Page 7 of The Grumpy Vet (Vet Shop Boys Down Under #3)

Dario

"That went well,"

Ryde says once I shut the door to Linus's office.

"Yeah. It did,"

I say, smiling to myself at the way Linus's eyes bulged when I called him Boss Man. It's always fun seeing someone who's usually so uptight loosen up a little.

We grab our backpacks from the staff lounge, say goodbye to Wilby and Muir, and make our way outside. Ryde lives a short drive from the clinic or about a twenty-minute walk away. We both felt like walking this morning, so we're enjoying a nice afternoon stroll back. The sun is out, but it's not crazy hot, which is a nice change.

"And he seems open to stuff?"

Ryde says after a few minutes of walking in silence.

It's basically the only thing we've talked about these past few days.

"He does,"

I answer, sneaking a quick glance at my bestie because in the countless hours we've spent talking about what happened, we've only focused on the Linus and Ryde part of the equation.

Which is fine with me. More than fine, actually. In fact, if the conversation even looked like it was veering into what I thought or felt, I quickly put a stop to it. I'll take talking about Ryde and Linus over talking about Ryde and me any day of the week.

Because I'm confused.

Not about the sex because every single part of that was amazing and fun and something I'm eager to do again, and I'm stoked that Ryde and now Linus are down for it, too.

What I'm confused about is my feelings for Ryde and where they fit into all of this. Like the expression goes, failing to plan is planning to fail. And as the king of best plans, I've mapped out all the likely possibilities of where this all leads, and the most likely scenario, in my mind, is this:

The three of us fool around some more.

It's amazing and hot and filled with lots and lots of yummy orgasms.

But after a while, Ryde will gain his confidence and get to the point where he no longer needs me to be his emotional support animal.

The attraction between him and Linus will only grow stronger, as will their need to be with each other.

With only each other.

They'll naturally want to progress things to the next level and get into all that relationship-y, boyfriend-y stuff, and that'll be my cue to exit.

Which means…I need to enjoy it while I can because it very much has an expiry date.

My heart is still bruised over the way my last relationship ended, so I need to buckle down and mentally fortify myself in preparation for when our little foray into threesome-land inevitably comes to an end.

It shouldn't be anywhere near as stressful as my breakup with Quade because I'm certain it won't involve cheating and trying to steal from me.

But it probably will be worse emotionally because it will force me to finally say goodbye to any lingering hopes I have of a relationship with Ryde.

"Whoa, we're here,"

I say, only realizing we've made it to Ryde's when his white front gate comes into view.

Ryde smiles, unlatching the gate and holding it open for me to walk in first.

"You seemed a little…preoccupied. I didn't want to disturb you."

I scratch the back of my neck as we walk up the garden path to the front door.

"Uh, yeah. Just thinking about work."

I open the door, and we slip in.

"Should we get changed then drive over to Linus's?" he asks.

"Yeah. Sounds good."

He smiles, but there's something different about it, something I'm not able to automatically read like I normally can. We split off, retreating into our rooms to get ready.

When I come out, Ryde is perched on the edge of the couch, spine straight as a board.

"Sit down, please."

He gestures to the opposite sofa.

The hairs on the back of my neck prickle.

"What's up?"

I ask, taking a seat opposite him.

His face is as unreadable as his smile was a few minutes earlier, and it's throwing me off-balance. I hope everything's okay. I hope—oh, shit. What if we're about to have the I want to be alone with Linus talk sooner than I anticipated?

I keep my face neutral as he starts talking.

"It was a good idea to talk to Linus today. I'm glad we did it."

"Same," I reply.

He lets out a long breath through his nose and looks me square in the eye.

"So if it's such a good idea to check in with Linus, then why have you been acting the way you have been?"

I let out a small sigh of relief that he hadn't said what I'd dreaded he was about to, but I'm not in the clear yet.

"What do you mean?"

"Come on. I'm not an idiot, Dario. Every single time I start to say something about you or how you might be feeling in all of this, you shut it down. Deflect."

He holds me captive with those piercing blue eyes, the same ones that stole my heart the moment I saw them.

"This involves you as well, and I want to know what's going on with you."

I sink back into the sofa and run my fingers through my hair as I formulate my response.

