Bedfellows

by Lola Leighton

  He ran his thumb over the curve of my knee, sending shocks of electricity shooting through my body. Adrienne squeezed my hand in hers, and suddenly the two of them were both there, touching me, telling me how perfect we were together—all of it made sense all at once, and it felt like my heart was about to explode out of my chest.

  I sighed, looking between them. “First thing we need to do is get you two dry and warm.”

  They stripped off their wet clothes and we hung them in the bathroom to dry. I stripped down too to join them, and the three of us wrapped up together in blankets closer to the fire.

  Adrienne settled in between us, her feet curled up in his lap with her head on my chest. Sullivan and I held hands, resting them on Adrienne’s belly, and the three of us nuzzled into each other, enjoying the warmth our bodies made.

  Sullivan and I met eyes, and I remembered how I’d left him hanging the night before.

  “I love you,” I said, holding his gaze. “I don’t know how I got so lucky to have you both in my life.”

  “I love you, too,” he said, kissing the top of Adrienne’s head and squeezing my hand in his.

  “Love you three.” Adrienne smiled.

  It was perfect. My two loves, there with me. It was still a bit scary, still a bit unknown, but I was finally ready for whatever future was in store for us.

  Just as the thought passed through my mind, Adrienne cleared her throat and sat up, a serious expression on her face.

  “I have something to tell you guys,” she said, nervously tucking her still damp hair behind her ear.

  Sullivan and I exchanged a look, then nodded for her to go on.

  “And what I have to say might change everything.”

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Adrienne

  My heart pounding in my chest, I pushed my damp hair away from my forehead before looking up to meet Will and Sullivan’s eyes. They were both staring at me, bracing themselves for what I had to say. It was major. Like, bigger than anything that had ever happened in our relationship so far. I just wasn’t sure how they were going to take it.

  “What’s on your mind, sweetheart?” Will ran his thumb under my chin, his eyes soft but attentive, giving me the kind of caring focus so unique to him.

  I melted a little under his touch. When he’d tried to sneak out on me and Sullivan earlier, I was sure that he wanted out of this relationship for good. I worried that in pushing him and Sullivan together, I’d pushed him too far, onto another level he wasn’t ready for.

  That’s why I convinced Sullivan that we needed to crash his fishing trip. Sull knew that this cabin was one of his favorites, and it didn’t take him long to track down the address. Plus, I wasn’t the only one worried about Will. Sullivan said he seemed off, too, and he agreed it was a good idea to talk him off the ledge.

  And as far as I could tell, I think we did. Curled up under a mound of blankets by the fire, it felt like we all finally had let the last of our walls down. When the words “I love you” came out of Will’s mouth, I almost burst into tears right then and there. Hearing him be so vulnerable, so vocal about his feelings, was everything I’ve ever wanted from him. I knew then that I had to tell them my news.

  But I couldn’t push away the fear that what I had to say would change everything—for good.

  “I’m late,” I said, looking down at my hands. “I might be pregnant, and I’m never, ever late, only…I don’t know whose the baby could be. And I’m not even sure if you guys want kids given the way you grew up.”

  The room stayed silent aside from the crackling fire and my heartbeat, which was now beating out of control. I cleared my throat, which suddenly felt tight. “I just, I thought you should know.”

  At first, Will and Sullivan didn’t respond, so I kept staring at my hands, waiting for the news to soak in. Just as I was about to add that it was okay if they were upset, that I had reservations about it too, they both abruptly stood up, picking me up in their arms, hooting and hollering with joy. They showered me with kisses, laughing and exclaiming and carrying me around the room.

  “Sweetheart, this is incredible! We’re going to be a family!”

  “You’re fucking glowing already, babe.”

  They continued to celebrate, making jokes about what we were going to name the baby and rummaging around the kitchen to see if there was any leftover champagne—or sparkling cider for me. Eventually, they sat me down on the couch out of fear of harming the baby, quickly deciding that they needed to dote on my every whim.

