Black smoke billowed out of the pan you thought you had turned off and you rushed to toss it in the sink before opening a window. The breeze was a moment too late to clear the air of the dark tendrils snaking higher and they soon reached the smoke detector, the piercing sound of its alarm filling your kitchen.
"Shit," you cursed as you tried to jump and hit the detector to shut it off but you were just too short. "Double shit."
A knock sounded at your door and you threw it open, grabbing whoevers hand it was and dragging them inside. "Thank god, hit that fucking thing for me will you?" you asked, realising it was Charles who had arrived on time, unsurprisingly.
His nose wrinkled at the heavy stench of smoke and he rose onto his toes to reach up and turn off the alarm. "You look like you have been, um...creative."
You smiled at the attempt of a compliment before laughing at the situation. In the cold pan on the stove were the chicken breasts that were meant to be frying and you slapped your forehead as you realised you had turned the wrong element on. "Looks like we are going out to dinner, which is probably safer. I don't think I could have kept my promise not to give you food poisoning by the looks of it."
"I'm not dressed to go out," he said as he looked down at his polo and chinos.
"Are you kidding me? You look like a damn model."
"Thanks. It's not easy being this handsome," Lando said as he walked in the front door that was still open, a bottle of wine in his hands. "I see your cooking skills are as good as mine."
"Har-har," you drawled as you reached into the cupboards and got three wine stems out. "Liquid dinner it is."
"Haven't you sworn off drinking?" Charles asked as he rummaged around your cutlery drawers, finding the corkscrew for Lando.
"Pfft, that was just for summer break to stop the PR team from riding my ass," you said with a grin. "Plus, you two won't let me get into trouble. At least not too much."
The cork popped open and Charles took the bottle from Lando to read the label. "I don't think we have anything to worry about," he laughed as he handed the Prosecco back.
"What?" Lando asked with a frown as he turned it around to see the label. "The lady at the shop said this was good."
"Sure, for an afternoon at the beach, but it won't get you drunk."
You took the bottle from his hands and kissed his cheek to erase the pout on his face. "It is the perfect starter course, and my bar is fully stocked with the hard stuff."
"No," Charles sighed as he took the bottle and poured three drinks. "I'm sure there is something salvageable to eat. No drinking on an empty stomach."
You raised your glass to him. "I wish you luck, my kitchen is cursed."
He tapped his glass with yours and winked. "No such thing as curses, watch me."
You sat with Lando at the kitchen table as he showed you some photos he had taken throughout the year that hadn't been posted online, keeping you entertained with stories that would get him in trouble if they ever got out. Every now and then you would check on Charles who familiarised himself with your kitchen, opening and closing all the cupboards and drawers before sighing.
"Admit defeat yet?"
His green eyes narrowed at you from across the room. "Never. I just can't find any- oh nevermind. What is this monstrosity?" He pulled a large jar out of the fridge and grimaced at the sight.
"Crushed garlic," you said obviously but he grew even more offended by the jar as he held it at arms length away.
"Unbelievable," he muttered as he opened the lid and sniffed it. "It will do, I suppose."
"What are you cooking?" Lando asked as he saw the ingredients lined up on the bench.
"Chicken pesto pasta." He didn't even look up as he sliced some limes up, muttering that lemons would have been better.
"See, this is what I was looking for," you said to Lando as you rested your chin on your hand watching Charles navigate the kitchen comfortably. "He cooks for me, you did my laundry, you're both good looking and funny. That's what I need from a man, I need the love child of Charlando. I give up. It's impossible. I'm never going to find that."
"Okay, this definitely isn't going to be enough," Lando said as he took the almost empty glass from your hand and rose from the chair. You and Charles both watched him cross over to the wet bar and tap his fingers along his lips as he debated what spirits to choose. "We need to cheer you up, I'm thinking tequila sunrise or strawberry daiquiri?"
"And music," Charles added as he diced an onion that had been hiding at the back of your refrigerator for who knows how long. "Not mine, because it's all depressing."
"So music and drinks...why don't we just go out?"
Neither looked happy at your suggestion and they both shook their heads. "I'm not in the mood for a lecture from your brother," Lando admitted.
Lando plugged his phone into your stereo and some soft pop song started to play in the background as Charles said, "And it's too loud to talk in a club. This is nice, no?"
"I guess the company is half decent," you teased.
Charles chuckled and beckoned you over with a curl of his finger that had a dollop of creamy pesto sauce on the end. "Taste test."
Your stomach clenched as you parted your lips for him and his eyes held yours, the moment too intimate to dare break. His lips parted with a silent sigh when your tongue rolled over the pad of his finger, and he took a harsh breath as your lips sealed around it and sucked it clean.
"Hmmm," you moaned as the flavours coated your tongue and you pulled back, licking your lips as you did. "Oh my god, Charles, that is delicious."
You couldn't help noticing how the green of his eyes had been swallowed by his blown pupils or the way his throat bobbed as he swallowed twice before he could muster a response. "Now that I've seen your cooking, I'm sure everything else tastes delicious."
"It's not that bad," you said with a laugh as your attention was pulled away and a shot glass was placed into your hand. "I thought we were having cocktails?"
"We will, but," Lando said as he reached past Charles to grab the salt before he sprinkled a line across his hand. "Tequila first, sunrise later." He grabbed a wedge of lime next and pinched it between his teeth with a daring curl of his eyebrow.
