Chapter 117: Thick Tension In The Room.

The door was pushed open almost hesitantly, and Dave stepped inside.

He appeared in a fitted black T-shirt that stretched neatly across his slightly broad shoulders and muscular chest, the fabric emphasizing the solid build of his upper body without concealing it.

The short sleeves left his arms exposed, revealing thick, defined muscles along his upper arms and strong forearms. The simple black shirt suited him far too well.

Bryce stared without making even the slightest attempt to hide how much the sight affected him. He had always liked seeing Dave in shirts that fit him like this, and Dave knew exactly how much Bryce liked them. It was the reason Bryce was always asking him to wear them more often.

On his lower body, Dave wore black trousers secured with a black leather belt, the shirt tucked neatly into the waistband.

One hand remained tucked casually inside his pants pocket, giving him an effortless composure that contrasted strangely with the tension that was in the room.

His thick, black hair, slightly tousled, with longer strands fell loosely across his forehead.

For a moment, even Vincent simply stared at him.

He did not speak or move.

Dave looked between them, and he could already tell what had been happening. Their disheveled state made that obvious enough.

Bryce’s lips were swollen from kissing, his hair was slightly disordered, and both of them looked as though they had been interrupted in the middle of something.

Instead of making Dave jealous or angry, however, the sight stirred something entirely different in him.

It turned him on almost instantly.

The way they looked at him only made it harder to suppress the sudden rush of desire that swept through him.

Their attention was fixed so openly on him that he could feel it, and for a moment, that alone threatened to overwhelm every other thought.

Beneath that desire, however, there was something else.

Restlessness.

He still did not know exactly why he had been summoned here. He had come anyway, and the uncertainty was beginning to drive him insane.

Standing in front of Bryce was difficult enough. Bryce was looking at him in a way that made Dave want to step forward, close the distance between them, and pull him into his arms.

Then there was Vincent.

Dave could not ignore the fact that Vincent was staring at him more than necessary. It was not the brief glance of someone acknowledging another person’s arrival.

Vincent was actually looking at him, and Dave had no idea what was going through his mind.

That uncertainty made his heart race.

He felt exposed standing there between the two men, especially beneath Vincent’s unwavering attention.

This was the same man who had disrupted everything Dave thought he understood about himself.

Dave had never imagined that he would fall for an older man, let alone find himself wanting that man to be on top of him.

It was crazy.

And it was happening far faster than he knew how to handle.

He swallowed, gathered whatever composure he could, and stepped farther into the heavily charged office.

The tension between the three of them was almost tangible, and he needed something, anything, to break through it.

His eyes fell on Vincent’s office chair.

He walked toward it and lowered himself into the seat, then looked back at them.

"I didn’t say you could sit there. I don’t share my office chair," Vincent said.

There was no real offense in his voice. If anything, he sounded as though he had said it simply because he needed to say something, as though the silence between them had become far too unbearable to tolerate.

"What’s so special about it?" Dave asked.

He shifted slightly in the chair, testing the seat beneath him before frowning.

"You need to get another chair. One that’s a little higher than this, with an adjustable back. When you’re typing or need to sit upright while working at the table, you can straighten it so it supports your back.

When you just want to relax and lean back, you can adjust it again. If you’ve been using this chair for a long time, I’m certain you get back pain occasionally."

The words came almost without pause, as though Dave were determined to fill the silence with something practical.

That was partly true.

He really did mean what he was saying about the chair. His concern for Vincent’s back was genuine, even if the subject had conveniently given him something else to focus on.

"No, I don’t," Vincent argued.

There was hesitation in his voice, though, and Bryce caught it immediately.

He knew Vincent was lying, which meant Dave was probably right.

"Yes, you do," Dave insisted, with the certainty of someone who had already decided that Vincent’s denial was not worth entertaining.

Vincent stared at him.

"Okay, fine, I do. But only occasionally. Nothing alarming."

"It’s going to be alarming if you keep using it."

Dave pulled out his phone as he spoke. He began scrolling through it, his attention fixed on the screen for several moments before he finally looked back up.

"Done. They’ll get you a better chair. Consider it part of my thank-you for everything you’ve done for me."

He said it so casually that it took Vincent a moment to realize what Dave had actually done.

He had already ordered the chair.

Vincent stared at him, seemingly so taken aback that he was left speechless.

Bryce watched the exchange with barely concealed amusement.

He knew that the chair was not the only reason Dave had done that.

The real reason was his concern for Vincent.

Dave might have been able to fool someone else, but he could not fool Bryce. Not anymore. Bryce already knew what Dave felt for Vincent, even though Dave himself was reluctant to acknowledge it.

And Vincent’s speechless reaction only made the entire situation more interesting.

Eventually, Vincent shifted in his seat and turned away from Dave as he cleared his throat.

"Anyway," he began, "we asked you to come because we have something important to discuss."

Dave’s fingers twitched slightly against the desk where they rested.

The casual conversation about the chair disappeared immediately, replaced by the reason he had been brought here in the first place.

"Well, I’m here now," Dave said.

The words left his mouth with a sense of dread that he could not suppress.

Vincent remained silent for a brief moment.

It was not a long silence, but to Dave, it felt considerably longer than it actually was.

His anxiety climbed higher as he waited for Vincent to speak.