Enzo pointed out as he sat at the opposite end of the couch from his brother. "Tony's trying here."

  "And I get that, but no matter what happens after tonight, there has to be open communication," I argued. This wasn't my first experience with more than one partner at a time, and I knew quite well how spectacularly it could all blow up when people didn't want to have the tough conversations. I wasn't going to do that to myself again, especially not with these two men. Long after I was gone, they'd have to live with the decisions they made tonight. They would never be able to walk away from one another.

  "I know you want to protect your brother, Enzo, but he has to man up," I explained. Yes, I was being hard on Tony, but this was my opportunity to make it known this was a hard limit for me. No communication, no orgasms or anything else. Right now, I could walk out the door and still have the two of them as friends; the same couldn't be said if we repeated our mistakes again. "I want to know, without the bullshit, where his head is. He told me it hurt him to see how close you and I were the morning after, which was a shock to me because every time I've even hinted at slapping a label on what the rest of the world sees as our relationship, he's balked. A man who doesn't want a steady partner doesn't get jealous when he sees the buddy he fucks cuddled up to another guy."

  "It's not that—" Enzo started. I held up a hand to stop him, knowing he’d defend his brother all night if I let him. He paused, but in typical Marino fashion, had to speak his mind. Sometimes, it was an endearing quality. "Sorry, I get what you're saying, Max, but I don't think backing him into a corner is right, either."

  "No, it's exactly what I need, Enzo," Tony interrupted. "Max is right. You've always tried looking out for me, but this is a mess you can't get me out of."

  He sat up straighter, looking directly at me as he continued. "Honestly? I have no fucking clue what I want. A little over a week ago, I was content with the way things were even though I knew you weren't. That was a dick move on my part, and it took seeing you with Enzo to make me realize how it'd feel to eventually lose you."

  Then he looked to Enzo, reaching out to hold his hand. "And you're a wild card. Yes, I'd talked with Max about the three of us fooling around, but I never thought anything would come of it. You always seemed so buttoned-up. You were the good kid, and I was the wild child. But damn if you didn't set me straight that night."

  "Pretty sure what we did was far from straight," Enzo teased. The guys both smiled, and their laughter sliced through the earlier tension in the room.

  "True enough," Tony agreed. "But what I'm trying to say is you're someone I never would've considered being with, but since then, the two of you are all I can think of. I don't want to lose either of you, whether that's just as friends or we give it a go and see if there's something more between the three of us. So, that's where I am; what about you guys?"

  "I can't do some formal arrangement," Enzo admitted before I had a chance to gather my thoughts. I sank back in my seat, feeling defeated. I'd expected Tony to be the one who pushed back, not Enzo. His eyes widened when he noticed the change in my demeanor, and he quickly backtracked. "I'm not saying we can't see what happens, but it needs to feel like a natural progression to me. Our situation is strange enough, given there are more than two of us and the whole me and Tony thing. If I feel like we're ticking off items on a checklist, I'm not sure it's something I'd want."

  "I can respect that," I told him.

  "Me too," Tony agreed. "No one's saying we need to draw a diagram of how things between us should work or we need to create a schedule for who's spending time together when, Enzo. Max is just trying to keep me from fucking up again."

  "I'm trying to keep all of us from making mistakes we can't recover from," I corrected him. "We're all human, and we're all going to screw up. But if we agree now to talk about it, and we all honor that promise, we stand a better chance of a good outcome."

  Now that we'd cleared the air, I felt far too removed from the men—my men, my traitorous heart corrected me. I pushed myself out of the papasan without tipping the damn thing over and took my seat between the two of them. "As for your concerns, Enzo, Tony's right. I'm not asking for any sort of commitment or formal anything tonight. All I want is to get the three of us on the same page for once."

  "In that case, yeah, I'd like to see what happens." The tip of Enzo's tongue peeked between his lips, and I bit back a groan.

  I couldn't count the number of times I'd wanted to kiss him this past week, but I'd resisted since I didn't know the score with Tony. Now, I did, but I was still keeping one secret. I knew I had to tell him the truth unless I wanted it to bite me in the ass eventually.

  "Since we're doing this whole open communication thing, there's something else I need to tell you, Tony." I turned to him and felt Enzo's steady hand at the small of my back, offering me his silent support. "While you were gone, I spent the night a few times. Nothing happened, but I didn't want Enzo feeling so alone without you here."

  "I sort of already figured that out, but thanks for the honesty." Tony crossed his arms over his chest and quirked an eyebrow. When Enzo and I both gaped at him, he laughed. "Max, you left one of your work shirts on the back of the chair in his room. Unless Enzo's moonlighting as a bartender at 83 and started wearing the same cologne as you do, it was a no-
brainer."

