Free Threes Company by N.R. Walker Page A

Callie," I replied rather shortly.
    "Maybe it's mutual."
    She huffed into the phone. "I'm not criticizing or judging, Wil. I just worry that's all."
    I sighed dramatically. "I know, Cal." And I did know. She was my best friend. She'd been with me through everything. "I know you worry."
    "Just tell me you're being safe and I'll leave it alone."
    "Of course I am."
    "Good," she sighed, relieved. "That's good." Then she sighed again, happier this time. "You can still give me details when you get home in just over a week."
    I laughed into the phone. "Not sure you want all the details, Cal."
    She laughed. "Yeah, well, okay. Not all the details."
    My smile faded. One week. Just over a week. One week, and my time here was done. My time with Adam and Simon was done. It made my stomach twist.
    "You okay, Wil? You've gone quiet on me," my best friend asked. She knew me so well.
    I sighed. "Callie, it's so good here. It's so free. I walked down the street holding his hand, Cal. In public! Do you have any idea what that's like? For the first time in my

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    life…"
    "Oh, Wil…" she breathed into the phone.
    I sighed. "Fuck, Callie."
    "Then make the most of what time you have left,"
    she replied. "Make it the best week of your life."
    I scrubbed my hand over my face and sighed again, and when I looked at Adam and Simon, they were both looking at me. "It's already been the best week of my life, Cal."
    Callie was silent for a long moment. Then she said,
    "Wil, Rod asked about you. He wanted to know if I'd spoken to you."
    I heard what she said. I heard the words. But in that moment, I understood something very clearly. "Callie, you know what? I don't want to know. I don't care."
    "Wil?"
    "Yeah?"
    "I'm glad to hear it. He's an ass, and you deserve better."
    I snorted. She never did like him. Before I could say anything else, she said, "Right. I have a restaurant to run, and you have some fun to be had. Now quit wasting time talking to me and go find your man."
    I laughed. "Um, Cal, I just told you. It's not one man. It's two."

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    I swear I could hear roll her eyes. "Then go find your… men."
    The line clicked dead and I grinned. My men. I liked the sound of that.
    I walked back to where they were and all but fell onto my chair. "Sorry about that."
    "Everything okay?" Adam asked.
    I nodded, not wanting to divulge my homelife
    troubles and put a damper on the day. "Callie's got it all under control. She's been out to my house, checked on a few things."
    "Oh," Simon said. "Everything okay?" he repeated Adam's question, but then added, "Your house okay?"
    "Yeah." I nodded, though I don't think either of them was convinced.
    "Do you own your own house?" Adam asked.
    I nodded. "It was my parent's house. They died two years ago, so I kind of inherited it."
    "Oh," Simon said softly. "I'm sorry."
    "Yeah, I'm sorry," Adam agreed. He shook his head and frowned. "I didn't know."
    "'S'okay," I told them. "You couldn't have known"
    "Have you got any brothers or sisters?" Simon asked. This was the first real personal information we'd exchanged, which was odd, considering how very personal

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    we'd been.
    "No," I answered. "None. Have you?"
    Simon nodded. "One brother, one sister. Still got both parents and they're still married."
    I looked at Adam. "Family?"
    He shook his head and answered quietly, "None."
    Simon was quick to jump in, moving the
    conversation along, and I deduced just as quickly Adam's family issues were not something he was comfortable discussing.
    Adam sat up and seemed to have had enough of this conversation. He peeled off his shirt. "I'm going for a swim.
    Who's with me?"
    Silly question, really. We both were, of course.

    * * * *

    On the way back to the hotel, Simon made some
    phone calls, including one to the café where Dee worked.
    We stopped in on our way and were greeted by Dee herself with warm hellos and a huge grin. Simon