He drops a sheet of paper and slides it into a folder. “Sure. What’s up?”
This is the moment. I’ve thought about how I wanted to do this for several days but haven’t found a good time to talk to Aiden. There were a couple different ways this conversation could go, some very unpleasant. But if I played everything right, it could be great. So I needed to pick my words well.
“I want you to stop messing us around,” I blurt out.
Damn. That wasn’t what I had in mind—or if it was, I could have framed it better.
Aiden raises his eyebrows, leaning back in his chair. “I’m sorry?”
I take a step forward, stopping right in front of his desk. Then I cross my arms over my chest and fix him with my best stern glare. “You need to decide if you’re in. We—I—can’t take any more of the guessing.”
A muscle twitches in his jaw. “I thought you were okay with me and Skye.”
Dropping all pretense, I shove my hand through my hair. “I am! Godsdamn it, I love that you two finally get along. But every time you start something, you pull back. And I can’t do that anymore. We’re…” I shake my head, trying to find the right way to say this. “It’s not like you’re only crashing Skye’s relationship with me and Jack. Jack and I are also…”
“A thing?” he finishes with a wry smile.
I blow out a tense breath. “Yeah.”
He stands, rounding the desk with slow steps. I don’t usually pay much attention to it, but he’s several inches taller than me, taller even than Jack, and he seems to loom over me in the small space.
“So you’re worried I might mess up your relationship with Jack?”
“No!” I retreat a step, not knowing how to articulate any of this. “Fuck. Forget it. This was a bad idea.”
I turn to leave, frustration swirling through me. Why did I think I could fix this? I should have talked to Jack first—he’s much better than me at this relationship stuff.
“Ty.”
Aiden’s low voice stops me from reaching for the doorknob. I face his way again and find him standing closer than before, so I have to raise my chin to meet his gaze.
“What?” I snap, aware that I sound like a brat.
His blue eyes burn with a new kind of light. “Why don’t you explain to me what exactly you meant?”
“I want…” I lower my gaze to the floor because I can’t stand his scrutiny anymore. “I want us to be together.Allof us.”
He makes a humming sound in his throat. “Did you always feel this way or did that change when Skye arrived?”
“I don’t know, man. Did I know I wanted to fuck my best friends? Maybe?”
I palm the back of my neck and chance a look at him. This is terrifying. One misplaced word, and I could doom a friendship we’ve been building for almost three decades. But screw it. I started this, so I better finish it, too.
“It doesn’t matter what I felt before. I can’t handle the uncertainty any longer.”
He drags in a sharp inhale. “Uncertainty over what?”
Heat creeps up my neck. “Are we friends or are we something more?”
Aiden takes one step closer, his chest now inches from mine. His scent, so familiar, now has the power to disable my higher brain functions.
“What do you want, Ty?” he murmurs.
“More,” I breathe. “I want more.”
His lips tip up at the corners, and he’s so fucking devastating when he smiles like that. I push at him, suddenly desperate to get away from him, but he grabs my hand and pulls me closer instead. There’s a moment’s hesitation, then his mouth crashes down on mine.
It’s rough and wild and so hot, all my indecision burns to ashes within a second. I grab Aiden’s neck and haul him closer, fisting my other hand in his flannel shirt. He crowds into me and nudges me until my back hits the door. He presses the hard, lean length of his body against mine, and his jeans don’t do much to hide his erection. I thrust my hips into his, and the friction feels amazing—but not nearly enough.