"This doesn't really involve me,"

I say, then I quickly change tack when his mouth opens and he looks like he's about to launch into a major rebuttal.

"Okay, okay, in a way it does involve me. But let's face it. I'm simply a means to help you reach an end. This is ultimately about you and Linus getting together. I'm collateral damage."

I regret the words as soon as they're out of my mouth. It was a horrible word choice, a totally wrong word choice that I didn't mean, and of course, Ryde immediately leaps over to sit next to me on the sofa, our knees bumping in his haste.

"You are not collateral damage. Oh my god. Is that what you really think?"

"It isn't. Sorry, no. I misspoke. I don't mean it like that."

He draws back slightly, angling for a better look into my eyes.

"Then what did you mean?"

"I mean this is all fun and games, but remember why we're doing this? You're the one with the massive crush on Linus, and my role was to help you find out if that was reciprocated, if there were feelings on his side, too. And, as I think we've clearly established, there are."

Ryde takes a moment to consider what I said while I figure out a way to address what he raised. I should've known he's too smart, too observant to let me keep changing the topic.

We should talk about it. About us. It's a big fucking deal, and it's added a whole new element to our friendship. I'm just terrified to go first, so I take the chickenshit way out and ask him, "Are you okay with…us? With what we did? I mean, we've never…"

I trail off as his cheeks grow rosy. He clears his throat before answering.

"We haven't, no. It's never even crossed my mind to do something like that."

"With me?"

"With any friend. Friends are…friends, you know? And you're my best friend, so, yeah, I just automatically put you into the don't even think about it zone.

Yeah, and don't I know it.

"We've crossed a major line,"

I say, scanning his face, trying to figure out what's going on in his head.

"We have. But…"

"Yeah?"

"It was really nice."

He squeezes his eyes shut and scrunches his nose.

"Now I'm the one misspeaking."

He takes a breath then his eyes flick open.

"It wasn't nice. It was hot. Like, super fucking hot."

Nerves shoot up and down my spine as I ask a question I could end up regretting.

"Wh-which part?"

The rosy hue on his cheeks blooms into a full blush as he speaks.

"All of it. Giving Linus the worst rubdown in history. Then kissing you. Blowing Linus together. Sharing his load."

He chews on his bottom lip, and the combination of the filthy memories mixed with his adorableness has got me so turned on a gust of wind could blow into the room and I'd come on the spot.

"It never crossed my mind to do anything like that because I figured I couldn't."

"Couldn't?"

"Yeah. I'm inexperienced when it comes to sex. I've never felt confident or, like, good at it."

I place a hand on his knee.

"You are very good at it,"

I assure him with a warm smile.

"Thanks."

He smiles back.

"And I also never saw myself as being able to be open or share a guy. I thought I'd get jealous or possessive or insecure."

"And did you?"

He shakes his head.

"No. With you, none of that happened."

"Even when Linus and I were kissing?"

He shakes his head some more.

"Even when you deepthroated him on the first go. I wasn't jealous. I was…impressed."

He dips his head slightly.

"And super turned on."

His face is the colour of a beetroot, just like the head of my cock probably.

"So you're really okay to keep doing stuff?"

I ask.

"The three of us?"

"Of course."

He reaches out and takes my hand in his.

"But you have to promise me you will never think of yourself as collateral damage or a third wheel or anything silly like that, okay?"

I frown, so he goes on.

"I don't know what the future holds, where Linus and I stand. But for right now, for what we're doing, for what we're about to do again this afternoon, this is a three-man operation, okay?"

"You make it sound like we're construction workers."

He doesn't take the bait and volley back with some joke about laying pipe. Instead, he raises both eyebrows, which causes his forehead to crinkle, and grabs my arm.

"I'm serious. You're equally involved in this, too. I want you to really hear that."

"I do,"

I say, enjoying the warmth of his hand riding up and down my arm.

"Really?"

"Yes, really,"

I reply, looking directly into his eyes.

"Now let's get going or we're going to be late."

Ryde

"So much for our training session,"

I pant out as Linus tightens his grip on Dario's and my cocks.

He looks up at me, kneeling on the floor in front of where we're sitting on the workout bench, and gives our cocks a few long strokes.

"What are you talking about? Check out my biceps,"

he says, grinning bigger than I've ever seen him grin.

"They're getting a great workout."

