ask you to go, you will, too, because doing that with me gives us both something, makes us both happy.”
“Okay,” Drew said. “But why now? Why the sudden urge to… go to the opera?”
Bas shrugged. “I think we need to remove the pressure. Right now, this whole sex issue hangs above us all. I mean, you two are not really having any, which is stupid because you should.”
He waved his palm between the two of them, and Drew exchanged a glance with Ezra, who was studiously staring at his toes.
“It feels like we’d be excluding you,” he said. “I don’t know how to navigate without anybody getting hurt.”
“Yeah. And it makes sense. But here’s the thing, what if we can make it so that sex isn’t this great big issue anymore? What if it was just one part of our relationship and not something that defines us? And just because the actual act doesn’t thoroughly excite me doesn’t mean the experience with all of us together couldn’t be amazing for me. When you’re happy and comfortable and turned on and enjoying yourself… that’s the part I can enjoy.”
Bas bit his lower lip, eyes moving between Drew and Ezra.
“Maybe it’s easier for me to view it like that. Sex has never been about all-consuming passion for me, I get it. And maybe it’s not enough, but this is what I have to give. And I guess what I’m asking is if you’re okay with this. With me. The way I am. And right now, I’m asking you to trust me when I say that this is what I want us to do, and that I’m not forcing myself to tolerate anything. Can you do that?”
It was a loaded question. One Drew would have usually spent days or weeks analyzing and consequently overthinking until he would have made a mess of everything.
But then Ezra leaned forward and caught Bas’s lips in a kiss.
“I’ll go to the opera with you,” he murmured, and Bas snorted.
“This might have been a bad metaphor.”
Drew smiled as he watched the two of them. Bas sank into Ezra’s kiss, and he looked relieved and happy, and there was no doubt inside Drew that everything Bas had to give would be enough for all of them.
He went to Bas and Ezra, wrapping himself around Ezra from behind. He started pressing soft kisses to the back of his neck. He’d never get tired of the way Ezra seemed to melt under his touch.
“You like that,” Drew whispered.
“It’s a sensitive area,” Ezra said on a rush of breath.
“Do it again.” Bas’s eyes were gleaming as he looked at the two of them.
Drew pressed his chin on Ezra’s shoulder, which coaxed another shiver of pleasure out of the man. Drew was really getting a kick out of how sensitive Ezra’s neck was. He’d have to explore it further in the very near future.
“We should probably talk,” Drew said. “About what we want to happen here.”
Bas threw himself on the bed and groaned in frustration, which made Ezra turn his head and hide his smile, his face pressed against Drew’s cheek.
“Jesus Christ, Drew. Sex. We want sex to happen,” Bas said, which made Ezra burst out in laughter.
“Yeah, I got that,” Drew replied dryly. “Tell me what you want. The basics. Just… give me the CliffsNotes of what you expect from this.”
“I want to watch,” Bas said. “But I want to watch while I’m still a part of this in a way. I don’t want to creepily observe from the chair in the corner. I want to touch, and I want to kiss.”
“Okay. See? That’s good. We can do that.”
“I also want you not to overthink this,” Bas said, aiming his gaze at Drew. “You need to trust that I’ll tell you if I don’t like something. Can you do that?”
Drew shrugged
“I can try, and if I’m screwing it up, I’m sure you’ll let me know.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Drew walked toward the bed and crawled toward Bas. He threw his leg over Bas’s and straddled him. Wrapping his fingers in Bas’s hair, he slid his hands behind the back of Bas’s head and pulled him forward until he was able to crash his mouth down on Bas’s.
The familiar taste and smell surrounded Drew, and he lost himself in the kiss. Their tongues battled for dominance as they devoured each other.
Bas’s palms moved over Drew’s shoulders, and he slid them down his back, slipping under Drew’s shirt and moving back upward, leaving goose bumps