Page 13 of The Grumpy Vet (Vet Shop Boys Down Under #3)

Dario

The scent of beer, warm chips, and chicken parmy wafts in the air.

Sounds of laughter and glasses clinking echo across the bar as Ryde and I make our way back through the crowd to the corner table we managed to snag, which Wilby jokes is reserved for him because he's a VIP—Very Important Poofta.

He had to explain to his husband what poofta meant, a derogatory Aussie term for gay that he's proudly reclaiming.

Col looked half shocked, half amused, which tracks for how I feel around Wilby most of the time.

If my personality is big, his is Mount Fucking Everest.

I crash into Ryde's back when he makes a sudden stop, barely managing to avoid spilling the drinks onto him.

"What the?—?"

Two women barrel past us, Ryde's quick thinking ensuring we don't get trampled to death.

"That's my fuckin' parmy you fuckin' moll,"

one of the women screeches to the other who's clutching a half-eaten chicken parma in her hand, holding it up like it's a trophy and pissing herself laughing as she tears through the packed pub.

"Just another glamorous night out in Scuttlebutt,"

Ryde says, smiling over his shoulder.

I take advantage of the closeness and press my chest into his back, inhaling the fancy cologne he put on for tonight.

"You smell good," I murmur.

He bites into his lower lip.

"It's a new bottle, and it spilled out fast. I think I put on a bit too much."

"You did."

"I'm not sure if I like it. It smells too synthetic."

I step in even closer. "It does."

He spins around, eyeing me with amusement.

"Then why'd you say I smelled good?"

"So I had an excuse to get closer to you."

His blue eyes soften.

"You didn't need an excuse. You can be as close as you like."

My breath hitches in my throat as we stare at each other. The noise, the smells, the crazy women fighting over chicken parmy… All of that fades away to nothing.

This is real, and yet, it's so unreal.

Ryde knows I'm in love with him.

I get to have scorching hot sex with him and Linus.

And neither of those two things have scared him off or affected our friendship in any negative way.

And him giving me permission to stay close to him is a sign that this is really happening. I'm not making it up or simply seeing what I want to see.

We may not have revisited the topic of how we're feeling in the past few weeks, but it's becoming increasingly clear that Ryde's affection for me is moving past the friend zone into something more.

I'm trying not to get my hopes up, trying not to assume that this thing between him, me, and Linus could be leading to a relationship.

But so far, all the signs seem to indicate that it is.

"Come on."

His voice is quiet when he finally speaks, lifting the drinks.

"Better not keep the guys waiting."

"Of course."

We reach the table, dole out the drinks, and settle down on either side of Linus.

Wilby's telling the gang about his grandmother's latest obsession—hand-grinding coffee beans, which gives the eighty-something-year-old woman even more energy than she already had—and as the guys talk, I feel the warm press of Linus's hand on my thigh.

I take a sip of my drink and discreetly glance his way.

The corner of his mouth is ticked up.

On the other side of him, Ryde is trying as discreetly as he can to do what I'm doing—checking that Linus hasn't had a stroke and is indeed touching us both in public, in a packed place, in front of his friends.

Even if it is under the table, it's still a bold move.

Then again, so was kissing us out in public a few weeks ago when we surprised him at the hospice.

Linus is starting to mellow out a bit.

Which is a good thing.

As much as I personally think it's hot when he's all frazzled and broody, I've come to learn that his grumpiness is often a facade, a mask to hide what's really going on with him.

The dad situation is affecting him, maybe even more than he realises.

He's always working. And hearing from the guys about how tight funds are and how he's sometimes forced to pay us from his own pocket, it's little wonder the guy is worn out.

Good thing he's got two naughty little sex demons looking out for him.

Even if it's becoming increasingly obvious that what's going on between us has moved way past being merely a fun and filthy sex thing.

I'll never forget the look on his face when he saw us waiting for him outside the hospice.

And when I handed him the bouquet of edible flowers, amazement flooded his features, like we'd just told him we were taking him to Disneyland when, really, it was just a small gesture to show him we're thinking of him as he goes through a hard time.

This all may have started with Ryde crushing on Linus and me having secret feelings for Ryde, but it's clear that the emotional loop is filling out, that lines are joining the dots of previously unjoined parties.

As strong as my feelings for Ryde are, I'm developing feelings for Linus, too.

Feelings that I pray don't jeopardise my relationship with Ryde or threaten his with Linus.

Feelings that are confusing but somehow make sense at the same time.

"So…"

Wilby claps his hands, cutting through the noise like a whip.

