Three

by Chloe Lynn Ellis

  “And for me, mijo, and for me,” Santi says, sounding all kinds of choked up.

  “You… uh, you got any more tissues, princess?” I whisper to Eden. Just, you know, out of curiosity and all.

  She squeezes my arm and slips another one into my hand, like she’s got some kind of tissue-producing superpower or something, since I’m pretty sure she’s got no pockets on her whatsoever, and right then and there I decide never to go to a wedding without her…or watch a Disney flick without her, if we’re talking situations which occasionally require tissue.

  I mean, just sayin’, she got me hooked on them a few months ago, and have you seen the end of Frozen?

  And actually, since I’m on a roll, maybe I should just make that a blanket statement covering any movie that doesn’t involve zombies or like, shit blowing up. Seriously, Eden conned me and Matty into renting one about a reincarnating dog last month, and I shit you not, my eyes were swollen for days.

  Coulda just been pollen in the air, though.

  I mean, maybe.

  “Don’t leave us hanging, Matt. What else did Nick tell you?” someone calls out from the back of the room.

  Matt clears his throat, then grins. “Nick told me that he wanted my blessing before he asked Dad to marry him again.”

  “And you told me I didn’t need it,” Nick says, a smile hovering over his lips.

  “That’s right, because love is the blessing,” Matty says, raising his glass to Nick. “And it doesn’t require a ring, or anyone else’s approval, or anything at all outside the miracle of discovering that person who God made just for you. And I believe that. I believe there are people in the world who just fit together, and when you find them, it’s like coming home and discovering a brand-new adventure, both in the exact same place.”

  Feels like Matty’s talking to me and Eden. Feels like he’s talking about us.

  “This is the kind of love my father found with Nick,” he says, looking out at all of us. “The kind that they both deserve to be blessed with until death do they part. The kind that my father had the courage to reach for, and that Nick had the persistence to pursue. The kind that today—as we all come together to celebrate the union of their love—blesses each of us, too, because having a love like this out in the world lifts all of us up.

  “Dad, Nick, if you ever needed my blessing, you would have it ten times over, but you are the blessing. I’m honored to have the chance to acknowledge that, touched to be included in your circle of love, and inspired by the depth of what you’ve found with each other. May the blessing only grow, every day of your lives. Friends, please join me in raising a glass to my father and his husband, to Santi and Nick!”

  And then we all raise our glasses and repeat it, toasting the shit out of Santi and Nick, and Eden slips me another tissue, because, you know, that damn pollen.

  It’s everywhere.

  I’m trading camel-riding stories with Brenda, Matty’s mom—and to be honest, feeling a tiny bit jealous that she got to actually ride one in Egypt while me, Matty, and Eden had to make do with some local action—when Matty and Eden come off the dance floor looking so flushed and gorgeous and happy that I kinda lose my train of thought for a second.

  Dammmmnnnnnnnnnnn.

  Just sayin’, all that poetic shit Matty was spouting earlier about love being blessed and all? With the two of them in my life, it applies to me in spades.

  “What are you two up to?” Eden asks me and Brenda, her eyes just glazed enough to remind me that she’s had a lot of champagne… and also to get me kinda excited for all the celebrating I’m guessing we’ll be doing later.

  “Johnny was just telling me about some of the adventures the three of you have gotten up to,” Brenda says, pulling Eden in for a quick hug. “It sounds like you’ve been a good influence on my boys, Eden.”

  Gotta admit, I zone out on the chitchat for a second. Not my fault, though. For one thing, I’ve had plenty of champagne myself, and for another… well, let’s just say that Eden and Matty are looking hot as fuck right now.

  It’s distracting.

  Suddenly, I realize they’re all looking at me like I missed a conversational cue or something. Problem is, I really did miss it. I’m not even sure what the topic is, to be honest, but since they’ve all got these expectant looks on their faces, it’s not like I can just stay silent, you know?

  “I’m putting a trip to Egypt on my bucket list,” I blurt out, since it’s the first thing that pops to mind.

  At least, the first thing that I can actually say out loud in front of Brenda.

