“I can’t believe you’re asking me that,” he mumbled and gripped the cue tight enough I worried he’d snap it.
“I’m not hitting on you, dude. I’m just saying every time I wanted you to fuck me, you did. He’s got way too much control, and while you might think it would have annoyed me, all it’s really done is make me want him more. Every time he touches me, I hope this time he’ll be so turned on he can’t help himself but then he gives me an amazing blowjob while fingering my ass, or a hand job—”
“O-kay, you might want to keep it down,” Jack said and looked around to see who was close enough to hear.
“Eh, fuck them. They’re just jealous.” I glared at one of the old fuckers who frequented the bar and liked to talk shit around town. Most of them already knew I didn’t care what they said, and Jack chuckled when they turned away.
“I think you might be right,” he said, making us both laugh. We played a whole round while chatting about random shit as Hudson and Tig sat at the table and watched us while catching up.
“This is my first double date,” I said, and Jack fist bumped me before taking his shot.
“Mine too. I’ve had lots of firsts since being with Hudson.”
“I can’t believe we’re both practically married already,” I said and meant it as a joke but then I didn’t really mind the sound of that as bad as I would have before I met Tig.
“I keep waiting for Hudson to ask me,” Jack whispered.
“Do you think he will?”
“Yeah, but I think he’s waiting to be sure.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, already knowing his answer.
“I’ve never been surer about anything in my life. He’s everything to me.”
“I’m happy for you.” I hadn’t told him that before, but I wanted him to know how I felt. He was my best friend, and knowing he was happy was worth every little bit of hurt I’d felt when he told me about Hudson. I realized now it wasn’t love between us. He was my best friend, I didn’t want to lose him, and I hadn’t.
“I’m happy for me too,” he said before leading me back to the table. Hudson and Tig both turned to look at the two of us.
“Who won?” Tig ask.
“Oh, I did.”
“You are such a liar,” Jack said.
“We don’t ever keep score, we just play. Because usually I win.” I took a big drink of my beer and set it down while Jack tried to stare a hole through me.
“Why don’t we play another round, and we’ll keep score this time,” Jack said and took a drink ofhisbeer.
“Naw, I’ve had enough pool for tonight.” Tig’s phone chimed with a message and instead of looking at it he dismissed it and turned his phone facedown. “Did you want to check that?”
“No. It can wait,” he said.
“Okay. Did you want to stay at my house tonight?”
“Let’s go to mine,” he said, which was fine with me. Living in the middle of nowhere had its perks. One of them was knowing there wasn’t anyone around for miles.
“How about we go to my house first and I’ll just ride out with you?”
“That sounds great,” he said.
“You’re being awful agreeable. Not that I mind,” I said, and he seemed a little tense but sometimes that was Tig. He smiled at me before gliding his fingertips over my cheek the way he did when we were lying in bed together. “Are you ready?”
“Yes, baby, whatever you want,” he said. He wore an expression I couldn’t decipher, and I hoped nothing bad had happened. Mostly I hoped there was nothing wrong between the two of us because we might not have been together long, but it was long enough for me to fight for us.
Twenty
Tig
