“You basically made him choose between the gang and you?”
Ty shrugged. “It was the only way. What he really needed was a sense of belonging. A family, of sorts, that would look out for him. I convinced him we were tough enough to make it without them. That’s when we got the matching tattoos.” He smiled wistfully. “My parents nearly killed me over that.”
By the look of affection in his eyes, she knew he meant they’d shown typical parental concern. He set down his mug on the table.
“Did they try to stop you from being friends with Zeke?” she asked.
Ty shrugged. “They were worried, but they could tell Zeke was basically a good kid in a bad situation. They believed, like I did, that he just needed a little friendship and support.”
“And you gave him that.” Her heart swelled at Ty’s compassion and loyalty to his friend. “How long did you remain friends?”
“Until about five years ago.”
Her eyebrows arched upward. She knew Ty had gone to college and studied computer science—he now worked as a software architect at a major high-tech company—so she had assumed that their friendship had waned when Ty left for school. Of course, that didn’t explain the animosity Ty held for Zeke.
“So what happened?”
Ty’s jaw clenched and his eyes turned hard.
She rested her hand on his. “I’d really like to know.”
His lips compressed into a tight line, but he nodded.
“I was dating this girl a while back … her name was Ashley. Very sexy. Zeke found her attractive.” He took a sip of his coffee, then pushed his mug aside. “Ashley and I had been dating for a couple of months and … she was pretty adventurous. She knew Zeke and I were good friends, and … she told me she’d had this fantasy for a long time. To have a threesome with two men. She wondered if … Zeke might join us sometime and help fulfill that fantasy.”
Marie felt her cheeks flush a little. Zeke had returned the favor, having invited Ty to join them. She felt sure Zeke hadn’t intended this to be a reversal of that earlier incident, but she couldn’t help feeling a bit strange about the whole thing. Of course, in this case, Zeke had merely shared his girlfriend—her—with Ty, while not actually participating in the sharing. Was that his way of making sure it didn’t get weird?
“So the three of you … did it?” She sipped her coffee, trying to appear nonchalant.
“Yeah. And Ashley loved it. So much so, that a few days later I caught her draped all over Zeke, practically sucking his face off.”
“Are you saying Zeke stole your girlfriend?”
“He said he didn’t, but the evidence was right in front of me. Ashley broke up with me right after that.”
Marie decided not to ask if this Ashley woman had started dating Zeke afterward. Better not to fan the flames.
“You didn’t believe Zeke? Even though you were such good friends?”
His hands rolled into fists, his eyes flashing. “A woman can come between the best of friends.”
He tossed back the rest of his orange juice and thumped the glass on the table. He then picked up his fork.
They continued eating in silence, except for the music playing on the stereo.
What if she had met these two men when they’d still been buddies? Would she have been the woman to come between them? Because with the chemistry she shared with both men …
Damn, she would never want to be responsible for breaking up a close friendship. She drew in a deep breath and gazed at Ty as he finished his eggs. Would it be possible to use this situation to do the opposite? Could carrying on a relationship with both men … forcing them to be together … actually help patch things up between them? It would be a fine balance, but if they went into this with both men knowing firmly where they stood … that she was Zeke’s girlfriend, not Ty’s …
Ty finished eating and he set his plate aside and sipped his coffee.
“Marie, I’m sorry I snapped at you. And … I know you’re going out with Zeke. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“Not at all. I asked you.” She gazed at him. “Earlier you asked if … well, if I might consider being with … you know, both of you. If you and Zeke are at odds, why would you even consider it?”
His gaze locked with hers. “To be with you.”
Eleven