“Yeah, is everything okay?” I closed down the grant application I’d been working on all morning so Eric had my undivided attention.

“Yeah, it’s nothing bad,” he assured me. I relaxed a bit, trying to mirror his calm demeanor. “I wanted to talk to you about the center.”

“What about it?” I asked.

“I want to help.” That would be a welcome change, because the more I tried to accomplish, the more I realized the founder had been in over his head trying to open an office in the Midwest without being able to commit the time needed to make it successful. I was beginning to resent him, because if things didn’t change quickly, the people who’d come to rely on our services would be without when we were forced to shut the doors. Rather than race around the desk and tackle Eric for offering his assistance, I waited impatiently for him to explain himself.

“In what way? We could always use more mentors if that’s what you’re talking about.”

“Well, that too, but I was thinking about helping you,” he informed me. “I’ve decided that unless a miracle occurs in the next few weeks, I’m going to tell my agent I’m done playing. At this point, I feel like I’ll be lucky to get anything other than a minor league deal, and I’m too old to deal with that again.”

“Although it’d be great to have someone I can trust in here with me, it’d be one hell of a pay cut for you,” I responded.

“That’s the best part. I don’t need the money. Between what I’ve saved and invested over the past fourteen years and what my grandfather left me in his will, I’m set as long as I’m not stupid with my money.”

This was seriously like a dream come true. I knew Eric had a degree in business administration, which was exactly what we needed. The problem was, if he took the job, I wouldn’t be needed here, and I’d just about convinced the founder that it was imperative for me to relocate permanently. Still, having someone with Eric’s attention to detail and ability to pinch pennies without demanding a huge salary was a godsend.

“The main problem I’m having is that I don’t want to walk away from baseball and have to try and figure out what to do with my life,” Eric admitted. “And the more I hear you and Drew talk about the kids here, the more I realize this is something I could do well and it’d be helping others. My grandpa was always big on giving back, and I think he’d support this decision if he was still alive.”

“You sure this is what you want to do?” I asked. If I took this proposal to the founder, I needed to know it wasn’t going to come back and bite me in the ass when Eric changed his mind. Non-profit work was rewarding, but it was also thankless much of the time. Long hours, low pay, and little room for either to improve.

“One hundred percent,” he assured me. It became impossible for me to keep my hands off him a minute longer. I kicked my chair back as I stood and stalked around to where he was sitting. I leaned forward with my hands on the arms of his chair and watched him swallow hard as he looked up at me. He licked his lips, and I knew he was thinking the same thing I was. Unfortunately, there were too many people here for me to bend him over the desk and seal this deal by fucking him into next week. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?” I teased, making a point to stare down at the significant bulge in his pants. “Like I’d love nothing more than to strip you naked and fuck you? Like you’ve just lifted a huge weight off my chest and deserve a reward?”

He swallowed hard again. He shifted in his seat and reached down to adjust himself. “Yeah…that.”

“There are too many people here, so that’ll have to wait until tonight at your place,” I responded, my voice low and husky. I knew exactly what that tone did to Eric, and I chuckled when he groaned. I leaned in closer, nipping at his ear lobe. “And it will happen. You know that, right?”

“Uh-huh.” He threw his arms around my neck when I pulled back to stare into his eyes, rising with me as I stood. His lips crashed against mine as I squeezed his ass, devouring me, filling me with the blend of coffee and spearmint that was uniquely Eric.

There was a quick knock at the door and we flew apart before we lost complete control. Drew walked in, took one look at both of us, and shook his head. “I can’t leave you two alone for five minutes, can I?”

“We…uh…I just told Bryce about my idea to help him get the center back on its feet and he was thanking me for my generous offer,” Eric said in a rush. Drew glided across the room, his narrow eyes focused on Eric. “You’re not mad, are you?”

“Why would he be mad?” I asked at the same time Drew voiced the same question.

“Because he wasn’t here,” Eric stated softly.

My jaw might have hit the floor as I watched the two of them. We hadn’t talked about what happened while we weren’t all around, but I couldn’t believe they hadn’t done anything during the days when I wasn’t able to make it out to Eric’s house. “You mean to tell me—”

“That I’ve been sleeping in my own bed with blue balls every fucking night?” Drew finished, a bit less eloquently than I would have posed the question. “Yeah, that’s exactly what he’s saying. We weren’t sure and since no one’s talked about it, we didn’t want to upset you.”

I moved beside Drew and wrapped an arm around his waist. “Is that why you keep your distance from me when you’re here?”

“Why I what?” Drew seemed truly oblivious to the fact that he gave me a wide berth whenever he came to the center to tutor Cody. At first I’d assumed it was to keep things professional, but now I wondered if he was worried about going too far without Eric’s consent.

“You barely acknowledge me when you’re in the lounge, and when you have to come in here, you stay as close to the door as possible,” I observed.

“Huh, I didn’t realize that.” Drew seemed to be scrolling through his memory to validate what I’d said. “Yeah, maybe.”

“Well, unless it’d upset one of you, I think it’s ridiculous at this point to expect the others to act like monks if only two of us are present.”

“Fine by me,” Eric agreed quickly. Drew’s only response was the slightly boyish smile he flashed when he was truly happy.

“Yeah, me too.”

“Good, then now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s go shopping,” I suggested. “I promised Eric I’d thank him properly tonight at his house.”

Eric backed away and worried his bottom lip. “About that…if you get the transfer you’re working on, what would you say to moving out to my place. It only seems right that it could be our place since you’re there most of the time as it is.”

“Are you sure you’re ready for that?” I asked. This was a huge deal for all of us. If he just meant somewhere to crash temporarily, then I’d graciously decline his offer. If and when the time came that the three of us and all of our belongings were under the same roof, that’d mean this was the real deal. Not necessarily a lifelong commitment, but a hell of a lot more than the casual fucking around we’d all agreed upon the first night we got together.

“We talked about it earlier, and I think we’d both like that,” Drew responded. “It sucks when you’re not around, and I’m not just saying so because that means we’re all sleeping alone. I don’t know about Eric, but things are just…better when we’re all together.”

Well hell, this was turning into some monumental moment I hadn’t expected. I held both of them, burying my face between their chests so they couldn’t see what it meant to me to know they both wanted to take the next massive step in our relationship. “Nothing would make me happier.”

“Uh, guys…” We looked up and saw Cody standing at the door with his winter coat on, gaping at the three of us sharing a moment.

I looked at Drew, who winced. “Surprise! We’re having company tonight.”

A happy Drew was something to savor, so I couldn’t get upset with him, even though it would have been nice to know ahead of time. There was no way Eric and I could disagree with him offering Cody a night away from the center, because then Cody would think we didn’t want him around.