"What's going on with the three of you?"

Linus's face doesn't move. He doesn't react in any visible way, but he does press down on my leg a little harder.

"What do you mean?" he asks.

Wilby rolls his eyes.

"Come on, mate. I heard about you guys in the hospice car park."

How? I thought enough time had passed that we'd gotten away with it. I don't remember anyone seeing us, but then again, I wasn't exactly focused on checking out my surroundings.

Linus, to his credit, remains cool as a cucumber. He raises one eyebrow slowly.

"What about the hospice?"

he asks in an even tone.

"Richo says he saw you guys."

"Who's Richo?" I ask.

"Constipated goats,"

Fitz says.

"Ah. I remember now."

Wilby keeps talking.

"Saw you guys in the car park doing something very unusual."

My chest tightens with secondhand worry on Linus's behalf. We've successfully managed to keep things under wraps all this time. The worst thing to happen was Oakey somehow figuring out I'd been harbouring feelings for his son when he visited. But no one's ever suspected anything going on between the three of us. Until now.

Instead of tensing up or going on the defensive, Linus seems calm. Oddly calm. I glance past him to Ryde who's gnawing at his bottom lip. How is it that he and I are more freaked out right now than Linus? We were all happy keeping this quiet, but he's the one who really insisted on it. He values his privacy more than anyone I've ever met.

Linus straightens his spine.

"And by something very unusual, you mean he saw us kissing?"

Wilby chokes on his beer, spraying it across the table.

"What? Kissing?"

he splutters as the others scramble to keep their phones dry.

"Richo told me that when he went to visit his sick aunt, he saw you guys pissing yourselves laughing in the car park. He never said anything about kissing."

Oopsie.

Fucking.

Daisy.

A look of horror briefly passes over Linus's face, but then he squares his shoulders.

"It is what it is, guys."

He turns to Ryde and then to me.

"Sorry for giving it away."

"It's fine,"

Ryde assures him.

"Totally fine,"

I say.

"It's you I'm worried about."

I whisper that last part under my breath, for his ears only.

He gives us each a slight nod before turning to the table and pointing sternly at the guys.

"Do not breathe a word of this to anyone."

Wilby, Col, and Muir all nod in stunned silence. Fitz reaches for his phone.

"Just a quick update for my followers?"

The pissed-off look on Linus's face is priceless. Someone should capture it and hang it in an art gallery.

"I'll take that as a no,"

Fitz says, resting his phone back on a dry spot on the table.

"We'll keep our mouths shut, but you have to fill us in,"

Col says, drumming his fingers against the table excitedly.

"Who would've guessed that a small vet clinic in the middle of the Australian outback would be better than The Bold and the Beautiful?"

Ryde and I stay quiet and let Linus answer. It feels like the right thing to do. But also, I'm just as curious as the crew is to hear what he has to say and, especially, how he chooses to phrase certain things.

Linus takes a moment to collect his thoughts. Then he lifts his hand off my leg and reaches for my hand on the table. He does the same with Ryde.

"The three of us have been…"

He stops, saying nothing for a solid ten, fifteen seconds, or however long it takes for the guys' jaws to drop to the floor then slowly come back up again.

"Doing stuff."

"Like gardening?"

Fitz teases.

"Or cooking?"

That's Muir.

Never one to be outdone, Wilby chimes in with, "Guys, guys, guys. It's obvious what they're doing, and it involves cocks. Cluck Norris, Sunny, Elvis, and the rest of the gang."

He tosses a satisfied smirk our way.

"Am I right, fellas?"

"I hate you all,"

Linus grumps, then he shakes his head, grinning.

"It's so weird to see you like this, Linus," Col says.

"What? Holding hands?" he asks.

"No."

Col's eyes sparkle with amusement. "Smiling."

"What can I say?"

Linus turns to me then to Ryde.

"I've got two very special reasons to smile as much as I fucking want."

Ryde

"I need a black piece for the top of the chimney with just a tiny bit of blue sky in the corner,"

Dario mutters, hunched over Linus's dining table, tapping his chin and squinting at the laid-out jigsaw pieces.

"This one?"

I pick up a piece that I think matches what he's looking for and hand it to him. Our fingers touch, and warmth zips up my spine. That's a new sensation. A very pleasurable new sensation. One that's happening more and more the longer this thing between him, Linus, and me goes on.

Dario examines it closely then tries fitting it into the spot. A huge smile.

"It's perfect. Thank you."

"No worries."

"I reckon if we stay up, we should get this puzzle finished tonight,"

Linus says, his face lighting up with satisfaction as he finishes off the troublesome section he's been anguishing over the past two nights since karaoke.

