Sizzling Hot Apple Cider

by Jaliza A. Burwell

  “Hanging out, like friends?”

  “No,” Koen said. “As potential love interests.”

  “Love interests? Is that what they call it these days?”

  Dayton snorted. “As potential boyfriends. We know you aren’t ready, that you don’t want to feel like you’re using us to rebound, but we don’t want you putting us in the friend zone because of that. Take this as us pushing ourselves out of the friend zone. We don’t want to be there.”

  I looked at all three of them over and over again, speechless.

  “Think about it,” Bryce finally said, realizing I was at the edge, ready to have a meltdown of epic proportions. Their idea was too confusing to me. Could someone even force themselves out of a friend zone? Was that a thing? “We are willing to give you time to think about it, but none of us want to lose you. We all want a chance to see where we can go in a relationship.”

  I held up my hands. “Wait. Wait.” They all froze. I glared down at the floor, processing their words. When it still wasn’t clicking just right, I lifted my head to gape at them. Finally, words found their way back into my brain. “Are you saying you all three want to date me? At the same time? You all want to be my boyfriend? At the same time?”

  “Being friends…” Koen said slowly, acting like he was talking to a cornered tiger. I was more like a kitty, my claws weren’t that sharp, but it was better if he thought I was a cornered tiger. “Being friends, we’ve done a lot together. Our interests practically align with each other. And you are exactly the type of person all three of us can grow to care for deeply.”

  “It’s already happening,” Dayton said. “We do care for you. Not just you, either, but Lawson and Lee too. We love being a part of your life. You make everything a hundred times more fun.”

  “It only took Kenni for us to find the best way this would work,” Bryce said.

  “What? Kenni?” Confusion swept through me. What did she have to do with this?

  Koen’s lips were pressed tightly together, like he didn’t like admitting anything. Finally, he said, “She called us last night. I guess after we left, you called her?”

  I blushed. I had kept Kenni on the phone with me for nearly two hours, crying and ranting. She had taken it like the champ I knew she was.

  Then she told me to go to sleep and let her think. Apparently, her thinking meant she contacted the guys and from the sound of it, lectured them.

  “Oh my God. She didn’t. Please tell me she didn’t.”

  Bryce shrugged. “I guess she took our numbers off your phone ‘in case of an emergency’ as she said. So after you guys talked, she contacted us and called us idiots.”

  Dayton laughed, breaking some of the tension building between us and helping to make me feel less mortified to have my best friend take care of my bullies for me, so to speak.

  “She said we’re in a new century where same-sex marriage exists, where households are no longer a male and a female with their two and a half children and white picket fences, so how dare we be so close-minded.”

  “She was very eye-opening.” Dayton’s grin said he loved every second of that conversation.

  I was going to have to call her up and make her spill the beans. Not knowing what she said was going to drive me up a wall, especially since it affected me.

  “Give us the weekend to prove we can behave,” Bryce said. “That’s all we’re asking right now. The weekend. Let us prove to you we can be good and that we’re sincere.”

  “Let me get this straight.” I felt silly asking, but it needed to be said. Everything needed to be laid out properly. And disbelief was still the prevailing emotion. It felt like I was dreaming or part of a really bad joke. “All three of you wish to become my… boyfriend? At the same time. That you all date me together?”

  “I think Kenni called it a poly-relationship?” Dayton asked.

  “Yes. You’re correct,” Koen said. “The three of us date you, you date us.”

  “The Internet called it polyandry. One female, more than one guy,” Bryce added, a little redness in his cheeks. Was he nervous? Embarrassed?

  “Three in this case.” Dayton grinned. “I think if anyone can pull off something like this, we can.”

  “And what happens if it all goes down the drain? What happens if it’s an epic fail,” I asked. If this went bad, I didn’t think I’d be able to be around them anymore. It’d hurt. I knew it would. Breaking up with Felix stung, but if I were to grow close with these guys and then it went bad, it’d physically hurt. Every part of me knew it to be true. I was closer to these guys in the last couple of weeks than I was with Felix after a three-year long relationship. I couldn’t see life without them in it anymore.

