“Well if she has a hot brother, let me know,” I laughed with another sip.
“What about him instead?” Chris said. He nodded his head towards the man sitting across the bar, his hands around a beer and his eyes on me. Damn, he was quite the sight. I’d always been a fan of a little stubble and this man had a perfect shadow covering his jaw. Dark brown hair fell carelessly over light eyes, either blue or green, I couldn’t tell from that distance. A sly smirk spread across his lips when we made eye contact and I felt my adrenaline start rushing at the thought of leaving with him. He looked like the kind of man mothers warn about and I was about to disappoint every mother in the country.
“Oh, I like the looks of him,” I mumbled just loudly enough for Chris to hear. A quiet chuckle rumbled through his chest as he gently nudged me off my bar stool.
“Well then, go on!” he urged.
I shifted my weight back onto my seat and turned to face him with wide eyes. “I’m not nearly drunk enough to talk to a man like that!”
“Fine,” he said with a roll of his eyes. He motioned for the bartender and ordered two shots of Fireball. “Take a shot and then go talk to him. Otherwise you’ll get sloppy drunk and you won’t be able to tell him your own name.”
He had a point.
I threw back the cinnamon drink and bit back a cringe at the slight burn down my throat. I took another glance across the bar and saw him ordering another drink of his own. Even with a little more alcohol pumping through my body, I couldn’t muster up enough courage to get off my ass and talk to the stranger.
“I can’t,” I muttered to Chris.
“Oh, come on, of course you can. You’re funny, honest, and smoking hot,” he smirked.
Excuse me?
“What?” I laughed, even though a part of my mind was racing at his comment.
“Yeah,” he shrugged. “You know how guys are tall, dark, and handsome?” I nodded. “Well you’re short, dark, and gorgeous.”
I rolled my eyes at him but didn’t even bother hiding my smile. I never figured out how to properly take compliments so I responded by finishing off the last of my Captain and Coke.
“Come on, Leash. You’re a gorgeous, single, 35-year-old woman,” Chris said.
“Don’t remind me,” I grumbled.
“Leash, he’s not going to turn you down. Just give it a shot, okay? Trust me. That man is looking at you the same way I look at nachos,” he laughed.
I looked back at the man across from us, his head tipped back as he downs a shot of something strong, judging by the curl of his lips when he looks back at me. I’d rather go home disappointed that he rejected me than go home wondering what would’ve happened. With one glance to Chris for a boost of motivation, I finally slipped off my bar stool and walked around the bar to sit beside my mystery man.
*****
My nerves didn’t kick in until I had already sat down and, by then, it was too late to back out. I had to talk or I’d look like an even bigger idiot.
“Hey. I’m Alisha,” I smiled.
His eyes shot up to mine and returned my smile, helping calm my fears. “Alisha. I’m James,” he replied confidently.
Damn, a name to match his looks. We may not get a second coming of Christ but God just gave me a second James Dean.
“So, James, are you from Chicago?” One thing Chris didn’t acknowledge during his pep talk was my lack of skills when it comes to small talk. This was about to go downhill real fast.
“Yeah, I am,” he replied. “I’m a partner at one of the law firms downtown.” And he’s smart too. “What about you?”
“I’m from Chicago too. I work at Cander Accounting.”
“Accounting, huh?” he mused. “What brings you to a place like this?”
“The end of tax season,” I laughed. I couldn’t sound more boring if I tried.
“Well I’ve never seen a woman who looks more gorgeous in a pant suit,” he smiled.
And that’s my cue.
“Want to see what I look like without the pant suit?” I smirked. The alcohol had finally kicked in, if my boost of confidence was any indication.
That confidence quickly fizzled out as James’s expression dropped to a thin-lipped smile. “I’d love to but I’m actually in a relationship.”
There’s the bomb. The three words single people hate to hear when they’re flirting, especially when the flirting is reciprocated: in a relationship.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I muttered. “I should probably leave you be then.” Just as I was about to turn away, Chris walked up behind me and rested a hand on my lower back.
“Everything going alright, babe?” he asked. Babe?
“Uh, yeah, everything’s– ”
Before I could finish my sentence, the entire night turned even more confusing as Chris leaned down to kiss James. My best friend kissed the man I was flirting with.
“Whoa. What is going on here?” I asked, holding my hands up in baffled surrender.
Chris kept his hand on my back and rested his other arm on James’s shoulder. “This is my boyfriend, James.”
Wait, boyfriend? “I thought you were dating a girl,” I questioned.
“I never said anything about a girl; you did. I said I met someone. I never specified a female someone. That was your own assumption,” he explained. For some reason, he was still smirking at me as if his stupid prank amused him.
“So why did you send me over to flirt with your boyfriend if you knew nothing would happen between us?” I demanded. His previous encouragement was coming back to me in the form of rage.
“Who ever said nothing was going to happen?” he asked.
I froze. He wasn’t implying what I thought he was implying…was he?
“Chris, I-I know we made out a while ago but we both agreed that was a one-time thing,” I stammered.
He and James both looked so relaxed about the current situation. They had to have planned it all out beforehand. He sent me to flirt with his boyfriend so I would join them…in a threesome?
