by Katy Kaylee
It was a quick walk to the copy room, all the way in the back of the floor by maintenance. I busied myself with my task, kicking off my shoes to rest right beside the copier -and so I could pop them back on if anyone opened the door.
Sure enough, right when I started to get a rhythm going, I heard someone step up to the door. I hurriedly put my shoes right back on, only to relax when I realized it was Samson.
“Can I help you?” I asked, kicking my shoes right back off. I had no need to stand around in heels if I didn’t have to. Besides, it wasn’t like the copy room got that much traffic.
“I don’t know, can you?”
He stepped up to me quickly, hands going to my waist as he pressed me up against the copier.
“I thought we agreed nothing should happen while we’re in the workplace,” I said, raising my eyebrow.
It was something that we had agreed upon when we had been discussing how we going to work things after our fourth date. Sure, I had kissed Samson and ridden his thigh in his office, but there was no need to press our luck further than that.
“I guess I’m just not as good at following rules as I used to be.”
He bent down to kiss me, tender at first but quickly ramping up. I knew where he was trying to go, and I had to decide if I wanted to let him or not. Because, truth be told, if I ever said no to anything, I knew without a doubt they would stop instantly. That was way more than could be said about a lot of people out there.
But I didn’t stop him -mostly because why would I? Every time we spent together was just as good as the last.
Samson must have sensed my permission, because his grip tightened, and I was being lifted up then seated on top of the flat surface of the copy machine.
Before I’d gotten involved with my bosses, the last time I had been picked up was when I was eight years old and my father still had a good back. After that I’d been to heavy and tall. But Xavier and Samson absolutely loved to manhandle me, showing me both how strong they were and also that they could do whatever positions that I thought had been previously ruled off for me.
Normally I loved it, whenever they lifted me up making me feel delicate and feminine. But this time my stomach churned, and I had to push Samson away so I could swallow repeatedly.
“Hey, are you okay?” He asked, looking me over. “You look kind of-”
My stomach roiled again, much more insistently, and I shoved him roughly with both hands. He backed off, eyes wide with questions, but all I could do was jump down and bolt to the bathroom as fast as I could.
I barely made it into a stall in time, retching my guts up like I had a vendetta with myself. It lasted way longer than it had any right to, and it wasn’t until I was done heaving that I realized I still didn’t even have my shoes.
“What the hell,” I breathed to myself, sinking to the floor and resting against the stall partition.
Was I coming down with the flu? I hoped not. Now was not the time.
Groaning, I pulled my phone from my bra to check if I had been anywhere in the past week or so that would have gotten me sick, but a look at the date gave me pause.
Wait a minute.
I’d been dating Xavier and Samson for five weeks. Had I gotten my period during that entire time?
I had to! I was never late. I took my birth control religiously and never missed a day.
Hands shaking, I pulled up my period-checking app and, sure enough, the past two weeks was all in red.
I was late.
Oh no.
Oh no, no, no, no, no! I was on birth control! This couldn’t happen!
Shaking, I went right to my desk and grabbed my purse. I didn’t care if I had shoes or not, I just walked right out of the door and onto the street.
I really needed to see my doctor.
Samson
I was a bit surprised when my phone buzzed across my desk, jolting me from my deep concentration. Or at least my attempted concentration. Ever since Tabitha had run out of the copier room from me, I’d been more than a bit concerned about what had happened.
According to our cameras, she’d left like a bat out of hell, not even grabbing her shoes. Both Xavier and I had called her once, but she hadn’t answered. We both figured it had to be some sort of family emergency and that she would contact us when she could, but man, if it wasn’t irritating my last nerve not knowing if she was alright or not.
So, when I saw that it was her name on my phone’s screen, I picked it up instantly.
It was a text, not a call, and it wasn’t the explanation I was looking for. Instead, I saw a simple text with a single request.
Can you guys meet me at my place?
“Is that her?” Xavier asked, looking up from my couch that he was sprawled upon, a book across his face.
If it had been any other situation, I might have snorted at how much we were affected by our worry. But as it were, I was still to concerned to find any sort of levity in the situation.
I nodded once and tossed my phone to him. He caught it and must have read it over several times judging by the pause before he answered.
“What does this mean?”
“I’m guessing that she wants to meet at her place.”
He rolled his eyes at my answer. “You know what I’m asking. Our girl just doesn’t run out of work in her bare feet with no explanation and ignore our calls for no reason.”
“Our girl? Is that what we’re calling her now?” I said instead of answering. It was always easier to just deflect. Plus, the phrase sent a pleasant sort of tingle down my spine. Yeah, the past five weeks had definitely proved that the three of us fit together like we were meant to be. Xavier tempered my tendency to be distant, to watch, observe and never act until I had a perfect plan in place. I tempered Xavier’s impetuousness, his knack for diving right in with both feet without ever checking the depth.
And Tabitha, well she brought out the best in both of us.