  “Are you already breaking up with us without starting?” Bryce asked.

  Trying to gather my thoughts, I licked my lips, and stared at the three of them, meeting all their eyes, one after another, over and over again.

  “Is this the plunge that people always talk about?” I finally asked, breaking the awkward silence that was followed by the giggles of the twins in the living room. “Is this the moment where I either take the plunge and go for it or end up spending the rest of my life wondering what could have been?”

  Bryce reached for me and forced himself to stop when his hand was so close to mine. I wasn’t sure what would have happened if he’d touched me right then, so I was glad when he dropped his hand. “I think it is. A plunge we all need to make together. I doubt it’ll be easy. We’ll have to have some very real conversations, especially as we figure out what works for us. What I know right now is that I don’t want to live in a world of what ifs. I hate that world. I don’t want to be an old man wondering what life could have been if we took this step together.”

  Darn him and his beautiful words. I wanted to kiss him silly for them.

  “You all agree in trying this?” I asked.

  “Yes,” they chorused. There was a peacefulness in all their expressions, something I realized I hadn’t seen for a while. It was like in their world, everything was right, everything was perfect, and that made my decision so much easier to make.

  “Okay.”

  “Okay?” Dayton asked.

  I smiled. It was a tiny smile, but it was still there. “Yes, okay.”

  He whooped and came at me, lifting me into his arms and spinning us, laughing. “Thank you. I can finally breathe again.” He laughed some more as he put me down, but squeezing me tight to his body. “We won’t let you down. We won’t let you feel embarrassed or like shit ever again, not because of us. I promise.”

  I patted his back, grinning, feeling like I’d swallowed Pop Rocks and they were going crazy in my stomach. Giddiness swelled up, and I giggled.

  “Just don’t act like buttmunchers, and it’ll be okay.”

  Dayton held out his fist, pinky out. “Pinky promise.”

  I wrapped my pinky around his. “Pinky promise.”

  “What’s going on?” Lee asked, peeking around at us with a frown.

  I grinned and ran to him, lifting him up, and also hoping for some breathing room from the three men who’d managed to worm their way into my life. “Nothing, Honey Bunches. We finally came to an agreement, that’s all.”

  “What kind of agreement?”

  “On where we take you all out for Black Friday shopping,” Bryce said.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Don’t worry, we know some good places where we won’t get run over by desperate shoppers. Plus all the big rushes are over with.”

  “How can I go shopping for the twins if the twins are around?” I asked.

  “I’ll be handling the twins,” Dayton said. “We need to shop for Sissy anyways, right, little man?”

  Lee glanced at me thoughtfully before nodding. “Yeah.”

  “See. I take them shopping for you, while you shop for them. It’ll be fun.”

  “Are you sure? They can be a handful.”

  “Am not,” Lee said. Lawson joined us,
wondering what was going on. “I can be good.”

  “Me too,” Lawson said.

  I smiled. Lawson may not know what was going on, but he knew when to back up his brother.

  “Fine. Fine. Black Friday shopping it is.” I pointed at the guys. “But your funeral. Don’t come begging me when you need a break.”

  “Don’t worry,” Bryce said. “We’re going to prove that we’re serious about you and the twins. We’ll take good care of all three of you.”

  That made my stomach flip flop as my heart picked up speed.

  It was official, I was taking the plunge, and they were right there with me.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  My arms were jelly. So were my legs. Bags rustled as Bryce herded the twins and me into my apartment, ahead of Dayton and Koen so we couldn’t see what they carried. Yawning, I shuffled into the living room and plopped onto the couch as everyone else sorted the bags.

  I wasn’t allowed to help since some of them were my Christmas presents. The twins couldn’t either. Weight landed on my back, and I grunted.

  “What did you buy us?” Lawson asked.

  “Coal.”

