Dirty Secret

Eve looks between them. Realizes something.

Probably that Cam is acting weird now that I'm here. Is he? I can't tell. I'm too distracted by his presence.

He's so tall and strong and handsome.

"It's the same thing every time," Cam says. "I need a little novelty."

"Is that the cause for the orgy?" Ian asks.

Cam chuckles. "Am I that obvious?"

"You know I won't share," Ian says.

"You'll watch though," Cam says.

Ian whispers in Eve's ear.

She whispers back. Shakes her head. "Not this time. Sorry, Cam." She sips her drink. No doubt, a gin and tonic. Another inside joke. Something she and Ian share.

I'm the one on the outs.

I'm always the one on the outs.

"This place was Ty's pick, not mine." Cam says.

"You think he's fucked right here?" Ian pats the bench seat.

"Probably." Cam chuckles. "Are you picturing it?"

"Deciding if it's appropriate for the occasion," Ian says.

"It's kind of sweet. Celebrating his wedding at a place he's fucked his fiancée," Eve says.

"Is that really your idea of sweet now?" Ian asks.

"He's corrupted you," Cam says.

"How do you know I wasn't corrupted already?" she asks.

Cam smiles. Looks to Ian. Then me. "You think so too?"

"That Ty and Indigo have had sex here?" I ask.

He nods.

"Probably. This is the kind of place she likes. Nice. Quiet. With a beautiful view of the city," I say. "But why would they be in a booth for six? It's just two of them."

"More room," Cam says.

"How much room do you really need?" I ask.

"Depends what you're doing." His eyes meet mine. Fill with a dare.

"What would he do that requires this much space?" I ask.

He blinks. Catches himself teasing me. Stops.

"A third," Ian says. "But Ty would never share."

"And you would?" Cam asks.

"Of course not," Ian says. "You wouldn't either."

"I have," he says.

"Two women isn't sharing," Ian says.

"They were fucking each other," Cam says.

"Even so," Ian says.

"Why not?" Eve asks. "Does there have to be another dick involved for it to be sharing?"

"Of course." Ian turns to her.

"So you'd watch me fool around with a woman?" she asks.

"No," he says.

She motions explain.

"It's different. I love you," he says.

She melts, but only for a second. "But it would have been fine before you fell in love with me?"

"I was always in love with you," he says. "I just didn't realize it."

She shakes her head.

He nods.

"This isn't about love, Ian. You're so full of shit," Cam says. "It's possession."

"What's wrong with possession?" he asks. "Are you telling me you've never thought of someone as yours?"

"Once," Cam says. "Never again."

Ian's brow furrows. "Who?"

Cam shakes his head not going there. "It's not even possession. It's about claiming someone with your dick."

"And what's wrong with that?" Ian asks.

Cam chuckles of course you'd say that. "Did you think of your fuck buddies that way?"

Ian shakes his head.

"But Eve?"

Her cheeks flush. "I am right here."

He looks to her. "Do you think of it that way?"

"That Ian's mine?" she asks. "Of course. I know it's not what I'm supposed to say. I'm not supposed to want ownership of his body. But I do."

God, how can she make something so sexy sound so lame?

Is it some kind of older sister skill?

Ian pulls her into another embrace.

Cam frowns. It's not the response he expected.

What did he expect? He isn't here as often as I am, but it's pretty obvious Ian and Eve are crazy about each other.

Finally, they finish making out. (They really do make out a lot for a couple that's been together for a year. Especially with Ian being so much older, but it's sweet in its own way).

Ian turns to Cam. "Not what you wanted to hear?"

Cam shoots him a cutting look.

Eve doesn't notice. "What was it like when you thought someone was yours?"

"Awful," he says.

"Why?" she asks.

Ian wraps his hand around her wrist. It's possessive. A warning.

Does Ian know something I don't? Something about Cam?

"Because it was." Cam shrugs as if he's unaffected, but his expression stays tense. "You're full of shit, Ian. You pretend it's about intimacy, but it's sex."

"Sometimes they're the same," he says.

"When are they not?" Eve asks. "You don't have to love someone to fuck them, but you're trusting them with your body."

"Men are idiots. The don't always consider that," Ian says.

"Did you have intimacy with your fuck buddies, Ian?" Cam asks.

Ian shoots him a look that screams shut the fuck up.

"What? You're the one who fucked them? Keep your trousers zipped next time," Cam says.

Eve clears her throat. Shoots Cam a look of her own.

He is being an asshole. Even by his standards.

I guess the look works, because he shrugs, drops the subject of Ian's past sex life. After his divorce, he ran through a string of one-month arrangements.

It makes sense, in the context of their conversation. A month is long enough for some intimacy. But not long enough to risk hurt feelings when you part.