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  Teddy shot me a conveying he knew exactly what I was doing, and then he raised an eyebrow at Kara. “Considering that you’re from a generation that despises labels, I find it amusing that you are labeling us. Have you never heard of being bisexual?”

  This was my favorite part. I watched as realization dawned on Kara. She looked back and forth between us, and she blushed hotly. I couldn’t resist, and besides, Teddy had his turn. I pulled her into a hug, enjoying her breasts pressed up against my chest, and shot a playful glare at Teddy.

  “Hey, no being a—what was it the kids call you? Dr. Dickman? Yeah, no being a Dickman at home. Now, Kara,” I said, tipping her chin up with two fingers and looking into her sparkling hazel eyes. “Teddy and I are in a relationship, yes. But we do sometimes bring home a third to keep things interesting.”

  Kara’s eyes widened, and if the bisexual revelation wasn’t exciting to watch, this one definitely was. Her lips parted and the hot blush she’d started before turned into a scarlet burn all over her cheeks. She was adorable.

  I pulled her a little closer and her heart beat fast against me. I dipped my lips to her ear and in a low rumble said, “I think it’s safe to say that we’re both attracted to you, but we won’t push you into doing anything you’re not comfortable with.” I glanced up at Teddy who had that glazed look he gets when turned on. He nodded, almost imperceptibly. Go on.

  “But if you’re interested, so are we.”

  God, she smelled so good.

  Kara pushed back against my chest with her palms. “B-but Theo’s my professor,” she stuttered.

  I quirked an eyebrow at her. “Theo?”

  “I thought Dr. Whitman was too formal at home,” Teddy protested.

  “Yeah, but Theo? Come on, Teddy. Now that you’ve kissed her, you can’t be Theo.”

  Kara looked back and forth between us, not quite sure how to respond.

  I gently slid my hand around her wrists, her hands still pressed against my chest. “He can be Theo at work. Or Dr. Whitman. Under this roof, his name is Teddy.”

  Teddy raised a finger and opened his mouth to protest. I put my other hand up. “I don’t want to be confused by two names at home. It’s weird.”

  Theo shrugged. “Fine, but I’d better not hear that used on campus. And if I may clarify, you are not my student anymore. Now you just work for me. Your advisor is in my department, yes, but I’m no longer your professor.”

  Kara’s jaw dropped. “You dropped me from one of my most important classes? What the hell, Teddy? I need to finish this year, this could throw off my whole trajectory!”

  Teddy walked toward us, his palms up. “I didn’t drop you, Kara. I would never do that to you. I merely had you transferred to another class. I did it earlier today; I’m sure you’ve probably received an email or two about the change. This just removes any conflicts of interest. Now there are no moral clauses keeping you from, er, dating me.”

  Kara stiffened in my arms and stared at him.

  Teddy wasn’t always the smoothest. His intellectual awkwardness sometimes got the best of him. This was up there with his greatest hits.

  I slid an arm around her shoulder and rubbed her arm, not too handsy, not too pushy. I had to soothe this poor girl—obviously, we were coming on too strong. “We’ll talk later,” I said. “For now, let’s have another glass of wine and discuss our dinner plans.”

  Chapter Six

  Teddy

  Dinner with Kara was uneventful. It was if we’d never mentioned a threesome, and I’d never kissed her. Jack and I agreed, if Kara wanted to act like nothing had happened, we’d have to respect her wishes. I had no problem with a smart and beautiful woman living in our house, one that I’d kissed, and never be allowed to taste more. It would be painful, but I could do it.

  Kara was a quick study of the wine and the next night at dinner I introduced her properly to a velvety smooth Syrah. She seemed to like it, but something was off. I hated to ask, given the conversation and lack of follow-through from the day before, but I had to.

  Kara sighed. “I’m just not sure how I’m getting to school tomorrow. Remember, I sold my car.”

  Jack and I locked eyes. Did she think we were going to make her walk? “You can ride to campus with me,” I said.

  She shook her head. “I couldn’t impose like that. Plus, I don’t want to cause you any trouble.”

