“I know it.”
“And when you came back from wherever the hell you were in the Middle East, I was there for you, right? I had your back.”
Isaac closed his eyes. “I don’t want to talk about that.”
“You never want to talk about it. You never want to talk about anything that isn’t football.”
I crouched closer to the wall. They acted as if I weren’t here. I wasn’t going to interrupt them with a big announcement.
“What’s your point?” Isaac’s eyes flared.
“You’re not being honest with me about Vanessa.”
“I said I’d back off. And I will.” He moved to walk away from Dylan. “I’ll go. I wasn’t here, man. I won’t come back. I give you my word.”
Dylan’s hand clutched Isaac’s elbow. “Stop. Just say what the fuck you mean. Don’t go dark Seal on me. Say something, damn it.”
I held my breath. I remember reading about Isaac’s entry to the team after a military service career, but I didn’t know the details. I could list off his stats with no problem, but I knew nothing about his life before he became a Warrior.
“There’s nothing to say,” Isaac responded.
“That’s not true. I’ve been asking for two damn days. Just say it. Say what you mean.”
I was too afraid to move a muscle. I watched in awe.
“I fucking want her!” Isaac shouted.
I felt the tenseness grip me. He turned toward me. “I’m sorry. I know you’re here. I do. We shouldn’t be having this conversation.” He looked at Dylan. “We’re done with this. I’m gone. I wasn’t here.”
I finally pushed myself off the wall. I couldn’t be the wallflower any longer. I took one step and then another. They were slow deliberate steps. As if each one gave me days to think instead of seconds.
I reached Isaac first and entwined my fingers through his. He looked at me. His dark eyes filled with sadness and confusion. I brought his knuckles to my lips and kissed them.
I heard Dylan groan. “It’s him then?”
I reached for Dylan, tangling my hand in his, drawing him toward me. I looked in his eyes as I brought his thumb to my mouth and kissed the tip before sucking it between my lips.
“Fuck,” Isaac growled.
It wasn’t a solution. It wasn’t an answer. It was what I wanted. I didn’t know how else to say it. There wasn’t a way to put it in words. But they couldn’t fight over me. Not when I wanted them both equally. I couldn’t be the reason a friendship was destroyed. There was no way to push either one of them out, when I couldn’t separate them in my head.
Dylan’s thumb lingered as I sucked harder. “Shit, Vanessa.”
Isaac wrapped his hands around my waist from behind. He kissed my neck. I leaned into him, reveling in the solidness of his body.
I hadn’t had time to change clothes before my surprise guests arrive. I was still wearing a blouse and skirt from the office. I had managed to kick off my heels.
Dylan began to remove the buttons, pushing my blouse open. His eyes lit on my breasts. I could feel my nipples tingle. Everything was electric. Heightened beyond belief.
Isaac helped shove the shirt from my arms as he spun me toward his chest.
“This is what you want?” he asked.
I nodded. “Don’t make me choose. Please don’t. I can’t pick one of you over the other. I don’t want to.”
He looked over my shoulder at Dylan. “Man, we’ve never … I don’t know how you feel about this.”
I only wanted things to be better. I wanted to share and be shared. I wanted to belong to both of them. I hadn’t thought through what they would think of sharing me. I didn’t know how two men would handle this. Would this be worse than making a choice between them?