Triple the Love

Hank - Part Three

Hank

My mind kept replaying that kiss. Over and over. It was everything I had been waiting for and more. I could have taken it further. Especially judging by the impressive bulge in Corey’s pants. But I had held back. Corey had quickly suggested a movie and I had gone along with it. I didn’t want to watch a movie, but I also wasn’t ready for the night to end. The half-eaten pizza was still sitting on the coffee table. The movie was playing. But my mind wasn’t focused on anything but that kiss. Aside from the kiss, I finally had a moment to think about everything that had happened since the moment Corey had walked into my place earlier. I was still over the moon that he was ready for more. That he wanted to explore a relationship with me. But why had he brought up Jack and Daniel? Why did it have to be a secret?

“Ha!” Corey chuckled and I glanced over at him. He was focused on the movie, his legs tucked under him and his body was completely relaxed. The grin on his face told me he was enjoying the movie, while I was lost in my head. When the movie finally ended, I was surprised and relieved. I had been so preoccupied with my inner turmoil that I hadn’t even noticed. I turned to Corey, who was watching me closely and I smiled. It didn’t matter what was going on in my head, the guy was not only sexy as hell, but he was finally mine. I pulled him closer, and he came willingly. I leaned into him and captured his lips in another scorching kiss. However, this time when he pulled back there was something in his eyes that made me pause.

“Little bunny?” I questioned softly.

“I should get going,” he said, and I realized that he probably felt like I was pushing him. Rushing him. So, I immediately nodded in agreement. We both got off the couch and when he made a move to help clean up, I quickly stopped him.

“Don’t worry about it,” I reassured him when he shot me a doubtful look. He nodded, and I escorted him to the front door. When I opened the door, the evening chill was cold, and the rain was coming down rather hard. “Ah…”

“Don’t worry, hot stuff, I’ve written in the rain plenty of times,” it was his turn to reassure me, but I hesitated. “I’ll drive slow, and I’ll text you the second I get home,” Corey said. I didn’t like it, but I couldn’t force him to stay. I slowly nodded as I once again pulled him into my arms. I gazed down at him and smiled.

“Thank you for tonight,” I said, and he blushed.

“I am the one that should be thanking you…the pizza…the beer…the movie…”

“The kisses?” I asked, and he went even redder, which only made him even more adorable. I gave him one more quick kiss before I let him go. I watched him run out to his car, and then I watched as he disappeared down the road. I stepped back inside and shut the door as I pulled my phone from my pocket. I scrolled through my contacts until I got to Jake’s name. The phone rang twice before he picked up.

“Hey, man, what’s up?” Jake answered, his voice was casual and chill. He certainly wasn’t expecting anything out of the ordinary.

“I need to talk,” I said as I got comfortable on the couch. It felt empty now that Corey was gone and I groaned.

“Well…talk to me, what’s going on?” Jake questioned. His voice was now serious and curious.

“Corey came by,”

“Oh, yeah…how did that go?”

“We kissed,” I blurted out. There was a long pause on the other end of the line and then Jake let out a low whistle.

“Well, hot damn, Hank…it’s about time, right? I thought you two were going to be dancing around each other forever,”

“Ha, ha, ha,” I responded sarcastically. “Unfortunately, it’s a bit more complicated than that,”

“How so?” he asked. I hesitated since I was unsure how much I should say. I had called him to talk things out so that I could get out of my head, but I also didn’t want Jake to say anything to anyone.

“Ok, firstly, you cannot tell anyone,” I said seriously, but before he could agree or disagree, I hurriedly continued. “Ok, you can tell Alessa, but that is it,”

“Ok, you have my word…now…how is it complicated?” I took a deep breath and tried to figure out where to begin.

“He wants me, right? He wants to start dating…but…he wants to keep it private,”

“Private? Like…what? A secret?”

“Exactly…but that’s not all. He brought up Jack and Daniel…like…he wanted me to question him,” I said. There was another long pause, so I used his silence to tell Jake exactly what Corey had said. What I had said. This time when the silence stretched on, I waited patiently for my best friend to say something.

“Ok…well…do you think he is still hung up on Daniel?” Jake finally asked, and I immediately shook my head even though he couldn’t see me.

“No,”

“And…do you think he has feelings for Jack?”

“I’ve always thought so…now I’m not sure,” I admitted.

“Ok, well…maybe Corey just doesn’t want to hurt Jack,” Jake then suggested, and I frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, maybe that’s why he wants to keep it a secret. He probably knows how Jack feels about him, and he chose you…so now he probably has to tell Jack that he picked you…in the meantime, he’d like to keep things on the down low so that he doesn’t hurt Jack,” that hit me like a punch to the gut. The idea that Corey could be hiding us to protect Jack made sense, but for some reason, it also stung.

“Yeah, maybe,” I muttered as I rubbed the back of my neck. “But where does that leave me?”

“I don’t know, man,” Jake admitted. “But if that’s what’s going on, you need to figure it out. You don’t want to get caught up in some messy love triangle,” I sighed heavily, my chest tight with a mix of emotions. I had no idea if Jake was right or not, but it was more than enough to plant a seed of doubt. Actually, if I was being more honest with myself, Corey had already planted the seed when he had played twenty questions.

“Thanks, man,” I said. Jake turned the conversation to Alessa, and I smiled, happy for a bit of distraction. However, in the back of my mind, I had my own questions now. Was Corey really mine? Or was there something going on between him and Jack?