Nicole Edwards - Zane

“No.”

That was an honest answer if Zane had ever heard one.

“Are you bisexual?” Another random question and Zane wanted to sew his lips shut. Were they actually having this conversation? Was he really talking to his buddy about sex? Talking about what happened between them and a woman was one thing, this... this was not normal. At least not according to Zane’s definition.

“I don’t know. I’ve never been with a guy.”

Zane looked over at Beau, the question probably obvious on his face but he asked it anyway. “That was your first time to give a dude a blow job?”

“Yes.”

Beau was at least consistent with his one word answers every other question.

“Do you want to do it again?” Fuck, that did not come out right.

“Yes.”

Son of a bitch. Zane was digging a hole that he wasn’t sure he knew how to get himself out of.

“With me?”

“Yes.”

Fucking A.

The silence descended on them for longer than was probably necessary, but Zane didn’t know what to say. Didn’t know what to ask. Didn’t know whether he really wanted to know more. His best friend, the guy he’d known all of his life, just told him he wanted to suck his dick. The worst part about it all, the idea didn’t repulse him. And Zane honestly didn’t know what to think about that.

“I won’t though. You don’t have to worry about that.”

Zane didn’t answer; he just continued to stare out at the dwindling foliage behind his house. In the summer, the trees were thick and green, but now that it was technically winter, or close to it, the trees were getting bare. He was distracting himself. He knew it, and Beau probably knew it too.

“Why’d you ask that?” This time Beau stunned him with a question.

He had no idea. “No fucking clue.” There, that was honest.

“Look, Zane. I didn’t mean to bring it up. I just don’t know who else to talk to about it. I guess I’m just confused. I hadn’t expected that to happen, but I won’t lie, when V gave me the opportunity, I wanted to take it. If you’d have said no, I would’ve backed off.”

“I did say no,” Zane reminded him.

“Yeah, but you didn’t mean it.”

No, no he hadn’t put any conviction behind the word at the time. What did that say about him? Was he gay? He was pretty sure the answer to that was no. Did he enjoy it? If he were honest with himself, he’d have to say yes. Did it bother him to touch Beau’s dick? The answer to that would be no as well. Fuck. Now he was confused.

He thought about V and how fucking hot she made him. With just a look, V had the ability to make his dick throb. Zane didn’t say another word, unsure where the hell this was actually going. The only thing he knew for sure, nothing would be happening between him and Beau unless V was there.

That one word shook him to the core. Unless. Was he saying he was ok with this?

Did this make him bi-curious?

♀♂

V hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but when she’d walked in Zane’s front door and hadn’t seen him, she’d automatically ventured to look out on the back porch. She knew Beau was here because his truck was parked outside.

The sliding glass door that led to the back porch was slightly ajar, and one thing led to another. V was rooted in place, riveted by the conversation between the two men. In fact, the way they continued to evade the main issue was turning her on. Whatever it was about the way Beau had given in to his curiosity gave her chills when she thought about it.

She and Zane hadn’t talked about what happened that night, although she fully expected to get the brunt of his anger in the light of day, but it hadn’t come. Based on what she heard now, she couldn’t help but wonder whether there was going to be a repeat. She was both intrigued and a little angry. Would Zane not consider that cheating? Would he experiment, regardless of who he was with, and think that was ok if she didn’t know about it? She definitely didn’t agree.

Stepping out onto the porch, she promptly caught the attention of both men and Beau went from pale white to bright red in the blink of an eye.

“What are you boys doing?”

“How long have you been standing there?” The question from Zane sounded more than a little angry.

“Long enough.” V was going for the truth, knowing she’d only be caught in a lie, and it would do nothing but piss him off more.

“Long enough for what?” Zane wasn’t happy. V watched as he glanced over at Beau and then back up at her.

“Long enough to hear Beau apologize.” There, maybe that would ease some of their tension.

No such luck.

“Goddamn it, V!” Zane exclaimed and stood up, causing her to take a step back. It was an automatic response, and the angry look in his eyes didn’t dissipate. “I fucking hate that shit.”

“What shit?” V asked, the heat in her blood no longer due to lust. She was just as pissed as Zane, if not more so. “That I might’ve overheard you considering cheating on me with your best friend?”

Zane stared at her, his eyes locked on hers, the aforementioned anger now fully boiling.

“This is none of your fucking business, Vanessa.”

V felt as though she’d been slapped. As much as the words stung, she knew them to be true. She shouldn’t have been listening. She violated their privacy in a big way and based on how quiet Beau was, she knew she’d gone about it the wrong way.

“I’m... sorry,” she whispered to Beau. She was too pissed off at Zane to apologize to him. “If it’s any consolation, I’m glad you’re talking about it.”

“Not your business,” Zane clarified.

V met his gaze once more and then turned to walk inside. Ok, she was running more than she was walking.

Just when she hit the front door, ready to bolt and never look back, Zane’s gigantic hand slammed against the wood, keeping it shut.

“Move out of my way,” she ordered him.

She heard Beau’s entry into the house when the glass door slid closed completely.

“No.”

V turned to face Zane, looking right in his eyes. “I said I was sorry. What more do you want from me?”