The food was forgotten as Charles watched you wrapped your fingers around Lando's wrist before running your tongue across his skin. The grains of salt coated your tongue as you raised the glass to your lips and tipped the liquor back under their heated stares. You swallowed the liquor and inhaled the fiery burn that followed as you eyed up lime waiting between Lando's lips.
This moment balanced on a knife's edge and you could feel how influential it could be on making or breaking the friendship you had with both Lando and Charles. This was the line in the sand that once you crossed there could be no return.
No one dared to breathe. No one dared to move.
They were waiting for you.
You licked your lips of the salty spirit residue and stepped closer to him. Your fingers trailed up his neck to tease the short hairs on his nape as you pulled his head down to meet yours and you bit the lime, tearing it from his lips as the sour juice ran down your chin.
"You're a bad influence," you teased as you wiped away the excess and stepped back.
The tension in the air evaporated with his proud grin and Charles chuckled as he turned back to the pan before it burned for a second time.
"I'm just trying to cheer you up," he replied innocently.
He made his way back to the wet bar with a little dance that had you laughing again. "It's working."
The sunset made the perfect backdrop over Monte-Carlo as you stepped out onto the balcony with a plate in each hand and placed them on the small square table. The music drifted out from the french doors after Lando queued enough songs to last the night and joined you and Charles with the extra strong drinks he had made.
"We should do this more often," you said as a calm settled within you and you watched the yachts dotting the sea beyond the marina.
"What should we toast to?" Lando asked as he placed your glass in front of you, the cocktail matching the orange skyline.
"Single life?" you offered, earning a snort from him as he dropped into the seat beside you, mirroring Charles on the other side.
"How about the hunt?" Charles joked and you groaned at the reminder. "Since we are all looking for love now."
"Not me," you surprised them. "I've deleted every dating app from my phone and given up. I might even get a cat to keep me company."
"I thought 'a girl had needs'?" Lando teased with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows.
"Nothing a little self love can't take care of," you muttered to your drink as you took a sip, making Charles choke on his. "What? It's true. You can't tell me that you don't use your hand out when you need it."
"We definitely need to do this more often," Lando chuckled as he spared a fork full of extremely overcooked pasta.
Charles sent a grin across the table to Lando before their eyes turned to you, a mischievous glint reflecting in both pairs as Charles agreed with a nod.
"Then let's cheers to that," you said as you raised your glass.
"To the three of us," Charles winked, clinking your glasses.
"The three of us."
--
The empty plates were neatly stacked and the last rays of light had long disappeared, but you weren't ready for the night to be over. The air was growing cold and the fading solar lights dotted around the deck were starting to attract bugs, interrupting the peaceful lull in conversation.
"Do you want to stay and watch a movie? You probably shouldn't drive anyway." You hoped your question didn't sound too eager and tried to cover it up with the logical statement. It was needless though as they both perked up at the offer and started to clear the table.
"I'm up for a movie night," Lando agreed as he took the glasses, leaving Charles to take the plates. "Another round?"
"Yes, please. I'll meet you on the couch."
You went to your room and changed out of the jeans and top you were wearing, opting for an oversized white AlphaTauri shirt you often slept in instead, before dragging the quilt off your bed. You switched the lights off around the apartment as you passed them and flopped down onto the couch between the two men who had been quietly chatting. Lando reached for the refilled glasses on the coffee table and handed you yours as you asked, "What are we watching?"
"Nothing sad or Charles will cry," he said with a little laugh as he helped spread the blanket over everyone.
"And nothing with shooting or Lando will cry," Charles shot back with his own teasing smirk.
"And nothing with romance or I will cry," you added as you swiped up the remote and scrolled through the options on Netflix. "Guess that leaves horror. Paranormal Activity?"
You wanted to look away but you couldn't as the crackling image on the screen only grew darker. You knew what was coming but it still didn't stop the squeak that escaped your lips or the way your tense body startled at the jump scare.
The guys chuckled as if you hadn't felt their legs knock yours at the sudden slam of a door and the blanket shifted until you felt a comforting hand on each thigh, resting just below the hem of the shirt. It took everything in you to keep still as their palms warmed your skin and the heat spread to your core and you felt Charles' thumb start to draw soothing circles.
Under the guise of settling back into your skin after the fright, you laid back into the cushions and stretched your legs out. From the corner of your eye you could see Lando bite his lip as the shift left their hands even higher up your thighs, almost brushing the lace edge of your panties.
"Scared, chérie?" Charles asked, his voice a little deeper than usual.
It wasn't the horror movie that was causing a fine tremor to work its way over your body, setting every nerve ending alight. And it certainly wasn't the horror movie that was causing the goosebumps to tingle across your skin.
It had been a long time since a man came so close to you that your core was turning to molten lava without even being touched and you lost the battle to remain still, your thighs clenching together in search of friction. You could feel a second heartbeat throbbing between the juncture and as the blanket slipped down your body your peaked nipples were easy to spot through the thin material.
"Not exactly," you uttered as Lando's fingers squeezed your thigh, almost as if he were silently begging you to part them for him.
"You're shaking," Lando murmured close to your ear.
"I know," you whispered as your throat clogged with the pleas for them to touch you, to slide their hands just another inch higher and sate the need your body craved.
You felt the touch of Charles' shaped beard along your jaw before his lips brushed your ear. "Breathe, chérie. We'll take care of you."
His thumb drew another circle and your chest expanded with the softest gasp as you felt the pad of his digit run along the seam of your underwear.
Lando mirrored his friend, his breath hot on your neck where his lips set a trail of scorching fire to your ear. "Will you let us take care of you?"