  “Nuh uh,” Lee said. “You wouldn’t do that to us.”

  Darn it, where did he get his brains from in the family?

  He jumped a little on my butt, pushing me further into the couch. I pretended to moan and then popped my hips up so he bounced a little. His giggling was music to my ears.

  “I got you Disney Princess Barbies. Fairy-themed book bags. Oh! And a dress that I think will be adorable on you two. They have little wings attached to the back.”

  Aw, shoot. Now I was a bit jealous. I wanted a dress like that. I’d always wanted to act like a fairy godmother. Using a wand, I’d go around and bippity-bop people on the head. It sounded like a fun time.

  “No way,” Lawson said, sounding completely appalled.

  “No, you’re right.” I turned my head so I could breathe better. “You’re going to wait until Christmas to find out.”

  They both moaned and decided to take it out on me. They rolled around on top of me, threatening to suffocate me. I rolled off the couch, pretending to fall off, and then we attacked each other, trying to out tickle each other. It wasn’t fair with the two of them teaming up on me.

  “Save me,” I yelled.

  “I got you,” Bryce said. The weight on my stomach disappeared as Lee broke out in screeches. That left Lawson to my torture.

  In the end, the two of us showed no remorse and reminded the twins they still had a lot of growing up to do.

  “Okay, Maddie’s presents are in my car. Once it’s time to wrap them, they’ll be returned,” Dayton called out as he came farther into the apartment.

  “Darn it. How am I supposed to peek if they aren’t here?” I asked. “Way to ruin my plans.”

  “No way are we letting you ruin the boys’ hard work in picking out your presents,” Dayton said. “I’ve never met boys so careful in picking things out.”

  With a sly smile, I said, “If you give me the receipts, I’ll pay you back how much it cost.”

  Dayton’s snort told me he wasn’t going to fall for my plan. “Nice try.”

  “Water is ready,” Koen said. “Lawson, Lee, go take a bath.”

  “Aw, we don’t wanna,” Lawson said.

  I leaned toward Lawson and sniffed. Pulling away, I wrinkled my nose. “Do it, you stink. You smell like a six-year-old boy.”

  “I am six.”

  “A stinky one.”

  Lawson glowered at me before climbing to his feet and marching his little butt into the bathroom. Laughing, Lee followed. I could hear the two of them mumbling as water splashed.

  “Thanks,” I said to Koen.

  “Running water isn’t hard.” He reached down and grabbed my forearms, helping me to my feet. “Ready for movie night?”

  “Is that what’s happening now?”

  “Damn right it is,” Dayton said. He was already over at our TV, looking at my meager DVD collection. Pulling out a case, he flipped it over and frowned at it. “Not much of a selection.”

  “Not a problem.” I used the remote and introduced them to all the streaming services I used. Dayton took over, finding a movie for us. Lawson and Lee came out long enough to say goodnight before Bryce made sure they got into bed and stayed there.

  It didn’t take him long to come back out.

  “You know their mattresses are on the floor?” he asked me.

  “I know.”

  Going still, I waited for his judgement. He pursed his lips and then shrugged, finding no fault with it. Or if he did, he was keeping it to himself.

  “How about this one?” Dayton said to get my attention. I looked at the selection on the TV and grinned.

  “That’s perfect.” It was one of the live action Disney princess movies.

  Koen came over with several glasses and a big wine bottle, setting it all off to the side on the floor.

  Before I could say anything, Bryce went into my room and came back out with blankets and pillows. “Picnic style,” he said.

  The three of them worked together to get the floor covered and comfortable looking. The couch was moved closer so we could lean against it.

  As soon as they were done, I was jumping into the pile of pillows and getting comfortable. Koen poured the wine, they sat around me, and Dayton pressed play.

  Everything about the moment was absolutely perfect.

  During the movie, they made me feel more alive than I had in years, and all they did was enjoy the movie with me. I was able to get Dayton and Bryce to sing some of the songs with me. Dayton did the duet song with me, and it turned me into a jellyfish with how amazing he sounded.

