by Ellie Rowe
“Max is in jail,” I announce, watching as Becky and Darian rub the sleep from their eyes. “I just got off the phone. The Attorney General has shipped him off to some federal prison. Apparently, some of his friends would prefer him in a casket instead of behind bars.”
“Finally,” Becky breathes out, eyes closed as she pinches the bridge of her nose. Her shoulders, always so tense, seem to relax for the first time in decades. Years of hard work and sacrifice have paid off. The man responsible for her parents’ murder has finally been dealt with. “Thank you...this wouldn’t have been possible without the two of you.”
“Agreed,” Darian says, stretching his back. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but when we pool our resources...nothing can really stop us. We’re unbeatable, and this just proves it.”
Something about what Darian has just said has me thinking. Distractedly, I scratch the back of my head, trying to make sense of my thoughts.
“You know, you’re actually talking sense,” I say. “We’ve spent years battling each other, but now that we’ve buried the hatchet…”
“What are you getting at?” He asks, and then his eyes widen. He has just come to the same realization that I have. “Holy shit, are you serious?”
“Yeah, I’m dead serious.”
“What the hell are you two talking about?” Becky asks, looking from Darian to me with a confused expression. “Can you please stop talking in riddles?”
“I think we’re about to embark on a new adventure,” I reply, a wild grin settling on my face. “Darian and I are going to be partners. We’re going to merge our companies together.”
Becky clutches the bed sheet against her naked chest, and her gaze flies back and forth between the two men in her life.
“Are you sure?” She asks. “I mean, just a few weeks ago and you were at each other’s throats…”
“That’s because we didn’t have you,” Darian says, laying a kiss on Becky’s cheek. “But now that we’re together, there’s nothing that we can’t do. And that includes running a business together. Besides, we both have different specialities. If we pool our knowledge, contacts, and money...shit, New York is going to be ours.”
I climb on top of the bed and squeeze myself between Darian and Becky, relishing the warmth of their bodies.
“Still, our plan is far from perfect…” I whisper.
“Yeah,” Darian agrees. “There’s still a piece missing.”
“Is that right?” Becky narrows her eyes at us, but her smile only widens. “And what is that piece? Care to share?”
“Oh, I don’t think you need to ask,” Darian laughs. “We share everything around here, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“That’s right.” I turn to Becky and lay my hand on her face, my thumb running over her bottom lip. “And more than just sharing our bodies, we want to share the rest of our lives with you. And that includes our business.”
“Well…” Becky trails off, her eyes wandering to the window.
“Only if you want to,” Darian says with a shrug. “We know you’re with the FBI, and if you want to keep on working for them…”
“No,” Becky replies, a firmness to her voice. “I’m done with the FBI. I signed up with the Bureau because I wanted to get revenge, but that’s done and dusted. My days of putting criminals behind bars are done.” Gently, she lays her lips against mine, and then turns and does the same with Darian. “But real estate...well, that’s new. I can imagine myself as New York’s real estate queen.”
“Her Majesty,” Peter whispers, his hand on Becky’s knee. “I like the sound of that. We’re your humble subjects, and we live to serve you.”
“And pleasure you,” I add.
Now it’s my hand moving up her leg, my fingers tugging at the sheet to draw it back from her body. Once her smooth skin comes into sight, I move toward that sweetness between her legs, and I’m not surprised when I find her already wet.
“If you insist,” Becky whispers, and then she falls back onto the mattress. Darian and I follow after her. For a moment, I remember my scrambled eggs and the rest of breakfast, but who needs breakfast when you have all this?
After all...
Happiness is the only sustenance a man needs.
Thirty
Becky
It’s been six months since everything happened with Max, and I guess that goes to show that the old saying doesn’t lie:
Time flies when you’re having fun.
But even I know that “fun” is a bit of an understatement. Things haven’t just been fun, they’ve been fantastic. I think the fact that I never thought I’d be in a situation like this one is what makes everything so great. What I have with Peter and Darian really is true love, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Honestly, above everything else, I’m just happy that Darian and Peter were able to work things out. I don’t think we’d be here if they didn’t, because being in a three-way relationship tends to only work out when all three people love each other equally. And ever since the guys worked things out between each other, that’s exactly what it’s been. Equal love between all of us.
“Beck, are you in there?”
It’s Peter’s voice, but it’s slightly muffled through the bathroom door. He must have only woken up a few minutes after I did, because he was fast asleep when I woke up.
“Yep, I’m here. If I would’ve known you were getting up I would have waited, I might be in here for a little while.”
I say that last part with a bit of apprehension, because I’m staring down at the box in my hands. I don’t want him to know what I’m doing. Not yet, anyway. I have to be sure.
Even though I can’t see his face, I can practically see Peter smirking at me from the other side of the door, because his voice comes out in a way that makes him sound like he’s holding back laughter.
“Hey, that’s alright. You do your thing, and I’ll be here when you get out.”
