All In: Raising the Stakes Read Free Page B

of hell whenever I approach her.
    I pull up in the driveway of my modest ranch home, and there's no ignoring the yellow and black Camaro already there. Or the blonde man leaning against the driver side. Ah dammit .
    "What's wrong?" Lacy asks after hearing my groan.
    "I just got home and Chad's here."
    "And that's a bad thing, why? I thought you two have been hanging out almost every night lately."
    "Because…fuck. I'll end up giving in like all the nights before because I'm a horny bastard, but then I'll feel all guilty and I'm pretty sure he wants me to do...more. Why can't everything be as easy as me and you?" I ask her.
    "I know, right?" She laughs. "At least Zack's no longer being an ass to me. Since he's settled down with Natalie he's actually cordial, which is a nice change from him yelling at me and calling me a slut. He even sounds like he'll be okay if the baby is his."
    "I bet a part of him probably wants to be the father and is pissed he might not be. I swear, it's like some macho, my seed is stronger thing, ‘cause I feel the same way. Hell, I know Will does, too."
    "Yeah, he really wants it...to be his…" I hear her sniffle when she starts crying.
    "Oh, Lace, hang up and take Will to bed to get your mind off of everything. You'll both feel better."
    "Okay. Thanks, Joe. Love you."
    "Love you, too," I tell her then slide the phone back into my pants pocket.
    Climbing out of my SUV, I ready myself for the inevitable.
    "Hey," Chad says when I approach. I still remember that first day Lacy met him in my office. She was quick to point out his resemblance to a Ken doll. If he ditched his dark suit pants and wrinkled dress shirt, all the surfer boy would need is a pair of sunglasses and board-shorts to fit the part. I do know for a fact that this Ken is definitely anatomically correct, hence my hesitation.                    
    "Hey," I reply, and just that one word sounds heavy with exhaustion, frustration, and confusion.
    "You look stressed the hell out."
    I nod in the affirmative. "Yeah, the state earned every fucking penny they paid me today," I tell him as I fidget with the keys in my hand, not knowing what else to say.              
    "You up for company tonight?" he asks, sounding somewhat hesitant, yet doesn't miss the chance to throw out the innuendo. Based on his wordage I know he means more than coming in for a beer and watching prime time television or a sporting event. That’s how most of these nights of ours started, innocent enough until his mouth found its way around my cock more often than the rims of those bottles of alcohol.
    And there goes my morality Lady Justice, the blindfolded bitch. She’s holding a set of scales in my conscience yet again. On the one hand, my cock is yelling at me that it wants to get off, while on the other side my mind is calling me a homo. Although technically the correct term would be bisexual. I prefer women, without a fucking doubt. But when the opportunity for a blowjob from Chad presents itself, well, the overwhelming pleasure he gives me feels the exact same as being with a woman. Besides, he’s a good friend and we pretty much do everything else together. Any woman, or hell, even a straight man would say that his tall and lean athletic build combined with his preppy, pretty boy good looks put him in the goddamn-he's-hot territory. But my physical attraction to him has more to do with knowing my dick's about to go in his mouth than how his black suit pants hug his tight, perfect ass. Mostly.
    I know I'm on a downward spiral, and soon it's going to bottom out. Hopefully not literally.  The problem is that what started out five months ago as both of us just getting off because we're lonely, doesn’t seem as casual for Chad as it is for me. I also don't give nearly as much as I receive in this bizarre experimental relationship, the first man-on-man one for both of us. But for some reason, I haven’t ended it, either.    
    "Come