Page 25 of Just Between Us

“Are you hungry, Kai? I made paella.”

“You should try it, it’s amazing,” Cole says.

Honestly, I don’t think I could eat right now. I shake my head. “Oh, no thanks. Uh, I had a quick dinner before I left home.” It’s a lie but I don’t want to offend Aleeta.

She doesn’t look phased. Instead, she nods, that warm smile still on her face. “Next time then.”

There will be no next time, I think.

Her eyes fall on Levi and Cole who have somehow moved toward each other. “I’m going to go. I’ll see you two in the morning. Cole, I replaced your coffee beans with the new ones, from Costa Rica this time.”

Cole makes a face. “But I liked the Kenyan batch.”

The way he says it makes me feel warm.It’s cute—so unlike him. It makes him sound like a boy talking to his mother.

Aleeta rolls her eyes but there is unmistakable fondness in it. “You asked me to explore. This is exploring. You’ll love it.”

Cole doesn’t look convinced.

“This is why I stick to tea,” Levi chimes in. “Nice cup of Yorkshire. Simple and straightforward.”

I shift on my feet. It all seems so natural. Levi, Cole, Aleeta—they all fit in this beautiful house, with beautiful furniture and I try not to feel like an idiot for wanting to be part of it, even if it was just for a night.

“What’s your take?” Cole asks. It takes me a moment to realise he’s speaking to me, but his eyes are right on me before Levi and Aleeta also turn to face me.

“Uh, both. Coffee for energy and tea to relax,” I say. “Also, Twinings is the superior brand.” I turn to Levi, and he snorts.

“See, someone reasonable,” Aleeta winks conspiratorially at me, coming around the counter. “Good night, boys. It was lovely meeting you, Kai. I hope to see you soon.” And then she’s gone, her small frame scurrying out of the kitchen and leaving the three of us.

“Something to drink?” Levi asks.

I shake my head, desperate to get this over and done with now that Aleeta is gone. Levi turns to Cole, and they must communicate with their eyes because he shrugs and pours red wine into a single glass before he leans against the marble counter opposite Cole and me.

“I guess there’s no point in small talk,” Levi says after a moment. He looks surprisingly serious and my stomach knots. “We wanted to talk about Saturday,”

Words rush out of my mouth before I can stop them. “There’s no need,” I hear myself say. “I mean it’s okay. I get it, it was just some fun. I’m not expecting anything, and I wasn’t going to go around telling people about it or anything.”

Jenna doesn’t count.

Levi’s brow creases slightly then he smiles. “Oh, no, we weren’t worried about that.” He pauses as if thinking about his next words carefully. “But also Saturday was fun, and it made us both realise something we hadn’t before. I think we’ve wanted you for a while, Kai and I think you want us too,” he says. “So, we wanted to make a proposal.”

I swallow, not sure if I heard him correctly.

We’ve wanted you for a while, Kai…

How long is a while?

A tremor goes off inside me, disbelief and something like hope battling for dominance. I look between them, at Levi who looks slightly unsure and then at Cole whose face I can’t read. It’s hard to believe I’m not crazy, that I didn’t conjure up all of it through some desperate desire to be under them.

“A proposal?” I repeat.

“We want to fuck you,” Cole says simply. “Continue where we left off, but we keep it simple.”

I look at him, and I’m sure my eyes are bulging out of their sockets because no way this is happening.

“I know it’s a little complicated since I’m technically your boss, but you’re not in my line of reporting so it’s not something we’d have to disclose,” Levi says.

He’s right. Levi does not work in my department and if Erica, our manager hadn’t suggested we meet him, our paths may have never crossed except from afar.

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