Switched

~Two~

"What the hell were you thinking?" Kasey asked. "I thought we agreed on taking things slow and measured and shit."

"I don't know. I was feeling...adventurous I guess," Mark answered, slumping down into the sofa even further and hoping it would eat him.

"You were feeling adventurous?"

"He was holding my hand in public, I don't know," Mark said. "It felt good, it – it felt good to be able to say these things to him. I guess the timing might not have been the best."

"Was he angry?" Kasey asked, sitting down on the coffee table. Her knee was touching his leg, so he knew she wasn't totally pissed at him for ruining their careful plan to woe Ian.

"No, I don't think so."

"What did he say?" Kasey asked.

"He didn't say anything after that. He just let go of my hand," Mark said. "I don't know, maybe I ruined everything by admitting I liked that he was holding my hand in public." He groaned and covered his eyes with his hands. "I mean we haven't talked about anything with him. Not even the threesome. And I know he's been hooking up. Shit, the only reason we were at Travis' was because Ian thought he had caught something magical-"

"Stop freaking out, lover," Kasey interrupted him sternly, prying his hands away from his eyes. She intertwined their fingers and it felt good. She felt good.

"I'm not freaking out," Mark protested, but even to his own hears he didn't sound convincing.

"Yes, you are," Kasey said. "I will talk to Ian, if he wants to talk about it. But I won't pry."

"I really don't know what makes you so sure that he even likes me that way?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "He let you fuck him, Mark."

"He lets strangers fuck him," Mark countered and realized that he didn't particularly like that fact.

"No, no, no no no," Kasey said, shaking her head. "We are not going to be jealous. As long as we haven't clued Ian in yet, he is a free man. He can do whatever he wants and with whoever he wants."

"I know. But I don't have to like it, do I?" Mark said.

"Your possessive side is endearing, sometimes," Kasey replied, kissing his knuckles. "I like that when you're in, you're all in."

"But?"

"But, you've been a dick to Ian, and then you fucked him in my body and I fucked him in my body and it was glorious but weird. And now you're kinda friends, is what he thinks, while we're trying to woe him. And we haven't made our intentions clear because we – I am afraid it will all go to hell if we do that too soon. I want him to like us first. Fall in love with us."

"Do you?" Mark asked, sitting up and looking into her warm brown eyes.

She nodded. "Don't you?"

To be honest Mark hadn't thought that far ahead. He and Kasey had talked about Ian – a lot and that they felt a connection to Ian, but love?
"I've never been in love with a guy before," Mark said. Was it fair then to want Ian to fall for them? If Mark didn't know if he could fall for a man, any man?

"You've never explored anything with a man, babe, so...you really don't know, right?" Kasey argued.

"I'm just saying, maybe we shouldn't aim for love," Mark said.

She gave him a look. "What should we aim for then?"

Mark cringed under her gaze, but said it anyway. "Friends with benefits."