Finding Their Balance (17 page)

“Man, would I.” Jay hoisted the cooler higher. “Place to set these down would be fan-tas-tic.”

No joking innuendo about a prize?

“Set up under the tree, please. The duffel contains a blanket.” Henry carried on without missing a beat. “I’ll content myself with the shade while you run yourselves ragged.”

Jay outpaced them. Not hard, since incomprehension rooted her to the ground. Alpha bro attitude from the submissive begging to suck Henry off less than an hour ago.

Linking his arm in hers, Henry kissed her forehead. “Come along, dearest. We’ve introductions to make.”

She walked out of self-preservation. He’d never let her faceplant, but he strode with purpose, and her choices were match him or stumble.

Jay dropped the gear courtside and snapped out their picnic blanket.

More bags rested on a blanket a few feet away, where the stranger climbed to his feet. “Henry.” He walked past the crouching Jay without a glance. “I’ve never seen you so casual.”

“A gentleman dresses for the occasion, Stephen.” Henry tweaked his collar. “Within reason. You won’t lure me onto the court, I’m afraid.”

Laughing, Stephen thrust out his hand. “Didn’t expect to.”

The men shook with arms extended, gazes locked, and short nods exchanged. A bouncing ball and thudding feet beat a background rhythm unchanged by their arrival. As the alphas brushed territorial boundaries, Henry left one arm clasped around her.

“If your boy can keep up with Charlie, that’ll be gift enough.” Stephen boasted kind eyes, towering height, and the t-shirt and shorts motif everyone but Henry bore. “I’m glad you called. Claudia says your girl has spine, and she’s a hard one to impress.”

Henry swept up said spine. “Stiff and supple by turns, and always with exquisite timing. Stephen, this is my Alice.”

His
Alice. Warmed by the certainty of Henry’s claim, she stuck out her arm. “Hi. It’s an unexpected pleasure.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Alice.” Glancing at Henry, Stephen waited for his nod before shaking her hand. Navigating boundaries got tricky when players followed different rules. “My pets have been looking forward to this.”

“We would’ve, too, if we’d known.” She laid her head on Henry’s shoulder. Him and his surprise gestures of love. “But I like this way better.”

“I’m pleased.” Nuzzling, Henry dipped his nose into her hair. “Your playmates for the day are warming up. You ought to join them.” A nudge of command colored his voice. “Jay,” he called. “Thank you for setting up. It’s a fine job. Go on and play.”

Ahh. Dom time. She edged onto the court. The last time—gym class? Tenth grade. Hoo boy. The things she did for Jay.

Claudia, basketball on her hip, sauntered over. “Alice. Cool.” She tossed a nod at Jay. “Charlie’s been insufferable all week waiting to meet you guys.”

“Not true.” The guy shooting imaginary baskets from the half-circle topping the painted rectangle stopped jumping. “I’ve been in suffer
ing
.”

Beside her, Jay laughed and ruffled his hair. “At least you knew. I’d’ve gotten some practice in if I’d known.”

“Hi, Charlie here—you’re Jay, right?” The skinny blond zipped to his target like a magnetic lock. “So great to meet you.” He pumped Jay’s hand. “Claud said you two had a good vibe. I was so disappointed about the lunch thing. Like work was sooo important I couldn’t skip out.” His full-body droop swung stringy hair past his shoulders. “You know how work is. Or not. Do you work? I do, but socializing with the guys is tough. Master S gets all territorial.” He jerked toward the quiet mountain standing on the sideline. “Don’t tell, but I love when he pulls that shit.”

Face blank as a porch-sitter in a twister, Jay mirrored Charlie’s nod.

“Master S says work comes first and playtime is a reward for after. Like eating vegetables, right?” Charlie patted his stomach beneath the words
finish him
on his t-shirt, where a gape-mouthed Pac-Man approached a blue ghost. “What the big man says goes. You know.”

Hovering within inches of slack-jawed yokel, her chatterbox stared without answering. Charlie hadn’t said anything Jay wouldn’t—at home. Or in the club. But he’d donned his guy-armor out here. Understanding why Charlie hadn’t seemed beyond him.

“Claud came back with all these lunch stories and I was way jealous.” Charlie scowled at his girlfriend with exaggerated drama. “She’s not big on details, so when Master S pulls more out of her than, ‘it was nice,’ I know it was wicked crazy.”

Her silent urging didn’t drive Henry from his dom-talk or propel him to Jay’s side for comforting support. They’d pulled the separate mingling act before, at Henry’s gallery show. She’d played the bridge between them, the lover two friends shared. But why bother with subterfuge here?