I wait until I hear Peter walk away from the bathroom before I rip the seal off the box. The last thing I need is for him to hear something and start making a bunch of assumptions, especially when things have been so good between the three of us. Too much information before I’m sure would undoubtedly lead to either unnecessary happiness or plain old heartbreak, and neither of those options sound like something I want to deal with.
Look at you, Brash. Always so worried about the men. What about you? Do you think you can handle the results? I mean after all, this is sort of your responsibility.
Normally, thoughts like that would scare me, but this morning all I can do is smile. When I started to suspect what was happening, I was a little freaked. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that this would be a blessing. Not just for me, but for all three of us.
Well then, what the hell are you waiting for? Peter is going to get suspicious if you’re in here for too long, so it’s now or never.
I don’t need anyone to tell me twice, so within seconds I’m removing the test from its plastic wrapper. I’m not usually this excited to pee, but this time is different.
“Becky, are you in there?”
This time it’s Darian, probably wanting to take a shower after his morning run. Instead of putting him off like I did Peter, I finish my business and get up to wash my hands. The door is only a couple feet away from the sink, so after rinsing the test and sticking it in my pocket, I unclip the lock.
Darian stands on the other side of the door, and a smile paints its way across his face when he sees me.
“Good morning, sleepy head. Nice to finally see you.”
With that, Darian cups his hands under my chin and raises my head upwards for a kiss. He smells sweaty, but not in an unappealing sort of way. It’s more of a classic “rugged man” sort of sweat, the kind of odor that comes across more as attractive than unhygienic.
“Whatya talking about, “sleepy head”? It’s only ten AM Darian. Just because you wake up at the ass crack of dawn doesn’
t make the rest of the world lazy. You wanna talk to someone about being lazy, talk to Peter. He slept until noon the other day.”
Darian pulls away and winks as he walks towards the now open bathroom door. “Well then, I guess me and Pete will have to have a conversation, no? I just gotta shower first, and then I’ll give him a lesson on what it means to live a healthy, active lifestyle. Being rich isn’t everything.”
“Actually, don’t shower yet Darian. Follow me for a minute. I have some news for both you and Peter, and then you can bitch to him about sleeping in all you want.”
I can tell that he’s confused, but big news calls for big conversations, so I turn and walk out of the room before Darian can ask any more questions. I can hear his footsteps behind me, and when we come to the living room, I motion for Darian to take a seat beside Peter.
“Hey hey hey, how are we this morning gang?” says Peter in an almost fake, overly exuberant tone that I can only guess has been honed to perfection after years of dealing with crabby businessmen.
“Well, Mr. Silver, Becky here says she has some news,” Darian mirrors Peter’s playful tone as he moves to the couch and plops down beside him. “And from what I can tell, it must be important, because she pulled me away from my shower for this. What’ve you got for us, Beck?”
Both men have their eyes trained on me like children awaiting punishment from their mother, and I take a deep breath before starting in.
“Okay, so you both know that I love this little family of ours very much…”
My hands are already starting to moisten with sweat, and I give them a quick swipe on the sides of my pajama pants.
“…and it makes me so incredibly happy that I get to share a life of adventures with the two of you. I wouldn’t change it for the world, truly.”
“Well, now we know this isn’t a breakup conversation.”
Leave it to Peter to make a joke out of one of the most serious conversations he’ll probably ever have. I don’t think he has any idea what’s coming.
Before I can tell Peter to quiet down, Darian pokes him in the side and brings his finger up to his lips in a “shhhh” gesture so that I can continue.
“Thanks, Darian. So anyhow, I love our little family. I really do. And the reason I’ve sat you both down is because there’s a good chance this family is about to get bigger, if you know what I mean.”
I expect their eyes to widen with understanding, but their eyebrows only furrow, and finally Peter raises his as if to say: what are you talking about?
“I don’t mean that I want another romantic partner. I think the three of us is plenty, as far as that goes. But I took this test this morning, and although I haven’t looked at the results, I have a pretty good idea of what it says.”
I reach into my pocket and pull out the pregnancy test, and both Peter and Darian’s eyes widen with the understanding that they were previously lacking.
“You mean you’re…”
“I think so, but I haven’t looked. Tell me what it says.”
With that, I turn the test in their direction and hold my breath. After a few seconds of deafening silence, both men look up at me and say it in unison:
“You’re pregnant.”
Thirty-One
Darian
Two years later…
* * *
I roll over in bed, only to have a small, frito-smelling foot shoved into my face. I open my eyes to see my toddler’s plump little face smiling up at me, giggling- probably at the fact that his foot is shoved into my nose.
Looking past him, I see that Becky and Peter are still fast asleep, so I scoop little Michael up and take him to his highchair at the kitchen table. Right now his favorite thing to eat are these little chocolate chip waffles, so I pop one in the toaster and hand it to him once it’s cooled off a bit.