Zane’s hand was still against the door, over her shoulder, and he was leaning in close. Close enough that she could smell that heady blend of soap and man. “First of all, that was a private conversation.”

V didn’t respond. She was well aware they hadn’t wanted or expected an audience. She knew that based on the words they’d spoken to one another. An unwelcome jolt of heat speared right through her at the remembered words.

“That was your first time to give a dude a blow job?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want to do it again?”

“Yes.”

“With me?”

“Yes.”

V spared a glance behind Zane. Beau was standing with his head hanging low, but he was clearly listening. He never was the type of man to speak much. The bits and pieces of the conversation between the two men shouldn’t have been any of her business, but it was. She was in a relationship with Zane, and she was sleeping with both of them. That gave her some rights, didn’t it?

“Do you want it to happen again?” Zane’s words were but a whisper and V’s eyes darted back in his direction.

“Don’t put this on me,” she answered. This was not about her and they couldn’t use her to try and define the awkwardness that they were experiencing. “You and Beau have to figure this out.”

“You’re part of this.”

 “Why? How do I even possibly have anything to do with this... this curiosity you two seem to have?” Waving her hand back and forth between the two men, V found that she couldn’t keep still.

“Because you belong to me. I asked your permission before I shared you, didn’t I?”

Oh God! V’s stomach lost altitude, and she felt a strange quake deep in her gut. Was he saying? Did he? An acute throb took up residence between her legs, and her thighs tightened.

She glanced around Zane and found Beau staring at them, his eyes wide, his mouth hanging open. Obviously he had heard the question and he was just as surprised as she was.

“This isn’t about what might happen between Beau and I. That’s our business. But if it does happen, you’ll be a part of it. Understand me?”

V nodded her head in agreement, not quite sure what she was agreeing to.

Zane turned and faced Beau. “I won’t lie to you. You’re my closest friend, and you deserve more than that. What happened the other night... It was strange. I’m not sure how I feel about it. At first, I was adamantly against it. But you’re right. I didn’t say no. At least I didn’t mean it the way I thought I had. That doesn’t mean I’m interested in anything more than an experiment.”

V watched Beau, noticing how he didn’t move. She wasn’t even sure he was breathing.

“One time, Beau. Understand me? If you can’t handle that, then you should walk away from this right now. Our friendship still stands, and I won’t ever look at you differently.”

V waited for Beau’s response. She held her breath anticipating what he would say next. Part of her wanted him to walk away because she knew him better than she realized. He was going to get hurt. He wanted Zane, and she had a feeling it was way more than the curiosity that Zane was caught up in.

Finally, just when she thought he was going to walk away, Beau met Zane’s gaze. “One time. I can live with only one time.”

Zane turned back to V, looking down at her. “No matter what happens here, I need to know you’re ok with this.”

V nodded her head again.

“I need to hear you say it. If you’re not, we’ll pretend this conversation never happened.”

V looked back at Beau, seeing the desire brilliantly sparking in those deep brown eyes. When her eyes met Zane’s again, she knew she was all in.

“Yes. One time.”

Zane took a step back and then looked back and forth between them. “No matter what happens, I’m in charge. Got that?”

V heard his declaration, and she was also pretty sure his confidence was suddenly wavering.

♂♂♀

Beau stood motionless in the middle of Zane’s living room. He still wasn’t sure what just happened. An hour ago, he’d found himself sitting on Zane’s front porch, waiting for him to come home. He’d prepared his speech and fully intended to dig himself out of the hole he’d found himself in, not go in even deeper.

Truth be told, the conversation he’d had with Zane just a few minutes ago was one of the most difficult things he’d ever had to discuss. He apologized for something that still confused the hell out of him. Was he attracted to Zane? More than he thought possible. Did that make him gay? Maybe.

He’d been battling these feelings for about two years now. Never once had he thought to act on them. He honestly thought it was just an overactive libido and the fact that he and Zane found themselves in intimate situations because of the fact that they shared women between them.

That made sense. At the time. Then, right after Zane started hooking up with V, Beau felt a shift in what he felt for Zane. Sure, maybe it was just curiosity, but he doubted it. Zane wasn’t the first man that Beau found himself attracted to, but what he felt for Zane was more powerful than anything he’d ever known.

He couldn’t move from where he stood. Didn’t want to. If he did, they all might just go their separate ways and above all else, Beau did not want to lose his friendship with Zane. They’d known each other all of their lives. They’d grown up together, learned to ride horses together, learned how to satisfy a woman together – and wasn’t that a strange thought.

No matter what happens, I’m in charge.

Zane’s words bounced around in his head, and he wondered what the hell was going to happen now. He’d told Zane the truth when he admitted that he’d never given a blow job before. Until him. He’d thought about it plenty of times. Then, when he’d been on his knees, Zane’s cock buried deep in his mouth, Beau had finally felt like that something he’d been missing all this time was being fulfilled. He knew that what happened that night could’ve very easily changed their relationship – hell, it could’ve ruined their friendship.

But it hadn’t. They were still friends; they’d even shared V again since that night. It was obvious they were about to share her again. This was going to be more though. His nerves were in turmoil, his head was spinning from his thoughts, and his cock was throbbing in his jeans.