My gaze falls to his solid biceps, watching as they flex and contract as he strokes Dario and—Uh…what the fuck was I saying?

Dario drapes one arm over my shoulder, and with his free hand, grabs my chin and tilts my face to his. There's a fiery gleam in his eyes, and he licks his lips as he asks, "Since Linus is doing such a great job down there, should we put on a show for him up here?"

I glance down at Linus with a raised eyebrow.

"Would you like that?"

"Fuck yeah,"

he grunts in response, his lids turning hooded.

"I love seeing you guys together."

And with that, Dario leans into me, planting his lips on mine. The moan that slips out of me mingles with the appreciative grunts coming from Linus, lingering in the lust-filled air of his carport gym.

Except, right now, I'm not in his carport gym, I'm in fucking heaven. We barely got into the warm-up before we were mauling each other, and when Linus said something about wanting to repay the favour, my knees buckled, and he and Dario guided me onto the workout bench before Linus ordered us to strip off, sit down, and relax.

Linus may be a bit of a grump, but as a boss, he's actually pretty chill. But I like this type of bossiness. The deep rumble in his voice when he told us to sit down. The firm way he gripped our cocks. The confident way he's blowing us.

He rubs the heads of our cocks together, and I break away from Dario to look down.

"That feels so fucking good,"

I say, watching in awe as Linus slides our slick crowns against each other.

"So fucking good,"

Dario murmurs beside me, his warm breath fanning across the top of my chest.

"Having fun?"

I ask him.

His eyes sparkle.

"Yeah. You?"

I smile.

"This is the best."

"What about you, Boss Man?"

Dario asks.

We turn to Linus. He's still in his workout gear—we all are––and with his black tank top, his shoulders and biceps are on full display. Even though he's on the floor, kneeling, he still commands such a presence. He's so strong. So masculine.

"Lovin' this,"

he says before turning his attention back to our cocks in his hands, almost like he's mesmerised by the sight.

"Good,"

Dario says, hooking his hands behind his head, a sly smirk appearing on his lips.

"Now less talking and more sucking, Boss Man."

My mouth flies open. Where does he get the balls to speak to Linus like that? And how is Linus going to react?

"Holy shit."

My head rocks back as Linus takes both our dicks in his mouth. That's my answer. And okay, Dario's cheekiness is paying off. Big time.

Dario and I remain glued to the sight of Linus giving us a double blowjob. To be honest, I didn't even know it was possible to fit two cocks into one mouth. Neither one of us may be as big as Linus, but our cocks aren't exactly small, either.

Linus's mouth is fully stretched, his cheeks puffing and hollowing as he works his way in a mid-paced rhythm along our shafts. The wetness of his mouth combined with the warm friction of Dario's dick rubbing against mine feels divine. My entire body is a throbbing mass of tingles and heat, like I'm cocooned under a warm, weighted blanket.

There's something different about this compared to the first time. Last time it all happened so fast, it's a blur. This time is slower. More deliberate. Sensual.

A familiar coil of pleasure sparks at the base of my spine.

"Linus, slow down. I'm getting close."

"So am I,"

Dario grits out next to me.

Linus pulls off us, curls his fingers, and gently ghosts them over our engorged dicks.

"Good. I want to see you both come."

"You go first,"

I say to Dario, desperate to watch him come undone since I missed it the first time.

"Okay."

He closes his eyes, almost in concentration, and it's the cutest thing ever as he tips his head back and lets out a series of delicious moans as he fills Linus's mouth. It takes me by surprise. I don't know what I was expecting, but I thought he'd be…louder, I guess?

Linus gently eases Dario's cock out of his mouth and focuses all of his attention on me. I hadn't noticed before, but Linus is jerking himself off, and that's what sends me over the edge. I close my eyes and grit my teeth as a train of pleasure barrels into me, hard and quick and hot.

When I reopen them, Linus is swiping his thumb over a bit of my release, mixing it with a bit of Dario's that's dribbled onto his chin, then bringing it to his mouth.

"Mmm. I love how you both taste."

"That was so good,"

Dario murmurs.

"It was,"

I agree with a sigh, not wanting it to be over already.

Linus pulls back, a wicked smirk curling the corner of his mouth, and as if he was inside my head, he says, "There is actually something else we can do."