Chapter Seven

WADE*

"Now, that isn't something I've seen in a couple of decades," Dawn Taylor's mom said as she walked in and saw Taylor wedged in between Connor and me, hanging out in the basement of her parent's home.

Connor and I managed to help Taylor pack all of her and Marks' belongings. Then hauled them over to her parent's house by three o'clock in the morning. I thought we had snuck in through the backyard entrance to the basement undetected, but we didn't since Taylor's mom had just walked in on all of us, taking a hiatus from bringing in suitcases and boxes.

"You finally left that asshole for good, thank God. Don't let him get near her; she will return to him. Taylor, come here we need to talk," Dawn said as Taylor pried her legs off of me and her head from Connor's lap.

Connor and I watched as Taylor walked off with her mother. "I guess we should leave now. Her dad wouldn't be happy if we stayed," Connor said as he stood up from the couch.

"I don't see what the big deal is. It's not like we're twelve and fourteen. Taylor is thirty years old. We're all grown. It's not like we're going to do anything, sit down, Connor and chill out,"

"We can't touch her," Connor said as he sat back down on the couch.

"Don't you think I know that? We are here to help her as friends, nothing else. It could never be more than that for any of us," I said as I ran my hands down my face in frustration.

"This is all one big cluster fuck. I have always wanted Taylor for myself," Connor confessed.

"Yeah, me too, man, but I would never share her with you. So we shouldn't touch her and let her be. She deserves better than anything you or I could ever give her," I said, and Connor nodded in agreement.

TAYLOR*

"What happened, Taylor? I know whatever it was, it must have been bad for you to be moving all of your things in the middle of the night,"

"Aaron didn't come home; we were supposed to have had a date night. That's why you have Mark here. So I went to his office to bring him some food and check up on him. I caught him with two women; he said he couldn't help it; it's some kind of fetish he has. Anyway, he threatened the company and me; said he would ruin us if I left him. Aaron wants us to get married and have an open marriage so he can keep doing his own thing. He said that I could also see other people as long as we both came home to each other. I didn't tell you, but a month ago, Aaron forced himself on me. That's why Connor and Wade have been coming here with Lyra and Vega to help me learn self-defense techniques,"

"Oh honey, why didn't you tell me? Your dad and I would have gotten you some help; you should have filed a report. Aaron is not the type of man that needs to be Mayor of this city. I don't understand how he made it into that position in the first place?" Mom said as she wrapped her arms around me.

"He used to be a good man, mom; you used to love him to death. Aaron changed after becoming mayor; that's when the drinking, abuse, and cheating began. I should never have gone back to him after I had Mark; I know that now. Seeing Aaron cheating on me with my own eyes was the last straw, mom I promise not to go back to him again after this,"

"Something tells me, with Connor and Wade at your side, I have nothing to worry about. I know that they would never let anyone hurt you. Connor and Wade have been coming around for a while now. Anything going on between any of you?"

"No, mom, we're all just friends; that's all we will ever be,"

"Oh, come on, don't tell me you don't have a thing for one of them. I've seen the way you look at them and the way they care for you. You all have been coming here three nights a week for the last month. I'm not blind,"

"Mom, I work for them; Connor is literally my boss now that he is CFO of the company. Blaze would flip out, and we would all lose our jobs. No, we can never be anything more than friends. We all know that, so don't start trying to play matchmaker; it wouldn't benefit anyone. Plus, you might be ok with something like that but dad wouldn't be. He's the reason they stopped being my friends back in the day,"

"You're thirty years old, honey, not twelve; I'm sure your father would be happy if he saw you happy. I'm saying choose one of them and see where it goes. Wade would probably be the best choice considering Connor is your boss,"

"That's just it, mom. I can't choose one or the other because I love them both; I could never choose mom. Friendship is all we will ever be; I'm tired, mom. I need to go say goodbye to Connor and Wade and get to bed. I promise we will talk more tomorrow," I said as I stood and hugged my mom.

"I love you, honey; everything is going to be fine. You can stay here as long as you need. I'll make sure Mark doesn't wake you up so you can sleep in, sweet dreams," mom said as she walked back to her room.

I made my way back down to the basement and saw that Connor and Wade had made the futon into a bed and were both passed out. I could wake them but decided against it. I changed into some sleeper shorts and a spaghetti-strapped shirt and crawled into bed between them. I laid my head on Connor's chest since I didn't have a pillow and wrapped my arm across his belly. Connor nuzzled his nose into my hair and then started snoring lightly.

The next thing I knew, Wade was spooning me, like old times. Except we were no longer kids, we were now all grown adults. I felt safe and at peace for the first time in five years. I'm so happy to have Wade and Connor back in my life. I needed to enjoy this while it lasted because I knew this would only be a one-time thing. I fell into a dreamless sleep and slept the best I had in years.

CONNOR*

If there is a heaven, I'm in it. I never dreamed I would be cuddled up with Taylor again. I didn't realize how much I had missed this until now. It feels right to have Taylor in between Wade and me, but I know this will never happen again. If this was only for one night, I was going to savor every moment.

'Friends, nothing more, you can't have her,' I kept thinking to myself as Taylor drifted off to sleep. I had been dozing off and on but kept waking up to her heavenly scent of Jasmine. I drifted off to sleep and dreamt of a life with Taylor and Wade that I would never have.