CONFLUENCE : Chapter Two

THE TIPPING POINT : Part Three

WYATT:

“Are you sure about moving in together?”

Malcolm laughed. “Jesus Christ.”

“What?”

“Listen tae yerself.”

“I’m asking if you’ve thought it through.”

“We’ve been taegether nearly two years.”

“That’s not an answer.”

Malcolm shook his head. “Ye spend two months telling yerself Leo needs space, then start interrogating me about Connor moving in with me.”

CONNOR:

I let myself into the flat and quietly closed the door behind me. sombr’s “Back to Friends” floated through the flat. The smell of bacon cooking drifted from the kitchen. Bowie was sprawled on the floor beside Wyatt, his head resting on his paws while Wyatt moved between the stove and the counter. For a moment, I stood there, remembering. A year ago, this had been my life. Then Bowie lifted his head. The second he saw me, he bolted straight into my arms before I could even say his name.

“Bowie… get back here.” Wyatt chased Bowie to the living room and saw me. “Connor.”

For a second, neither of us moved. Then Wyatt crossed the living room in three strides and wrapped me in a hug that nearly lifted me off the floor.

“Jesus,” he said. “Look at you.”

I laughed. “It’s only been a year.”

“A year’s a long time.”

Bowie wedged himself between us, whining and demanding attention until Wyatt finally let me go.

“You got bigger.”

“I did not.”

“The first time I met you, you were a skinny twink with bleached hair.”

Connor rolled his eyes at me. “That’s not true. I was never a twink.”

“And you were trying very hard to convince me to take you home with me.”

Connor laughed. “It worked, didn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Wyatt smiled for the first time since I’d walked in.

“How was the flight?”

“Long.”

“Malcolm said you slept through most of it.”

“Malcolm exaggerates.”

“Aye, he does,” Wyatt said in a terrible imitation of a Scottish accent.

I groaned.

“I’ve missed you, Connor.” The smile lingered on Wyatt’s face for a moment before fading. Only then did I notice it. The flat looked the same. But Leo’s baseball cap was missing from the hook where it always hung, and the extra pair of running shoes by the door were gone.

“Malcolm told me about Leo.”

“We’re giving each other some space.”

I waited. “How much space?”

“It’s been two months.”

Silence settled between us. Malcolm had told me not to ask. I understood why. I had loved Wyatt in so many ways over the years. As a friend. As the man who took me in when I needed somewhere to belong. For a while, as something more. I’d seen Wyatt love without restraint. I’d seen him broken. Now he looked like someone who’d decided feeling nothing was safer than feeling anything at all. I sat at the kitchen counter while he filled the kettle.

We talked about Northwestern, graduation, professors I’d never have to see again, and Malcolm’s insistence that I was incapable of packing a suitcase properly. It felt good. Normal. I kept waiting for the right moment to tell him about Jace. Every time I thought I’d found it, I let it pass. After everything Wyatt had been through with Sam... and now Leo. I wasn’t sure there ever was a right moment. The trouble was, Jace wasn’t in Chicago anymore. I’d brought him back to London with me.

“There’s something I haven’t told you.”

Wyatt looked up. “Okay.”

“I’ve been seeing someone while I was back in Illinois.”

Wyatt’s expression changed. “Connor...”

“Malcolm and I are fine.” I smiled, hoping he’d believe me. “Better than fine.”

“Then...”

“Jace came back to England with us.”

“Jace? Cody’s friend? Hunter’s roommate?”

Wyatt looked confused and annoyed, and all I could do was nod. “How does Malcolm feel about this? Why isn’t he with you?

“He stayed at the apartment.”

Wyatt frowned. “With Jace?”

“Yeah. I thought it would be good for them to have some time alone together.”

Wyatt looked at me. “So... the three of you?”

I nodded. “Yes. It’s possible to be in a relationship with more than one man.”

But then Wyatt smiled and said, “Is he good to you?”

“He is. And he’s good to Malcolm. “He’s only here for six months. I don’t know what happens after that.” I smiled and thought of Malcolm. “Whatever happens, this is my home now. And Malcolm will always come first.”

WYATT:

Connor stayed for dinner. We talked until it got late, then I helped him box up a few things he’d left in the flat when he was living here.

“I think that’s everything.”

I looked around the guest room. “Not quite. I want you to know that you still have a room here.”

“Wyatt…”

“I’m serious.”

“I’ve got Malcolm.”

“And Jace. I know.”

“This doesn’t stop being home because you don’t sleep here every night.” I reached into the bowl by the front door, picked up the spare key, and handed it to Connor.

Connor laughed. “I already have a key.”

“Then there’s no need to ever give it back.”

Connor hugged me. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

I was walking to the kitchen when I heard the front door open. Connor stood in the doorway.

“Did you forget something, Connor?”

“There’s someone here to see you.”

Charlie stood behind Connor.

“Do you want me to stay?” Connor asked quietly.

I shook my head. “No. Malcolm’s probably wondering where you are.”

Connor nodded once and stepped past Charlie.

