Third Wheel

Taylor nuzzled closer against Eric, still wrapped up in their post-love-making bliss. Eric had been less than happy to be woken up on his day off. But less so when he picked up on her intentions and enthusiastically joined in.

It was her weekend off and Taylor had had plans with Alyssa, but Alyssa had to cancel them last minute. Her dad had pulled his back and he needed some help around the house and the dojo. So instead Taylor had picked up a bag at her apartment and driven over to Silver Hills. Eric had been surprised to see her, but had happily let her in.

An insistent knocking on the front door had them sit up. Eric grumbled and rolled out of bed. He pulled on the boxers that were on the floor and went to answer the door. Taylor lay back down, pulling Eric's pillow close, only to shoot back up again when she heard Wes's voice drift through the house.

'You aren't even ready yet? Please tell me you at least packed your bag and you were just in the process of getting dressed.'

'Shit,' Eric cursed.

Curious, Taylor got up and fished Eric's shirt off the floor. After checking to make sure she was fully covered and not about to accidentally flash Wes, she exited the bedroom. Wes looked at her when she entered the room, before he shot Eric a look.

'You forgot, didn't you?'

'Just about the moment Taylor showed up on my doorstep,' Eric admitted.

'Forgot what?' Taylor asked, looking between the two men.

'Wes has tickets to a game in LA. We're going there for the weekend,' Eric explained sheepishly.

'Oh.'

'There's a spare ticket,' Wes offered, seeing her face fall. 'We were supposed to be going with someone else, but he ate some bad sushi and doesn't dare leave the house.'

'Oh, I wouldn't want to impose,' Taylor shook her head.

'You wouldn't, we're all friends,' Wes argued. 'And a bit more than friends,' he consented at Eric's look. 'You're more than welcome to come. It would be a shame to let a weekend with Eric go to waste. I know your schedules don't often line up enough to get more than a day together.'

Taylor looked at Eric and he shrugged. She considered it for a moment, then nodded. 'Okay, I guess. Beats sitting around doing nothing.'

'Great,' Wes exclaimed. 'Get dressed and we'll get going.'

He dropped onto the couch to wait. Eric walked over to Taylor and wrapped his arms around her. Taylor laughed as he guided her back to the bedroom.

'Hey, no funny business in there, we have to get on the road soon,' Wes called after them. 'I'd like to check into the hotel before the game starts.'

Taylor froze in Eric's arms.

'What?' Eric asked, kissing her neck.

'Hotel… I might've brought clothes for the weekend, but I didn't expect to need anything to sleep in. And I don't want to bare all to Wes.'

'We've got a suite,' Eric assured. 'But if you're worried, you can wear something of mine.'

'I'd rather be safe than sorry.'

Eric pulled away from her and started pulling some clothes out of the closet. Changing into a clean pair of boxers, he turned to the clothes he'd dumped on the bed. Taylor walked over to her bag and quickly pulled out clothes to wear. Once she was dressed and turned back to Eric, she found herself staring at his arse in the air as he was finished around under his bed for a bag.

'Nice view, but you could just put your stuff in my bag. It's not as if we have to bring much for just one night away.'

Eric sat up and looked at her. 'I didn't want to assume,' he explained.

Taylor tossed her bag onto the bed and stuffed his clothes in with hers. Eric dashed into the bathroom to gather some toiletries. Ten minutes later Eric was locking his door while Taylor threw the bag into the back of Wes's car. Eric opened the passenger door and gestured for Taylor to get in.

'Oh, no, this is your trip, you sit up front,' she protested.

'But you're our guest,' Eric countered.

'Only because your friend is sick,' Taylor pointed out, opening the door to the back seat herself.

Eric opened his mouth to protest, but Wes quickly cut in.

'Don't pick a fight and just get in already. It doesn't really matter who sits where and we can always switch off along the way.'

Grumbling, Eric slid into the passenger seat and Taylor took the seat behind him. Wes started the engine and drove off. The tension was palpable in the car and silence reigned. After a while, Taylor reached out and squeezed Eric's shoulder. Eric relaxed and turned on the radio. Wes took that as a cue it was safe to talk. The conversation between Wes and Eric turned to something about the Silver Guardians and Taylor stared out of the window, not really able to join in.

It was an hour later when Wes looked into the rear-view mirror and spotted Taylor looking bored.

'Oh, shit, sorry, Taylor,' he apologized.

Eric turned in his seat to look at Taylor too. 'Sorry,' he said sheepishly.

'It's okay,' Taylor assured.

Wes turned off at a rest area and smiled at Taylor. 'Why don't you drive for a little?'

'Speeding tickets are on you,' Eric warned.

Taylor hit Eric's shoulder with a glare and got out to switch places with Wes. Eric draped his arm around the driver's seat. Wes sniggered in the back seat, but Eric ignored him. Taylor shot Eric a smile and put the car back on the road. Once they hit LA, Wes navigated Taylor to their hotel. He was leaning on Eric's arm while doing so, causing Eric to grind his teeth, but he held his tongue.

'You bring the bags? I'll check us in,' Wes said as Taylor pulled into a parking spot at the hotel before he hopped out.

Eric rolled his eyes at him. They got out and Eric grabbed the bags from the back. Taylor pulled her bag out of Eric's hand and walked off, locking the car over her shoulder. Eric watched her go for a moment, shaking his head at her actions. When he entered the lobby, Wes turned away from the front desk with the key-cards to their room.

