Drew.
Warm. Strong. Intense.
I never take his embraces for granted. Not anymore. Each one feels like a gift. Now that he’s doing great, having adjusted to a higher dosage of medication, he’s the same ol’ Drew we know and love.
“Can you grab my phone so I can wash my hands?” I ask, trying not to get distracted by the dick pressed against the back of my swim trunks.
He kisses the back of my neck and then sets the phone down on the counter. While I wash my hands, Drew puts the meat back in the fridge.
“It’s boring out there without you. Ashton’s being Ashton and Mia’s sunbathing,” Drew tells me, grabbing my hand and tugging me to him. “At least you’ll play with me.”
I smirk at him, loving the lust glimmering in his gaze. “We’ll convince them to play with us.”
We walk to the back door, hand in hand. Our new house is fucking amazing. Drew technically bought it, but we all pitched in in some way. Because I got drafted to the Minnesota Arctic Lions, I had a nice chunk of cash to buy us some furniture to fill this big-ass house. Ashton poured his money into gaming consoles and televisions, naturally. And Mia? That girl custom ordered us a monster of a bed for our bedroom.
It’s home.
Our home.
And we’re all here. No one left behind.
As we step out into the backyard, I find Ashton and Mia doing as Drew said. She’s in a tiny yellow bikini that barely covers her and he’s flying through our pool like the dolphin he is, swimming laps. Drew lets go of my hand to grab us a couple of beers from the outdoor fridge. After he pops the tabs, he hands one to me.
“I like it here,” I tell him, tipping my beer at him. “What about you?”
“Hell yeah.”
We drink our beers, enjoying the hot June weather in our backyard. Since it’s summer, we get to enjoy ourselves a bit. I have my obligations for summer training and press meets for the Arctic Lions, but my schedule won’t get intense for a few more months. Mia enrolled in the local university to finish her undergraduate degree, already taking some summer classes. Ashton says he’s not doing shit until the fall, but he’s also enrolled, for his master’s. Drew easily got picked up as the head hockey coach at the high school one town over. Everything just fell into place when I got drafted. And, like they vowed, they each picked up their lives to come with me.
“She looks hot, yeah?” I say, setting my beer down.
“Very hot. What kind of boyfriends would we be if we didn’t cool her off?”
We share a mischievous look as we abandon our beers to sneak up on our girl. Her giant sunglasses take up half her face and she has a serene smile on her face. Not for long. Drew prowls up behind her while I head for her feet. Like we’ve practiced it a thousand times, he grabs her hands while I grab her feet.
“Ashton!” she shrieks. “Help!
Laughing, Drew and I pick her up from her lawn chair, carrying her out to the edge of the pool.
“Do not throw me in, assholes!” she bellows. “I just dried my hair like thirty minutes ago!”
“Looks like you’re gonna have to dry it again, MiMi,” Ashton says to her, cracking up. “Toss my girl here!”
“Don’t encourage them!” Her words are drowned out by a scream when we toss her into the pool. She sinks and then comes up thrashing, her dark hair plastered to her face. “Assholes!”
Drew dives in and I cannonball right next to her to splash her again. She tries to kick me under the water to no avail. I wrap my arms around her waist, popping out of the water to grin up at her.
“Love you, babe,” I say, flashing her my most innocent smile. “I was trying to cool you off.”
She rolls her eyes but threads her fingers in my hair to press a kiss to my lips. “Love you too.”
Her legs wrap around my waist as I carry her into the deep end where Drew is playfully grinding into Ashton from behind. They’re both laughing and then it ends with them trying to drown each other.
“Why does Drew even try when we’re in the water?” Mia asks. “It’s like a rubber duck trying to play chicken with a shark. Ashton can hold his breath longer than the three of us combined.”
Sure enough, it ends with Drew giving up, sputtering out water. Once they’re done horsing around, Mia swims over to Drew to baby him. I grab the front of Ashton’s swim trunks, hauling him to me for a kiss. We’re in a heated battle of tongues when a basketball lands in the water beside us with a splash.