Just Breathe Trilogy Box Set (96 page)

“He’s not the first,” I challenge.

“He’s the first
man
to make you cum,” Jared clarifies.

I feel the heat gathering in my cheeks.

“When are you going to tell everyone?” Jared inquires.

“It is not a relationship and there is nothing to tell,” I state calmly.

“You’re kidding, right?” Jared questions with a mocking tone.

“Emma,” Joe calls.

“No,” I answer.  “I’m not kidding.”

“He’s the first guy you’ve slept with for the longest amount of time,” Jared reminds.

“So?” I peruse.

“So, it’s definitely a relationship,” Jared reiterates.

“No, it’s just sex,” I say firmly.

Jared snickers and Joe grins.

“I’m serious,” I press.

“Do you stay the night?” Jared continues, focused on Joe, ignoring me.

“Of late,” Joe offers.

“Joe,” I scold.

With a smile, Jared announces, “Definitely a relationship,
Kitten
.”

“No,” I argue.

“You’ve never spent the night with a man before,” Jared reminds.

“Yes, I have,” I counter with a smile.

“Nathan and I don’t count,” Jared states.

“Yes, you do,” I confirm.

“Fine,” Jared presses.  “You’ve never spent the night with a guy you’ve had sex with.”

“We’re not in a relationship,” I repeat.

“There’s that
we
again,” Jared teases.

“Fuck me!” I retort, lifting my hands to my face.

“Well, Joe has and I don’t doubt he’d be up to assist if you need it again,” Jared laughs.

“Not funny,” I say with heat in my voice.

“I thought it was,” Jared pokes.

The three of us stand looking at each other for a few seconds.

“So, when are you going to tell everyone?” Jared searches.

“Tell everyone what?” I check.

“About you two and your relationship?” Jared expands.

“It’s not a relationship,” I huff.

Jared looks to Joe.  “Monogamous?”

“Yes,” Joe confirms quickly.

“And, her?” Jared checks.

“Does Maggie count?” Joe inspects.

Laughing, Jared verifies, “No, Maggie doesn’t count.”

“Maggie counts," I challenge.

“No one else,” Joe shares.

“It’s definitely a relationship,
Kitten
,” Jared announces again.

My mouth opens, but fails to say anything.  I move away from them, but Joe snatches me by the wrist.  He gently tugs me toward him, surrounding me with his arms.  I try to get away, but the smell of his body is intoxicating.  Joe takes my face, forcing me to kiss him.  My brain fights for a few seconds, but my body succumbs to his touch.

“You two are
soooo
cute,” Jared sings.

When Joe releases my lips, I look to Jared and can see the pain in his eyes.  “You okay?” I check.

“Yeah . . .” he huffs.

Wanting to help my friend, I suggest, “Why don’t we make your favorite popcorn?”

“Don’t tease me,
Kitten
,” Jared returns with a smile, perking up a little.

“I’m not,” I testify.

“Do you have the ingredients?” Jared checks.

“I should have some.  Whatever’s not here, I can call Anna and she’ll bring them,” I mention.

“Anna?  Anna who?” Jared inspects.  He doesn’t give me the chance to answer.  “You mean Anna, Joe’s maid?”

“Yeah.  Why?” I ask.

Laughing, Jared states, “You have your lover’s maid on speed dial?”

“He’s not my . . .” my voice fails to say the word
lover
.

Jared cracks up.  “And . . . you think you’re not in a relationship.”

“Out,” I command, not amused.

“What?” Jared inquires.

“Out,” I repeat.  “Both of you.”

“What did I do?” Joe searches.

My eyes narrow.  “Out.”

“You’re going to kick me out . . . during a sensitive time like this?” Jared accuses.

“Yes,” I confirm.

“Beautiful,” Joe coaxes.

“Don’t,” I command.  “I want you out.”

“Bullshit,” Jared challenges.

“Don’t try me,” I press.

“She doesn’t mean it,” Jared claims.  “She’s bluffing.”

“I’m not bluffing,” I say.  “And, you’re drunk enough to make getting you out of here really easy for me.  I’d barely have to do anything.”

“Joe will help me,” Jared announces.

“No, he won’t,” I argue.

“Don’t speak for him,” Jared states.  “Joe’s allowed to talk for himself.”

“Well, if he and I
are
in a relationship ship like you claim,” I begin.  “Then, I can speak for him.  I can speak for the both of us.”