I never thought a woman like her was possible. She was sharp enough to keep us on our toes with conversation, but also kind, and funny, and driven, and drop dead gorgeous. She somehow kept up with the physical demands of both Xavier and I, never treated us like a chore. She also seemed to understand all the inconvenient parts about being both owners and CEO of our own growing, multi-million company and being in the public eye.
She was one of a kind, and it was killing me to think that she might be in pain, or scared, or crying over something that happened with her family.
“Well I’m certainly not calling her ‘bae’.” Xavier shuddered, bringing me back into the conversation. “There’s just some American slang I will never understand.”
Actually, there was plenty of slang the Frenchman didn’t get, but I wasn’t about to open that can of worms.
“Come on,” I said, standing and grabbing my keys. “Instead of guessing, let’s go find out what’s wrong with our girl.”
“See. It rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, I guess it kind of does.”
The two of us stood in Tabitha’s living room, shoulder to shoulder if only because there wasn’t really enough room for us in the small space. There was a reason that we mostly stayed at mine or Xavier’s penthouses, and it was mostly because our frames and her place’s frames were not compatible.
As for Tabitha herself, well, she had looked better. She was pacing in front of us, using what little room there was left as she chewed on her knuckle.
I wanted to stop her, to pull her into my lap and kiss at the red knuckle and tell her that everything was going to be alright, but I realized this was not the time. Tabitha had something important to say and I needed to let her work up to it however worked for her.
But what if she was breaking up with us?
Worse, what if she had changed her mind and wanted to choose only one of us?
It took all of my willpower to not jerk at the thought. I’d never imagined I’d be in a sort of triad relationship, but now that I had it and w
e fit together so perfectly, I didn’t want to let it go. I felt closer to Xavier than ever. I felt supported.
I felt whole.
My entire life I had been focusing on climbing higher and higher on the business ladder, never feeling satisfied. Always wanting more. But with Tabitha by our sides, always listening, reminding us to laugh and live in the moment, I finally felt like I had something other than business.
If she chose just one of us, I didn’t think I could let that go. It really was exactly like she had said on that very first date to us. If there was going to be a choice, it was both of us or neither at all.
Finally, she turned to them, her expression stricken, and all of her words came out in a rush.
“I’m sorry. I’m so, so, so sorry. I promise, I didn’t do this on purpose. I’m not one of tho- I would, uh, I’d never trick you. You know that, right?” Her voice cracked and my heart squeezed with it. “You have to know I would never trick you, right?”
Before I knew it, I was striding towards her, pulling her into a hug. Xavier was right there too, settling in behind her and resting his cheek on top of her head.
“It’s alright,” he soothed, much better at speaking at the moment than I was. “I promise, it’s gonna be alright. What’s going on, love?”
She was shaking as she stepped out of our arms, looking absolutely terrified but determined. She opened her mouth and took a breath, but when no words came out, Xavier gently caressed her shoulder.
“Take your time.”
“I’m pregnant.” She said so suddenly that it took several seconds for my brain to translate it.
Xavier, it seemed, was just as surprised. “You’re… what?”
More words came out even faster and I had to focus to catch them all. “I’m so sorry! I promise, I didn’t do this to trap you, or anything. You don’t have to be involved in their life at all! I sweat, I just- I really swear, from the bottom of my heart, that this wasn’t a trick! I wouldn’t, I really, really wouldn’t!”
She was close to tears and I was grateful that Xavier was there to take her hand and gently stroke it. I, however, felt locked in position, trying to logic out everything that would happened.
“You said you were on birth control.” I tried to say it in a non-accusing tone. Because I believed her. Even now, staring up at me with red-rimmed eyes, I believed that she was on the pill. But somewhere the logic was broken, and I needed to puzzle it out.
“I am! Er, was. The doctor told me I should stop taking it if I wanted to keep the, uh… the baby.”
“So you want to keep it?”
She nodded fiercely and I knew there would be no budging on that. “But like I said, you don’t have to-”
I waved my hand, cutting her off while my brain chased down any possibilities of how this could have happened. Then it hit me. Something that had happened to a friend of a friend back when we were all in college.
“Tabitha, have you been sick at all in the weeks before you met us?”
“Huh?” She looked confused for a moment before focusing. “No, not really. Last time I had a cold was about five months ago.” Huh, so that wasn’t- “Actually, yeah. I did have an ear infection the weekend before my birthday. My doctor couldn’t see me on such short notice, so I went to urgent care and they gave me some antibiotics. Why?”
I let out a long sigh. I had figured it out. And despite the fact that Xavier and my lives had just been turned upside down, I was relieved that it was nothing more than a very inconvenient accident.
“Tabitha,” I said carefully. “Did you know that some antibiotics can completely negate birth control and other medicines you’re on? And their effect can last for a week or two up to a full month depending on how long you’re taking them and where you are in your cycle.”
“No…” she breathed, like I was simultaneously blowing her mind and revealing a horrific fact all at once. “Do you mean… I messed this up from the start?” Her voice cracked and the tears coming over. “I did trick you guys. I tricked you and I didn’t even know it.”