  I sent them into the kitchen to get me a glass of water, taking the moment alone to take a few deep breaths and gather my thoughts.

  All of this felt completely bonkers.

  I knew I should have been overjoyed to see Will and Sullivan react so positively. This was every girl’s dream, right? To find out you’re pregnant with the child of the man you love—or in my case, one of the two men, who knows whose baby it is—and to have him be excited and ready to start a family with you? And isn’t all this what I wanted? What I’d envisioned from the moment I decided that I wanted to be in this relationship with these two beautiful, amazing, wonderful men?

  That might have been true, but it just felt so…soon. We’d just figured out how to be in a relationship of three. How the fuck were we going to figure out how to be four? How would everything work with two dads? What would that life look like for a child? And what right did we have to push our unique arrangement onto another person who didn’t ask for it?

  After another five minutes of celebrating and coming up short on any champagne or sparkling cider, the guys decided to give up on the fishing trip and just drive home in the rain. Will quickly packed and loaded his stuff up in the car, and the three of us set off, Will and Sullivan still giddy from the news.

  My stomach growled, and I poked my head up from the back seat. “Hey, since we didn’t find anything at the cabin, do you think we could pick up some fast food on the way? I could really go for a burger and fries right now.”

  Will and Sull exchanged an amused look.

  “Cravings already?” Will asked, a smirk lifting the corner of his mouth.

  “That baby’s got to be mine, you know I can always go for a burger and fries,” Sullivan quipped, swatting Will’s arm over the console.

  “Yeah, you and the rest of America. Nah, I think I’m the one who knocked her up. Remember last month in the shower? I bet that’s when it happened.”

  “No way, man, the little one is all my doing. I’d put fifty bucks on it.”

  “Let’s make it interesting. Seventy-five.”

  “Let’s make it a hundred!”

  I rolled my eyes. “You know that you both own the same business and get paid the same amount, so any money you gamble is just water pouring in and out of the same pond.”

  They both laughed.

  “She’s already moody, too! Damn, those hormones work fast.”

  I chuckled weakly, trying to ignore the growing knot in my stomach. The more Will and Sullivan talked and joked about me being pregnant, the more nervous and uncomfortable I felt. I didn’t want to rain on their parade, but I just couldn’t bring myself to feel as happy and excited as they did. I sighed and rubbed my temples, leaning my forehead on the cool window.

  “Don’t worry, babe, we’re almost to the drive-thru.” Sullivan reached back and squeezed my knee to reassure me. I forced a smile and tried to focus on the one thing I knew I was excited about—a huge ass order of fries.

  Once we were done at the drive-thru, the delicious smell of cheap, fried food filling the car, Will hit Sullivan’s knee and pointed out the window.

  “Hey, look, there’s one of those twenty-four-hour drugstores. I bet they’ll have pregnancy tests, right?”

  Sullivan met my eyes in the rearview mirror. “What do you think, babe? Should we pick one up so you can take it when we get home?”

  I nodded, letting my breath out all at once. “Why not.”

  “I’m sure they
’ll have a bathroom there…” Will started, peeking around his seat to look at me.

  “If you think I’m about to take a pregnancy test in a drugstore public restroom like some desperate fifteen-year-old, you’ve got another thing coming,” I replied. Will nodded and quickly turned back around. That shut them both up for a bit.

  When we got back to our house, multiple pregnancy tests in hand, Will and Sullivan insisted on carrying everything in. They were trying not to be too pushy about it, but I could tell they wanted me to run straight into the bathroom to take the test. Part of me was eager to take it, too, just to get it over with and know one way or the other once and for all. But another part of me was dreading it.

  If I was pregnant, I knew I’d get even more stressed out about our relationship, and eventually I’d have to talk to them about my fears. But if I wasn’t? They’d be devastated. And it would break my heart to see them like that.

  “Alright, well, here I go,” I said, taking the little blue and white boxes and closing the bathroom door behind me.

  “Good luck, babe!”