“I was so jealous I whined my way into corner time, and that sucked.” Cheeks puffed, Charlie blew out like a deflating balloon. “It lasted forever. I mean, for-ev-er.”

In mid ball-bounce, Claudia flashed her hands up, palms out and fingers spread.
Ten minutes
, she mouthed.

Unwanted, intrusive awareness swamped her. Jay wouldn’t appreciate the comfort. Henry hadn’t called Jay to him or hurried out because he knew better than to try. The months before she’d been invited in, the times she’d wavered between fantasizing Henry and Jay were a couple and thinking them just roommates. Because they never got touchy-feely in public.

“I hate corner time. But Master S let me crawl over and apologize for acting bratty, and that rocked.”

Talk about no boundaries. Jay babbled in private, but Charlie took the cake.

“I give awesome blowjobs.”

Two cakes.

“Five-star-restaurant blowjobs.”

Pizza parlor birthday sheet-sized cakes.

“Oh man, did Claudia tell you—”

“Enough, little frog.” Stephen wrapped massive arms around Charlie and knocked their heads together. The blond went limp, closing his eyes and sagging into his master’s embrace. “You get all afternoon with our new friends.”

Henry slipped alongside her. She almost—almost—copied Charlie’s move. But Jay wouldn’t join in. Distance didn’t belong between them. Not after the communion they’d shared last night. Not after they’d spent the morning in sub-mode while Henry gave lessons in dominance.

“Don’t eat up every minute with chatter,” Stephen warned. “I want to see your ball-handling skills put to use on the court, Charlie.”

Jay swiped the ball from Claudia and danced toward the basket. The wider the world, the smaller Henry’s hold over them. Wrongness itched at her, a nagging center beyond her reach.

As Charlie rattled off locations where he’d displayed his skills, Henry scratched between her shoulder blades. Trust him to find the perfect spot without a map. “Have a good game, my dear. I’ll be watching.”

Jay sank his shot. Claudia recovered the ball while Stephen whispered in Charlie’s ear.

“You sure you won’t play?” Knowing the answer, she selfishly hoped for a different one.

“Today is for our boy. I enjoy seeing him unburdened at play.” He inhaled, sharp and deep, his nose buried in her hair. “This court is not mine.”

But I am. Jay is.

Henry had held court like a king this morning. His retreat to the picnic blanket, though poised and graceful, tore at her.

Grabbing the hem of Charlie’s t-shirt, Stephen exposed his submissive’s chest. “Give me this. You can start shirts versus skins. Since we’re in public, you and Jay will be skins.”

“Yeah, girls on guys!” Charlie whooped. “Your dom’s awesome for setting this up, Jay.”

Jay stumbled, and Claudia dribbled past him for the basket.

Charlie laughed. “Claud kind of kicks my ass at hoops, but I can’t say I hate it when she slams into me and goes up for a shot, you know?”

“Yeah, I—” Grinning, Jay swung around and spotted her. “Alice, you okay with those teams?”

“It’s your birthday.” Adorable the way he checked in, though. Like she got first dibs on him. She did, didn’t she? After Henry. “I’ll play however you like.”

Charlie whistled. “Dayum. I gotta have more birthdays. Claud, you think—”

“Hell no.” Laughing, Claudia grabbed her rebound. “I know how you like to play, and it involves me doing all the work.”

“Maybe the both of you boys can give Claudia a challenge.” Stephen sluiced the shirt over Charlie’s head and draped it on his own shoulder. “No offense intended, Alice. I don’t know you well enough to judge your contribution.”

“My goal is to avoid hindering Claudia’s inevitable victory.”

Stephen stood rubbing Charlie’s bare chest—hairier and not so firm as Jay’s—in the middle of the park. Bent and bit his neck, for chrissake.

“Me and basketball have a passing acquaintance.” Words fell out of her mouth on autopilot. Henry would never pull those moves on Jay in public. “In that I usually passed on playing.” Worming her fingers under Jay’s shirt, touching his hips, she lowered her voice. “I bet Henry would hold this for you.” If he wouldn’t listen to Henry here, he’d damn well listen to her. “Shirts versus skins is traditional. You know how he likes to uphold traditions.”

Jay jogged to their courtside blanket. Liminal space in the big oak’s shade. Not center court, where the pressure to be a man trumped all. Where Charlie’s easygoing approach to manhood locked him in stunned silence. He exchanged quiet words with Henry before yanking his shirt over his head.

“Don’t worry, Alice.” Claudia dribbled and shot from behind the wide arc painted on the asphalt.

