Page 75 of Charlie

"Not just fucking. Living. Loving."

He scrubs his hands over his face. "I don't know if I'm strong enough to do that again," he says, his gaze lingering on Lach.

"It won't be the same," Jack insists, downing the rest of his coffee in one gulp, re-filling his mug with a healthy pour of Bailey's.

"You don't know that."

"Yes, we do," Lach says, meeting Cam's gaze. "For one, we're not in college anymore. We've all matured since then. We're much better at communicating now. Second, she's nothing like Em. Third, she doesn't want sex to be separate. She wants us together."

"You do?" he asks me, hope in his words. "What about us?" he whispers, turning to Lach, his voice so low I can barely hear him.

Lach's lips twist into a smile, "She already knows."

Cam pales a little. "You do?" he asks again.

I nod, trying to hide a smile. "It's fucking hot."

He blows out a heavy breath and throws back his drink, holding his mug out to Jack. "This is not at all how I was expecting today to go. I came here hoping to get advice from Isla."

"Did I hear my name?" Isla croaks from the hallway. She shuffles into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"Late night last night?" Jack chuckles, pouring her some coffee.

"Very. I kicked him out at four this morning."

"When will you start giving them a chance, Isla?" Lach asks, a hint of worry in his voice.

"I've been burned too many times to fall for that. Sex is all I need." She sips her coffee, her eyes swiveling around the room. "Cameron!" she kisses him on his cheek. "You're back early." She glances down at our intertwined hands. "It is way too early to try to figure this out." Seh raises an eyebrow at me. "Charlotte, spill."

"Cameron is the guy I dated in Portree."

"No he fucking isn't," she splutters, choking on her coffee. "You can't tell me there wasn't some sort of divine intervention here. Absolutely sickening." She throws a wink over her shoulder before stomping out of the room.

"We're not doing this only for you to leave in a month, are we?" Cam asks, chewing on his bottom lip.

I shake my head. "I'll have to go back to the states for the divorce and figure out a job and visa, but I want to stay." We stop talking as Lach drops sausages into the skillet, the sizzling too loud to hold a conversation.

"We have something else to talk about," Lach says as he plates the food on a large platter.

"What's that?" Cam asks, watching him with a look in his eyes that makes heat pool in my stomach.

"You're the only one that's fucked her," he says, setting the dish in front of us. There are three large sausages with scoops of mashed potatoes placed to look like testicles and two links forming a vulva, a tiny pearl onion where the clit should be. I giggle, snort, and then giggle even more.

"You goddamn son of a bitch," Jack laughs.

"It's a masterpiece," Cam says, his eyes sparkling with laughter, "but can we get back to what you just said?"

"That you're the only one that's fucked her?" Lach asks, pulling a stool to the other side of the counter.

"Yes, that."

"We've talked about it briefly, and I think the only thing to do would be to even up the score."

Cameron nods thoughtfully. "You're good with that?" he asks me, putting food on my plate before filling his own.

"I think it's the only way to start this off on fair footing. Then I think sex should only be when we're all there."

"What about other stuff?" Lach asks, biting into his sausage.

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