Read Online With the Boys in the Band by Marie Medina - Free Book Online Page A

While he was happy Charles had been caught, this development had turned lunch into a video conference with Theobald and the lawyers, and even after that was over, they were all on and off phone calls plus reviewing emails together. After about an hour Alicia had gone to explore Vince’s library, so he hadn’t seen her again until dinner, which had turned into another video conference with all of them going back and forth about the official statement. Everything settled down shortly after nine, and now Emerson sat on the back porch steps watching mist roll over the lake as the moon rose higher in the sky. He’d left Vince talking with Tom in the kitchen, opting to come outside instead of going up to check on Alicia.
    He closed his eyes and listened as the eerie symphony of cicadas joined with the calls of two owls. Alicia had been one hundred percent right. He knew exactly what he wanted and simply had to convince himself it was okay to want it. All morning while he was alone, and even when he’d been surrounded by everyone else all afternoon and evening, his mind had been flooded with memories of Vince. He felt foolish both for never having seen the signs and for never realizing how integral Vince was to his happiness.
    He could recall half a dozen times when he’d woken up in the tent in his backyard to see Vince staring at him. He remembered falling asleep drunk together in college and waking up tangled against one another, even when they’d crashed with friends. And deep in the back of his mind, he’d found a very erotic memory from when they were sixteen. Sitting on a couch in a darkened basement, he’d watched Vince get his first blowjob. He’d been fascinated, unable to look away as it happened. Every single time Vince’s eyes had fluttered open, their gazes had locked and Vince had smiled, once even licking his lips and then puckering them in a silent kiss. Now, the tension that had sizzled between them meant something completely different. Vince hadn’t been teasing him because he was the first one to get a girl to suck his cock. He’d been using the teasing as a form of bravado to hide how much he wanted his best friend’s mouth on him instead. Sounds from inside jolted him out of the memory. A shiver ran up his spine as the back door opened and footsteps approached. He could tell from the weight and rhythm that it was Vince. He came to a stop behind Emerson and reached one hand down to touch his hair. Emerson leaned back against his leg and sighed, then opened his eyes and looked up.
    Vince’s eyes shone down at him, even in the sparse moonlight. He dropped to his knees. “How’s that thinking going?”
    “It’s going. I just need to know one thing.”
    “Okay. What is it?”
    “It’s obvious you’re attracted to Alicia. I’m sure you want to sleep with her. But I need to know you’re interested in more than that with her because I am. Maybe it won’t last, but something deep inside tells me it could and in fact will.”
    “Getting involved with you means getting involved with her.”
    He nodded. “You know we’re very different when it comes to sex and relationships. This will be a relationship that, while unconventional, will be exclusive. It can’t just be physical. You and I … if something goes wrong, we’ll get through it, no matter what. I don’t want her hurt, Vince. I don’t understand the connection you two may have here, but…”
    “But you’re okay with it?”
    “Yes. I don’t want her to feel shut out. I don’t want you to be jealous or make her jealous.”
    “What about you?”
    He’d given that lots of thought. “I feel confident I’ll be okay. I’m sure it won’t be perfect, but if we all try, I think we can make it work. I can’t imagine not continuing with her, but I also can’t imagine not taking the next step with you. She said she didn’t think we could live without each other, and I think she’s right.”
    “I know I couldn’t live without