Free And One Makes Three (Carnal Coeds) by Suzanne Rock

sure what. He placed his hand on Becca’s arm as she started to retreat.
    “Are you all right?” he asked.
    “I’m fine. Why?” She pulled her arm out of his grasp.
    He shook his head. “No reason.” He followed her down to the other paddleboards, his mind filled with confusion. She and Gabe were already distancing themselves from him. While he had known today would only be a one-time thing, Becca’s actions seemed to drive the fact home.
    He helped Becca retrieve the boards and escorted her back to the car. With each step, Lane’s heart felt heavier and heavier in his chest.
    Why did he think he could keep his heart out of this? He already had feelings for Gabe, thanks to their interlude in the alley and their constant sexting. After spending time with Becca today, he was beginning to develop feelings for her too.
    He was such an idiot.
    “You and Gabe make a good couple,” he said to fill the awkward silence that had developed between them.
    The question seemed to take her off guard. “What? Oh yes, I suppose it looks like that to some. Looks can be deceiving, however.”
    “How so?”
    She shrugged. “We’ve been having problems.”
    “In the bedroom,” he said when she didn’t respond. “Gabe told me.”
    “Yeah, there’s that.” She pressed her lips together for a moment in thought. “But it’s more than that. He used to lack confidence.”
    “Used to?”
    Color stained her cheeks. “I don’t know what happened, but over the past week, he seems like a different guy.”
    “Different? How so?”
    “I don’t know. He’s more in control, I guess.” She nibbled her lower lip. “A lot more in control.”
    Lane digested her words. He knew that Gabe could be controlling in the bedroom. He had seen it firsthand. “You like him like that?”
    “Yeah, I really do.” She glanced sideways at him. “What about you? Any girlfriends back at home?”
    “No,” Lane said as he thought about the couple who dumped him. “There’s no one.”
    “You said you went to school south of here.”
    “In Virginia.”
    “Then why do you spend your summer here? Why not down in Virginia with your friends?”
    Lane didn’t like where this conversation was going. “I don’t have any friends down there.”
    “Why not?”
    He shrugged. Lane didn’t want to talk about his failures, not today. “I think I need to focus on something else for a while.” She didn’t need to know Lane had failed in his duties as a lifeguard, or that his lovers preferred to spend time in each other’s arms rather than his.
     “Took you two long enough,” Gabe said as they approached. Lane helped put the paddleboards in the back of the car and watched Becca get into the passenger seat.
    “Call me,” Gabe mouthed as he put his hand to his ear in the universal sign of a phone.
    Lane nodded and stepped back from the car as Gabe got in.
    Call him. Yeah right. Why bother? Gabe has said that this was a one-time thing. It was a way to let go and have fun, a way to bring both Gabe and Becca closer together.
    Judging by the way Becca snuggled up to Gabe in the front of the car, it seemed to have worked. They got what they needed, and once again, Lane was left standing alone.
    Lane took another step back as the car roared to life. Country music blared over the radio and tugged at his chest.
    He had hoped that by moving, he could hide from his past, but the pain had caught up with him and forced him to face the truth.
    Happiness never happened to people like him. Lane was forever destined to be alone.
     
    * * * * *
     
    “So what did you think of today?” Gabe asked Becca over a bowl of curry at Thai Heaven, Becca’s favorite restaurant. He had decided to bring her there to talk about Lane and their experience at the beach. He wanted everything to be perfect, because what he was planning on suggesting was sure to shock her.
    “I liked it.” She moved her rice around her plate. “What did you think?”
    “I liked it too.” He