Page 58 of The Final Straw

“She’s something else, isn’t she?” Van muses, his eyes distant as he recalls memories.

“Absolutely,” Kipp agrees.

“Did you know she was Barbi’s friend?” Van asks.

Kipp shakes his head, a small smile playing on his lips. “No idea. Just found out as she was leaving our house and saw a picture of Barbi on the wall.”

“She about fell over, she was so shocked.” I smile, recalling the morning not that long ago.

“That’s funny, but also ironic.” Van takes a drink of his beer. “It’s unlike Livvy to take a man home from the bar, let alone two.”

“Didn’t you just tell us that’s how you two met?” Kipp raises a brow.

“Yeah, but she had said many times this was so unlike her and she couldn’t believe I was interested in her and not Barbi.”

I grunt. “I think Barbi had our girl thinking she’s not the most amazing creature that I’ve ever known.”

“Hey!” Kipp kicks me under the table. “Well, besides my husband, of course.” I toss him a wink and Van chuckles.

“I agree, though. She is the most stunning woman I’ve ever seen.” Kipp smiles.

Talk shifts to our work, the sports teams we like, and the usual small talk that keeps things comfortable. Kipp talks about his marketing company, the challenges of his latest campaign, and the thrill of seeing his ideas come to life. Van shares stories from his work in architecture, the projects he's passionate about, and the satisfaction of seeing his designs take shape. I add in my experiences from working in tech, the fast-paced nature of the industry, and the innovative projects I’ve been a part of.

“So, you two work together and live together?” Van asks.

“Yeah, Grady does all the tech stuff for the company. He’s our IT man, but he also works on his own freelance projects for others, building websites and such.”

“Cool.”

“It just kind of happened,” I tell him. “I was working from home and then one day Kipp called with an IT issue and I came in and fixed it. Then he suggested I work there as the head of IT, but I didn’t want to give up my job. So we compromised. I pretty much run my company from inside his company, but I also fix his shit when his people break it.” I laugh.

“That’s nice though. One place but different places. If that makes sense. Smart,” Van replies.

Despite the easy flow of conversation, there's an underlying tension, a conversation waiting to happen. Finally, I decide to stop ignoring the elephant in the room.

“So, what are we gonna do about Ollie? We’re not going anywhere, and she’s not gonna give you up again, Van. So where do we stand?”

Van sighs, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t know, man. I don’t know if I can share her. It’s always been just me and her, and I think seeing her with someone else, making love in front of me, would make me see red. I’ve never been in a situation like that. Never even had an interest in threesomes. You guys seem like good dudes, and I appreciate you being there for her when I couldn’t, but I’m just supposed to share now. Like that’s just our future? Sharing the same girl forever? What if you two want to just be married and dip out, then Livvy adds two more dudes? Like, I just don’t know where it stops.”

Kipp, who’s been sitting next to Van this whole time, turns to look at him before slapping him upside the back of the head. “Nuh-uh. If she says we stay, then we’re in it for the long haul. She’s the woman we didn’t even know we were looking for. ”

Van shakes his head again. “I don’t know. I just don’t know if I can handle it.”

I smirk, an idea forming. “I have an idea.”

Van looks at me, curiously. “What?”

I rub my hands together like a villain in a movie. “Let’s try it. We fuck our girl together, and if you can’t handle it, we’ll leave. We don’t want to push you out because that could worsen this issue you think you have.”

Van cocks his head, laughing. “Like a test run orgy?”

“Exactly.” I nod. “Just a simple orgy. No pressure, no expectations. Just to see how it feels.”

Van stops laughing and looks at us, his expression serious. “You’re serious?”

“Deadly.”

He chugs his beer, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Fuck it, let’s try.”

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