It was like my body was suddenly released from its frozen state and I pulled her right back into my arm, flush against my chest where she belonged.
“You didn’t trick anyone. It was an accident. I believe you, Tabitha. I know you would never lie to us.”
“How can you know that?” She sobbed into her chest. “People have tried to con you all the time, and I always thought I was different, but I’m here doing the same thing now.
“I know neither of you want kids. You’ve said it in about every interview ever. But, I can’t explain why, but I know I can’t give this baby up. I knew it from the moment I saw the test the doctor gave me. I…uh… I can take care of it entirely on my own. You don’t even have to acknowledge it. I-I’ll get a new job, I’ll…”
I looked to Xavier while she went on through her tears. With growing frequency we’d been able to communicate without uttering a single word. This was one of those times and just a simple nod between the two of us told me we were on the exact same page.
“Tabitha,” I said, sliding my hand between up so I could pull her chin up to face me. “You’d have to be crazy if you think that we won’t be here for you, however you need. You were right when you started all of this. The three of us fit so well together, it doesn’t make sense to do anything else. And if that means three is going to become four,” I shrugged. “Then that’ll be just a new thing for us to figure out.”
She looked up at me with such love, such wonder that I instantly knew we were making the right choice. “You really would do that? You mean it?”
“I do. We both do. You know us well enough that we don’t say things unless we’re serious.”
“I… I…” she gave up on whatever she was trying to say and instead pressed her lips against mine. It was sweet, tender even if it was flavored by the salt of her tears. But with her mouth against mine, I knew that we could get through whatever was ahead of us.
Even a baby.
Dear lord, we were having a baby!
She pulled away from me but made sure to catch my hand in hers, stopping me from spiraling into a panicked chain of questions. The terror now gone from her face, she had a slow, shy sort of grin as she led us to her tiny bedroom.
Huh, I could work with that.
Xavier
I was going to be a father.
I followed along a bit numbly as Tabitha led us to her room, all soft smiles and happiness. And while yes, I was relieved that she wasn’t breaking up with us and no one was dying, I was trying to come to terms with the fact that my life had suddenly done a three-sixty followed by a back flip and somehow, I was now going to be a dad.
And I was excited for it.
All my life, I had never wanted children. Sure, they were nice and all, but they took so much time and energy and I remembered being shipped off by my father to some boarding school as an afterthought. I had hated feeling so disconnected from him, but considering I was following in his footsteps, I knew that any progeny of mine would end up in the same boat. So, I never had them.
But now…
Now I could see myself changing. In a little over a month Tabitha had gotten me more interested in life outside the office. In slowing down, appreciating the little things, enjoying small moments. Oh, and the copious amounts of amazing sex.
While I wasn’t nearly as prolific as Samson had always been, I’d never really been interested in dating. I rarely saw the same person more than four times because I didn’t want to send the wrong messages. But with Tabitha… well I wanted to see her every day. Every night. When she fell into bed with Samson and I and woke up in the same spot, I felt like I could finally be satisfied.
I was pretty sure that I was in love.
That thought was so foreign, so taboo to me, and yet there it was. Shining bright and pulsing in the center of my mind. It was something I’d never experienced before. Never wanted to even try, but now I found myself inundated with it.
>
My heart swelled at the thought as we came to a stop and I yanked her into a kiss. Perhaps it was a little faster than it should have been, but she just laughed dreamily into my mouth. That was my Tabitha, alright. The only woman who could deal with use two dumbasses and our rough ways and like it.
Scratch that, love it.
Her hands were busy while I kissed her, freeing me from my clothes. I could hear Samson doing the same to her which meant this was going to be one of those times, frantic and rushed where we were so lost in each other’s bodies that there wasn’t time for logistics. And yet somehow, they always worked out alright, so I wasn’t worried.
Our kiss broke when she had me down to her boxers and Samson had her completely bare. I let my hands glide over her front, pausing to gently pinch one of her nipples, before she turned and went to undress Samson.
I busied myself with lifting her hair -now pink and blue with only a faint bit of violet at the roots- so I could kiss up her neck. She had a lightly fading hickey there already and I recognized it from when Samson had her in the town car, bouncing in his lap with her back facing him so I could watch her pretty little entrance with how splayed out she was.
The recollection put more speed in my movements and soon my hands were roving all over hers, bumping into Samson’s every now and then but I didn’t care.
Soon we were all on the bed, Samson against the headboard with his thick length pressed against the cleft of her bountiful ass and me posted over her. Usually we preferred to play so she could have one of us in her mouth while the other thrust into her, or we just took turns, but there wasn’t any time for that now. Besides, as someone who had orgasmed against those lush cheeks several times, I knew Samson would have no problem enjoying his position.
My fingers slid against her sex, expecting to have to work her up a little considering how upset she had been, but I was pleased -and surprised- to find that she was already dripping wet. I pressed two of my fingers into her and she clamped down like it was the first time all over again.