Eden's Playground: Graystone Academy Book One, BE Kelly [good short books .TXT] 📗

at Gabe’s new place and then casually calling to tell him that he “accidentally” left it there. He even threw in the lie about leaving his wallet in the jacket pocket when Gabe questioned him about needing the jacket tonight, but he needed an excuse to see him again. He was going to double back and finally tell Gabe that he wanted him. He wanted Gabriel Quick for as long as he could remember and not admitting it was starting to take a toll on their friendship.

After they graduated from Graystone Academy, they went their separate ways. It was for the best. Gabe hadn’t decided what he wanted to do with his life and Zander knew that pining for a man he’d never have was foolish. He stayed at Graystone and started teaching English, and for the most part, he loved it. The job came with some nice perks—namely the sexy grad students that he ran through like he was on a speed dating show.

Being bi, he always hoped that he would end up in a poly relationship and if he was really letting himself dream, that relationship would include Gabe. He wasn’t naïve; he knew his friend was bisexual too. He had caught Gabe out with a guy here and there, but he never asked questions. It wasn’t his business and he didn’t want to know the details. That would mean that he’d have to hear about the man he wanted going out with other guys. He was a chicken for not telling Gabe how he felt and when his friend moved home to teach at Graystone, he promised himself that he’d finally come clean with Gabe. He had been back home for almost two months now and Zander had chickened out at every turn.

Tonight, he planned on going back to Gabe’s townhouse to tell him how he felt. Zander wanted to spend the evening convincing Gabe that they could work if they just accepted the possibility of a threesome. Zander had been with Violet for almost two months now, and they had talked about adding a third. She knew how he felt about Gabe—somehow it was easier to tell her about his feelings than it was to tell his best friend, and she was on board for adding Gabe to the mix. All he had to do was persuade Gabriel to give the three of them a chance and then, he’d finally have everything that he ever dreamed of.

Gabe opened the front door and stood in the entryway when Zander didn’t get out of his car. He crossed his arms over his massive chest and God, he loved when Gabe looked at him like that. He was intense and hot as fuck.

Zander sighed and turned off his engine, getting out of his car. “You coming in or are you going to sit there until morning?” Gabriel asked.

“Coming in,” Zander said.

“I found your jacket, but no wallet,” Gabe said. “Guess you made the trip for nothing since I’ve seen your closet and know you have a ton of jackets.”

“Oh, yeah—I found my wallet in the glove compartment. I forgot that I put it in there for safekeeping. Since I’m here, can I come in for a minute?” he asked. Smooth wasn’t his strong suit. He wanted to have this conversation with Gabe, but he felt like a bumbling idiot when it came to what to say next.

“Can it wait? I was going to climb into bed—I’m beat and have an early start in the morning.” Poor Gabe had gotten stuck with the early classes since he was the low man out. The scene of Gabe crawling into bed naked and hard ran through his mind and it was all he could think about. If he didn’t just spill his guts tonight, he never would, and Zander was done hiding.

“No,” he breathed. “It can’t wait.”

He brushed past Gabe and his inner wolf howled. He wanted to play with Gabe’s wolf as much as Zander wanted to play with Gabe. He followed Zander into the house and as soon as he shut the front door, Zander pushed Gabe up against the wall and kissed him.

It wasn’t the type of timid first kiss he shared in the past. This kiss was hard and passionate, letting all of his pent up aggression shine through. He was just happy that Gabe didn’t shove him off and ask him what the fuck was going on. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Zander’s neck and deepened the kiss. When he broke the kiss, he left them both panting with need. Gabe had to readjust his cock; his erection was pressed up against his jean’s zipper.

“Jesus,” Gabe breathed.

“I’m sorry,” Zander lied. He wasn’t sorry at all. In fact, he was waiting for his chance to do it all again.

“I’m not,” Gabe said. “What took you so fucking long?” he questioned.

“Me?” Zander asked. “What about you? I had to pretend to leave my jacket here just to have an excuse to come back.”

“You at least had the nerve to do this,” Gabe said, motioning between the two of them. They were so close that Zander could feel his friend’s heart beating. It called to him and gave him hope that everything he was about to ask Gabe for was a possibility.

“Be with me,” Zander whispered. “Tell me that you want me as much as I want you.”

“I want you,” Gabe admitted. Zander exhaled, finally feeling like he could breathe.

“Thank fuck,” he said. “I’ve wanted you since our first year at Graystone, Gabe,” Zander added.

“If that’s true, why are you with Violet now?” Gabe questioned. “You started seeing her right after I got back to town. Why start something up with her if you wanted me?” Gabe took a step back from him when he didn’t answer him right away, and Zan felt like he slapped him across the face.

“I wanted her too,” he said and shrugged. “I can’t explain it, man. I’ve fallen for her and that