My back stiffens as tendrils of alarm start coursing through my body. In a tight voice, I ask, “What are you talking about?”
Alik rolls his eyes. “Come on, Luka. It’s me. You think I haven’t noticed the way you’re always looking at him? And you’ve been way more relaxed lately.”
“I’m always relaxed,” I say defensively.
Alik lets out a bark of laughter. “No, brother, you’re usually an uptight prick. With everyone except the children, at least.”
I decide to get back to the matter at hand. “I meant what are you doing with Lennox?”
He narrows his eyes at me. “Why do you sound so appalled? I hope this isn’t about his skin color.”
“I’m not appalled. And I have no problem whatsoever with his skin color. Why do you always assume the worst of me?” No doubt recalling another conversation where he jumped to conclusions, Alik blushes and glances away. “I’m merely surprised. I thought…you and Boyd?”
Returning his gaze to mine, Alik’s face breaks into a sly grin. “Who says I can’t have both?”
I let out a frustrated sigh, my fingers coming up to squeeze the bridge of my nose. “Christ, Aleksandr. Can you please try not to do anything too foolish? I don’t want to lose my two best guards because you have no self-control.”
He offers a dry smirk. “Are you really in a position to talk about control, Luka? Mr. Banging-The-Children’s-Tutor?”
“That’s different.”
Alik scoffs. “How?”
“It just is.”
He stares at me for a moment, before his eyes widen with something that looks an awful lot like dawning comprehension. “Oh my god. You have feelings for him!”
I give a sharp shake of my head. “No, I don’t.”
Alik nods eagerly, his features morphing into a teasing smile. “You do. Big feelings.”
“I don’t know what—”
“Have you told him about Lesia yet?” Alik asks, cutting me off.
I bite my lips together, reluctant to answer. “I might have done.”
He lets out a dry chuckle. “Oh, you’ve got it bad, brother.”
“Will you just shut up and get the fuck away from my car so I can start disinfecting it,” I say with a harsh growl.
He holds up his hands in surrender and takes a few steps away from my precious baby, but the grin never leaves his face.
“Did you know Alik is involved with Boyd and Lennox?” I ask Jai that night while we’re playing Scrabble. One would think that now we’ve added sex to the equation all the little hobbies we developed during our time being ‘just friends’ would have fallen by the wayside. But they haven’t, and I’m glad. I like being able to just be with Jai. Obviously the sex is amazing, and I won’t be giving that up in a hurry, but I love just being in his company. And there’s also the fact I’m still yet to beat him at Scrabble, so until I achieve that feat we won’t be giving up this pastime.
Jai’s features form into a thoughtful frown as he considers my statement. “Actually, I think they’re all kind of involved with each other. Sort of like a three-way situation.”
“How on earth does that work?”
Jai shrugs. “I guess it does for them.”
I consider Boyd’s reaction from earlier today. He didn’t seem hurt or upset, just surprised. And possibly a little confused. That doesn’t convince me that whatever this is is working, but I suppose it’s up to the three of them to figure out. “I just worry it will all blow up in everyone’s faces,” I say with a sigh. “Boyd and Lennox are good men. And Alik…”
“Is also a good man, Lukas. You raised him well.” He offers a soft smile and returns his attention to the board, where he manages to rack up another sixteen points with ‘zek’. Damn it.
“How did you find out about Aleksandr and Lennox anyway?”
My face screws up at the memory. “I saw them. They were having sex—or about to, anyway—up against my Zagato!”
Jai lets out a sputtering laugh. “Oh wow. Well if you’re going to do it, may as well do it in style.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “It’s not funny. I’ll have to order some custom polish just to get Alik’s dick print off the finish.”
Jai laughs again, his entire face lit up with his amusement. “Are you sure there’s really a dick print, babe? That garage isn’t exactly a furnace, and it’s December. My money’s on at least one layer between his dick and the car.”
I merely grumble in response and use the Z on the board to make the word ‘doze’, getting rid of some of the vowels that just keep repopulating in my collection every time I put a word down.
“Double word score,” Jai says. “Nice.”
“Uh huh.”
“What?”
I arch a skeptical brow at him. “You just happened to use up a Z on a single point three letter word? And it just happened to be hanging out there right next to a double word score?”
He holds his hands up in a gesture of innocence. “I was distracted by your talk of dick prints.”
“Uh huh.”
“So, did I tell you my friend Owen and his boyfriend are coming to visit?” Jai says, conveniently changing the subject.
I nod. “When will they be here?”
“Next week—Tuesday, I think.”
“Oh, it’s a shame they’ll miss the tree-lighting.”
Jai lets out a regretful sigh. “I know; they would have loved to see that. Owen needs to work this weekend, though, and with their trip being so last minute he couldn’t get out of it.”
I nod. “Maybe they can be here for it next year.” The words slip out of my mouth before I even really have a chance to think about them. But once I’ve said them, I realize I don’t want to take them back. I want Jai to still be here with us—with me—this time next year.
He offers a hopeful smile. “Yeah. Maybe.”
The lighting of the Christmas tree in Vlalens’s main square is a big deal, and it’s something tourists flock to see. It always happens the