Charlie waited until the front door closed behind Connor. Only then did he turn back to me. We stood staring at each other.

“It’s late, Charlie. Why are you here?”

“I remember chasing you across the school yard the day you found out about your mother. You wouldn’t let anybody near you.” Charlie smiled. “You bit me.”

“I did.” I laughed despite myself.

“Hard.”

“I thought you were gonna beat me up.”

Charlie grinned. “I was trying to stop you from running away.”

“You did.”

“No.” Charlie smiled sadly. “Not then. But I spent a lot of years wishing I had. You think I’m the reason you don’t trust people.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I said nothing.

“I’m not.”

“You didn’t come here to talk about something that happened 30 years ago, Charlie. What’s this about?”

“It’s about Leo.”

Hearing those words come out of Charlie’s mouth scared me. “Is Leo okay?”

“He’s okay. Was he good to you?”

“What kind of question is that?”

“Answer it. Before Milan. Was he good to you?”

“Yes.”

“After Milan?”

“I didn’t give him much of a chance to be.”

I wondered why Charlie was asking me these questions. Were they back together?

“Leo told me that the two of you never talked about being monogamous, but he was, until Milan. So I don’t think you can call what he did cheating. Yeah, he spent a couple of days in Milan with some model, and they fucked. Don’t let Milan erase everything that came before it,” Charlie said quietly. “When I saw you at Malcolm’s party that night, I thought maybe I’d been given another chance with you.”

The words caught me off guard. Charlie looked at me for a long moment before shaking his head.

“I don’t want another chance.”

I searched his face, wondering if I’d heard him correctly.

“I had mine,” he said. A sad smile touched his lips.

Neither of us spoke. For years, I’d convinced myself that Charlie was the unfinished chapter of my life. Hearing him say those words felt strangely like watching someone close a book I’d never been able to put back on the shelf.

Then he looked me straight in the eye. “I just don’t want you to throw yours away.”

Charlie gave me one last sad smile. Then he turned and let himself out.

I stood there for a long time with my hand still resting on the doorknob. I went into the kitchen and tidied up. As I was putting things away, I found Leo’s mug; the same one he always used, in the cupboard where he kept it. I took it down. Rinsed it beneath the tap. Dried it. Then I slid it back into the empty space where it had been.

I stood there for a long time, staring at the cupboard after I’d closed the door. I wasn’t sure I was right anymore.

JACE:

This was the first time Connor had left Malcolm and me alone together. We both knew why without saying it.

I’d known about Malcolm for months. He was all Connor would talk about when we first started hanging out. When Malcolm flew to Chicago to visit Connor, I was certain that would be the end of us. Connor called once to tell me Malcolm had arrived safely, then I didn’t hear from him for three days. I kept imagining the conversation they were having and wondering if I’d ever see him again.

Then, one evening, they showed up together at my apartment.

We sat talking until well after midnight. Nobody argued. Nobody made promises they couldn’t keep. We were just three men trying to imagine a future none of us had expected. When we finally went to bed, we were a tangle of arms and legs, but Malcolm’s six-foot-three frame somehow fit around Connor and me as though there had always been room for all of us.

Now, it was just Malcolm and me. Malcolm suggested going to a pub for a pint. That’s where we were when Connor texted Malcom to say he was having dinner with Wyatt and wouldn’t be home for a few hours, and that he hoped we were “making the most of our time alone together.”

“What does that mean?”

“Ye’re no’ missin’ what he’s really sayin’, are ye?”

“That we’re not supposed to wait up?”

Malcolm laughed. “Close.”

We walked back to Malcolm’s flat without speaking. As soon as we walked in, he turned his head slightly, his eyes finding mine. “Can I kiss ye?” he asked.

I nodded.

He leaned in slowly, pressing deeper when I opened for him. The kiss was unhurried, his tongue sliding against mine. His hand slid to the back of my neck, fingers threading into my hair. He kissed me again, deeper this time, tongue exploring slowly, drawing a desperate sound from me; my cock half-hard from the closeness.

“Let’s take this tae the bedroom.” He led me down the short hallway to his bedroom. The door closed behind us with a soft click.

His fingers worked the buttons of my shirt slowly and carefully. When the shirt fell open, he pushed it off my shoulders and let it drop to the floor. His meaty hands slid up my bare chest, his calloused thumbs brushing over my nipples.

He tugged his own t-shirt over his head, tossing it aside, and pulled off his jeans and briefs. His cock flopped out, thick and uncut. A glistening string of precum hung from the tip.

He hooked his fingers into the waistband of my jeans. “Take these off.”

MALCOLM:

Jace pulled off his jeans and briefs, then sank down on his knees. He smiled up at me, and leaned in, sliding my foreskin back, licking the tip, taking the head into his mouth. My cock twitched in his mouth at the sight of his lips covered in my precum, and stretched around my girth. His moans grew louder, more desperate and needy. He’d done this before, usually with Connor on his knees beside him. “There’s a good lad. Nae need tae share it tonight.”