  I mean, come on now—sure we’re all adults here, but she’s still sort of like a mom-figure to me, you know? And no matter how much I’ve had to drink tonight, I’m not going to say the shit I was really thinking—like how skipping out on the rest of the reception to go fuck like bunnies is sounding pretty good right now, what with the two of them looking like they do and me full of all this champagne and the mushy love-vibes from the wedding atmosphere and all.

  “Egypt, hm?” Eden says, wrapping an arm around my waist as she smiles up at me. “That sounds fun.”

  “Oh, Christ,” Matty says, shaking his head with a laugh. “I am not going to Egypt.”

  I grin, and he holds his hands up like he thinks he’s gonna be able to ward me off or something.

  “No, Johnny.”

  You know what never gets old? Proving Matty wrong. Not sure why he keeps thinking he’s actually going to get out of doing all the cool stuff me and Eden come up with, but watching him squirm until he finally accepts the truth is always hella cute.

  “Sorry, bro,” I say, shrugging. “You’re going. Bucket List Rules.”

  He opens his mouth to argue, but snaps it closed again without saying anything—because he knows I’m right—then he turns on Brenda. “Egypt?” he says, like it’s her fault. “Mom, will you please stop putting ideas in his head?”

  Brenda laughs and pats his cheek. “Oh, honey, lighten up. I think these bucket lists Johnny was telling me about sound wonderful! I think I’ll start one myself. What’s on yours?”

  Eden shakes her head before Matty can answer. “Matt doesn’t have—” she starts.

  “Just one thing,” Matty says, talking over Eden and shocking the shit out of both of us.

  Eden recovers first. “You’re starting a bucket list?” she squeals, throwing her arms around his neck and planting a kiss on him that brings back to mind the whole fucking like bunnies game plan.

  “I am,” Matty says, getting a little handsy with her, despite his mom standing right there.

  And okay, so maybe we’ve all indulged a bit tonight.

  “Isn’t that fantastic, Johnny?” Eden asks me, slinging one of her arms around my neck without letting go of Matty. She pulls me in to her other side and I get the same enthusiastic kiss treatment that she gave our boy, proving that Eden has definitely had the most champagne-per-body-weight of the three of us.

  I reach down and discreetly adjust myself, cutting a glance over at Brenda. And it’s not that I’m not happy to see her—because I am, for real—but it’s just that at this moment, if she were to say, wander over to the open bar or decide she needed to catch up with people who weren’t us, I wouldn’t mind, because suddenly I’m really wanting to suggest the whole skipping-out-on-the-reception-early thing to Matty and Eden.

  Or hey, I’m not picky—maybe we could find an unused coat closet or whatever, you know?

  Not sure if Brenda’s got superpowers of perception or if I really am blessed, but for whatever reason, I get my wish. Santi comes up and asks her to dance, and she says something about wanting to hear all about Matty’s bucket list later and then heads off with him, leaving the three of us alone.

  “You know what we should do?” I say, about to spring my brilliance on them.

  “Yes,” Matty says, giving me a smile that stops me in my tracks.

  I mean, my question wasn’t really meant as a question, you know? It was mor
e like a… a segue. But that’s not what shuts me up. It’s that look Matty’s giving me.

  The look he’s giving us.

  He’s looking at me and Eden the way Nick looked at Santi during Matty’s toast. The way all those pretty words I’ll probably never manage to come up with on my own made my heart feel, you know? And yeah, I still want us to go fuck, but suddenly I can’t breathe quite right, because it feels like all the room in my chest that’s normally supposed to be for air is taken up by this other thing. By loving him and Eden so hard it doesn’t leave room for anything else… and by knowing I’m loved that way right back.

  “I do know what you should do, Johnny,” Matt says, still smiling at me like that. “I’m starting a bucket list, and Bucket List Rules. You and Eden should say yes to me.”

  “Okay,” I say, because for real, I’ve got no clue what he’s talking about but first of all, Bucket List Rules, right? And second… Jesus. How could I ever not say yes to him?

