Three Is Just Enough (19 page)

“You mean besides begging forgiveness and sending her flowers every hour for a week?”

Cole sighed. “Really? You think it’s that bad?”

“I think it’s worse.”

“Well, shit.”

* * * *

Tara sat eating her lunch in the union while she enjoyed the rare free time to read for fun. Absorbed in her novel, she didn’t notice Jody until he was beside her.

“Hey, is this chair taken?” asked Jody.

Shocked at Jody’s sudden appearance, she froze for a moment before motioning to the chair beside her. “Hey, sure. Help yourself. I had a few minutes for lunch and to do a little reading. How about you?”

“I’ve got an hour break before an afternoon filled with labs. I’m not sure what I was thinking to stack them on top of each other.”

Jody sat next to her and pulled a burger and fries from a bag he carried. Tara smirked slightly. If Cole where here he’d chew Jody out about eating junk food. He was so bossy about what they ate, it bugged her at times.

Jody caught her expression and paused. “Something wrong?”

“No, just thinking how weird one of my roommates is. How’s your semester going?”

“Good. I’m working to stay caught up. My parents promised a spring break trip to Cabo if I keep my grades up. Don’t want to miss a chance to escape the Minnesota winter for some sun and sand in Mexico.”

Tara’s eyebrow lifted slightly. “Sounds fun, my spring break will probably be taking extra shifts so I have some money.”

“Sounds like a plan. You’ll have to save time to pal around with your old buddy though.”

Tara chuckled. “I think that could be arranged.”

Jody finished the last of his burger and licked the juice off each finger.

Tara flicked her gaze up from the book and caught him watching her. Flirting a little, she reached out, stole one of Jody’s fries and ate it.
Jody’s not a bad guy. We had fun together. We just were headed in two different directions when we got out of high school.

Jody picked up a fry and took tiny bites as he stared at Tara openly. He tilted his head slightly and smiled.

Tara paused. “What?”

“You want to do something now? I mean, why wait until spring break. That’s a month away.”

Tara toyed with the idea. It would be the deathblow to any relationship with Cole and Dalton. But going out on a date didn’t have to mean they ended up in bed together, even if they did have a history between them. And the boys had been given a lot of chances. They don’t seem to care enough to make things work. Jody would be safe.

“Sure, sounds fun.”

* * * *

Cole and Dalton wore stunned looks on their faces when Tara came out dressed for a night out. Dalton swallowed hard against the lump forming in his throat as he dried the last dish from their supper. He knew they’d screwed up and screwed up badly. Their relationship with Tara hadn’t improved since their colossal mistake from the week before. But he and Cole had talked about the situation and agreed. Telling her they’d learned their lesson wasn’t going to fix anything. They had to show her they could treat her like a girlfriend and not like another nasty male roommate.

As a result they’d been on their best behavior. This time they’d agreed, they had to police each other. Ordering each other around had caused more than one argument between Dalton and Cole. But each time they’d reunited quickly, apologize and got back on track.

As a result, for the past several days not even Tara’s mother would have been able to find fault with the house—everything was spotless. The clothes were washed. Meals miraculously appeared. Basically everything Tara said she wanted, plus anything extra the guys thought might help.

Cole discovered one of the greenhouses on campus sold flowers, and started bringing home fresh flowers every couple of days for the dining room table. They busted their butts to try and show Tara how much she meant to them, but their work hadn’t helped. A few days earlier she had let them know she had a date, and that they had better not pull anything.

Dalton looked again at Tara and his heart ached with loss at the sight as she slithered into a chair in her silk top and designer jeans. She smiled, but Dalton couldn’t read the meaning it held.

“Don’t wait up. Jody and I are going for seafood, and maybe a little dancing.”

Cole looked stricken. “Yeah. Okay. Well, be careful.”

Dalton nodded in agreement, trying to ignore the growing knot in his stomach. “Yeah, if you need us, just call.”

Tara ran her hands down the legs of her fitted jeans. Dalton wasn’t sure what to do. He knew this wasn’t the time to get pissy about her going out with another guy. He and Cole were the ones at fault. It was too much to hope that a couple of days of good behavior would fix everything. Dalton went back to washing the dinner dishes, his focus on the task.