  “It’s no trouble—remember? I had you reassigned, and you’re just staying in our house temporarily.”

  Kara swirled the wine in her glass, staring down into the inky redness. “That’s a temporary solution. I need to figure out something sustainable. One where...” She shrugged and shook her head. “Never mind.”

  “Now you have to tell us,” Jack said.

  Kara’s shoulders slumped. “One where I don’t become a burden.”

  Jack scooted his chair closer to her and took her hands in his. “You’re not a burden. We want to help.”

  “Besides, it’s literally not even a favor,” I said. “We keep the same hours, work in the same place—we already have the same schedule.

  “You’d be doing us a favor,” Jack said.

  Kara frowned and looked back and forth between us. “How’s that?”

  Jack burst out laughing and winked at me. “You’d keep Teddy company so he wouldn’t be so grouchy.”

  “Hey,” I protested. “I’m not grouchy.”

  Both Jack and Kara looked at me with incredulous faces.

  I waved a hand. “Maybe I’m a little grouchy.”

  Jack raised his eyebrows at me as if to say yes, roll with it.

  “Yeah, so, if you kept me company in the rides to and from school, I’d be more, uh,” I frowned at Jack trying to figure out what he was trying to pantomime. I shrugged and gave up. “I’d be more socialized.”

  Kara looked skeptical but shrugged. “Okay, as long as it’s a favor to you. You’re already doing me a favor letting me stay here. I still have to figure out that issue too.”

  That afternoon I phoned my friend Debby in student housing to see if she knew of any leads for Kara. It’s not that I wanted her out of the house, but I needed to do my due diligence for her. I knew it was a long shot.

  “Sorry Theo, everything I have is for undergraduates,” Debby said. “If she wanted to apply to be an RA in the dorms, I could put her name down. Of course, those positions are all full right now.”

  “Yes, please put her down in case something comes up,” I told her.

  “This must be some student for you to go to all this trouble,” Debby said.

  “Sometimes all someone needs is a little hand,” I said. “And I figured it didn’t hurt to ask.” Debby didn’t need to know that Kara was living with me and Jack, or that I’d kissed her, or that I couldn’t stop thinking about wanting more.

  “You’re a good man, Theo,” Debby said.

  “Don’t tell anyone that,” I said. “I have a reputation to uphold.”

  Debby laughed. “I’ll never tell. About the RA position, I’ll keep you posted.”

  I hung up the phone and leaned back in my chair. The sunlight streamed in through the windows, which reminded me of how the light had hit Kara just so while she was working in my home office with me. The light had hit on her hair at one point, and I’d been struck with how she looked like a glowing angel.

  Even without any sexual adventures, Kara was good to have around. She brought a new angle to our household and got along well with both of us.

  I inhaled and sat up straight. Get a grip, Whitman. Kara isn’t into it, and you have to let it go.

  I grumbled to myself, rearranged my half-awake cock, and got back to work.

  Later that afternoon she was in my car, on our way home from a long day on campus. She tilted her seat back and pulled one arm behind her head, obviously relaxed. I guess her days of Dr. Whitman were over, and I was firmly inside Teddy territory.

  “Have you found any on-campus housing leads?” Kara asked. We we
re at a red light. I glanced over and blinked at the way the seatbelt divided her breasts. She was wearing a thin t-shirt, no bra, and with the afternoon light shining through the window, it was almost see-through. I glanced down and could see the slightly darker outline of her nipples showing through her shirt.

  Eyes on the road.

  The light turned green and I focused on driving. Not looking at her didn’t help a lot because I could still smell her. I didn’t know what fragrance she was wearing, but it was light and musky and made me think all kinds of indecent thoughts.

  I’d have to fuck Jack’s brains out tonight. We both were all kinds of wound up over this girl and taking it out on each other. Neither of us said anything about it—we didn’t want to break the spell and have her leave. We didn’t want guilty expressions in the morning that would give us away.