  “She doesn’t need luck, she’s got my seed in her.”

  I laughed and shook my head. Even with how nervous I was, my men still managed to make me laugh.

  Sighing, I began to open the box and read the instructions. My stomach was churning, and my sweaty fingers made it difficult to open the plastic packaging.

  No matter what the results were, things between us were about to change. Forever.

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Sullivan

  “Hang tight, babe. Give me ten minutes, and I’ll be back with your lunch.”

  I kissed Adrienne’s forehead, fluffed the three pillows behind her and made my way to the kitchen to get started on her pickle, ham, and marshmallow sandwich. Her weird pregnancy cravings were in overdrive, but I wasn’t one to judge. She was having our freaking baby. I was over the moon and ready to do whatever she wanted. Even if that meant making one of the unholiest sandwiches I’d ever heard of.

  “How’s she doing in there?” Will asked, walking out of the pantry and handing me a bag of marshmallows.

  I chuckled and accepted the bag from him with a smile. “A little tired, definitely hungry, but all in all, she’s doing great. I think once she’s done with lunch, we can move her into the media room. There’s a new show she’s been itching to watch.”

  Will nodded, crinkling his nose as I placed a couple slices of pickle over a bed of marshmallows.

  “If I’d known her cravings would be this wild, I might have rethought knocking her up all those months ago.”

  I arched a brow at him and shook my head. “When are you going to accept the fact that that baby definitely has my genes?”

  Before he could answer, I sliced the sandwich in half, set it on a plate and brought it to Adrienne. Sitting on the edge of her bed while she ate, I ran my hand over the firm bump of her belly. It was too early for the baby to be kicking, and I couldn’t wait to make contact with our little one.

  “He should be around the size of a lime now,” Adrienne said between bites, “at least that’s what I read online.”

  “He? You know it’s too soon to tell.”

  Adrienne grinned, taking another bite of her sandwich. “I’ve just got a feeling.”

  She had been hesitant at first with the idea of this pregnancy—it wasn’t something we’d planned, after all. But once Adrienne saw how happy it made me and Will, she got on board quickly. Now she was practically glowing.

  Will joined us in the bedroom with a ginger ale in one hand and a fresh pressed juice in the other. He handed her the ginger ale and set the juice on the bedside table while I fluffed her pillows again.

  Adrienne laughed and shook her head. “You two are spoiling me rotten.”

  “You’re carrying precious cargo,” I replied.

  She smiled, taking another big bite of the disgusting sandwich.

  “Once you take a few sips of that ginger ale, we’re taking you to the media room.”

  “We recorded a couple episodes of Kangaroo Moms for you.”

  “The new season?” Adrienne’s eyes grew wide with excitement. Will and I laughed.

  “Suck some of that ale down, and you’ll find out.”

  She narrowed her eyes and slipped the straw between her lips. She took a few small sips before thrusting the glass back at Will. “There. Now let’s go see those kangaroos.”

  She sat up, moving slowly to accommodate her new, growing belly. Will and I exchanged a look, crossing our arms and cocking our heads at her.

  “What?” she asked, stopping halfway through the process of hoisting her legs over the side of the bed.

  Will and I raised our eyebrows.

  “You can’t be serious.”

  “Adrienne, we’ve talked about this.”

  She sighed, plopping herself back down on the bed. “Fine.”

  I turned to Will.

  “My turn.”

  He nodded, and I leaned down for Adrienne to wrap her arms around my neck. With one arm under her legs and the other supporting her back, I straightened, adjusted her so she was comfortable, and carried her to the media room, where I laid her gently down across the couch.

  “Happy?” she asked as I draped a blanket over her legs and placed a pillow behind her head.

  “Ecstatic.”

  I brought my mouth to hers, choosing to ignore the strange mixture of vinegar and sugar on her lips.

  “You really are glowing, you know that?”

  She smiled, placing her hand on her belly.

  “I had my reservations at first, but honestly, being pregnant just feels…right.”

  “It suits you.”