Jared chuckles.  “Ha.  So, you admit it.”

“Admit what?” I ask, looking back and forth between him and Joe, who are both smirking.

“That you and Joe
are
in a relationship,” Jared clarifies.

“Only for this instance,” I state.

“You can’t pick and choose when you
are
and
aren’t
in a relationship,” Jared claims.

“Yes, I can,” I counter.

“No, you can’t,” Jared rebuts.

“I’m a woman. It’s one of our rights,” I share.

Joe comes up behind me, placing his lips on my cheek.  “I’ll take it if she’s offering.”

“I’m not offering anything,” I reply.

Joe chuckles, “We’ll talk about it later.”

“No,” I argue.

Joe gives me the stern, authoritative look.  We have a battle of wits, staring intently at each other.

“So . . . how about that popcorn,” Jared recommends, changing the subject.

I choose to end the battle, happy that we’re at least moving on for the time being.  Joe calls Anna, handing me the phone when I need to tell her the ingredients.  The three of us don’t say much as we wait for Anna to arrive — like we’re not sure where to pick up from here with regards to our conversation.  Jared snuggles with Sadie on the floor, playing with her to keep himself occupied while Joe helps me with the popcorn.  The need to text Nathan is apparent, but my phone is with my purse, which is close to Jared.  If I text anyone, he’ll know who I’m reaching out to and the last thing I want is a fight. 

“Hey, Jared,” I call.

“Yeah,
Kitten
,” he returns.

“It’s ready,” I mention.

“Yay,” he half-heartedly cheers.  He reaches forward, snagging a large, messy handful.  “Mmmm.”

“How about . . . we watch a movie?” I suggest, trying to come up with anyway to help him recover.

“Which one?” Joe and Jared ask at the same time.

With a warm smile, I infer to Jared, “Your favorite.”

“Seriously?” Jared asks, perking up.

“Yep,” I encourage.

“Yes,” he cheers, grabbing the bowl and heading into the bedroom.

I rush to get my phone, text Nathan that Jared is with me, mentioning there’s a challenge and to wait for my next correspondence. Joe followed Jared and when I enter the bedroom, I stand, staring at the bed for a moment, trying to figure out how the four of us are going to fit — I mean, I know we’ll fit, it’s just — God, this is awkward.  Joe takes his side that is closest to the door and Jared stands next to me since he got the movie ready.

“Do you think maid service comes this late?” Jared says with a playful tone.

“Why?” I inquire, not understanding him.

“To change the sheets,” Jared says with a smirk.

“You’re kidding me, right?”

“What are you two talking about?” Joe inquires.

“No, I’m not kidding,” Jared answers.  “You two had sex on that.”  He points to the bed.

“You can deal with it,” I charge.

“I might get cooties or something,” Jared teases.  “You never know.”

“This coming from the guy who never changed his sheets for me when we shared a tiny one bedroom apartment, especially after having sex in his own bed . . . in our bed?” I comment.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Jared chuckles.

“You sweat like a beast,” I add.

Jared kisses me and jumps on the bed, curling up on the opposite side from Joe.  “Come on,
Kitten
,” Jared calls, patting the middle of the bed.

My attention bounces between the two of them, not sure about this setup since it’s so unfamiliar to me.  If Joe was Maggie, there wouldn’t be any hesitation.

“It’s okay,” Jared soothes.  “You can snuggle with your man.”

I take a deep breath before replying, “He’s not my man.”

“I’m good with sharing,” Jared states playfully.  “How about you, Joe?”

“Sharing is good,” Joe agrees with a laugh.

“I guess you’re used to sharing,” Jared quips.  “At least with Maggie.”

“Jared,” I scold.

“What?” he feigns.

“It’s not like that,” I declare.

“I know,” Jared reminds.  “I was just joking.”

“I’m right by the iPad,” I remind.  “I can change which movie.”

“You wouldn’t?” Jared checks.

“I would,” I challenge.

“What movie are we watching?” Joe questions, breaking our play fight.

“Galaxy Quest,” Jared reveals.

“Only if you promise to be good,” I reprimand.

“I’m always good,” Jared replies in a mocking tone.

“What’s Galaxy Quest?” Joe asks innocently.

“What?!” Jared snaps.  “It’s only the best movie,
ever
!  You’ve never seen it?”

