Wayward Son by Shae Connor Page A

secondhand. His mother’s family had been old Florida money, and he’d spent plenty of time around the upper crust of society in his life. Like Riley, he could certainly get through an evening of country-club dress clothes and pretension, but he much preferred a raucous meal with friends on the patio in damp swimsuits.
    Finally Riley and Evan headed for the door, Riley carrying the pan from his lemon bars, which had mostly been demolished by the group. Cory saw them out, and as the three of them left the kitchen, Jimmy stood and held out a hand to Mikey.
    “C’mon,” he said. “Let’s go get comfy.”
    Mikey followed, of course, but as they settled onto the sofa, he remembered the earlier reactions to the thunderstorm. “So I have a question.” He bit his lip. “It might be too personal or something, so feel free to tell me to butt out.”
    Jimmy wrapped an arm around Mikey’s shoulders and pulled him in tight against his side. “Honey, nothing’s too personal with you anymore. You ask whatever you want to ask.”
    Slightly reassured, Mikey nodded. “I was just wondering. Cory was kind of…. When it started thundering? He….”
    “Ah.” Jimmy blew out a breath. “That’s a tough one, and I don’t recommend mentioning it to Cory. He gets upset about it. His father was killed by a lightning strike.”
    Mikey winced. “Ouch. Yeah, I’m glad I asked you and not him.” He tilted his head to rest against Jimmy’s shoulder. Outside he could hear Cory still saying good-bye. “That must’ve been awful. Was it when he was a kid?”
    “Nope. Just ten years ago. Needless to say he’s still kind of phobic of thunderstorms.”
    “I can understand that.” Mikey fell silent and just sat, nestled against Jimmy’s hard body, wishing for Cory to come join them and warm his other side.
    “You know,” Jimmy said in a low voice, “we get why you’re unsure about all this.”
    Mikey stiffened. “What do you mean?”
    Jimmy turned his head to kiss Mikey’s temple. “The whole ménage thing. A three-way relationship. We get it. We know it’s not the usual. And we know it’s not easy. There’s a reason we usually stick to just the occasional threesome.” He pulled away and turned, taking Mikey’s hand and looking into his eyes. “But this isn’t like that,” he said. “If all we wanted was to fuck you, we would’ve seduced you and gotten on with it. But we want more than that with you. And we understand why you’re reluctant, and we want to do what you need us to do to convince you that we’re serious.”
    Mikey couldn’t think. “I… I don’t even know,” he whispered. “I like you both a lot. But beyond that….”
    Jimmy grinned. “Well, how about we try a few things and see what sticks? You don’t have class tomorrow night, right?”
    Mikey nodded. “Right. Just Wednesdays and Thursdays.”
    “Great! We’ll pick you up at seven. Nothing fancy—nice casual will work. Khakis and a polo shirt or something like that.”
    Mikey blinked. “Where are we going?”
    “Dinner. No details. That’s a surprise.” Jimmy tilted his head. “You don’t have any allergies, do you? Any food you hate?”
    Mikey shrugged one shoulder. “Nothing I know of. I’m pretty easy.”
    Jimmy laughed out loud at that. “The very last thing you are is easy. That’s kind of the whole point.” He leaned in to kiss Mikey’s cheek. “But we aren’t looking for easy. We’re looking for good. And you’ve got that going on in spades.”
    The front door closed then, and a few seconds later, Cory came in. “Lord love a duck. I thought they were never gonna get out of here!” He flopped down onto the sofa on the other side of Mikey and blew out a breath.
    Jimmy snorted. “Oh, like you weren’t doing just as much talking as them. Hell, probably more than poor Evan. I don’t know how he gets in a word edgewise between you and Riley.”
    “Yeah, whatever.” Cory slid over and molded his body to Mikey’s