Michael is named after Becky’s late father, and he recently turned two. His middle name is Brash, and his last name is SilverStrong. Becky decided that she wants any kids we have to have the last name SilverStrong, mine and Peter’s last names combined- but only if she gets to pick the first name. Middle name is chosen by a unanimous vote.
The kid is my favorite thing in the entire world. He has this curly strawberry blonde hair, and bright blue eyes. Not to mention his face full of freckles. He might possibly be the cutest little boy I’ve ever seen.
Leaving him to munch on his waffle, I turn to the stove to make some breakfast for the two loves of my life- my famous omelets. As I’m about to flip the last omelet, I feel someone’s arms slide around my waist. I’m so startled that the omelet slips off the spatula and breaks open in the skillet.
Abandoning the stove, I turn around to see Peter. I look to my left to see Michael cracking up at my little mishap, and to my right to see Becky slouching her way in, bundled up in her favorite fuzzy robe.
The three of us embrace and share kisses all around.
“Good morning, I’m making us some omelets- or at least I was before Peter ruined one of them.”
Becky peaks into the skillet, turns off the burner, and scoops the broken omelet onto a plate.
“I’ll take this one- I don’t mind it like this.”
She goes to take a bite, but I stop her.
“You’re really gonna eat that without the avocados?”
“Oh come on, you know I hate avocados.”
“You haven’t even tried them on top of my omelets! Come on, you’re gonna have to try it one day, might as well be now.”
She rolls her eyes and goes back to shoveling a forkful into her mouth. Man that girl is stubborn- but I’ll get her to try it one day.
“Whatever, more avocados for us then!”
“You got that right!” Peter joins in, slapping my ass.
After breakfast, Michael takes a small nap, and we pack up some things to take the park. A blanket to lay on, some snacks, some water, things like that.
I love when we go on family outings like this. I didn’t grow up with a family that ever did things like this. My father was always too busy with work, and my mom didn’t care enough to actually get us all out together. So I appreciate days like this, with my own little family- and I vow to never be like either of my parents.
When we arrive at the park, we find a nice shady spot to lay our blanket and things down, that’s right next to the toddler jungle gym. Michael immediately runs off to play, and Peter follows him.
Life the past couple years has been more than I ever could’ve dreamed of. Every time I think about how lucky we are, I get tears in my eyes- and I’m not even that much of a sentimental person. But I can’t help it- this is everything I’ve ever wanted and so, so much more.
Peter and I decided to join forces. I ditched my old company, because Becky found some evidence that there were a couple of moles working there. So Peter and I created a company together, a company that has been more successful than either of us ever could have done on our own.
Becky still works for the FBI, but she stays away from the kind of dangerous field work she did before. She still feels very strongly about catching the bad guys, and I know that she always will. But she decided to take a more behind the scenes approach.
Getting kidnapped really woke her up to the dangers of going under cover and sticking her nose in dangerous situations. And now that she has me and Peter- and our son Michael, she doesn’t want to risk anything like that happen to her again. Not to mention the PTSD she has suffered from that entire experience.
Honestly, I’m glad that she decided to change up her career path just a bit. I would never pressure her into doing that, and neither would Peter- but we both sleep much better knowing she isn’t in actual contact with any dangerous crime lords.
As for crime lords, Don Carlos was caught about a year ago. They caught him and a huge amount of his gang. They’re all locked up, seventy years to life. The day we found that out, well let’s just say… we celebrated.
On top of her job as an FBI agent, Becky also helps o
ut at the company. After she found out that there were a few moles that slipped in right under our noses- she insisted that we have everyone who steps foot into that building is investigated.
We agreed and offered her the job. It’s a precaution, so that nothing like that can ever happen again. Something I never would’ve even thought about doing. I love knowing that Becky is always there with the perfect solution. It’s comforting.
I watch Peter pushing Michael on the swing, as Michael giggles away. He’s pretty much always laughing or smiling- he’s a very happy kid. I hope that it always stays that way.
I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t a little nervous thinking about him starting school. I just don’t want him to ever face any kind of bullying because his family isn’t exactly like everyone else’s families.
After about an hour, we walk to the ice cream cart that’s usually at this park- which is why it’s our favorite one. As we all enjoy our ice cream cones, I look at each member of my family.
Becky is making funny faces at Michael as she eats her cone, and of course, he’s cracking up at her while making a complete mess of himself with his own cone. It warms my heart.
I look to Peter, who is staring at me. He still takes my breath away. I can’t believe I ever lived my life without him, and I’ll be forever grateful that our relationship was mended and that I get to wake up to him every day for hopefully the rest of my life.
We send each other a knowing smile, the smile that Becky has begun to refer to as our “love smile”. Although if you ask me- every smile I share with either of them is a “love smile”.
As we enjoy the rest of our day together, I realize that there is not one single thing that I need in my life other than what I already have. And that feeling? It’s the feeling of peace. It’s the feeling of pure happiness, the kind of happiness that stays with you, all day every day. The best kind. And I don’t ever want that to end.