“Not like that, doll,” James smirked, laughing at how flustered I was getting.
“Well, not yet,” Chris corrected. “Hear me out, babe. I like you. You like me. You like James. I like James. James likes me. James likes you.” God, why did he sound like he was talking to a child? “We all like each other, right?”
“I don’t know James well enough to confirm that,” I muttered.
“But you think he’s hot,” Chris said. I shrugged in confirmation. “Here’s our proposal: you, me, and James all in a relationship.”
“You want me to date you and your boyfriend? I’m confused; what’s happening?”
“It’s a polyamorous relationship,” James chimed in. “If all three of us like each other, why stick with just one significant other?”
That made sense. I was still confused about how it would all work out but the two men just stood there and watched me mull it over. It could be fun, right? Having two boyfriends? I knew I liked Chris and if James was anything like him, things could go really well. At 35 years old, who the hell cared what I did with my life?
“Okay. Sounds fun,” I shrugged.
Chris’s eyes went wide at my casual acceptance but he soon smiled at me and wrapped an arm around James, leading both of us out of the bar.
*****
April nights in Chicago were still a little chilly so Chris held me close to his side as we walked the few blocks to his apartment.
“Since you’re new to this multi-partner relationship, we’ll help you get used to it,” he said.
“There’s not much to get used to, is there?” I asked. “It’s just a relationship, except now I get to annoy two men.” I looked up at Chris with a smile, my eyes flitting to the far less familiar man beside him. Dating Chris wouldn’t be that weird. We’d known each other for five years and already acted like we were dating. The only difference was showing legitimate affection, not just hugs and the occasional drunken kiss. But James… Jam
es was a different story. I knew nothing about him but if Chris liked him, chances are he was a decent guy.
“Sort of,” Chris laughed. “It’s kind of learn-as-you-go, just remember it’s not only you dating us. We’re dating each other too,” he explained, motioning between himself and James.
We made it to Chris’s complex before he could explain much more, but all I wanted at that point was a warm blanket and a pillow. The three of us stayed silent until we got to Chris’s place. I went straight for the couch and coddled myself in a blanket, looking back at the two men expectantly.
“Well are you two going to keep me warm or did I imagine joining your relationship?” I could already tell Chris was more interested in the relationship than James, probably because Chris was the connecting factor between all of us. He walked straight to me and wrapped me in his arms, ushering James over to join us. I rested my head against Chris’s chest and relaxed a little more when I felt James’s warm presence beside me.
“Do you have any questions or am I allowed to kiss you now?” Chris asked. I looked up at him and sucked in a quick breath at how close we were, our noses just barely touching.
“I still have a couple questions, if that’s okay.” He nodded for me to continue. “How did you two meet? And when did you realize you wanted someone else in your relationship?”
Chris just smiled and leaned back against the couch, one arm still draped over my shoulders. “Remember when I told you about that person I met at the bar?” he asked. “You assumed it was a girl; it was James. Like I told you then, we started talking and we had a few drinks. Somewhere between those drinks, we ended up making out and I woke up the next morning with a headache and this guy beside me,” Chris smirked. I glanced back at James who had red flushed cheeks at Chris’s recollection of their first meeting.
“When did you realize you wanted another person in your relationship?” I asked. That was the real question I wanted an answer to.
Both of them shrugged in response. “I think James was the first to bring it up.” With that, I turned to my right to face the man in question.
“Chris used to talk about you a lot and when I asked why he wasn’t dating you instead, he said it just never happened so I asked if he’d want it to happen. As I’m sure you can gather, he said yes.”
“It took dating another person for you to want to date me?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at Chris. “Why didn’t you just ask me out before?”
He shrugged again. “We were such good friends. I didn’t want to risk ruining it.”
“Let me guess, James told you to throw caution to the wind?” I smiled at the two. Chris laughed and leaned his head back against the couch, wordlessly confirming my assumption. I turned to James and quietly said, “I feel like you and I are going to get along just fine.”
*****
The next morning, I woke up cuddled between a shirtless Chris and a drooling James; fortunately the latter happened on the pillow and not me. Even though it was a king-sized bed, it was impossible to move without waking one or both of the guys. I slowly pushed James’s arm off my stomach and tried to climb off the bed, slinging my leg over Chris as gracefully as I could, only to have him grab my hips before I could make it to the floor.
“Don’t go,” he mumbled, barely peeking his eyes open.
“I’m not leaving, I just need a minute,” I said quietly. James rolled over and patted the mattress beside him, only to find the space empty. He opened his eyes to the dim light shining through the curtains and a sly smirk graced his lips when he saw me on Chris’s lap.
“What about me?” he grumbled in his gravelly morning voice.
“Nothing is happening right now. I just needed to get up for a second,” I laughed, once again trying to move off the bed. Chris’s grip on my waist tightened so I still couldn’t move, but being friends with him for five years taught me one important thing about him: he hated being tickled.