  “What are we saying yes to, Matt?” Eden asks, her voice all sweet and breathless and making me think she’s feeling all the same can’t-breathe-no-room-love-too-big shit that I am.

  And then… well, guess I don’t need to give Matty a heads-up on the getting more romantic and sappy thing, after all, because clearly he’s already got it down. Because then, before I can even blink, Matty’s down on one knee. I can’t make sense of it, because that’s a classic pose, you know? But he can’t… we can’t… is he really doing this?

  “There’s just one thing on my bucket list,” he says, looking up at us like it’s just the three of us there even though all of a sudden a whole lot of other people are paying attention and gathering round. “Eden, Johnny, will you both marry me?”

  Eden gasps, and my heart straight-up stops.

  Matty winks. “You should say yes. Bucket List Rules.”

  “Yes,” Eden says… right at the same time that I blurt out “Matty, we can’t,” because I’m an idiot.

  An idiot who feels like he’s about to start bawling, just like at the end of Frozen.

  Matty just smiles. “Neither could Dad and Nick, once upon a time,” he says.

  Well, that’s not true. I mean, technically it is true in the sense of marriage equality in general, but even though it took the rest of the country a while to catch up, here in Massachusetts gay marriage has been legal since 2004, and Nick and Santi didn’t even know each other yet back then. I’m not a total idiot, though, because I don’t blurt that out. Instead, I get what Matty’s really saying, and—

  Oh, shit. Now I really am crying. It’s worse than at that dog movie.

  Eden uses her superpower to pull a tissue out of thin air for me, but she’s crying, too, and Matty’s still down on one knee, so I’m pretty sure I’m not gonna be able to stop any time soon. Especially with Matty still looking up at us like he means it.

  He wants to get married.

  This is Matty, so I know two things. One, he’ll stay down on that knee forever if he has to, waiting on the yeses he’s holding out for. And two, when it comes to actually doing the thing? The three of us getting married, all to each other?

  If Matty says he wants it, he’ll hold out forever to get that, too.

  “Johnny, Eden, you two are my breath,” he says, stealing mine all over again. “You’re not just the beat of my heart, you’re the other pieces of it, fitting with mine and making me whole. And you both know I never saw the point in starting a bucket list of my own, but only because I thought I already had everything I wanted. Except here? Now? Today? It hit me that I do want something more. I want to marry you, both of you, not because it will change us or make me love you both better, but because you are my forever.”

  “Oh, Matt,” Eden says, eyes glowing like everything inside her is too bright to keep inside.

  “Jesus, Matty,” I say, knowing exactly how she feels but lacking all the right words to do the glow justice.

  Matty smiles at us. “I know it’s not legal yet, but I’m playing the long game here, yeah? And as long as you both say yes, I know I’m gonna win.” He winks. “Already have, even if it ends up taking the world a while to catch up with us. I love you two with everything I’ve got. Come on now, say you’ll marry me?”

  And sometimes the right words don’t have to be all that poetic after all. Sometimes they can actually be pretty simple, you know?

  “Yes,” Eden says, melting against the two of us happily.

  “Dude, yes,” I say, because Bucket List Rules. Well, that and the whole loving these two more than life itself thing.

  “Yes,” Matty says, even though he’s the one who asked.

  He stands up, pulling us in and looking at both of us like he’s full of glow, too. And this? Whether we ever get to put rings on each other’s fingers or not, this right here is enough.

  This is everything.

  END

  Also by Chloe Lynn Ellis

  His

  Mine

  About the Author

  Once upon a time, there were two authors who loved writing steamy love stories. Between them, they had published a fair number of books (more than eighty, less than a hundred… but really, who’s counting?) in a variety of genres (M/M contemporary romance, M/F paranormal romance, mpreg, and lots of hot and dirty erotica with all the “M” and “F” combinations a reader could wish for) but, sadly, neither author felt that their writing accomplishments were complete.

  Then, one day, fate smiled on these two.

  They found each other, became fast friends, and eventually decided that trying their hand at MMF romance was an adventure best done balls out, feet first, and most of all… together.

  And thus, the writing team that is Chloe Lynn Ellis was born.