  "You're not upset?" Enzo asked, sliding up behind me. He rested his head on my shoulder so he could see Tony.

  "I wouldn't say that. It stung seeing his shirt in your room when I got home tonight," Tony admitted. "But I'm not angry which I'm assuming is what you're really asking. I wasn't here, and you guys had no clue where my head was, so it's not really my place to have any sort of feeling about the two of you spending time together. And if we're doing this, I have to accept there will be other times the two of you will go off to do your thing and I'll be the one left behind."

  "Just as you and I will have our time," I pointed out. "And when I'm at work, the two of you will be here."

  "Exactly," Tony agreed. "And it won't be such an issue now that I know we're all in this together."

  I tried to hide my yawn but failed. It’d been a long day, and I hadn't slept well since the night all three of us fell asleep tangled in one another’s arms. Now, the stress and anxiety that had kept me going drained from my body, leaving me ready to fall over.

  "Maybe that's enough talking for one night," Enzo suggested. "Max, what time do you work tomorrow? I know Tony's off, so maybe we could go out for breakfast or something in the morning then you can take a nap before you have to go in."

  "Actually, after Tony texted me, I asked Jordan if he'd be willing to cover my shift," I admitted. I hadn't known what the outcome tonight would be, but no matter what, I'd been certain I wouldn't feel up to going in.

  I stood, reaching out a hand to each of them. I knew from previous visits Tony had the bigger bed, so unless one of them objected, that was where we'd spend the night. The three of us. Together.

  * * *

  Sometime in the middle of the night, the top sheet and quilt wound up in a heap on the floor, and I still woke up sweaty, thanks to the bodies plastered to both my front and back. I reached back as Tony kissed my neck, pulling his hips closer so his morning wood pressed against my ass. This was definitely a better way to wake up than the last time we'd all fallen asleep together.

  "Hey, you're awake," he whispered.

  "I am now," I grumbled. I wasn't upset about the early wakeup, but it felt as if we'd just fallen asleep. "Why are you already awake?"

  "Because unlike some people, I usually work during the day." He nipped my ear and draped an arm over my chest to tweak my nipple. "I just wanted to let you know I'm going to run out for breakfast and make coffee. Didn't want you waking up thinking I panicked again."

  I wiggled my way out from beneath Enzo's death grip and rolled over to face Tony. I ran my fingers over the side of his face and around to the back of his neck, pulling him in for a kiss. Neither of us seemed to want to rush things this morning. It started with a quick peck because even after all the times we'd fucked, I wasn't sure how he felt about morning breath. I got my answer when he sucked my lower lip into his mouth, taking advantage of the resulting sigh to deepen the kiss.

  "Keep that up and we're going to wake Enzo," I warned him. I knew he'd slept even worse than I had while Tony was gone, so I'd planned on letting him sleep as long as necessary to feel rested.

  "Then I guess we'd better be quiet," he replied, reaching down to stroke my cock over the top of my boxers. "Is this okay? Can we still fool around without it being all three of us?"

  "We should probably talk about it." I groaned as I withdrew Tony's hand from my dick. I knew it was the right thing to do but having the two of them pressed against me all night had me horny as hell.

  If I had my way, we'd have woken up to Tony prepping me while I fingered Enzo's hole. We hadn't fucked the other night because none of us thought far enough ahead to bring condoms and lube into the living room, and by the time I realized the oversight, I was afraid to interrupt because it would've given the two of them time to rethink what we were doing.

  Tony swung his legs over the side of the bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "You're right. Think he'd be pissed if we woke him up? I really think today would be best spent having tons and tons of make up sex."

  "We're not waking him up to get permission to fuck," I scolded Tony. "And if you want to be mopey about it, remember it's your own damn fault sex is off limits for now."

  "Fine, you win." Tony rummaged through his hamper for a clean pair of shorts. "But just so you know, my vote is yes, we absolutely can fuck around when only two of us are participating. I don't think it's realistic to believe we'll never get turned on or always be able to wait for the third to be there."

  His gaze flitted from me to Enzo and back. Then, he stared at the empty side of the bed where he'd been sleeping, and I wondered if he was going to come back so we could talk the second Enzo's eyes opened. That was a bad idea because now that I was awake, Tony would keep goading me into waking him long enough to get permission to fuck.

  "Tony," I hissed, trying to keep my voice low so we wouldn't wake Enzo. "Breakfast. Go."

  "Right." He shook his head before spinning on his heel to leave. His footsteps stopped before the end of the hall, and he returned, snatching his wallet off the dresser. "This will probably help, huh?"

