Gwen took in the restaurant’s wonderful ambiance as she followed the hostess to their table, a comfortable booth in a dark corner. Above the table, a green-shaded brass lamp cast an intimate pool of light on the table. All over the rough brick walls, pictures displaying Rapid City and the Black Hills’ past provided more than a few minutes of distraction.
“Great place, huh?” Tim asked as he pushed his menu to the side.
Gwen noticed. “Yeah. Don’t need a menu, huh?”
“Nope. Always get the same thing. Prime rib, baked sweet potato, and salad. Jack there always has trouble making up his mind before he usually ends up ordering the same thing he always does.” Tim rolled his eyes.
Gwen laughed. “Don’t pick on him.” She wanted to like Jack, especially since he was so hunky and Tim’s boyfriend. She leaned in and patted Jack’s arm. “Does he always pick on you like this?”
Tim had been taking a sip of water. He nearly spit-taked it all over their table as he burst out laughing. “You defending big, bad Stoneface there? Ha! That’s a laugh. I’ve never seen him need defending, especially from me.”
“Yes,” Jack said, playing along, “he’s horrible about picking on me. He even wants to get me waxed.”
“Waxed? Where?” she asked.
“Everywhere.” He glared at Tim. “When I let him pluck my eyebrows, he tortures me.”
“You big baby,” Tim casually shot back. “Just because you like the caveman look doesn’t mean I do.”
Their playful banter soon had Gwen laughing. She sensed Jack loosening up as the evening went on. At one point, Tim disappeared to the bathroom for a few minutes, leaving her alone with Jack. The fact that she no longer felt nervous around him didn’t escape her notice.
He was handsome, despite his more serious demeanor when compared to Tim.
“I’m sorry about your mom,” she said during a lull in the conversation. “Tim told me a little about her.”
He nodded, the shadow of a frown crossing his face. “Thanks. There’s not a lot they can do for her, unfortunately.”
“How’s your dad managing?”
He shrugged. “He’s doing the best he can. Tim’s been a huge help. He’ll go over during the day sometimes when Dad needs to get away or run errands. Gives him some respite time.”
“No brothers or sisters to help out?”
He shook his head. “Nope, just me. And Tim,” he quickly added. Then he smiled. “They weren’t thrilled to find out I’m gay, but I’ll hand it to them, they’ve accepted it and Tim.”
“Yeah, Tim seems to be a keeper.” She let out a sigh. “You both do. Look, I’m really sorry about this morning. I shouldn’t have blown my top like that.”
He waved it off. “It’s okay, I understand. I know it’s stressful on you right now. But honestly? In my experience, things like this nearly always turn out all right.” He cleared his throat. “From what you’ve told me about your parents, she’s probably just looking for some time away from them.”
Gwen grudgingly agreed. “I know. It just sucks that Li and I have to be the ones to deal with her mess with them. If she wants to bug out, fine, but she should have to do the dirty work of standing up to Mom and Dad about it.”
He nodded as he sipped his iced tea. “I agree with you there.”
“I wonder where Tim is? He’s been gone a while.”
“Probably flirting with the waitresses,” he said, looking around.
Did he look a little nervous? They chatted a few more minutes. Tim finally returned, looking a little flushed and out of breath.
“Are you okay?” Gwen asked.
He smiled. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Sorry. Had to take a call from the other store about an issue. No biggie.” He dug into the remnants of his prime rib. Gwen’s rib eye steak had been cooked to tender perfection, while Jack had chowed down on a tenderloin, apparently a departure from the sirloin he usually ordered.
Their conversation settled into an easy rhythm and tone. Tim talked her into sharing a dessert with him while Jack settled for a coffee and watched them eat. By the time they finished and Tim picked up the check, Gwen wistfully wished the evening wouldn’t end.
Unless it ended with me in their bed.
She sighed, knowing that would never happen. Not with her luck.
Best steak she ever ate, no lie. She snuggled deeper into the passenger seat and watched Jack as he drove. Tim hadn’t exaggerated when he said they were polar opposites. Tim’s open joviality, sweet nature, and easy smile compared to…
Stoneface.
Jack’s intense nature lurked just below the surface, barely kept in check. Dark passion burned in his deep, brown eyes.
And that hot, hard body.
Yum.
It was enough to stoke the coals of a whole book’s worth of fantasies. No, scratch that. Not just one book, but a whole series of them.
Back at their house, Tim wouldn’t settle for her disappearing into her room for the evening. “No, babe, you need to see this view at night. It’s gorgeous.” He led her to the lower back porch, where a hot tub occupied most of the covered deck. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
He meant the valley beyond, even though her eyes were fixed on the crystal clear sky above, which was pinpointed by countless stars.
Jack didn’t say anything as he laid his keys on the kitchen counter, but he didn’t disappear into their bedroom, either. He followed them downstairs and out a sliding glass door to the deck.
She couldn’t remember ever seeing so many stars before. Even though she lived outside Columbus, there was still enough light pollution that it obscured the delicate scattered carpet of faint stars laid out in the sky before her.
“It’s gorgeous,” she agreed. She felt Tim step closer behind her, his body pressed against hers.
She didn’t mind.
Jack stepped to her right side and leaned against the railing. “I missed this when I lived in California. There’s lots of smog out there. A lot of times, you don’t get nice nighttime views like this.”
“Why did you move out there?” she asked.
She thought Jack’s expression darkened, but Tim chimed in. “So he could meet little ole me,” he joked.
That’s when Jack smiled, warm and genuine, and looked at her. “Not exactly, but no, I wouldn’t have met Tim if I hadn’t moved out there. So it was worth the time out there to find this guy.”
It wasn’t her imagination that Tim was wiggling a little against her backside. She wiggled back and heard him chuckle.
Heat rose in her face as her panties grew damp. What did she have to lose?
She wiggled again and felt him harden through his slacks.
“Why don’t you join us in the hot tub, Gwen?” Tim suggested. When he stepped back she had to suppress a wistful sigh. But when he reached for his pants and started to unbuckle, she swallowed hard. Within a moment he was naked and stepping into the hot tub.
Jack turned and smiled at her. “Why not?” His gaze never wavered from hers as he stripped and joined Tim in the hot tub.
She didn’t miss that both men were hard as they sank chest-deep in the water.
And very well hung.
Oh boy. Boy, oh boy.
The men didn’t speak. Jack looked amused while Tim looked hopeful.
Gwen kicked off her shoes, took a deep breath, and pulled her blouse off over her head. She let it fall to the floor where the men’s clothes lay.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
She felt the blush deep in her face as she got naked. Her nipples immediately tightened and peaked in the cool air, and she hurried to join them in the pleasantly hot water. They sat on either side of her.
“How’s that?” Tim asked.
She nodded, her throat suddenly dry. What the hell am I doing?