Page 9 of Throuple Next Door

“Yeah…,” Austin whimpered as Weaver sucked him hard, all three of them moving to the pace Randy set. “Not gonna last….”

“It’s okay,” Randy said. “Let it all go. You don’t need to hold on anymore. Just let yourself go, and Weaver and I will be right there with you.” In that moment, he wasn’t sure if he meant in their love-making or in life. Maybe it was both, but Austin did let go, and soon all three of them were flying together.

Randy lay with Austin in his arms, Weaver pressed against his back, all three of them in a sweaty heap. “Are you feeling better?” Randy whispered.

“I guess I’m less stressed, but I still need to figure out what I’m going to do,” Austin said.

Randy sighed, knowing it was true. Too bad a good fucking didn’t actually solve life’s problems.

“You’ll figure it out,” Weaver said, and Austin nodded, but his response didn’t convince Randy. There was more going on here than just the fact that Austin hadn’t figured out what he wanted to do. Austin had always been careful with his money, and Randy knew he had a sizable nest egg, so this wasn’t a cash kind of issue.

“I know we keep asking, but what do you want?” Randy almost held his breath, hoping like hell that Austin didn’t say to go back to New York. But if that was what he needed….

Austin slipped out of his arms, sliding upward until he was propped up by the pillows. “I have no fucking idea. That’s what scares me. The things I know how to do aren’t valued here, and I’m not even sure I want to continue in that world.” He half smiled, and Randy held his hand while Weaver slipped out of bed and climbed back in on the other side of Austin. “That’s part of the problem. I have no idea what I want. I’m not going to model any longer. I’m getting too old.”

“You are not old,” Randy growled. “You’re hot and sexy as hell.” Okay, maybe that was a little of his own insecurity coming out. Chronologically, he was the oldest of the group—five years older than Austin. He would never say anything about it, but he dreaded the morning he found gray hair, and judging by how it happened with his father, it was bound to happen soon. “And you always will be.”

“Thanks,” Austin said before rolling his eyes. “From the man who only gets sexier with each passing year.” He ran his fingers through Randy’s chest hair, and Randy closed his eyes to the warm touch. “I know I’m stressing, and I know both of you feel it, but I’ve got to do this. You both want to help, but I don’t think you can. Other than being there.” Austin kissed each of them before slipping off the bed, wincing as he began dressing.

“Did I hurt you?” Randy asked.

Austin shook his head. “Nope. Just a little sore from your ride halfway to the moon.” He pulled on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt before heading to the door. “I’m going to finish making lunch.” He left, and Randy watched every movement until Austin disappeared from sight.

“We have to fix this somehow. Otherwise, it’s only a matter of time before he decides he needs to leave, and I don’t think I can deal with that.” Randy was strong and could handle just about anything, but it had taken a long time for him to truly feel whole, and both Weaver and Austin were big parts of that.

“You heard what he said,” Weaver told him.

Randy shrugged and then slid off the bed. “And I also saw how lost he looked in the fucking kitchen.” There had to be something they could do to help.

Chapter Five

Austin had two bottles of white wine chilling in the refrigerator and had made up a charcuterie board. The guys were up showering, and as much as he wanted to join his wet men, he had a few other things to do before they were set to leave for their first neighborhood gathering.

“Are you about done up there?” he called up the stairs.

Randy appeared at the top of the steps in jeans and a maroon polo shirt. “Weaver is just about ready,” he reported as he came down the stairs.

“I have our things all set to go. I’m really not quite sure what to expect.” He bit his lower lip and then stopped, refusing to be nervous. Everyone they had met so far had been nice, and if the neighbors took exception to the way they lived, then that was just too damned bad. They didn’t get a say in their relationship.

“It’s going to be people talking, an outdoor wine party. Just relax. You’ve already met a lot of the neighbors, and Weaver’s friend Veronica from across the street is going to be there. So this should be fun.” Randy was not much of a drinker, so Austin had made sure that the wine he brought was one that he knew Randy enjoyed.

“I’m ready,” Weaver said in a striped shirt and tan pants. He looked just as good as Randy, and for a second, Austin thought about chucking the entire party idea and luring his two men upstairs for a private party of their own. “Do you need me to get anything?”

“The wine is in the fridge,” Austin said before going to the kitchen and retrieving his contribution to the munchie portion of the event. Then he led the way outside, with the others following him down the sidewalk. Andrew and Dominic’s house was two doors down and had a large wraparound porch. Chairs and a table had been set out.

“Welcome, guys,” Dominic said in greeting. “The food goes on the table, and there’s a cooler for the wine if it needs it.” He had glasses out, and Austin opened one of the bottles to pour a glass for Dominic as well as Weaver and Randy. “Are you getting settled in?”

“We are. Austin has really done a lot to start making the place into a home,” Randy said, slipping an arm around his waist. “I’ve started work, and Weaver’s official first day was this week. So it’s going pretty well.”

“What do you do?” Dominic asked, turning to Austin as Andrew joined them.

He had dreaded his question. “I’m still figuring it out.”

“Have you ever modeled for book covers?” Andrew asked with a smile. “You have a great look. Granted, I don’t think you could make a living from that, but it’s something to think about. I had a model some years ago for one of my books, and it helped him get ten-thousand additional Twitter followers at the time.”

Austin had never thought about that, but it sounded like fun. “How do you do that?”

“Well, you could set yourself up for custom pictures, or you could sell some images from your backlist… so to speak. They could be loaded onto the photo sites, and designers would pay to use the images.” Andrew smiled and sipped from his glass as others joined the group. Andrew made introductions as more food was added to the table. Drinks were poured, and over the next half hour, five more couples joined the group.

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