Stranded(4)

The opportunity would have been lost. They would have gone on with their lives, both of them barely scraping through everyday, praying for death or for someone to come take them from their own private hells.

Rafe had become his friend from that moment on. They were each other’s support when Grant’s father had too much to drink or when Julio got into a touchy-feely mood. Grant honestly believed he would have died if it had not been for his friend, because so many times he wanted to take his own life, especially when he felt his father’s fists pounding into him. The experience could have turned him bitter and angry, but he had Rafe to get through those lean years.

Grant’s prayers were eventually answered when he was fifteen. His father was arrested for felony assault, stemming from a bar fight. Grant was placed in a foster home. Ironically, Rafe became a ward of the state later that year as well, when his mother found a boyfriend who wanted marriage, but didn’t want to be saddled with a teenage son. Almost as if fate had intervened, the two of them wound up in the same foster home.

They made a pact with each other to not allow what had happened in their pasts to consume them and make something of themselves. With the other’s support and encouragement, they paid their way through college and found good jobs in their fields of accounting, all while pursing their MBAs. They eventually opened their own firm, which was now a huge success.

Grant considered Rafe his family and he knew his friend felt the same.

“It was more than special,” Rafe finally answered, bringing Grant back to the present. He dragged his fingers through his thick brown hair. “The only thing missing was someone who truly cared about the both of us. Angie wasn’t that person. The only one she loved was herself.”

Grant lifted a brow. “Are you saying what I think you are? You’ve come up with some pretty wild ideas in our lifetime, but this?”

“Come on, Grant. You can’t tell me you didn’t enjoy it. When there were three of us, the sex was amazing, but it could be so much better with the right person. Think about it. What if we found someone who didn’t mind—”

Grant held up his hands. “Whoa. Now you’re talking crazy. What woman would go for that? With our damn luck, we’d end up with another Angie, and that would basically leave us in the same boat we’re in. Besides, it’s not normal.”

“According to whom? I’ll be damned if I let someone else try to put a wedge between the two of us again. Especially when we both have a taste of how good things could be. Anyway, you’re the one who brought it up. ”

“No, technically you did. I was simply finishing your statement.”

“But you wouldn’t have been able to do it if you weren’t thinking along the same lines as me. Look man, I’ve given this some thought in the past several weeks, and I’ve come to the conclusion sharing a woman would be to our benefit.”

“And say we do find someone else to go along with our plan, what’s in it for her?”

“She’d get twice the love and attention.”

Grant rubbed his chin, trying to take everything in. “Hmm, I don’t know about this. How do we know she’d remain content with the arrangement? Or that she’s not just looking for a cheap thrill.”

Rafe’s eyes narrowed. “Why do you keep coming up with excuses for not doing this? Call me crazy, but I think we’ll know her when we see her.”

The corner of Grant’s lips curled. “As simple as that? It may work if we were in a movie, but this is real life.”

“That’s right. And impossible things don’t happen right? Like two kids overcoming their crummy circumstances when statistics say we should either be dead, in jail or abusers ourselves.”

Grant could hardly argue with that logic. He could tell from the mutinous look on his friend’s face, Rafe was dead serious and once his mind was made up there was rarely any changing it. Besides, Grant realized he did indeed enjoy sharing a woman with his best friend—his brother. Did that make them perverts?

On some level, it had brought them closer together. As Rafe had pointed out, things could be so much better with the right woman. He was probably right, after all, Grant had enjoyed the threesome with Angie, a woman who at best he’d tolerated. He could only imagine how exciting things could be with a women he loved as much as Rafe.

“But what if we can’t agree on a woman?”

A wide grin tilted Rafe’s mouth.

Grant groaned. “You’re up to something.”

“Not at all. My divorce was just finalized. There’s no rush in finding Ms. Right.”