Page 73 of Complete Me

I gape at him like a fish, and Kaino freezes, fork halfway to their lips. “Excuse me?” This afternoon is full of surprises.

Bjorn nods. “Yeah. Ours. You both should move in.”

“Bjorn.” I do my very best to keep my voice level and not let on how much I’m freaking out right now. “That’s a very big step. We’ve only been dating a few months.”

“Seven weeks tomorrow.” My head snaps around to stare at Kaino. They shrug. “What?”

I snort. “You’re counting?”

With cheeks red as cherries, they look down at their now empty container. “Maybe.”

Pushing up onto my knees, I take the container from them and set it aside. “That’s incredibly sweet, if wholly unexpected.” I lean in and kiss them. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Their lips twitch in a slight smile.

Bjorn swamps us with a huge bear hug, and we almost go tumbling over again. “God, you both are adorable. I’m so fucking lucky.” He sits back on his heels. “This is why you should both move in. Really. Think about it. It makes sense. No more rent. Only one set of utility bills instead of three. Kaino, you’d always have access to someone who could drive you wherever you needed to go.”

Kaino interjects. “I’m perfectly capable of taking ride shares.”

“But why, when I can drive you wherever you want? You’d also have access to the pool and the movie room.”

“Bjorn.”

He turns to face me as if I’m an easier audience, speaking faster, trying to make as many arguments as possible before we finally shut him down. “C’mon. We could be together more often.”

Kaino puts their hand over Bjorn’s mouth and uses their dom voice. “Bjorn.” Inappropriate as it is, my body responds. “Take a breath.” Bjorn stares at them for a moment, and Kaino repeats the instruction. “Take a breath.” Bjorn sits back on his heels and visibly breathes in and out. “Good. Xander and I have heard your invitation, as well as your reasons.” They let that sink in for a bit. “We’ll consider your very generous offer. But if we decide we’re not ready, you’ll have to accept that answer. Okay?” Bjorn frowns, but before he can argue, Kaino shakes their head. “That doesn’t mean never. It means one or both of us may not be ready right now. And you have to trust that we’ll know when we’re ready for that step.” Bjorn’s shoulders slump, and for a moment, he looks like he might try to argue further, but Kaino holds up a finger. “Remember the purpose of the rope and why you wanted that.”

I glance between them, fairly certain I know what Kaino means, and I can’t help the mote of jealousy growing in my gut. “What did I miss?”

Kaino ignores me until Bjorn nods. “Sorry. Old habits.” Bjorn rubs his wrist like it hurts.

“You can do this. I have faith in you. And if it helps at all, we can try another session.” Only then does Kaino look at me. “Bjorn and I did some shibari-assisted meditation last night. It seemed to help him let go of his stress.”

Bjorn nods. “It did. I felt incredibly relaxed. I stopped thinking about anything else but the feel of the rope on my skin and my breathing. It was really nice.”

“Oh.” My brain tries to process a million thoughts and feelings at once, but the negative ones win: jealousy at being left out, at them having something important between the two of them that I wasn’t part of. Did they wait for me to be busy before they tried? Or was it just a coincidence?

“Stop.” Kaino’s voice snaps me out of my spiral. “Stop thinking and start talking. You’re obviously upset, so use your words.”

I collect the empty water bottles from the blanket. “I’m fine.”

Bjorn reaches out and takes the trash from my hands. “You’re not. We’ve hurt you somehow. Please.” He tilts my chin up until I’m looking into his soft gray eyes. “Tell us?”

Sitting up as tall as I can, I try to save the shreds of my dignity that are left. “I’m feeling very left out. Again.” I sigh, exasperated at myself. “It’s ridiculous. But it’s my biggest fear. You two had a moment, and I wasn’t there. And my helpful brain is providing dozens of reasons why you didn’t want me there with you.”

“Oh, baby.” Bjorn pulls me against his chest and rubs my back. I practically crawl into his lap before I remember we’re in public, and it’s a safe bet that some of my students are here. “It wasn’t like that at all. I was struggling with what happened at dinner, wanting to fix everything for Gunnar and Jocelin. Trying to compensate for them shutting me down by organizing the cleanup. You know, basically me being bossy me.” He rests his cheek against the top of my head, and it feels really nice. “Kaino suggested meditation, and I’m sure you remember our attempt at meditation classes when we were together.”

I snort into his pec. Because yes, do I ever. “You were a disaster. You kept wiggling and couldn’t sit or lie still. The instructor finally asked you to leave the class.”

“Exactly. And when I said as much to Kaino, they suggested maybe being forced to be still might actually help quiet my mind. So we gave it a try.”

“And it was a success.” I feel a smaller hand on my forearm, though I don’t look to verify it’s Kaino. That would mean removing my cheek from Bjorn’s chest, and I’m feeling selfish and needy at the moment. “A small one. Bjorn was only tied for maybe fifteen minutes. But he said he got something out of it.”

“I did. And I’d like to try it again.” Bjorn slowly teases the outer shell of my ear with the tip of his nose. “But maybe we can also try it for other reasons.”

My heart thumps rapidly in my chest. “Other reasons?”

“Mmm. Naked reasons.”

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