The silence stretched into unusual levels for the trio. Dalton clenched his teeth against the tension. A knock at the door broke the silence.

“I got it,” Tara said.

She opened the door to the blond haired guy they’d met at the mall. Dalton could understand the attraction. He had that boy-next-door look. The high school football hero. The one who led the team to the state championships. The teachers loved him, the coaches doted on him, the girls hung off him, and the guys wanted to be him, except for the ones that wanted to give themselves to him.
He’s probably a nice guy, too. Fuck, I hate him already.

Tara motioned him into the house. “Jody these are my roommates, Dalton and Cole.”

Jody held out a hand but when neither of them moved he let it sink back to his side and he nodded. “Nice to meet you again.”

“Hey,” Cole grunted.

Dalton nodded toward the blond. “Hey.”

The men studied each other while Tara pulled on her coat. She slid her arm through Jody’s and tugged him toward the door. “See you later, guys.”

Cole nodded and went back to studying.

Dalton dried his hands on a dishtowel. “Yeah, later.”

Tara glanced between them and then left without another word. Dalton stared at the closed door and flung the towel on the counter. His frustration bubbled over and this time he directed his anger at Cole.

“You and your bright fucking idea. Sure. Have sex while Tara sits pissed off in the next room.”

“Hey, I didn’t see you turning me down, asshole.”

“Well. I thought you knew what you were doing. But obviously you pulled another stupid stunt, and this time we both went down.”

Cole stood and stalked to Dalton with his fists clenched, tension radiating through his body. Dalton moved to meet him.

“You sayin’ it was my fault? ‘Cause I didn’t see you helpin’ clean up either.”

“Fuck you! I have to work.”

“So do I, fuckwad! So does Tara. Just because your parents take care of you and it’s all nicey nice, you think you’re better than we are.”

“Where the fuck did that come from? You know I have to work, too. It’s not my fault your parents are assholes!”

Dalton barely saw the punch before it smashed into his jaw. His responding jab landed on Cole’s nose with a satisfying crunch. Cole grabbed Dalton in a headlock and started pounding his face. The years of martial arts classes kicked in for Dalton and he fought back. He sank his elbow deep into Cole stomach several times, breaking the hold. They crumbled to the ground when he smashed his heel into the back of Cole’s leg.

He clamped his legs around Cole and began punching him in the head. Each of them took out their anger and frustration on the other. They attacked each other like two tigers fighting for territory. Dalton knew one of his eyes was swelling shut, but he didn’t slow down. Neither man emerged a winner as exhaustion softened their punches until both were gasping for air.

Dalton kneed Cole’s thigh a last time, barely moving the muscular leg, then rolled to the floor gasping for air. They both lay panting for several minutes. Cole crawled to his feet, his blood-covered fingers holding his nose shut. He walked into the bathroom without a word. The sound of water running filtered through the walls as Dalton struggled to stand. Footsteps came back to the bedroom door. Cole threw Dalton’s pillow and a blanket into the hallway, then slammed the door shut.

Pushing himself up, Dalton stumbled down the hall, snagging the blanket and pillow. He dragged himself to the couch, threw the bedding on one end and lay down. He rolled himself into the blanket.

His anger at Cole still seethed several hours later when the front door open. Tara flipped on the light and Dalton raised his head to peer at her.

“What the hell happened to you?” asked Tara.

Dalton scrunched his face and winced at the pain. “Cole and I had a talk.” He pulled the blanket around him and spun, burying his face into his pillow. He lay fuming long enough to hear Tara make her way across the floor and the light go out.

The next thing Dalton knew daylight flooded the living room and Cole was pulling the ottoman close to sit beside him.

“Mornin’,” Cole said as he handed Dalton a cup of coffee.

Dalton scooted up until he was sitting, then wrapped his fingers around the warm mug. He took a sip and realized the coffee was exactly how he liked it, lots of cream and sugar. Dalton was surprised Cole knew. He shifted his gaze and discovered Cole’s left eye was swollen shut.

“The coffee’s really good,” Dalton said.

“It’s okay?”

“Yeah. It’s perfect.” Dalton took another sip. “I didn’t know I’d told you how I take my coffee.”

