Page 21 of Boss Level

The stage show was all hype and energy, and the crowd loved it. Over the years, Judith’s team had learned so much more than how to make an incredible game. When everyone in the room was worked into a frenzy, Dustin announced the band.

The reaction was deafening. Amazing.

Judith joined us as the music started. Was this what it was like for her and Xander when they were younger? Cons weren’t like this twenty years ago, but concerts, late nights after work, and feeding off each other’s passions…

There were times when I was jealous of their past together. That they shared so much history.

I’d rather ignore that and enjoy the electricity in the air. The raw sexual tension that spilled from the stage and radiated from my companions. Seeing Judith enjoy herself tonight, her smile even as she restrained herself at the opening notes ofGlass Slipper, was intoxicating.

There had been a draw to her from the first night we met, to both of them, but most of the time I could focus it all on Xander. But thepretendkisses, and the sex with all three of us the other night made it harder to ignore Judith. Not that I wanted Xander any less.

Instead, intense need swelled inside as the band moved into the song. This particular one had always hit close to home for me, not just because it was the first song they released after I started representing them, but the Cinderella-like story sounded too much like one I was witnessing.

Xander let loose the easiest to the music, like he always did. As if he knew how heavily it weighed on my heart, he grabbed me and pulled me into a spin.

Two grown men twirling in an aisle of chairs, trying not to knock anything or anyone over, should look ridiculous, but fuck how it looked.

As he let me go, and the next song started, I spun to face Judith, who was glancing at us with a smirk, but not doing more than tapping her feet.

I’d never stopped wanting her, so a fake engagement was easy to play along with. The reason I was with Xander, and neither of us was with her, had everything to do with Xander and Judith themselves. She wasn’t interested in a committed relationship. She made that clear again and again, and pulled away from anything that implied attachment.

And Xander wasn’t interested in a committed relationship with Judith.

I used to wonder why, but I’d figured it out over the years. He was her black knight in tarnished armor. Friendship was great, fucking was fine, but he wouldn’t let himself take more from her.

I pulled her into me, though Xander’s touch never left me, and I rested my hands on her hips as I pressed into her back. The more I swayed to the music, the more she did the same.

We’d all grown a lot in our time as friends. What if this was a chance for all three of us? The notion hit me hard, and the desire to make it real even harder. Would Xander and Judith fight it? Probably, since they had for longer than I’d been in the picture, but we were all so good together. If she was a part ofus…

She turned to face me with the next song, and draped her arms around my neck. As the concert rocked on, we lost ourselves in the music. Heat spilled between us as the three of us effortlessly slid from one partner to another, with Judith grinding against me sometimes, and Xander stepping in at others.

Could this be the right time to nudge the walls both of them had put up, until they crumbled?

After the third encore, when Reese finally walked off stage and didn’t return, I was grinning like an idiot. Pretty sure we were too old for shit like late night concerts and dancing in the aisles, and maybe I’d regret it in the morning, but I doubted it. How could I regret anything this easy and fun?

As most of the room made their way into the convention center, we headed backstage, to where the band was packing up before heading out to meet their fans.

“You were brilliant,” I said to Reese.

She scoffed. “Of course I was.”

“Good job.” Xander pulled his brother, Maddox, into a quick hug.

As they broke away, Maddox snorted. “You sure you noticed? I had a great view of you three from the stage.”

“Which was thanks to the music.” I was too happy riding this buzz to let him bring me down.

Reese clapped once, loudly. “Come on, all. Our actual fans await.”

We chatted with the entire band for a few more minutes before they headed out. That didn’t mean we were done. So many people approached the instant we walked into the halls, to congratulate Judith. She glowed as she accepted each and every bit of praise with grace.

She deserved it, and I didn’t care that we were there until most everyone else was gone.

When it was the three of us again, more than an hour later, I knew I had to make a quick decision. Let the night end, or ride this buzz a little longer. Spend more time with a Part Two from the other night.

“I think we,” I pointed to Xander and me, “should make sure you get to your room safely.”

Judith had gotten a hotel room across the street, so she didn’t have to deal with commuting this week. I had no idea when she’d found time to check in between spending the night with us and work, but I assumed she was capable of making any schedule work. She could probably will a time-turner into existence if that was what it took.

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