“If you’re comfortable with it,” I added.
Kincade grinned, and I wondered how bad whatever he was planning to say would be. “You might want to take a little time to comparison shop. You know, to make sure you’ve found the best kisser in the group.”
Maddie blushed but smiled. I was relieved. Knowing my old pal, he could have said something a lot worse. Possibly Maddie’s story earlier about the harassment she’d faced had truly gotten to him.
I was just happy that this was out in the open and that we were done putting Maddie on the spot.
But as it turned out, she wasn’t finished putting us on the spot—or at least one of us.
“I asked you to tell me a deep, dark secret,” she began, looking up at Brock.
He raised an eyebrow. “That wasn’t deep and dark enough for you?”
“Yeah, but it wasn’t actually a secret, because I suspected you guys were into that.”
“So?”
“So you owe me another secret.”
I was impressed. Not many people could hold their own against a man like Brock.
“Like what?” he asked.
“Like why you sleep alone.”
Silence fell as I glanced at the storm clouds on Brock’s face. I hadn’t even known that Maddie had picked up on that, and I wasn’t happy she’d asked him so boldly. It was a sensitive subject that Kincade and I knew to avoid.
After a long moment, Kincade jumped in. “Some people just prefer it that way, Maddie.” He was looking at Brock rather than her when he said it.
Then Brock shook his head at Kincade. It was clear he planned to handle this on his own. “I can’t sleep if anyone else is in bed with me.”
Maddie looked concerned. “You can’t fall asleep with someone there?”
“I can’t sleep at all. Sometimes I can’t even close my eyes.”
The shock on Maddie’s face quickly turned into sympathy. “Has it always been like that?”
“Since I was eight.”
It was a rare admission from the big guy. I couldn’t remember if he’d ever talked to Kincade and me about it directly. It felt like we’d just always known. But I hadn’t known that it had started at a certain point in his childhood. Did that mean that it hadn’t always been the case?
“Did something happen then?”
Brock sidestepped her question. “It’s not a big deal. I’m a grown man, it’s not like I get invited to slumber parties. But it does mean that women I date think I’m an asshole for leaving right after sex.”
“That must have been hard on your relationships.”
He shrugged. “They didn’t have many complaints before I kicked them out of bed.”
Kincade and I exchanged a look, doubtful that that last part ever happened. More likely, Brock slept in a different bedroom or only slept with them at their homes so that he could leave after.
“I’m sorry,” Maddie said. “That must be difficult. I wish—I wish it were different.”
“Me too,” Brock said, and then he asked us if we wanted another beer. He got up to get himself one, and the conversation was over.
Later that night, my cock stirred as I lay on my side, my back to Maddie. Even with all the weighty things we’d talked about, once I got into bed with her warm little body close to mine, I couldn’t help thinking about how she’d looked in that bikini.
When she’d first opened her robe and revealed the incredible sight of her large breasts testing the tactile strength of the bikini strings, I’d been incredibly turned on. But as she talked about her experiences and men’s expectations of her, I’d felt horribly guilty. I was the one who picked out the bikini, and at the time, I’d only thought about how much I wanted to see her wearing it. Whether she’d want to or not—or whether it might upset her—hadn’t entered my mind at all.
Now, my brain was on board, but my body remained unenlightened. My cock stirred as I visualized how she had looked in it.
Evidently Kincade was fixated on her looks, too. His voice came from the other side of the bed. “Maddie?”
“Yes?”
“I was thinking about what you said earlier, and about, you know, being body conscious. Can I ask you a question?”
Wow. Kincade Cabot was seeking permission to ask a personal question? That was a first.
“Sure.” Maddie didn’t sound whole-heartedly enthusiastic, but she didn’t sound upset, either.
“How come you wear shorts and a t-shirt to bed? Is that because of us being here or because you prefer it or—” Evidently, he couldn’t think of a third option.
“The shorts are because of you guys,” she said after a long pause.
“What would you wear if you were alone?”
“The t-shirt.”
“And panties?” I asked before I could help myself.
There was a pause. “Just the t-shirt.”
That revelation made my cock swell.
Kincade, however, bypassed the chance to make a dirty comment about that. What was with him tonight? It was as if Maddie’s story had made him a changed man. I’d bet money that the change was temporary, but still, it was a start.