I like seeing him happy. I like spending time with him and Dario. And I really like how open he was with the guys the other night. I mean he did sorta accidentally blurt out the wrong thing when he should have waited for Wilby to finish what he was saying. If all we were accused of was laughing, he could have easily come up with an excuse to explain that.

But that's not what happened. And he didn't shirk away or try to deny anything. That's the impressive part. He owned it and proudly told our friends that we're together, even if the three of us haven't yet defined what being together entails.

The other night was a more than adequate first step though. From how reserved and shut down he normally is, it was one giant leap for Linus kind.

"We're close, but my vision is starting to go blurry,"

Dario says, giving up looking for whatever piece he was searching for.

"And I have an early start tomorrow."

"Same,"

I say then, right on cue, let out a yawn. I glance over at Dario.

"We should get going."

"Or you could stay?"

Linus offers casually, still scanning the table for a piece.

Dario and I stare at each other in shock. We've never stayed the night. Yes, Linus's nearest neighbour is a good distance away, but my parked car is visible from the road, and we've never wanted to give people reason to gossip. Gym training sessions don't typically run overnight.

"Are you sure?"

I ask, prompting Linus to look up at me, then at Dario, then back to me.

He gives a one-shoulder shrug.

"Sure. Why not?"

"It's just that, well…"

Since I'm floundering, Dario steps in and, as if reading my mind, verbalises what I'm unable to.

"We've never spent the night before, Linus. Your neighbours might see Ryde's car parked out front, and you know how people love to talk around here."

"Let them,"

Linus says decisively, dusting off his fingers.

"I like you. Both. A lot. And…"

We both lean in.

"I'd like to talk about what we're doing."

I'm suddenly wide awake, like I've just had caffeine IV-dripped straight into my veins.

Dario is trying to remain cool, but his Adam's apple is thrashing around in his throat.

"Okay. Let's talk," he says.

We leave the almost-finished jigsaw puzzle and head into the living room. We've spent a lot of time at Linus's place over the past few months, and I've never given much thought as to who sits where, but for the conversation we're about to have, the seating arrangement suddenly matters a lot.

Luckily, Linus takes the decision from me, grabbing each of us firmly by the hand and guiding us down onto the three-seater, plonking himself smack bang in the middle.

"Since dinner with the fellas the other night, I've been doing some thinking,"

he begins, resting each of our hands on his sturdy thighs and cradling them under his warm, calloused palms.

"I stopped short of labelling what we've been doing because we haven't talked about that yet."

He takes a breath, exhaling through his nose.

"I'm going to be honest. I'm falling for you."

Another breath, his jaw muscles clenching.

"Both of you. I've obviously known you for longer, Ryde, but my feelings for Dario are just as strong."

His dark-hazel eyes pierce into me, waiting for a reaction. Do I feel jealous? Threatened? Angry? Hurt? Confused?

No.

All I feel is…relief. Mixed with a little tingling in my groin.

I smile at Linus.

"I'm happy to hear that."

Then I slant my head to see Dario.

"My feelings for you are changing, too,"

I tell my best friend.

"I don't know if it's because we've been sexual together, or if it's because you told me about your feelings for me, but I'm not just seeing you as my bestie anymore. I'm starting to like you the way I like Linus. Romantically,"

I add, just to spell it out since I'm not sure if I'm making any sense right now.

Dario doesn't respond right away, his eyes flicking between Linus and me before finally landing on me.

"You know how I feel about you."

I nod. "I do."

He slowly turns to Linus, his shoulders rising and falling in uneven waves. I hold my breath, waiting to see what he says next.

"And I like you, too, Linus. I haven't known how to process that or what to do with my feelings out of respect for you and Ryde."

"There is no Linus and Ryde,"

I say, readjusting my fingers so that I'm now gripping Linus's hand.

"There's only Linus and Ryde and Dario. Right, Linus?"

The tension that's risen on Linus's face melts, replaced by the warmest, most endearing smile I've ever seen.

"That's right, baby. I've been alone for so many years. I never expected to ever be with someone, much less two amazing guys. Yet here we are."

"Here we are,"

Dario and I repeat, smiling at each other as we realise we're saying it in unison.

"So what does this mean?"

I ask.

"Are we in a relationship?"

Linus turns left to right a few times then nods.

"It's a yes from me."

"And a yes from me,"

Dario adds.

I break out into a huge grin, a deep spark of happiness taking hold in my chest.

"Definitely a yes from me, too."