Submit

Telling herself over and over again that she needed to put them behind her was harder than it should have been.

“When is your first appointment?” Austin yelled from the living room. She had invited him over to her place to spill it all. Maybe talking about it and telling him would make her feel better? She certainly had avoided talking about it with him for long enough.

He lifted his beer bottle to his mouth and took a hefty swig. His focus was on the football game in front of him.

“Monday morning at nine.” She grabbed the plate of cheeses and summer sausage and a few more beers and headed into the living room.

Setting the plate in front of him might not have been the wisest move because he dove right in like some kind of wild, starving animal.

“Dang.” She snatched her hand out of the way and laughed. He looked at her sheepishly but didn’t stop shoveling the food into his mouth.

“Sorry. I was up late last night and didn’t have time for breakfast.”

She cocked a brow at him and watched his grin spread across his face slowly. Yeah, she knew why he was up late, especially with that shit-eating grin.

“Another score, huh?” She sat down beside him and grabbed a few pieces of cheese. “New guy?” He was silent for a few moments, and she turned to look at him. “What?”

“I, well, I actually met someone shortly after you left. We’ve been seeing each other exclusively. It’s getting pretty serious.”

This instantly piqued her interest.

“Yeah? Tell me!” She playfully smacked his shoulder. His face turned pink, and she couldn’t help but laugh.

Austin was a manly man and not the type to blush easily. The guy must be something special to cause this reaction in him. His shaggy, platinum blond hair was impeccably styled, and his light blue eyes were bright.

His tan was a golden color that she had always envied.

“His name is Kyle, and he is just … well fuck, Blythe. He’s perfect.” The dimples on each cheek showed when Austin smiled.

For the next ten minutes, he talked about Kyle with an almost breathless quality. By the way he spoke and his clear enthusiasm, she knew this was something Austin had never had before. When he was finished, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. Leaning back, she saw a perfectly pink outline of her lips on his skin.

He ruffled her hair, and she smacked his hands away teasingly.

“So, we haven’t really gotten to talk about your trip. Tell me all about Mr. Give-Me-Moore.” She rolled her eyes at the silly nickname he had given Dietrich.

The image of him and Stellan popped in her mind, and her face heated. Quickly glancing down, she hoped Austin hadn’t seen her. When he cupped her cheek and forced her to look him in the eye, she knew she had been unsuccessful.

Dammit! She was going to tell him everything anyway, but right now, Blythe didn’t doubt she looked like some kind of schoolgirl with how red her face probably was. It felt like it was on fire and growing hotter by the second.

“You have it that bad, huh.” He didn’t state it as a question.

Taking a deep breath, she spilled it. Everything. Blythe told him about her feelings, the sex, the domination and submission, and even the threesome. By the time she was finished, Austin’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head.

“Well, say something.”

She threw herself back on the couch very dramatically.

“I’m an idiot and a slut, huh?” She covered her eyes with her hand because all of a sudden, she felt like crying. Telling Austin how she felt didn’t make her feel better at all.

“I…”

She dropped her hand and stared at him. He looked around the room and brought his eyes back to her.

“I am impressed.” There was amusement in his voice. He shook his head and his smile grew. “Blythe, honey, you are not a slut. Hell, if that constitutes you as being one then I hate to think what you would call me.” He started laughing, a full belly-shaking laugh. “You care for them. I can see that clear as day.”

“None of that matters, Austin. What good is caring for someone, or more than one in my case, if they don’t reciprocate those feelings?” Her head and heart hurt thinking about it all. “Besides, I have to be crazy to want these men this strongly after only knowing them a short amount of time.”

“Blythe, you can’t help how you feel. The greatest loves are born out of random acts. They grow from instantaneous reactions.” He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. “Believe me when I say, you can’t let your head override your heart in all things. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow, sweet-cheeks.” Leave it to Austin to talk all philosophical then follow it up with “sweet-cheeks”.