Page 69 of By All Accounts
I stood naked between the two of them, both of their stares locked onto me in a way I could actually feel. The air in the small bathroom was thick with steam and arousal, with need.
“We’re never going to get to brunch if you get into this shower,” Finn said, words rough.
“Yes, we will,” I countered, stepping over the edge of the tub and under the water.
Finn pressed himself against the wall, giving me room to get under the spray. He liked his showers hotter than Daniel, which was a relief. I turned and backed up, tipping my head away so I could get my hair wet. I could hear Finn’s breathing, even over the pounding of the water and my equally loud heartbeat in my ears. The curtain was still open, Daniel on the sink.
“Are you coming too?” Finn asked weakly.
“Do you want me to?”
The shower was far too small for all three of us, but I needed them both in there with me as much as I needed my next breath. Daniel slid off the counter and took off his underwear, taking a step toward us without committing to getting all the way in.
“Where are we going for brunch?” he asked me.
“Chantrelle.”
He hummed, looked at Finn. “She loves their Caesar salad. It comes with a thick and crunchy crouton thing.”
I did love the crouton, which was admittedly more like a hunk of rustic garlic bread than anything else with a sharp crust that would cut your cheeks if you weren’t careful biting into it. But they had an extensive cocktail menu and a good Manhattan, and I had done more than just listen to the two of them have sex while I drank my coffee and wasted time on social media. Chantrelle had been a calculated decision, and I wanted them both to know it.
“What else?” I prompted.
“The best Manhattan in the city,” Daniel said.
Finn traced his tongue across the front of his teeth.
“And what do I like there?” Daniel asked next.
“You like watching me eat my salad,” I teased, which was true. Daniel liked the way my eyes rolled back after the first bite, and he loved the way my lipstick always smeared across the bread. It reminded him of a good blow job, he’d told me once.
“I like making you happy.”
“Yes.”
Finn’s tongue clicked against the roof of his mouth.
“Does Finn make you happy?” Daniel asked.
I waited for Finn to look at me, the shadowed trepidation heavy in his eyes.
“Finn makes me happy,” I said, thinking back to the conversation about getting tested and being committed. “It would make me happier if…”
“If he could fuck you bare,” Daniel finished for me.
I nodded.
Finn’s chest heaved with every breath, and I held out my hand to beckon him under the spray. He had to be cold, pressed against the wall like I would rip his heart out with my hands if he got too close, though I imagined that probably wasn’t very far from what he thought about me sometimes…about Daniel.
“What do you want?” Daniel asked me next.
“You,” I said, still looking at Finn. “Him.”
“Finn.”
He finally looked at Daniel, chin slightly trembling, and Daniel stepped into the shower. He pressed his chest against Finn’s back, kissed his shoulder blade.
“How can we make you trust this?” he whispered.
