Owen exhaled a sharp breath, his smirk flickering for just a second as John’s words sank in. The way John leaned in so close, the warmth of his breath against his skin, it sent a shiver down Owen’s spine, one he wasn’t entirely prepared for. He knew exactly what John was doing. And f-ck, it was working.
His gaze flicked to Lila, watching the way she looked between them, curious, expectant. His mind was hazy, clouded with alcohol and heat and the sheer temptation of it all. His hesitation with John was still there, lingering at the edges of his thoughts, but John had just thrown gasoline on an already burning fire.
Owen let out a low chuckle, shaking his head slightly. “You’re a menace, you know that?” he murmured, voice rougher now, thick with something else entirely. He turned his head just enough so that when he whispered back, his lips nearly brushed John’s skin. “And I think you like seeing what you can get away with.”
Then, just to push back, just to test John the way John was testing him, he let his fingers trail down the center of John’s chest before his smirk returned, slow and lazy, but there was a flicker of something deeper in his eyes. “Guess we’ll just have to see how the night plays out, won’t we?”
Owen had been riding the high of the moment, of the heat between all three of them, of the moment with John, of the way Lila had looked at him when she said “Yes… I do.” But as he stood there, watching her melt into John’s touch, kissing him with that kind of hunger, asking him for a piggy back ride, Owen felt something stir in his chest that had nothing to do with desire.
He knew what this was, what this night was shaping up to be. And yet, watching Lila so clearly caught up in John, seeing the way she whispered to him like Owen wasn’t even there, left him feeling… off. Not jealous, exactly. But something close.
Maybe it was because he wasn’t used to feeling like the third in any situation. Maybe it was because, no matter how much he wanted this, he wasn’t sure if he could be as open, as uninhibited with John as they both seemed to be with each other. Maybe it was just the alcohol messing with his head.
So when Lila giggled and clung to John’s back, playing up her playful side, Owen just exhaled sharply, rolling his eyes at her antics. He wasn’t mad, not really.
He kept his gaze forward, leading the way, his fingers tapping softly on his leg, the other still loosely gripping John’s. He could feel John’s hand grounding him, keeping him tethered to whatever this was. But as Lila leaned into John, whispering something just for him, something tightened in Owen’s chest.
This was what he wanted. Wasn’t it?
Shaking it off, he forced a smirk back onto his lips, rolling his shoulders like he was shaking off the feeling, throwing a glance over his shoulder at them. “You two done back there, or should I just leave you to it?” His tone was teasing, but there was something in his eyes, something guarded now, something more controlled. He wasn’t backing out. But for the first time tonight, he wasn’t entirely sure where he stood in all of this.
John’s voice asking where they were going pulled him out of his thoughts. Owen glanced over at John, catching the way his nerves were creeping in. The alcohol had dulled a lot of Owen’s usual overthinking, but not enough to miss that hesitation. His smirk softened slightly, though a touch of amusement showed in his eyes.
“Relax, sweetheart,” he murmured, his voice smooth but not unkind. “I’m not dragging you into some dark alley.”
His grip on John’s wrist tightened briefly, grounding, before he turned his attention forward again. Truth was, he knew exactly where to take them. A second passed before he continued speaking, “You two ever been to the gym’s locker room when no one’s around?” He shot them both a wicked grin. “No one’s there at this hour. And I just so happen to know how to get the keys.” He paused, letting that sink in, then added, “Nice, quiet, away from prying eyes. We can get a lot more… comfortable there.”
It was the perfect place. Rough, unexpected. A place where they could take things further without the world watching. And Owen, despite the doubts in his chest, found himself leaning into the idea more with every passing second. The night had only just begun, and there was no going back now.
As they reached the entrance, Owen’s mind was a bit fuzzy, swirling with the effects of the alcohol and the heat of the night. Everything felt like a blur of sensations, but one thing was crystal clear, he wasn’t backing down.
He turned to John first, his smirk widening despite the chaos inside his head. Leaning in, he kissed John quickly, a bit sloppier than usual, but it was still intense, full of that wild energy that had been building all night. When he pulled away, he could feel his heart pounding, his thoughts running faster than they should have.
Then, his focus shifted to Lila, still riding high on John’s back. Owen’s lips curled into a grin, and he wobbled a little on his feet as he made his way over to her. “Alright, babe,” he muttered, slightly slurring, “let’s get you down.”
He reached out for her waist, guiding her off John’s back with a playful tug, his fingers brushing over her skin. But as soon as she was standing, Owen couldn’t resist, he spun her around, his movements more fluid than he expected. The motion made him laugh himself, and it sent a wave of warmth through him.
When he finally put her back on the ground, his chest was tight, his breath heavier than it should have been. He didn’t give her much time to catch her breath before he kissed her, hard and passionate, a kiss that was messy and full of everything he was feeling. His mind was all over the place, the alcohol spinning him in circles, but what he knew was that he wanted this. He wanted her. He wanted John.
When the kiss finally broke, he leaned his forehead against hers, trying to catch his breath. “This… all of this,” he muttered, voice low and slightly unsteady, “it’s messin’ with my head, Lila.” He let out a breathless laugh, shaking his head slightly, as though he couldn’t quite make sense of his own emotions. “But I want it. And I want you to have it, whatever… whatever this is.”
His fingers traced the edge of her jaw before he kissed her again, slower this time, like he was grounding himself in the moment, trying to pull himself together. It was still messy, still unfiltered, but it was raw, and it was all him.
“Just… let’s keep going,” he murmured between kisses, his lips brushing against hers. “Ready to go inside?” His voice filled with heat and desire as he looked from Lila to John and back. He felt the heat rise again, but this time, it felt like something more. Something real, even if he wasn’t sure where it would take him.