  But were we extra horny lately? Absolutely. Maybe if I just had her once, I’d stop obsessing over it. Get it out of my system. Get it out of our system.

  “So, no leads?” Kara asked, an edge to her voice.

  I turned and blinked at her. “Pardon me?”

  Exasperated, she said, “Housing leads. Have you found any? You were going to look, remember?”

  “Oh, yes, that. I inquired, but the only thing available for non-undergraduate students is an RA position. Unfortunately, those are all filled.”

  Kara looked disappointed but immediately covered it up. “Thanks for trying,” she said.

  “I put your name on a list in case an opportunity comes up,” I said. “You never know when there will be an opening.”

  Kara nodded and pulled her legs up under herself.

  “You know, we like you at the house,” I started. “You don’t have to leave if you don’t want to.”

  “I like it too but I want to leave while you still want me,” Kara said. “No one wants to overstay their welcome.”

  My chest pinged and I glanced over at this beautiful and sad girl. I wanted to fix it, I wanted to help her know that we liked her in our house. But, she had only been there a few days. I didn’t know what the future held. And she had a point. We couldn’t keep her there forever.

  “We’ll figure it out,” I said. “Let’s just focus on right now, okay?”

  Kara nodded. “Okay.”

  We drove in silence the rest of the way. Our conversation from the patio the weekend before, the one where we’d offered Kara a place in our bed, hung in the air, unanswered and unaddressed. Kara had decided to deal with that topic by acting like we’d never brought it up. And she’d decided to deal with me kissing her by acting like it had never happened.

  She was probably the smarter one. I mean, she was living with us. What if something went terribly wrong, and then she had no place to go?

  Maybe she was afraid of screwing up the only place she had to live? Dark dread crept over my chest and I felt like a first-class asshole. Had I interfered with her feeling safe by hitting on her?

  Jack was already home when we pulled in, and like the domestic god that he is, he was pulling dinner out of the oven the moment we walked inside.

  Kara sank into a kitchen barstool. “That smells amazing,” she breathed.

  Jack flushed. “It just now occurred to me that I should have asked if you like fish.”

  Kara laughed and shook her head. “I’m not picky, trust me.”

  Jack looked up at me and gave me a knowing smile. “That’s good, because Teddy is. And cooking for two picky eaters might be more than I can handle.”

  I shook my head and smiled at them both. “I’m not picky. I just like quality.”

  Jack threw his head back and laughed and Kara giggled at us both.

  “This is quality,” Jack said. “Maple and walnut glazed salmon with couscous and a side salad.” He waggled his fingers with a flourish.

  “Sounds quality to me,” I said. “Anyone else want wine?” I opened the fridge and surveyed the choices. I didn’t know what Jack was going to make for dinner, so I’d chilled an assortment of white wines in the fridge.

  Kara sat up straight, an eager expression on her face. “Me!” she chirped. “But let me go get ready for dinner first.”

  She disappeared into the guest room and Jack put down all of his food preparation utensils and leaned against the counter. “So?”

  “What?” I asked, knowing full well what he was getting at.

  Jack crossed the room and wrapped his burly construction arms around my waist. “How was your day?”

  I bent and kissed him on the lips. Ah, Jack, you are so delicious. My cock stirred and I pulled him closer.

  Jack returned my kiss and ground himself against me.

  Well fuck. This whole house was a hotbed of sexual tension.

  “We’d better not get too carried away, the fish will get cold,” I said against his lips. “And we’re not alone, remember.”

  “Not anymore,” Jack said, and gripped my shoulders with his calloused hands. His meaning was clear—Kara was back. “We’ll finish this later,” he whispered in my ear.

  I turned around and almost choked on my tongue. Kara was standing in the doorway wearing snug yoga pants and a tight little cami. She padded across the room in bare feet, her hot pink toenails shining up from her pretty feet on the white floor.

  While I stood there like a cartoon character who’d never seen a female before, Jack sprang into smooth action and offered her his arm. “Kara, you’re back just in time. May I show you to the dining room?”

