Page 161 of What We Brave
"Turned on?"
"Yeah." I meet his eyes. "Is that weird?"
"Probably." His mouth quirks. "But I've been thinking the same thing. About watching you with her."
"Really?"
"Yeah." He glances down at Laine. "Last night, when you two were upstairs — I could hear you through the wall. Her. And I was so sure I'd hate it. That it would gut me. Like before."
"But it didn't."
"No." He looks back at me. "It really didn't. I was maybe a little jealous, but that's it."
The last stubborn knot behind my ribs finally lets go.
"So we're both into it." I tap my fingers against Laine's shin. "That's... good. That's a lot of options."
"We should go slow with her, though." Blake's voice is careful. Protective. "She's new to this. All of it. We can't rush any of this. It matters too fucking much."
She's new to it? Yeah, she is. But it's not like I'm some expert in any of this shit. My life has been way too vanilla. I've never had a threesome and I'm pretty sure that's supposed to be on the bingo card. "Agreed. Totally. Let her set the pace. We follow her lead."
"She's good at that." He smiles — a real one, rare and warm. "Setting the pace. Taking what she wants."
"Yeah. She really is."
A beat.
"So," I say. "Logistics. The two of us. We should probably?—"
"I love you," Blake cuts in. "But I have zero interest in touching your dick."
I bark out a laugh so loud Laine flinches in her sleep. I slap a hand over my mouth. She settles. I drop my hand.
"Thank fuck," I whisper. "Same. Jesus. Same."
"Good." He nods firmly. "That's settled."
"We can both be with her. Together. Same room. Same bed. But the two of us..."
"Brothers." He holds up his fist. "That's it."
I bump it with mine. "Brothers."
Laine shifts. Mumbles something. Her eyes flutter half-open.
"Are you two doing a fist bump over my sleeping body?"
"Maybe," I say.
"Were you talking about me?"
"Definitely," Blake says.
She sighs. Closes her eyes again. "I'm too tired to deal with both of you right now."
"Get some more sleep," I tell her. "We'll wake you for dinner."
"Mmm." She squeezes my hand under the blanket. "Don't go anywhere."
