Loving the Fighter

108

Callum's POV

I'll be honest; Carter was starting to grow on me way too much.

When he thought I was going to hot him a few weeks ago it felt like someone stabbed me. I didn't want anyone to look at me with that much fear in their eyes but the fact that it was Carter made it so much worse.

I couldn't get his scared eyes out of my head for days until Ryder and I gave him that cup. His scared eyes were replaced by the look of pure joy. I saw it every time I looked at him and watching him open his Christmas present only made it so much worse.

When he hugged me it felt like my mind was going faster than my body and I couldn't keep up. I wanted to hug him back more than anything but he was pulling back before my mind fully registered what happened.

It's been a while since I've fallen this hard. Sure I liked Jax a lot but I liked to flirt with him more sexually and in a teasing way. Carter was different though; I just wanted to be close with Carter, that's all I needed with him.

I couldn't really explain it but Carter just fit. He fell into place with all of us and he's only been here for a few weeks. I wanted to be more than just cabin mates with him.

So the second Jax was gone and I was left alone with Liam and Ryder, I decided to breach the conversation about dating him again.

"So," I asked a bit awkwardly, catching both of their attentions. "Are we actually going to ask Jax about Carter or not?" Liam's lit up for a second before he forced himself to calm down as he looked over to Ryder.

"I'm okay if you do," Ryder said after a few minutes but he doesn't meet our eyes. "But I don't think Carter likes me in that way."

"I'm not sure he likes any of us that way but if we don't ask then we don't know," I say with a small frown.

"And what if Jax gets mad at us for it and breaks up with us?"

"Then we win him back and pretend it never happened," Liam said simply.

"Do we do it tonight then? Or do we wait a bit longer until we grow on Carter more?"

"No time like the present," I saw with a small shrug as if it was no big deal but in reality I just as nervous as Ryder.

I didn't want Jax to get the wrong idea and break up with us. I know I'm great and everything but I'm not sure even I could win him back if he thought we were choosing Carter over him.

The next few minutes waiting for Jax were almost painful. Nothing but anxiety coursed through all of us.

"Is everything okay," Jax asked tensely when he got back. He looked between all of us, studying our body language to see who had the problem.

I only look over to Liam for help, not knowing how to really start the conversation. When I looked over Jax did too, assuming Liam was the one with the problem.

"How would you feel if we wanted to date someone else," Liam asked slowly and gently. I was a bit taken aback at how he just went for it. I thought he was going to ease Jax into first, not just lay it all out there at once.

Jax only furred his brow as he walked over to the dirty clothes corner as he stripped off his shirt, sock, and shoes as he walked.

"I guess that depends on who and if I have to date them just because you are," Jax said after he thought for a few minutes.

I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. One step down, only one to go. This next one was going to be harder though. Just because he was fine with us dating someone else doesn't mean that he would be okay with us dating Carter. It was clear that he was just as protective of Carter as Carter was of him.

"And what if we wanted to date Carter," I asked hesitantly. Jax's face scrunched up as a frown covered his face, making a pit dropped in my stomach. That was definitely not a good face for him.

"You want to date Carter?" He asked, almost as if he couldn't wrap is head around it.

"If you're okay with it," Ryder said in a small voice. "And if Carter is okay with it too."

"I mean," Jax said after a while. "I don't care as I long as I don't have to date him but judging by the amount of anxiety he's feeling right now, this is a lot more of and you and him problem." Jax said bluntly. "I can force him up front if you want though."

I honestly didn't expect for him to be actin this calm about it.

"No," Ryder said before the rest of us had a chance to answer. "We shouldn't make him talk about it if he doesn't want to. It's not fair."

"That's fair but he has a tendency to run away from his problems. It might take him a while to front unless something happens," Jax said as laid down on the bed, looking a lot more comfortable than any of us.

His body language changed in an instant. His easy going smile turned into a sulking expression but his eyes were still lighter almost, the tail-tale sign of Carter.

"I do not!" Carter all but yelled out as he glared at all of us before realizing he had fronted without meaning to. His eyes went wide as he tried to push Jax up front again but Jax wasn't having it.

After a while of fighting Carter gave up and wet back to pouting.

"We still don't have to talk about," Ryder said, trying to ease Carter's pouting.

"I mean we might as well." He grumbled but I couldn't tell if he was saying that because he actually meant it or if he was trying to prove a point about avoiding his problems.

"We won't blame you if you don't want to date us," Liam said with a shrug. "We know that we can be too much some times but we would really like it if you gave us a chance."

"If you even like us, that is," I add as I forced myself to keep my cool, not letting onto the fact that I might loose my shit at any given moment right now.

"I do like you," he admits after a while of silence. Relief fills me at his words and if it weren't for the fact that he was still iffy on being touched I would have attacked him with hugs.

"I don't like sex though," he said harshly. "Sex is gross and I don't like it."

"We don't have to have sex," I say quickly as I ease over to the bed, Ryder and Callum following close behind me. "We just want to be with you."

"I like you," he said again tensely. "But I don't know how to do any of this."

"We can teach you," Ryder said as he slowly eased onto the bed, giving Carter time to say no, the two of the sat several feet apart, neither of them moving an inch.

"I'm willing to try it," Carter said with a small sigh.

"That's all we need," I say as I come up closer to him, only a few inches away from him on the bed. What I don't expect is for him to lay his head down on my shoulder as he reached out Ryder's hand but not before waving Liam over. He was now sitting between Liam's legs looking as contempt as he could be.

"And you are all okay with no sex," he asked again, his voice full of anxiety.

"As long as we're with you, we're fine with that."

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Last updated May 19, 2021