Cole glanced at Dalton with a slight smile. “You didn’t. I’ve just paid attention.” The moment of silence stretched out for a few moments until Cole cleared his throat. “I’m really sorry about last night. I don’t want to lose you, too. I was an ass. I guess all the stress with Tara got to be too much.”

Dalton reached up, cupped Cole’s chin and turned his face to see the damage. “Your face looks kind of fucked up.”

Cole chuckled and grinned at Dalton. “I think I jumped into a bucket of wildcat and got my ass whipped.”

“I don’t think the wildcat came out any better.” Dalton looked down the hallway. “Where’s Tara?”

“She left for class. Today’s her busy day.”

Cole looked sheepish until Dalton asked, “What?”

“I’d like to snuggle with you. I don’t want to think I’ve screwed up with both the people I care about.”

Dalton sighed. “Hopefully this time won’t get us in more trouble.”

“Well, since she’s dating someone else, I don’t see how it could hurt.”

“It could. I’m not sure how she’d handle it. She hasn’t said more than a few words to us since the blowup.”

Cole checked the damage to Dalton’s face. “You need cleaned up. There’s blood all over you, and I’m not sure who’s it is.”

Dalton paused for a minute. “There’s something else we need to talk about.”

Cole’s brow furrowed and he frowned. “What?”

“I’d like for us to get tested. We’d already decided to be exclusive. I want to get rid of the rubbers. Now that we’ve bled all over each other, we need to be tested anyway.”

Cole smiled. “I’d like that. Not the blood thing, but no more raincoats.”

“Good. How about we jump in the shower, wash the blood off and then get some ice packs on our faces. Both of us are going to have shiners.”

Cole leaned in and kissed Dalton softly. “Thank you. I don’t know what I’d have done if I’d lost you, too.”

“Me neither, I never want to lose you.”

Cole met his gaze and then gently took Dalton’s lip between his teeth and tugged. “Come on, let’s get cleaned up. Then I’ll make us breakfast.”

Cole led Dalton to the bathroom. He retrieved towels for both of them from the linen closet and draped them over the towel bar. He adjusted the shower until the spray was hot and steamy. While he’d adjust the water, Dalton had stripped down to his briefs. The chill was soon gone from the room. As he stepped out of his underwear, Cole’s muscular arms wrapped around him.

“You know, I was so pissed at you last night. It hurt when you brought up my family,” Cole said.

Dalton twisted in his arms so they faced each other, His gut was knotted with regret. “I’m really really sorry, Cole. That was dirty. I promise to never pull that stunt again. I’m sure we’ll argue, but I don’t want it to get nasty.” Dalton smiled and touched his sore cheek. “I’d also like it if we never used each other as punching bags again.”

Cole smiled and pulled them tight. “Sounds like a great plan.”

They began to explore each other. Searing heat flared on Dalton’s skin each place they touched. Cole trembled in his arms as Dalton held him fiercely. The steam of the shower roiled through the room when Dalton sensed an almost imperceptible movement from Cole, and released him. Cole wiped tears from his eyes and smiled at Dalton. “Sorry, I’m kinda a wimp sometimes.”

Dalton kissed each of Cole’s rough cheeks. “Nope, not wimpy at all. But we’re about to be in a cold shower if we don’t quit making out.”

Cole tugged Dalton into the steam and soon they were washing each other. The pair found bruises and lumps they didn’t know they had. Dalton found a knot on the back of Cole’s head and realized blood had dried into the hair around the wound.

Dalton gently cleaned the gash. “Damn, when did that happen?”

Cole shrugged. “No idea. We were a busy beating the hell out of each other.”

Dalton cringed. “Sorry.”

Cole ran his finger down Dalton’s nose. “With the shiner you have, you were just getting even.”

Dalton groaned as Cole soaped his crotch. The slick touch sent his already stiff cock to the hardness of a rock. He reached between Cole’s legs and lathered him, then wrapped his fingers around Cole’s thick cock and stroked it. They urgently handled each other as their passion built. Dalton could sense the gathering lust a week of going without made even more powerful.

They pressed their crotches together, their hard cocks sliding over each other. Cole wrapped his hands around their dueling cocks and stroked them. Dalton shivered at the combination of sensations bombarding him as Cole’s hands lit his body on fire. Their cocks slid together under the hot spray of water as Dalton raced toward a climax.