“Are you worried we’ll judge?” Murphy asked, pain in his eyes. “Because we won’t. I mean, we haven’t all these years, and we aren’t going to now. Be with who you want to be with. As long as you’re happy, we’re happy.”
Jake shook his head as his brothers frowned at him. “No, it’s not that. I promise. I’ve never once thought you guys, or our parents for that matter, would judge me for being with a man or a woman. Hell, you guys didn’t criticize when I was with both at the same time.”
There, that was a good segue into what he needed to say. Because even if he wasn’t exactly sure what would happen later that night when he, Border, and Maya spoke, he felt like he needed to talk it out beforehand. And why not make that happen with his brothers, who already knew more about him than most brothers knew about their siblings. He might not always feel like he fit in since he didn’t work full-time with their business and was a lot more artistic than they were, but he’d never felt like he wasn’t wanted, wasn’t loved. They’d help him even if they just sat there and listened. The fact that he was so sure of that let him relax marginally.
“So, what’s going on?” Graham asked, his voice calm. He was always the calmest of the bunch until he wasn’t. Then he was the one to blow up and take things down until he could right them again.
Jake let out a breath. “It’s not just Border. It’s Maya, too.”
Graham raised a brow while Owen snorted and Murphy grinned. “It’s about goddamn time,” Graham grumbled.
“Fuck, yeah,” Owen put in. “The two of you should have gotten together long before this.”
“And with Border, too?” Murphy asked, still grinning. “So you’re in a triad with two people I know you care about and damn well care about you? What’s wrong with that?”
Hell, his brothers continued to surprise him, even when they shouldn’t have. He should have had more faith in them, but in reality, it was his lack of faith in himself that was the problem.
“We’re still new,” Jake put in. “So new, we still need to talk about the fact that Maya and I have slept together, and yet we both know I want to be with Border, too.”
Graham studied his face silently. “Communication is important,” he said softly. “You know I get that. It’s what fucked up my marriage.” His brother looked off in the distance, pain clear in his eyes. “Well, that and other things.”
Jake cursed under his breath. “Shit, I’m sorry for making you think about that.”
Graham shook his head. “I’m always going to think about what happened, Jake. What I lost, what we all lost, isn’t far from my thoughts. Every damn second of every damn day. But this isn’t about that, it’s about you.”
Jake nodded, letting the subject of what had happened to Graham’s family drop. “The three of us are talking tonight. Putting down ground rules, or at least going over what the fuck is going on in our heads.”
“Good,” Graham said softly. “That’s good.”
“And you want the two of them?” Owen asked. “You want them both in a relationship? Because this isn’t just a ménage for a night, I don’t think. Right? I mean, Border and you have a long past, and you and Maya? Fuck, she’s your best friend. You can’t hurt that because you’re horny.”
Though anger crawled up his spine at Owen’s words, he pushed it aside. Owen was only saying what needed to be said, what needed to be thought, and Jake had to be okay with that.
“It’s not just a night,” Jake said softly. “I don’t know what it is, and that’s something the three of us are going to have to figure out together. But…but I don’t want to make it more than it is either. If I go in thinking of a solid future, I could mess everything up before it all begins.”
“Then don’t do that,” Murphy said, and Jake glared at him. “Wait, hear me out. Go in knowing you need to think of each other and know that you’re going to do that anyway. You’re not a callous guy. You aren’t cruel. If the three of you embark on this relationship without a clear ending, that’s fine. That’s natural, Jake. Nobody goes into a relationship knowing there will be marriage and babies in the end.” Murphy and Jake winced as Graham’s eyes clouded over. “Go in knowing you don’t want to hurt the other people in your life, and try to do your best to not only live, but live in the moment. That’s all you can do. Just be honest about it.”
Jake sighed, his brother’s words washing over him. Murphy was right, even if Jake knew it wasn’t going to be as easy as that. With Maya especially. He knew he couldn’t screw up what he had with her because she was the reason he was who he was now. She’d been with him through thick and thin since the morning he’d walked into Montgomery Ink. They would find a way to make this work.
Somehow.
His brothers sat in silence for a moment more before Graham reached for the remote to turn the sound on.
“The game’s about to start,” he mumbled.
Jake nodded, relieved they were there for him even if he didn’t know what to say. He started on his now only warm wings and sipped at his beer. He’d be okay, they all would. Because no matter what happened, he couldn’t lose Border again, and he damn sure couldn’t lose Maya.
They’d figure this out.
They had to.