girls. Well, most that I knew. She's just like these gamer girls. Thing is, she made it damned clear that she had no interest in monogamy. Hooking up? Sure. Being called a slut didn't bother her at all. She knew what she wanted, and impressing us was not a part of that deal."
"I like her more already," Braden admitted.
Cade flashed him a smile. "But Ripper was first. I mean, that guy decided that while all the rest of us were pounding our chests over the hot new girl, he'd just move in and steal her. He did too, but Jeri isn't the type to stay stolen. Jeff made a move, and I hated him for it. And eventually, I pulled my head out of my ass. Long story short, I thought I had to choose. I could be with the guy, I could be with the girl, or I could lose them to each other. And Jeri was just like, 'nope,' and did her thing. We kinda had our faces rubbed in the fact that dating is a sexist piece of shit. It's all about the man claiming his prize, and our girl wanted to be the victor, not the trophy."
"Not so sure mine's there yet," Braden told him. "She likes this guy, and they've been friends for a while. Killer chemistry and all that, but she's trans, he's straight, and I made the move first."
Cade nodded slowly. "So why are you talking to me? Sounds like you know what you want."
"Was pretty sure I had this all figured out until I saw her kiss the shit out of him downstairs," Braden admitted. "And in my head, it makes sense. I know that she deserves this. I know I want to give her everything, and I don't want to fucking own her. But, I… When I saw that, I felt…"
"Jealous?" Cade asked. "Because I get that. And yes, you can be both. Doesn't make or break a relationship. Just kinda depends on how you act on that jealousy."
"I'm trying to ignore it," Braden admitted. "I mean, in my head, this makes sense. Girls never stay with their first boyfriend. He's the lesson, right? So, if I back off and let her experiment, then it could be fine. No different than her masturbating. Little sex here, little sex there. I was all on board with that. But now there are feelings involved, and I can't stop thinking that she wants him more. Like, my gut reaction says she's going to choose - and not me."
"Then don't make her choose, and you're fine," Cade countered. "Sounds like you're only doing this for her, though, and that might bite you in the ass. What do you get out of it?"
"I'm doing it because I know what she needs," he explained. "Rhaven deserves to live her life as a woman and be happy about it. I want her to have everything she desires. The problem is that I have no fucking idea how to make this work, and your thing? It's working. So, this is me sucking up my pride and facing it all head on."
Cade looked at Braden for a long time, running his tongue across his teeth inside his lips. Then, "You're bi, right?"
"I am," Braden said.
"You want to fuck him?"
Braden just sighed. "He's straight. Not curious, not wavering. This man is straight, Cade."
"Ok, because that changes things." So Cade waved that away. "He's a friend of yours? So you're stuck in that place where you're happy for your girl, can tell that she and he work well, but you're not willing to back off?"
"Exactly! I really want her to have this."
"Then leave them alone," Cade told him. "I'm serious, man. If they're always a part of the group, those longing looks turn into fantasies that can't be acted upon, and then fade away into a comfortable nothing. It gets classified in her mind as impossible, and she will not take the chance of making herself look stupid and being turned down."
Braden nodded. "They're alone right now. Figure they needed some time to talk. He kinda kissed her when we got here, and I'm pretty sure it was honestly a surprise to both of them, but they're fucking magnetic, and I don't really have that with her. I'm mostly wondering how this... I don't know. Like, what lines are there? How the fuck am I supposed to act with him? I mean, what is expected, and how do we even talk about