Page 31 of Ballads of Lines Blurred

Cody came inside and I shut the door behind him. I led him to the living room where I could sit against the arm of the couch and draw my knees up until my dick behaved. Cody sat on the other end, his eyes moving around the room.

“I didn’t expect this when I got the address,” he said. “I pictured you and Hale in more of a party house. Something lively and not so formal.”

“We couldn’t part with the place. Not after Mom spent so much time making it how she wanted it. We changed the furniture and added our touches over the years. The core of it is still hers though. We didn’t want to lose that.”

Sad eyes met mine. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring them up.”

I waved him off. “You’re fine. I can talk about them without getting upset for the most part.” Unless I talked about something more personal. I had to steer the conversation back to why he was here. “So, you got my address from…”

“Oh, right. Hale gave it to me last night when I texted him.” Of course, he did. He was plotting, him and Dexen, trying to get me to commit to someone or two someones. Not that I was overly complaining. Although, I doubted Cody wanted me that way.

“What do you want to talk about?”

He turned, giving me his full attention, except I was drawn to his biceps and the way they flexed and pulled his T-shirt tight over them. “I wanted to talk about Slater.” That drew my eyes up.

“I figured.”

“Did he tell you what he and I discussed?”

I nodded. “Last night. I saw him at the club, and he came back here with me.”

“Oh.” Cody’s back straightened as he looked toward the door.

“He’s not here,” I said. “He left after we talked. I offered him a bed in the spare room, or mine, but he declined. I think he’s a bit messed up over the two of us. If I’m being honest, he’s not alone.”

Cody chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. “You’re definitely not. I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“I think you do. That’s not a bad thing. You have to find a way for Slater to see you as more than your age. It won’t be easy, but he’s cracking. I could see it. The problem is, he wants both of us and we want him.”

“What about us?” Okay, we were talking about it. I better buckle the fuck up and get ready for the bumpy road ahead.

“We’re friends.”

He nodded. “We are.”

“I think you’re attractive.”

“Ditto.”

“But I don’t know you well enough to say I want more. Ever since Slater came into my life and left his card for me, I’ve thought about more with him. It’s odd. That’s not my usual, but there I was, asking him on a date like I knew what I was doing.”

“You looked like you did pretty well by the way he was with you at the party.”

“Until he saw you,” I pointed out. “What are we doing, Cody? I won’t fight over him. I’m not that kind of guy.”

“A lover, not a fighter?” He grinned.

“Exactly. I’d like to think if I had someone worth fighting for, I would. But Slater isn’t really mine, is he?”

“He’s not mine either, Milo,” he said softly and slid closer, looking as unsure as I felt. He licked his lips, drawing my gaze to his pink tongue dragging along his lower lip. “Fuck, I’m just going to say it. Will you go out with me?”

That threw me back a bit. “What?”

“A date, just us. I want to get to know you.”

“Is this just to get with Slater, because while I’m usually all about the dick, I really don’t want that this time around. I mean, I do, but not like this.”

“No.” He shook his head. “I realized this is more than me and Slater and you and Slater. He needs us both and, damn, I need him too. I think you do as well.”

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