  "Unless you're going to rely on your charm to score free food." Just to tease him, I curled up behind Enzo, nuzzling my face into his neck before glancing back. "Better hurry. If he wakes up before you get back, I might take advantage of the fact you already voted."

  "Asshole." Tony looked like he was going to slam the door but thought better of it at the last minute. I chuckled as he stomped down the hall, muttering to himself about what an idiot he'd been. I couldn't deny that.

  Enzo pressed his ass against my groin. At first, I thought he was trying to get comfortable, but then he groaned. "Seems a shame to let that go to waste since we have Tony's blessing."

  "You little shit." I started tickling Enzo's sides because he'd shared how much he hated being tickled, so it seemed like a suitable punishment for eavesdropping. "How much did you hear?"

  "I'm assuming most of it," he admitted. "You two weren't exactly quiet when you were making out. I thought about telling you I was awake when you called a stop to what would've undoubtedly been really hot sex but didn't want to ruin the moment. Besides, after the stunt Tony pulled, I figured it serves him right to walk around with blue balls for a while."

  "You're a devious little shit, aren't you? I like it." I pressed a kiss to Enzo's shoulder.

  "I know something else you'll like," he said as he rolled over, sliding down the bed. Yes, I had a feeling I was going to love where his mind was headed.

  "Maybe we should talk to—" I started to protest. Enzo silenced me as he kissed his way along my hip.

  "Don't want to wait any longer, Max," Enzo complained. "You heard what Tony said. He's fine with this, and so am I. Are you?"

  He licked a stripe across my groin, his tongue flicking at the root of my cock. I moaned, knowing this was a battle I wouldn't win. "Yeah, suck me, Enzo. Please."

  I'd wished for this freedom every night I'd slept next to Enzo. Dreamed about what I would do to him if only things weren't already such a clusterfuck. Knowing we were all on the same page, even if we hadn't properly discussed it, I succumbed to my needy desires.

  Enzo curled his fingers around my shaft, looking up to see if what he was doing was okay by me. A niggling voice in the back of my mind insisted we should wait until all three of us had talked, but then Enzo's lips closed around the tip of my cock, silencing my conscience.

  "Fuck Enzo, that mouth," I praised him, spreading my legs wider. I lay my head on the pillow and closed my eyes, reveling in the sensations. I pressed a hand to the back of Enzo's head, guiding him further down my cock, holding him when he tried pulling back. Something from the other night told me this was what Enzo wanted. What he craved.

  Saliva poured out of the corner of Enzo's mouth as he choked on my girth. I eased up, but he kept going at me like a man starved, sucking hard and fast. When I slid my hand down his side, Enzo whimpered, arching his back, sticking his pert ass high in the air.r />
  Finally, Enzo released my dick, gasping to catch his breath. When he looked up at me, his eyes were bright, his lips swollen and red. I trailed a thumb across his cheek, wiping away the tears streaming down his face.

  "I wasn't too rough on you, was I?" I asked, dragging him up to lay on my chest. As badly as I wanted to come, I could wait until I knew I hadn't misread him.

  "Hell no!" Enzo confirmed. "I'm used to guys being almost cautious with me. This is a nice change of pace."

  "I was hoping for a lot better than nice." I cupped Enzo's ass, hitching him up so I could claim those bright red lips. As my tongue entered his mouth, I could taste traces of myself and grew harder. He moaned, deepening the kiss, forcing a hand between our bodies.

  "So much better than nice." He broke the kiss, sighing softly. "Is it okay with you if I get back to what I was trying to do?"

  I laughed, loving the banter between the two of us. Over the past week, we'd spent hours talking about everything and nothing, and I came to realize underneath his almost shy exterior was a quick wit and just enough sarcasm to keep me on my toes.

  "You are a cock slut, aren't you?" I teased, giving his shoulder a shove.

  "Sucking cock is my second favorite intimate activity," he told me, already slithering down my chest, settling himself between my thighs.

  "What's the first?" I asked, curious, because my favorite activity was whatever made my partner happy. His shoulders slumped, and he blushed, the pink creeping all the way to the tops of his ears. "Come on, it can't be that bad."

  "It's not," he agreed without any further clarification. He skimmed his fingers over my thigh, his gaze intensely focused on the task.

  "Come on, Enzo, please tell me." I wasn't above begging. If it wouldn't embarrass him further, I'd have pointed out I'd watch him suck his brother's cock like a champ, so there wasn't much that would shock me at this point. "How deep does the rabbit hole of your kink go?"

  "It's nothing like that," he said, bending down to kiss the top of my thigh, so close to my dick I could feel his breath. I arched up. If he wasn't going to tell me, he could get back to his second favorite activity.