“Who’s the contractor you got to build the track?” I ask Axel as the two of us look over the plans he picked up this morning.
“Lennon’s friend Cade. He gave me a bro deal.”
“What sort of deal?” I cast him a sideways glance. Bro deals can be epic or awful. Sometimes the favor is genuine, and comes scot-free. Others, they come with a hiddenI owe you.
“Cade gets lifetime access to the track when it isn’t in use in exchange for building it.” He lowers the blueprints just enough that he can peer over the top of them, I’m assuming so he can picture what’s on the paper in the space in front of him.
“And that’s a good deal because?”
“He’s got all sorts of equipment to build and maintain the track, so it’ll save a ton of money up front.”
“That doesn’t sound too bad.” I relax my shoulders a bit, knowing Axel didn’t just make a colossal error in his excitement to get things going.
“Gotta love small towns.” He grins. “No way you can make a deal like this in a big city.”
“Sounds like you’re really loving it here?” I lean against the wall of the barn—arena—and watch him spin around to orient himself. It’s sort of amusing to watch him try to match a 2D image with a 3D space.
“What’s not to love? The trails are epic, the people are cool, and Lennon’s here. Speaking of people.” He turns to look at me over his shoulder. “Some of them are saying that they saw a strange car parked at your place last night.”
“Don’t tell me you’re into small town gossip now.” I deflect, taking a page from his book when he first met Lennon.
“Just cause I don’t spread it doesn’t mean I don’t hear it. Who spent the night?” He pins me with a look that saysgotcha.
“A friend. And he didn’t spend the night. He was just there to hang out.”
“By hang out you mean fuck?” Axel’s wry grin is a reminder that he knows me all too well.
“Your words, not mine.”
“Are you saying the three of you had a nice platonic evening together?” When I don’t respond he continues, “What’d your boyfriend have to say about that?”
“He didn’t object, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Axel arches a brow. “Blake doesn’t object to you fucking his new boss?”
“He knows Kane and I have a history.” I chew on my lip, debating how much to say before concluding I’ve probably got a green light since Axel already knows about Blake. “Blake’s got his own history with him, too.”
That gets Axel’s attention. His hands drop to his side, crinkling the plans against his legs as he looks at me with wide eyes. “No shit? I guess that sort of explains why Blake didn’t totally object, but sleeping with anyone who isn’t your boyfriend still sounds like playing with fire to me.”
“Playing with fire, how?”
“You’ve heard of love triangles, right?” Axel deadpans.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“Isn’t it? How long do you think you’ll have a boyfriend if you’re fucking another guy on the side. Even if Blake knows about it, knows you two have history, you think he’s gonna turn a blind eye to that shit forever? Like I said, playing with fire.” Axel goes back to trying to decipher the plans.
“It’s not so risky if the three of us are together.” I shrug with more confidence than I feel considering I just volunteered information about the unlikelyintersectionof my past and present.
“You could’ve just said you had a threesome.” Axel looks up long enough to roll his eyes at me.
“That implies the focus is on sex.”
“It’s not?”
“Not long term.”
“Not long…” Axel’s brows disappear beneath his hair. “The three of you… You mean, like you all date each other?” His brows draw together, but his expression is one of confusion, not disgust.