Accepting Jay’s shirt, Henry maintained middle-school-dance distance, all the way. Appearances.

“Swish.” Charlie whistled. “Nice one, Claud.”

As the ball bounced into the grass, Stephen smacked Charlie’s ass. “Hop to, little frog. Play a good game and you’ll earn a treat. I expect a dazzling display of athletic exertion.”

Dazzling? She’d be outclassed before the first play. Thank God Henry wouldn’t expect the same from her. Face intent, mouth moving, he stood inches from a bare-chested Jay. Time to invest in lip-reading classes.

With kisses for Charlie and Claudia, Stephen retreated to the blankets. Two dominants, sitting around discussing who knew what while their submissives entertained them.

“Seriously, don’t sweat it.” Claudia squeezed her shoulder and let go. Maybe she lived a testosterone-soaked life, too. Years without a female friend to hang with. “We’ll have you shooting like a pro before the food hits the blanket. Enough to score off Charlie, at least.”

“Whoa, hold up, I am a major impediment to any drive for the basket.” Charlie hopped and hooked his shot up and off the backboard. The ball bounced along the rim and out. “Shit.”

Claudia rolled her eyes. “You’re a major impediment to any drive for your team, you mean.”

“That didn’t count.” Charlie snatched the ball. “Practice jitters.”

Bearing a wide grin, Jay jogged back. “Shirtless.” As he slung his arms around her, his woodsy scent enveloped her. “You like?”

“My stud.” Not Henry’s, though, not in public. “This is supposed to be your birthday game, but here you are giving me a present.” Allowing Henry to act like a boyfriend in public would be a better one. He didn’t have to voice disappointment or crack the dominant façade. Down to her bones, she knew Jay’s public distance pained him. “I love when you and Henry get all naked and sweaty.”

Charlie dribbled to Claudia and faked a pass. “Or you put girl cooties on the gear. Did you lick this ball?”

With a well-timed reach, Claudia swiped the ball from Charlie. “What, you think because I licked your balls before breakfast that I snuck out to the garage…”

The teasing bickering carried through the first game. Light trash talk. Wagers won and lost. She lasted two half-court games to fifteen points and dragged her ass in a third before her body begged for a reprieve. Bent over, she gripped her knees with trembling knuckles and sucked in lungfuls of air.

“Jay, bring your playmate here.” Henry waved them over. “You’ve quite worn her out.”

A heat sink of sweet male musk, Jay hoisted her to his bare chest. Three games hadn’t winded him. He dripped more sweat on his daily routes. “One Alice, coming in for a landing.” Crouching, he laid her beside Henry with the delicacy of a researcher sliding a prize into the balance pan for weighing.

“Thank you, my boy.” Henry kept his voice low. “I’ll keep our girl with me, but you’re free to continue your game. Are you having fun?”

“Tons of fun. Thank you, Henry.” As the men reached for the same strand of hair stuck to her forehead, Jay grazed Henry’s fingers. “I’m glad you played, Alice.” With his goofy grin and shining eyes, he more than recompensed her for her aching lungs and tight calves. “I’ll make it up to you with games you like better later. Promise.” He plastered her face with tiny kisses and loped back to the game.

Stephen jogged out to take her place, congratulating Charlie with a massive hug and a deep, delving kiss. Claudia got the same treatment billed as consolation for her unprecedented loss.

Fumbling for water, Alice came up with an empty bottle. Must’ve swigged the final drops during their last drink-and-dash.

“Try this.” Henry held a glass to her lips. Orange juice-ish, but with a sweeter kick. “Better?”

“Definitely.” She swished her second sip before swallowing. “Honey?”

“Maple syrup.” He dug in the cooler and presented her with trail mix. “Have some raisins, please.” Nuzzling her hairline, feeding her bite by bite, he kissed her temple. “At least I’ll get something healthy in you before the birthday cupcake feast.”

“Anything you wanna put in me is healthy in my book.” As she waggled her eyebrows, he rewarded her with a laugh and a growl.

On the court, Jay drove to the basket and dropped one in over Charlie’s block. She hooted while Henry clapped.

“You know it’s adorable that you set up a playdate for his birthday, right?” A picnic at the park totally nailed normal family. “It’s baby-panda levels of cute.”

“He’s an active man.” Kneading her leg across his lap, Henry drained her aching weariness. “He needs stimulation.”

A pent-up Jay bounced like a big dog denied a daily walk. Different from how his energy flowed at home, though. Or even this morning at the club. He didn’t seek Henry’s approval here. He passed out high-fives and kissed her with abandon, but he didn’t display the ease with Henry that Charlie did with his master.