As much as I hated resorting to fifth grade antics, I trailed my hands down his chest and stopped at his abdomen. He gave me a small smirk as if he expected something else to happen. That smirk vanished as soon as my hands met his sides and he went into a laughing fit. His grip finally left my hips so I could clamber off the bed and run towards the bathroom before he could grab me again.
“I’ll be back in five minutes, I promise,” I said as I shuffled across Chris’s room.
Once the door was shut and locked, I turned to face myself in the mirror and thankfully only slightly cringed at the sight before me. My hair was a little knotted and my mascara was a little smeared, but it could’ve passed as an attempt at a smoky eye.
I splashed water on my face to ease the minor headache I had from the previous night’s drinks. I had to thank Chris for stopping my drinking spell when he did or I’d be nursing a much worse headache. I also had to thank him for keeping a stash of extra toothbrushes in his bathroom closet; at least I’d be able to freshen up a bit. A part of me thought I’d wake up terrified of what I had agreed to the night before but I actually felt sort of relieved. Chris was a great guy and James seemed just as fun. I had never been in a relationship with more than one guy, though, which explained why I still felt a little nervous about everything.
With a racing heart and fresh outlook, I made my way back into the bedroom and settled between Chris and James on the mattress.
“Can we just stay in bed all day?” I asked.
Chris rolled onto his side to face me and wrapped one arm around my middle. “I was actually thinking we could go out again tonight and sleep all day tomorrow.”
“You two can sleep all day tomorrow,” James said from the other side. “I haven’t had a crazy schedule for the past few months so I’m going to try to be productive.”
“Will you still go out with us tonight?” I asked, rolling over so my back was to Chris and I was facing James.
He huffed but smiled when he looked over at me. “I guess.”
“Maybe you two should spend today actually getting to know each other,” Chris suggested. His arm left my waist as he stood and headed to the bathroom to get ready for an eventless day. “I can find something else to do.”
I looked over to James, sprawled out on his stomach with his dark hair sticking up in all directions. This was exactly what I hoped to wake up to when I went to the bar; I just didn’t expect Chris to be there too.
“Good idea.” I turned to Chris still standing in the doorway of the bathroom with his clothes in his hand. “But what are you going to do?”
He shrugged and stepped backwards through the door. “Probably go to the gym, maybe wait at the bar for you two.”
“What?” James asked, pushing himself to sit up in bed. “Dude, it’s like…” He looked at the clock beside him and we both gaped at how long we had all slept. “Three in the afternoon.”
James looked down at the comforter, seemingly confused at how he could’ve slept through breakfast and lunch. I couldn’t fight back a laugh at how lost he looked from simply sleeping in so late. “Chris and I have been working 60 hours a week for the past three months. What’s your excuse?”
An hour later, James and I were sitting in the living room watching When Harry Met Sally, mostly because of me but I could tell he enjoyed it. We were like high schoolers again with a large pizza on the coffee table and romantic comedy on TV, except this time we had wine in our glasses instead of vodka stolen from some kid’s parents’ basement.
“So you’re a lawyer?” I said, taking another bite of the last piece of pizza, graciously forfeited by James.
He nodded as he took a drink of his wine. “Mostly divorce cases and custody battles. I’ve even had a few couples come in fighting for custody of the dog,” he laughed.
“Well, of course! I would fight tooth and nail for an animal,” I smiled.
James really was a lot like Chris. We got along just as easily and there was hardly a pause in conversation. Once we got past our histories, we both felt more at ease with each o
ther. So much so that by the time we started James’s movie of choice, we were shamelessly cuddled up on the couch together.
Somehow, Chris managed to stay out of his own apartment until seven o’clock, presumably spending most (if not, all) of his time at the gym judging by his still slightly-wet hair when he walked in.
“How did today go?” he asked, as if the scene before him didn’t explain enough.
“It went well,” I smiled, slinging both of my legs over James’s and wrapping my arms around his middle. He rested on hand on the small of my back and pressed a kiss to the top of my head in return.
“Well don’t get too comfortable. We still have to stop by both of your places before we head out tonight,” Chris said. He tossed his gym bag into his room and met us back in the living room.
“Are we going to a bar or club tonight?” I asked.
Chris shrugged, something he had a horrible habit of doing every other sentence, and said, “Whichever. Why?”
I sighed and moved myself from James’s lap to stand. “I just feel more comfortable at clubs. People judge me less.”
“What do you mean?” James asked, leaning his elbows on his knees as he gave me a worried expression.
“Bars are just a different environment, you know? Club-goers are usually more…diverse, to put it simply.”
James opened his mouth to argue but was cut off by Chris. “Club, it is. Let me get changed and we can head over to James’s place first.”
Once Chris left the room, James stood and wrapped me up in a hug. It was a little unexpected but I snuggled against his chest anyway. I may have only known him for about a day but he still treated me with the same care and respect Chris did after five years of knowing each other.
“You’re beautiful. You know that, right?” James said, gently pulling away to look me in the eyes.
I rolled my eyes at him and laughed. “You’re my boyfriend, you’re supposed to say that.” It was going to take a while to get used to having more than one boyfriend.
“That doesn’t mean I’m not telling the truth,” he defended.
Ways in the Guardian: A Menage Romance Book Collection Page 34