Pleasure Bound

Ty pushed the door to close it, but Zeke flattened his hand against it.

“I need to talk to you about Marie,” Zeke said.

The ice from Ty’s gaze chilled Zeke to the bone, but Ty finally stepped back, allowing Zeke to enter.

He glanced around at Ty’s apartment. Brown leather and dark oak furniture suited Ty. The colorful artwork was unexpected. A nice touch. And the place was exceptionally tidy. Same old Ty, in that respect, at least.

“Nice place.”

“What do you want, Zeke?”

Zeke faced Ty, who stared at him with a glower, his arms crossed.

“After that incident in the hall, it’s pretty clear you don’t want me seeing Marie.”

Ty just continued to glare.

Damn, after five years, clearly his anger was still fresh.

“Were you two involved?” Zeke asked.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but … no.”

Ty’s words echoed through Zeke’s mind.

You God damned son of a bitch, you’d better not be here to—

See Marie. Clearly, that was how Ty had intended to end that sentence.

Zeke gazed at him thoughtfully, then nodded to himself. “But you want to be.”

Ty clenched his jaw. “As I said, it’s none of your God damned business.”

Zeke drew in a deep breath, undeterred. “Do you want me to step aside?”

Ty stared at him, his glare turning to an assessing scowl.

“You think that’ll make up for what happened with Ashley?”

Zeke sighed. “I told you, I never tried to steal your girlfriend.”

“So you’ve said.”

Zeke’s chest clenched. And that’s what had hurt the most. That despite the close bond that had always existed between Ty and Zeke, and even though the woman had shamelessly thrown herself at Zeke, Ty hadn’t even listened to Zeke’s side. Ty had simply assumed the worst.

“So do you want me to step aside or not?” Zeke hated being in this fucking position. He didn’t want to let Marie go, but he respected Ty’s feelings and the close bond they’d once shared.

A bond he wished they still shared. Their close friendship had turned sour overnight after that threesome with Ashley … which she had suggested. And it seemed pretty clear to Zeke, she’d done it specifically to get an in with Zeke. She’d been ready to dump Ty, but she’d wanted a new boyfriend lined up first.

Zeke wondered if this was finally his chance to set things right between them. He and Ty shared too much to just let their friendship die. Too much history. Too much pain.

“What about Marie?” Ty asked. “Don’t you care how she feels about it?”

“Of course I care. But we haven’t been going out very long. She’ll get over it.”

* * *

Ty’s fists clenched at his sides. “Don’t do me any fucking favors.”