Page 182 of Unspoken Rules

This is really fucking awkward.

“I don’t know,” I answer honestly, still holding Chris’s gaze.

I can’t tell what he’s thinking or how he’s feeling. His gaze darts to his dad, his brow furrowing the slightest bit. He clears his throat, then reaches for his coffee and takes a sip.

Cole’s hand is on my thigh, squeezing gently.

“So,” Cole begins. “How was your night?”

Chris shrugs. “It was fine. We ordered room service and watched a movie. How was yours?”

Oh fuck. Did he really ask that? What does he want to know? Is he asking if we fucked? Does he want to know if we talked? Does he know we spent the night together? This is too much. All too much. I glance at the door, but I can’t run out of it. Cole has me blocked into the booth. He obviously took the outer seat so I couldn’t run away. I should have suggested he sit with Chris.

“It was good,” Cole says simply. “Were you and Mila still going to the museum today?”

“Yeah, we’re going to head over there once we’re done here.”

They continue talking back and forth like nothing is wrong. Like Cole and I sitting here together, having just sucked each other off a little over an hour ago, is normal. And accepted. That Chris is totally cool knowing his father and I are fucking.

“What is going on here?” I finally ask.

Chris was in the middle of speaking, but stops abruptly. He and Cole share a look, then they both turn their gazes on me.

“Brunch,” Cole answers, smirking.

I pinch the bridge of my nose, shaking my head. “That’s not what I mean.”

“What do you mean then?” Chris asks.

“Isn’t it obvious?” He shakes his head. I look to Cole for help, but he does the same thing. “This,” I say, gesturing to Cole and me, then to him. “And you.”

“Bryson, we talked about this yesterday,” Chris says carefully.

“Exactly! It was barely enough to be considered yesterday. It was less than 24-hours that you told me you knew about this. That you remembered and were okay with it. That you and Cole talked about it. You and him have had plenty of time to process this. I haven’t.” I press my hand to my chest, my heart pounding. Fuck, this is nuts. I shouldn’t have agreed to this. I should have stayed home.

I pick up my water with a trembling hand and take a long sip. The cold water feels good, but it’s not enough to get me to calm down.

Chris nods. “You’re right. I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Neither did I,” Cole admits, glancing at Chris. “We’re sorry.”

Chris nods, and adds, “Dad and I talked about this a lot before deciding to come here. I thought I still had reservations about it, but realized it was more about the dynamic change being strange than actually hating it. Looking back, I realized both of you were much happier when you were together and that it’s not my place to get in the way of that, so it’s best we just pretend this is normal.”

“So you’re just pretending to be okay with this? Chris, I don’t want that.” I shake my head firmly.

“No, I’m not pretending to be okay with it,” he says. “I am okay with it. I’m just not used to it. I figured the easiest way to get used to it would be like this.” He raises his arms to gesture around. “Doing normal things together. I don’t know. Was it a shit idea?” he asks me.

Groaning, I say, “I don’t know. I’m just… freaking out.”

“I think it will take time for all of us to get comfortable with this,” Cole adds.

“We haven’t even talked about what this is,” I say, a little more harshly than I wanted to.

Cole takes my hand under the table, linking our fingers, and says, “Actually, we did. We just didn’t discuss the specifics. Which we can do later.”

“I don’t want this to be weird,” Chris says, looking between the two of us. “I mean, it kind of is. For me at least, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it. Or maybe I never will, I don’t know, but I at least don’t hate it.”

“Oh, well, that’s something,” I say sarcastically. “Thanks. So I get to look forward to awkward holidays for the rest of my life.”

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