“No,” Joe laughs, amused by Jared’s reaction.

“I don’t know if I can allow you to continue to fuck my best friend with a response like that,” Jared announces.

“Jared!” I yell.

“Okay,” he corrects.  “I’ll let him fuck you only if he likes it.”

“Jared,” I repeat, my face beginning to burn from embarrassment.

“I’m sure I’ll like it,” Joe interjects.  “Emma and I have very similar tastes.”

“I bet you do,” Jared hums.

Shaking my head, I leave the bedroom for a moment.

“Where are you going,
Kitten
?” Jared inquires, but doesn’t follow me.

I grab the bottle of wine and a single glass, knowing that I’m going to need to drink to be able to handle the rest of the night.

“You okay, beautiful?” Joe asks sweetly, joining me in the kitchenette.

“Yeah,” I huff.

Joe lowers his lips to mine and I’m instantly distracted by his touch and the smell of him.  My body conforms into his, desperate for his unwavering ability to calm me with his caress.  I feel Joe’s restraint despite giving me enough of what I need for the moment.

“Get a room,” Jared interjects with a laugh as he stands in the doorway.

“Shut up,” I say, not looking at him.

“Are we going to watch the movie or are Sadie and I left to ourselves while you two get it on?” Jared teases.

I don’t verbally respond and just follow him into the bedroom, grabbing the wine glass, the bottle of wine and my phone on the way in, placing them on the nightstand.  Jared slumps on his side while Joe offers for me to climb in first.  Joe snuggles up to me, having me lay against him.  The three of us devour the popcorn — thank God I made a really large bowl.  It doesn’t take long for Jared to reach for my hand and I happily accept his, encouraging him to move closer.  He shifts, rolling toward me and places his head on my chest.  I wrap my arms around him, running my fingers through his hair.

“The one thing I like about women,” Jared mentions, looking up to Joe and me.  “Boobs.”

“Since when do you like boobs?” I giggle.

“Especially yours,” he adds.  “They’re the perfect pillows.”

The three of us laugh.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” Joe jokes.

“Don’t worry,” Jared soothes.  “I’m just borrowing them for a while.”

“Sounds good,” Joe chuckles.  He leans in, kissing the back of my head.  Joe drapes his arms over me, including Jared in the embrace.

The three of us lay connected with Sadie for the rest of the movie.  Every so often, I check to see if Jared has fallen asleep, waiting for it to be safe to use my phone — it’s been buzzing a lot.  He doesn’t fall asleep until a few minutes just before the end of the movie, exhausted from the whisky and tears that ran down his face several more times throughout the night.

Joe and I wash up for bed and just before I get under the covers, I grab my phone and head back into the bathroom.

“What are you doing?” whispers Joe, following me.

“Nathan and Pop-Pop need to know where Jared is,” I inform him.

“I thought he didn’t want you to talk to them,” he reminds.

“I know,” I say, looking back at Jared.  “But, I have to.  They need to know what’s going on, especially since this will change things.”

“What do you mean?” Joe searches.

I shake my head, not willing to share as a tear traces my cheek.

“Emma, what is it?” Joe presses, pulling me close.

“I can’t,” I choke. “You’ll understand . . . soon.”

“Is there anything I can do?” Joe checks.

With a smile, I reply, “No.”  I kiss him passionately.

“You sure?” he checks, clearly wanting to know more.

“Do you trust me?” I ask.

“Of course,” he replies. “Why?”

“When I ask you for help . . . I need you to do it, whatever it is. No questions asked. Okay?”

“Okay,” he assures, holding me tight.

“Thanks,” I accept.

Joe helps me pull back the blankets to cover Jared and then we get into the bed ourselves. As we lay snuggled into each other, my mind goes back over the events of the evening since Jared called. I’ve seen Jared upset before, but that was mostly when he was dealing with ghosts from his past. Sure, he’s been affected by a man when a relationship was over, but it never drove him to drink whisky like tonight.

My heart breaks for lying to my best friend. A lie has been revealed, and I’m not ashamed of it anymore — in fact, I’m glad that he knows about Joe and me. However, there’s something very important that I’m not telling him — can’t tell him. If I tell him, I break a promise — if I don’t, Nathan and Jared might not make it. He can’t know — not yet. Will he ever forgive me?

Breathe, Emma. Just Breathe.

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