'Let's go up,' Wes smiled and walked to the elevators. Upstairs he opened the door to the room and turned sheepishly to Eric and Taylor. 'I forgot I changed the booking when Carson called in sick.'

Eric frowned at Wes and Taylor pushed past him into the room.

'I'll go down and see if we can get us a different room,' Wes offered.

'It's fine,' Taylor shrugged, dumping her bag on one of the beds. 'Eric and I can share a bed without having sex, you know.'

Eric walked into the room too and took note of the twin double. He turned to Wes and shrugged. 'Fine by me too, but where's the chocolate on the pillow?' Eric asked, dumping Wes's back on the other bed.

Wes smiled brightly, looking relieved. 'Let's go find a taxi so we'll be at the stadium before the game begins.'

'We're not driving?' Taylor asked.

'Nope, this way we can all have a drink,' Wes smiled even brighter.

'Good thinking,' Taylor nodded.

An hour later, they were in their seats, sipping their beers. Wes was sitting on the edge of his seat in excitement, waiting for the game to begin. Taylor smiled at him and leaned into Eric sitting next to her.

'Is he always this excited?' she asked.

'I've considered buying him a leash,' Eric winked and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. 'I'm glad you're here.'

Taylor caught his eye with a smile and leaned in.

'So, Taylor, who are you cheering for, the Giants or the Dodgers?' Wes asked turning to them.

Taylor pulled back quickly and she heard Eric bite back a groan at getting interrupted. 'I'm more of a Mets fan, actually.'

Wes covered his heart with one hand, looking hurt. 'How could you?'

'My dad was originally from New York, met my mom in college and chased after her to her hometown in Oregon,' Taylor shrugged. 'He raised me with the Mets.'

'Okay, I guess you're forgiven,' Wes consented.

'I'll cheer with you, though?' Taylor offered. 'Who are we supporting?'

'Dodgers,' Eric answered, just as the players took to the field.

As the game progressed, Taylor slumped down in her seat. Eric's arm was still around her, but Wes was laying claim to his attention and she was starting to feel like an afterthought. She closed her eyes with a soft groan as they turned on the kiss cam. People started whooping at the kisses.

Her eyes snapped open again when Eric's hand was on her chin, turning her to face him and his lips met hers. From the corner of her eye, she saw their kiss on the big screen. But even when the camera moved on, Eric's lips lingered.

'Camera's gone now,' Wes eventually pointed out.

'Go get us some hotdogs or something,' Eric muttered against Taylor's lips. 'And a refill of the beers.'

'Whatever,' Wes answered and got up.

Eric smiled and rested his forehead against Taylor's. 'Hey.'

'Hey,' Taylor smiled back.

The stadium went wild, breaking their moment. They looked back at the pitch and watched the batter make a homerun.

'Maybe we should pay attention?' Taylor suggested.

Eric made a face at her, but settled back into his seat properly. Wes returned, looking a bit grumpy as he passed them their beers and hotdogs.

'I heard cheering. What did I miss?'

'Homerun for the Dodgers,' Eric answered.

Wes cursed and dropped into his seat, mopping about having missed it. Taylor bit her lip, feeling guilty. If she hadn't been there, Eric wouldn't have sent Wes off to get a moment alone with her.

'Hey, you got a little mustard…' Eric caught her attention.

'Where?'

Eric leaned closer, pressing his lips to the corner of her mouth. Taylor giggled when she felt Eric's tongue lick away the mustard. Wes shot them a look and Taylor gently pushed Eric away. Wes cheered up again as the game went up and became euphoric when the Dodgers won, but Taylor couldn't relax.

Hour later, Taylor lay awake, listening to the soft breathing of Eric and Wes. She shifted, trying to get comfortable enough to fall asleep. Eric's face twisted a little and she gave up, afraid she'd wake him. Instead, she slipped out of bed and out onto the balcony.

With a sigh, she leaned on the railing and observed the still bustling city below. Taylor jumped when two strong arms wrapped around her. Eric placed a kiss on the nape of her neck, before settling his head on her shoulder.

'What you doing out here?'

'I could ask you the same thing,' Taylor shot back, avoiding the question.

'Bed got cold without you,' Eric shrugged.

'Lier,' Taylor laughed, but leaned into him. 'I couldn't sleep.'

'Why?'

Taylor sighed and looked up at the sky. 'I think this was a mistake,' she admitted.

'Why?'

'All day you've been more torn between me and Wes instead of the fun time together that we imagined this to be. I'm intruding.'

Eric spun her around to look into her eyes.

'You're not,' he told Taylor firmly. 'Wes is just not used to having to share me, not like this. I'm sorry if you felt like a third wheel and I'm sorry he might have felt like that too. But I plan on keeping you around and if he's going to make me choose between spending time with him or you, I'll be choosing you.'

'What happened to bros before hoes?' Taylor raised an eyebrow.

'Good thing you're not a hoe,' Eric winked. 'But we're still learning and so is Wes. I can't promise one of you isn't going to feel left out when we spend time together and I sure as hell hope neither of you is going to make me choose between you. But don't let one bad day get in the way of us hanging out together. Wes is never going to learn to share and I won't be able to find the middle ground if you're going to start avoiding spending time with us. Now, will you stop worrying and come back to bed?'

'Fine,' Taylor smiled. 'If you really don't mind future awkwardness.'

Eric stole a kiss. 'You're worth it,' he promised.

Taylor smile grew and allowed Eric to lead her back inside. Settled back in bed, wrapped in Eric's arms, she had no trouble finding sleep. Because Eric was right, they were worth the occasional awkward stumbles while they worked on finding their footing.