Jace grinned, hand still moving, his thumb circling the head of my cock, then he dove back in, deeper this time, burying his nose in my pubes.

“Yer mouth… Jesus Christ, Jace.” The wet slurping sounds he made were obscene and made my cock throb in his mouth. His free hand cupped my balls and gently pulled, rolling them in his palm, pushing me close to the edge. My fingers tightened in his hair. “Shit…STOP…Not yet. Stand up.” I lifted an arm and fisted my hand in his hair. “Lick”

JACE:

I buried my nose in Malcolm’s armpit, inhaling his musky scent, and licked the briny sweat like a thirsty animal. He pushed me back on the bed. His broad, hairy chest and soft belly settled warm and solid on me, his thick, heavy cock pressed against my thigh. He kissed me again, slow and deep. I tangled my fingers into his thick, ginger beard. His hands roamed my chest, his thumbs brushing over my nipples. He pressed soft kisses to my collarbone, the heat of his mouth on my neck, his teeth grazing enough to leave marks, his tongue circling one nipple, then the other, sucking until it hardened, then gently biting. He moved lower, kisses trailing over my abs, tracing each ridge with slow, deliberate licks. Lower still, between my legs, his breath hot against my skin. He looked up at me, eyes dark with lust, and lapped up the precum leaking from my cock.

He reached up, pressed his fingers to my lips and told me to open my mouth. He slid two fingers in, told me to get them wet, then he pressed one against my hole, circling the rim. He pushed it in and began fingering me slowly, in and out, before adding the second finger. Malcolm’s hands were large and rough with fingers as thick as two of mine put together. “Fuuuck,” I groaned, arching off the mattress.

He flipped me over so I was on all fours, spread my ass cheeks wide and licked a sloppy, wet stripe from my taint to my hole, and ran his tongue around the rim. Then he buried his face in my crack and ate my ass until he had enough of me begging him to fuck me.

“Yer plump arse is gonna get us both in trouble.” His voice was low and rough. He lubed his cock and pushed in slowly—inch by inch—filling me completely.

“Fuck… your cock’s… so deep and thick.” Malcolm pulled me back against his chest and clamped a hand over my mouth. “Ye love this big cock, don’t ye?”

I nodded, moaning into his hand.

“Connor’s no’ one for sharin’, so consider yerself somethin’ special.” He gripped my hair and yanked my head back. Our mouths crashed together, no tenderness, just feral hunger. His beard was matted with sweat and the earthy scent of my ass. I thought about Connor and the taste of his ass on Malcolm’s tongue after he rimmed him.

Malcolm dug his fingers into my hips and began fucking me slowly while we made out. Every thrust was like he was fucking into me deeper and harder. I felt myself opening for him, welcoming every inch, consumed by a reckless desperation. Our moans grew louder. The bedroom filled with the wet, obscene sounds of skin slick with sweat, and Malcolm’s balls slapping against my ass with each thrust, his voice low and rough. “Connor’s mine. Dinnae ever doubt that.” He groaned. “Yer hearin’ me?”

I nodded.

Malcolm’s breath was hot against my ear. “I’ll look after ye too. Just know yer place.” His strong arms coiled around my chest, claiming me.

I laid my head back on his shoulder and started to come, untouched, spraying my load all over the sheets and pillows.

Malcolm kept fucking me, thrusting relentlessly. He bit down on my shoulder and unloaded in my ass with a deep growl, hips jerking with every pulse.

CONNOR:

I texted Malcolm to let him know I was in a cab and on my way home. The apartment was quiet when I walked in, but the living room lights were still on.

“Malcolm?” No answer. “Jace?”

The bedroom was empty. The sheets were twisted at the foot of the bed, and the air was thick with the smell of sex and sweat.

I followed the sound of running water down the hall. The bathroom door stood slightly open. Malcolm and Jace stood beneath the shower, talking softly, their voices barely audible over the water.

I watched for a moment. Not because I felt jealous or shut out. Just the opposite. For months I’d been afraid that loving one of them meant losing the other. Instead, I’d somehow found my way to both. I closed the door as quietly as I’d opened it and went back to the bedroom feeling overwhelmed with tenderness.

While they finished showering, I stripped the bed, put on fresh sheets, and lit a candle. Malcolm walked into the bedroom, naked, drying his hair with a towel. He stopped when he saw me.

“There ye are. I was wonderin’ where ye’d got tae.”

Before I could answer, he crossed the room, took me in his arms and kissed me slowly, passionately, as though he’d been waiting to do it all evening. “I missed ye.”

His eyes drifted to the freshly made bed. The candle. Then back to me.

“Ye’ve been fussin’. Fresh sheets?”

I shrugged, feeling a little self-conscious.

“How’s Wyatt?”

“Lonely.”

“Aye.” Malcolm nodded. “I like the candle.”

“You bought it.”

“Did I?”

Jace was standing in the doorway. Naked. Hair still damp. None of us said anything for a moment. Malcom held me close against his bare chest and reached out a hand toward Jace.

“C’mere, lad.”

To Be Continued.