He yanked Brandt closer, close enough that Brandt could tell that he was as turned-on as Brandt was. Hell, he wasn’t sure he’d ever been this hard in his life. He both needed them to find a horizontal surface pronto and wanted this right here to never end. He could kiss Shane for days and still have kissing left to do. Little discoveries he wanted to make like—
Waaah. The sunroom door was wide open, and the baby’s cry echoed off the empty walls. Shane sprang apart from him like they’d been caught casing a bank. No way was Brandt waiting around to see the guilt in his eyes or hear all the reasons why they couldn’t do that again.
“My turn to get her,” he said gruffly on his way out of the room. “You can leave the rollers here. I’ll clean them after. And there’s soap that will remove the paint in the hall bath.”
But naturally, Shane couldn’t leave it at that, and he appeared with a freshly scrubbed hands and a new bottle while Brandt was still finishing changing the diva. He was still slow at this part, the wrestling her in and out of tiny garments. Still distracted by that kiss, he’d grabbed the bear sleeper Shane had picked out and accidentally put her legs in the arms. However, he had that mistake sorted out and she was down to only a couple of hiccups and unhappy noises when Shane came into the room.
“Oh, I see how it is. The work is done, so now you can be Mr. Popular with the refreshments.” Forcing a laugh, he quickly settled in the chair before Shane could claim it. Brandt would make jokes from here to eternity if it meant avoiding being the one making a hasty retreat with his tail between his legs.
“Nah. She likes you better anyway.” Shane swept his gaze over Brandt as he handed over the bottle. Brandt had pulled off his paint splattered T-shirt before picking up the baby, and he didn’t miss the quickly shuttered appreciation in Shane’s eyes.
“How do you figure? You’re better with the tiny snaps and stuff on her outfits.” Brandt settled her against the crook of his arm, getting the right angle for the bottle. Lately she did this adorable thing where she’d rest her little hands on the bottle. Made him smile even as he tried to will this conversation to its inevitable conclusion. “And she’s with you all day.”
“Exactly. You’re the exciting one.” Shane shook his head like he couldn’t quite believe Brandt was playing things this casual. He’d probably underestimated Brandt’s desire to outrun anything approaching an uncomfortable talk. And the last week had been too damn full of them to start with. Last thing he wanted was to dissect that kiss, turn the memory from scorching hot to charred earth.
“I do aim to bring the good time.” More of that forced lightness.
However, this time Shane groaned instead playing along. “Are we seriously not going to talk about what happened?”
“Do you want a repeat?” Brandt looked him up and down, as purposeful as one could get from a rocking chair while trying to feed a baby who was sucking back formula like a small wolverine. Still, he knew what he wanted. And more importantly, what Shane so clearly did not.
“Hell no. That would be a terrible—”
“—idea. Yeah, yeah I got that message.” A muscle in Brandt’s jaw twitched. It stung, the way Shane had recoiled. “If we’re not knocking boots later, there’s nothing to talk about. We were both tired. It was a lapse. Won’t happen again. End of story.”
“Yeah. Can’t do it again.” Shane made a pained noise as he paced away from Brandt. Figured. It had been months since Brandt had been laid, and far, far longer since he’d made out with another guy. Shane might not be the first, but it wasn’t like Brandt made a habit out of this either, no matter what Shane thought.
“Yep. Agreed.” Brandt wasn’t one to beg. Ever. And Shane had a point here as well. The baby had to come first. Brandt couldn’t go mucking up their childcare partnership just because his dick was more than a little lonely. It, like the rest of him, could just deal. “See you in the morning.”
“Night.” Shane stalked away, leaving Brandt hoping like heck he didn’t leave in the night. Or in the morning after the lawyer meeting. Fuck. The paternity test. He’d let it slip out of his mind for a while, but now it was back again, churning dread. And he didn’t even know which outcome he feared more at this point. The baby was warm and soft in his arms, little snuffling sounds as she fell back asleep. What if this was her last night here?
Unsettled, he rocked her long after she slept, still not sure he recognized this version of himself, the one that wanted Jewel and Shane to stick around a little longer.