  Kara gave Jack a Pretty Woman megawatt smile and slid her hand around his bicep. She blinked, but I caught it. Yep, he’s ripped.

  Jack grabbed the bottle of Pinot Grigio I’d pulled from the fridge with one easy motion on his way to the dining room. “Let’s get you that glass of wine we promised,” he said, as they disappeared into the next room.

  I couldn’t win anyone over with my grace and charm, because I didn’t have any. I had to try to use my intelligence and knowledge to connect. I loved watching Jack in action. Pride in my hot and charismatic boyfriend surged through me, and I followed behind, not wanting to miss a moment of dinner.

  “Did you have any luck helping our girl find housing?” Jack asked me, winking at Kara as he said it.

  Our girl.

  Kara gave him a Mona Lisa smile and slid another bite of couscous into her mouth.

  I swallowed and shook my head. “Sorry, no. I called Debby at housing, and she put her on a list for an RA position, but who would want that?”

  Kara laughed lightly and leaned back in her chair. “I know, it sounds awful—but I’d do it. I’ll be ready to defend my thesis this spring so I just need to get through until then. Who knows, by then maybe I’ll even have money saved again.” She looked down and bit her lip.

  Poor girl. I knew full well how much she earned for her TA work. It was peanuts, at best. The only way she’d be able to save much of anything was if she didn’t have a lot of her money going out to pay for basic living costs while she finished her thesis.

  I put my fork down and reached for her hand. “I know we’ve talked about this already, but I want to get this straight.” I squeezed her hand and her soft hazel eyes met mine. “Stay here. Stay with us. We have the room. I hate to think of you worrying about where you’re going to live while trying to finish your education.” I looked up at Jack for agreement, and he nodded at us both.

  Kara shrank into herself and shook her head. “No, I could never impose.”

  Jack took her other hand in his, and she looked up at him. “I agree with Teddy,” he said. “Stay with us. It’s perfect! And don’t worry, we won’t hit on you.” He looked at me and back at her. “Unless you want us to,” he laughed.

  Kara looked indecisive. I gently squeezed her hand and she briefly met my eye and then looked back down.

  This girl was so sure she was a burden and so stressed out. My heart cracked for her.

  I refilled her glass. “I insist. You’ll stay. Problem solved. And just think, if yo
u need help with your dissertation, I’m right here at your service.”

  Jack, ever intuitive, softly asked, “Do you have family nearby? I’m assuming not, right? Stop me if I’m being nosy.”

  Kara shrugged and shook her head as she slumped in her chair. “I forget not everyone knows my story.”

  “You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Jack soothed.

  Kara waved her hand. “It’s fine. Everyone else knows. I can tell you. My parents died in a car crash when I was a kid. I had no other family to take me in so I grew up in foster care.”

  “Oh my god,” Jack said. “I’m so sorry.”

  Kara nodded, a little too much, like she was trying to control her emotions. She took a deep breath. “So anyway, I managed to get scholarships and financial aid for school. Everything else, I’ve worked for.”

  I nodded and squeezed her hand again. I normally struggled to open up emotionally, but my heart ached for Kara. “I lost my parents when I was young too,” I said. “Also, by car accident, unfortunately.”

  Kara’s eyes widened and she ran her hand up my arm and squeezed. “I’m sorry, Teddy,” she said. That look in her eyes. I knew it. We knew the pain. The pain you couldn’t explain to anyone else. No one else understood. But she did.

  “I was lucky enough to have a godfather to raise me. He’s gone now, but...” I nodded, unable to finish the sentence.

  A few beats passed while we all sat together in all the emotions.

  “It’s okay,” Kara said, her voice cracking. “You don’t have to talk about it.”

  I cleared my throat. “It’s okay. I know. I usually don’t.” My voice felt thin and tight, stretched by feelings. “Anyway, he was a good guy and made sure I had what I needed. I’ll never forget him being there for me—that was something he taught me to do. And I want to be there for you. We want to be there for you.”

  Pain flashed on Kara’s face. No one had been there for her, not like Uncle Manny had been for me.