  Will set her beverages on the coffee table and flipped on the TV. The three of us curled up on the couch together—Will and I making sure to give Adrienne the most room and the best pillows—just enjoying being together as our threesome grew into a foursome.

  ***

  The next morning, the three of us went to Adrienne’s doctor for her checkup. At all her previous appointments, only one of us had gone with her because we didn’t want to confuse the doctors, but lately it was seeming like having two different men go with her at different times was only raising more eyebrows.

  “So, Adrienne, how are you feeling today?” the doctor asked as he walked through the door, looking down at his clipboard.

  “Fine. Normal, I think. A little tired, a little morning sickness, but all in all, not much to complain about.”

  “Well, that all sounds good. Always good when everything feels…normal.” The doctor laid eyes on Will and me as the last word came out of his mouth. He didn’t do a great job hiding his confusion.

  “I see we’ve got a full house,” he said. “Who do we have here?”

  “Dr. Johnson, this is Will, and that’s Sullivan.” Adrienne’s voice didn’t carry any hesitation, and that made me grateful. Especially when I thought back on how timid she’d been in the beginning about taking this relationship public.

  He reached out and shook our hands, his eyes searching our faces for an explanation. When neither of us gave one, he just barreled through with the rest of the check-up.

  “Well, then, Adrienne, why don’t you lie back and we’ll get this ultrasound going.”

  Adrienne leaned back, and the doctor squirted the ultrasound goop on her stomach, moving the wand over her skin to find the heartbeat.

  Within moments, that perfect, familiar pulsing sound filled the room. I placed my hand on Adrienne’s shoulder, and she quickly clasped hers over mine, grabbing Will’s hand with the other. The three of us stood there, listening to the sounds of the new life we’d created together, watching the outline of our baby’s little body come in and out of focus on the monitor.

  “There’s the head,” Dr. Johnson said, pointing at a small oval on the screen. “Heartbeat looks and sounds normal. Seems like you have a healthy little baby on your hands.”

  Adrienne s
queezed both of our hands, beaming at us with tears welling up in her eyes.

  “He’s beautiful.”

  Dr. Johnson smiled uncomfortably, looking between the three of us.

  “We’ll know the sex in a few more weeks. So, uh, which one of you two is the father?”

  Will and I exchanged a look.

  “We’re not sure,” I said.

  “The three of us are going to raise the baby together,” Adrienne added.

  Dr. Johnson’s eyebrows shot up, his head nodding quickly. Clearly we were his first ménage relationship in a while. Scratch that. First ménage relationship ever.

  “How progressive of you.”

  “Pretty common, actually,” Will quipped.

  At that, Dr. Johnson’s mouth fell open, and it took every ounce of self-control in me to not burst out laughing then and there. Will was fucking with him, but the poor guy had no clue what to do or say next.

  He quickly wrapped up the appointment, going over when Adrienne needed to come in next and what to expect over the next few weeks. The three of us smiled and nodded politely through his speech, holding it together until we exited the building.

  “I was about ready to explain how great the sex is,” Will said once we got to the car. “You know that’s what he couldn’t quite wrap his mind around.”

  “He’s an OBGYN. You’d think he’d be more used to unusual arrangements like ours.” Adrienne shook her head, looking out the window and rubbing her bump.

  “A beautiful pregnant woman flanked by a couple studs with no clue whose baby it is? Yeah, I’m sure that’s just another Tuesday morning for him.” I couldn’t resist.

  We laughed and kept joking about the appointment for the rest of the ride home.

  The life we were building was anything but normal, but it was exactly what I’d always wanted. What I’d been hoping for my whole life, and I certainly wouldn’t allow one narrow-minded doctor to ruin our joy.

  Chapter Thirty-four

  Will

  I thought my past had prepared me for everything. I’d seen a lot of crazy shit in my day. Like my childhood growing up in an orphanage, and even building houses came with its own set of complications and surprises. But nothing, and I mean nothing, prepared me for child birth.