Right before we reached the group, I asked, “Do you think the five of us can be friends?” Tobias already understood that I would choose my boyfriends over him, if he forced me to choose. But I hoped he wouldn’t.
“Not right now.” He gave me a small smile. “But someday.”
“Okay. I’ll look forward to someday, then.”
The next hour passed with a surprising lack of drama. Kelsey and two of her sorority sisters tossed catty remarks my way, which was in no way surprising. Several of the football players offered to drag them away—literally—but I declined. My spirits were too high to pay those girls any mind.
While Hayle spoke to one of his business major friends about a class, my gaze wandered across the fire, to where Tristin was standing alone, watching me. With a straight face, I made a show of reaching back and tugging my hair over my right shoulder.
He made it to me in about five seconds flat. “Did something happen?”
“No,” I said, fluttering my eyelashes at him. “I just wanted to give you an excuse to kiss my neck.”
Tristin laughed. “I never need an excuse, but I’m happy to oblige.”
But, before he could move to my back, Leo was there, planting his warm lips on my newly exposed skin. I shivered and closed my eyes, forgetting about all of the people who were likely watching us.
“I think that’s our cue to go,” Tristin said with humor in his voice.
“I’m good with that,” I replied, forcing my eyes open.
“Me too,” Leo murmured against my neck.
Hayle took my hand in his. “Let’s get out of here.”
So, we did. We walked away, together, and didn’t look back. Our friends would continue to support us, and everyone else didn’t matter. They never had.
Chapter Forty-One
Thea
Hayle didn’t release my hand until we made it to the Range Rover, and even then, he pulled me into the back with him. I buckled into the middle seat and lay my head on his shoulder, soaking up his warmth. Smoke clung to his hoodie, and I found the scent strangely enticing. Like the sweet memory of a night that had only just begun.
Palming my inner thigh, he slid his hand up until his pinky grazed my center over my jeans. With a small gasp, I peered up at him, questioning. He answered by hooking one arm behind my neck and drawing my mouth to his.
Hayle kissed me slowly and with a deliberation that made me feel something entirely new. Without words, he spoke of more than tonight. He spoke of a future I hadn’t allowed myself to even dream of, with all three of the brothers I called mine.
When he used his thumb to rub me where his pinky had been moments before, I clutched his sweatshirt, moaning into his mouth. He was initiating something different, and it was turning me on like nothing else. I’d kissed the brothers in front of each other, of course, but we hadn’t done anything more. At least, not since that night with Tristin and Leo.
“Damn it,” I heard Leo say. “Why am I always the one driving?”
“Because we always take your car,” Tristin replied dryly.
“Well, that’s dumb.”
I felt Hayle’s smile against my lips, but he didn’t stop touching me. Instead, he released the button on my jeans before lowering the zipper. Then, he slipped his hand under the band of my lace panties and dipped a finger inside me.
My mouth still fused to his, I writhed, silently begging for more. He obliged, circling my clit with the same deliberation he’d taken with his kiss. It was the best kind of torture, since I wanted him to keep touching me as much as I longed for release.
Leo groaned from a few feet in front of me. “Please make that last a minute longer, so I can watch.”
“No promises, brother,” Hayle answered, though he halted his ministrations.
I bit down on his lip, punishing him for pausing for even a second. I felt his chest rumble with laughter before he added a second finger inside of me and began moving again.
“Faster,” I urged, only vaguely aware of the Range Rover coming to a stop and the garage door closing behind us. I was gripping his hoodie so tightly now, my hands were going numb. Not that I cared. All I cared about was Hayle giving me what I so desperately wanted.
Sensing the attention of both Tristin and Leo, I turned my head to find matching pairs of hungry aquamarine