  Koen sat behind me, and eventually, I ended up leaning against him, his long legs stretched around me. His hands rested on my legs, but nowhere close to anywhere inappropriate.

  I had waited for jealousy from the other two, but they didn’t care, instead choosing to impress me with their singing. They had settled on both sides of me and throughout the night, kept their hands on my legs, either my knee or my calves. Even my ankle. They touched me as often as they could, but never inappropriately. More like a reassurance that I was still there. It worked both ways, their touch reassuring me too.

  Admittedly, I learned a lot from their singing. Bryce needed to keep his day job, but he gave it all he had. Dayton would do well on Karaoke nights, and I needed to remember that. Koen wasn’t the singing type.

  The night went on, one movie after another, us teasing each other like we were all best friends, but there was more to it. Something deeper was forming between us and it scared and excited me at the same time.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  My mouth watered as Koen’s cooking woke me up. I only knew it was his because I was snuggled between Dayton and Bryce, and I was beginning to think he was the only one out of all of us who knew how to cook.

  We’d all starve if he wasn’t around. I was already forgetting what it was like to cook. If this continued, I’d completely lose the little bit of cooking knowledge I had, and the poor twins would suffer my crispy food because of it.

  I shifted, about to crawl out of our makeshift bed, but Bryce’s arms tightened around me.

  “No moving,” he mumbled, his breath warm against the back of my neck.

  “Yes, moving. Time to wake up.”

  “Sh. Close your eyes and go back to bed.” Dayton scooted closer to me, his head pressing into my chest, on top of my breasts.

  “Hey! Don’t use my girls as a pillow.”

  “Wha?”

  I shoved at Dayton until he scooted back, blinking bleary eyes at me. Realization dawned on him, and he groaned as he rolled over.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled, trying to bury his face into a pillow.

  I poked his side, biting my lip to keep from giggling when he jumped. “No you’re not, don’t lie.”

  “Okay, I won’t lie. That was the best pillow I’ve
had in ages. Can I use you again?”

  “No!” I poked him again, and he rolled away, taking the blanket covering us with him.

  “We wanted to be part of the sleepover too,” Lawson said. I tilted my head so I could see my righteous little man glaring down at us, his hands on his hips. Lee rubbed at his face as he tried to focus enough to see us.

  “We’ll have one tonight,” I said.

  “Promise? You keep having these without us.”

  I held out my hand in a fist. “Promise.” Lawson reached out and tapped my fist with his.

  “Come on, children, time to eat,” Koen called.

  “Who are you calling children?” Dayton asked.

  “You. I’m calling you a child.” The humor in Koen’s voice was nice to listen to. It smoothed out his voice, made it warmer.

  “Aye, aye, boss man.” I sat up against Bryce’s wishes. He tried to pull me closer to him, but I rolled.

  “Oomph.” Dayton grunted as I rolled over him. Once I was out of all that warmth and softness, I jumped to my feet and ran for the dining room table.

  Koen kept it nice and simple, and a little too healthy for my breakfast tastes. There was a huge bowl of berries in the middle of the table, around it were two bowls of eggs—one simple, the other with veggies in it. There was also a plate of toast, a bowl of potatoes that looked extra crispy, and bacon.

  “What are your plans today?” I asked once breakfast was almost done.

  Koen cleared his throat to get my attention. “Newton has a tree lighting ceremony today. We were wondering if you’d like to go. It’s a little festival of activities and family friendly.”

  “Don’t you guys have work?” I asked. “You can’t spend all your time with me.”

  “We did say give us the weekend,” Bryce reminded us. “You know Dayton doesn’t have work since it’s a weekend. My clients all opted for missing out this week in celebration of the holidays. I’m on call, but don’t expect anything happening.”

  “Same for me. I’m on call, but it’ll be a quiet weekend. We have time for all of us to spend time with you, so why not?” Koen asked.