More Than Everything (Family 3)

“Shit,” Charlie said breathlessly as he tore his mouth from Adan’s. “I’m sorry, Scotty. I don’t… shit.” He tried to scoot off Adan’s lap, but Adan was twice his size and he wasn’t letting go.

“It’s okay,” I assured him. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I am making out with your boyfriend!” Charlie reminded me. Then, after a pause, he asked, “Wait, he is your boyfriend, right? You guys are together?”

I scooted closer to them, pressed my thigh to Adan’s, and draped my left arm over his shoulders. “Yes, we’ve been together for five years now.”

He darted his gaze back and forth between me and Adan. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”

I heard his question, but at that moment, I couldn’t focus on anything except how much I wanted to touch him, to make sure he was okay, to know he wasn’t angry with me anymore.

“Charlie, can I….” I circled my right arm around Charlie’s waist, clutched him tightly, and blinked rapidly to keep my tears at bay. “Do you hate me?”

“Ah, Scotty, no.” He twisted in Adan’s lap until he was facing me. “I could never hate you. You know that.”

I nodded, feeling relieved. “I didn’t mean to break my promises. You were my first love, Charlie. But I was so young, we were so young. Do you remember? I never thought I was running away from you, and I didn’t realize you saw it that way.”

“I know,” he said. “I understand. I’ve always understood. But it still hurt.” His voice broke on the last word, and my restraint snapped.

Within seconds, I was kneeling on the sofa, cupping his face between both of my palms, and taking his mouth in a smoldering kiss. We were both panting by the time we pulled our lips apart. I rested my forehead against his and rubbed my thumbs over his soft skin.

“That was so hot,” Adan said hoarsely.

I chuckled. “Yes, it was.”

Charlie shook his head and said, “This is deeply, deeply fucked up.” He tried once again to move away, but both of us held on to him.

“No, it’s not,” Adan disagreed. “It’s perfect.”

“Stay,” I said. “We want you to stay with us.”

“You have each other,” he reminded us.

Adan and I looked at one another and sighed in unison. I tilted my head toward him, indicating he should take the lead.

“We want you too,” he said.

“No way.” Charlie shook his head vehemently. “Look, it’s cool if you guys have an open relationship or you like to pick up guys to share your bed, but I’m not interested.”

“That’s not how things are between us,” I grumbled. “Neither of us has been with anybody else since we got together. We’re in it for the long haul. We own a house and a business together. We share a checking account. We’re not playing around; this isn’t a game to us.”

“Fine. Good.” Charlie managed to wiggle free. He stood up. “I’m glad you have each other,” he said, looking pained. “And I don’t want to get in the middle of that.”

“What if we want you in the middle?” Adan asked as he climbed to his feet.

“No.” He shook his head. “I know I haven’t seen either of you in years, but it could never be casual for me”—he looked back and forth between us—“not with either of you.”

I got up and stood on the other side of him. “Who said we’re looking for casual?”

I had forgotten how small Charlie was. He measured in at barely five and a half feet, so at six foot two and six foot three respectively, Adan and I both towered over him. I found the difference in our sizes sexy as hell, and because those tight pants Charlie wore allowed for no secrets, I could see that he was turned on too.

“This isn’t just about sex,” Adan added.

“Who are you and what have you done with Adan Navarro?” Charlie asked with a smile.

“I’m serious,” Adan responded.

Charlie raised his hand and traced Adan’s jaw. “I know you are, but come on, what else could it ever be?” He turned to me and rubbed his thumb over my lips. “Like you said, you guys have the house, the car, the business.” He sighed and folded in on himself. “You don’t need me. You already have everything.”

“We have a good life,” I admitted and reached for Adan’s hand at the same time he reached for mine.

Adan raised my hand to his mouth, kissed my wrist, and said, “We’re happy.”

I smiled at him and then focused on Charlie. “I guess you’re right. We do have everything.”

Charlie slumped in reaction to my comment.

“But as it turns out,” Adan said quietly, “everything isn’t enough.”

“What does that mean?” Charlie asked. “You want more than everything?”

Both of us nodded. “We want you,” we said in unison.

THOUGH we had been in Charlie’s apartment for only a matter of hours, so much had changed that it felt like days. Adan and I stayed quiet during the drive home. I was processing everything that had happened and I assumed he was doing the same. The silence stretched through our arrival home. We each got ready for bed, crawled underneath the cool sheets, and hit the lights.