Page 49 of Lucy and Her Wicked Three

"Me too."

Neither of us move. Has Noah ever looked at me like this?

Matty and I used to tease him about how he'd stare at me, like my face would instantly lull him into an alternate dimension. Like he gets lost in his head, forgetting it's weird to watch someone so unveiled the way he does.

It's how he's looking at me now. But the difference is, I'm looking back.

"Night, man," Noah finally says then walks away. His bedroom door clicks shut before I even move. That was weird.

Chapter 18

Lucy

For the second morning in a row, I woke up beside Mateo, curled into his side. I can already tell he's been awake for a while. The sun isn't yet up, the room is still dark, but in the past, he'd have been dressed and staring down at my sleeping form by now. Today, he doesn't want to let go. He doesn't say it, but I can feel it in how tightly he holds me.

"I love you, Lucy. I'm sorry I didn't tell you that enough before."

I let out a tired moan, pressing my face into the crook of his arm, stretching my body out like a cat to wake up. The movement is a little jarring, and I groan, then wrap my hands around my head. "I love you too Mateo."

He laughs, since I didn't sound very lovey dovey. "Headache?"

"How'd you know?"

Mateo's big hands take the place of mine and he rubs, eliciting pornographic sounds as I close my eyes while he works the pain away. Unfortunately, the moment he stops rubbing, the pain returns.

"I can't believe I drank that much beer."

Mateo chuckles, "At least the guys were with you."

I'm fortunate I remember most of our conversation last night. At least, I'm pretty sure I do. I admit, "Noah asked if he and Silas could… You know, date me. Or whatever."

"Or whatever…" He teases.

I shove his side, but for some reason my head is the only thing punished. Mateo laughs and gets out of bed. "I'll get you some aspirin."

I grumble and bury my head back in the covers. He returns a few minutes later with two aspirin and a tall glass of water. I take both graciously.

While drinking them down, he says, "They told me. So you're officially our girlfriend. How does that feel?"

"Weird." Mateo smirks, so I add, "It was nice to be asked. It's weird but… I'm really excited."

"That's good. I'm glad. So, I hope what I'm about to say will go down a little easier… the guys want to stay here for a while. Well, I want them to stay. I think they—we—miss being around each other. But I know this is still new for you, I should have waited to talk to you before inviting them. Is it alright if they stay here a bit? I'll get them an apartment key, put their names with reception downstairs?"

I'm surprised at my lack of hesitation. Maybe I shouldn't be, but I nod, "That's great. Where will they…?" I glance around the room, suddenly very curious how a poly group lives together. Do we all share a bed? Separate rooms? Do they bed hop? I feel like I should have asked these questions beforehand. Do the answers really matter?

"I'll clear out my office. That gives us three bedrooms. For now, you and I can stay in here, they can share a bed, or we'll blow up an air mattress for the office or… whatever you want… If you want to sleep with one of them, that's okay too." He says the last bit slowly, like he's testing the waters.

I open my mouth to assure him any of the options are fine, but the words don't come out. What if we all stayed together? Is this bed big enough? Do they make the beds big enough?

I don't want to sleep without Mateo. But the idea of falling asleep between Silas and Noah… that's appealing, too.

"Don't worry about it right now, Lucy. We're the ones who brought this on, we'll figure it out together. It's one of the perks of a relationship like this. You don't have to have the burden of a decision alone. We'll figure it out later."

He leans down and kisses my forehead. "I need to get to work. The guys will probably come by a little later on. Call me if you need anything at all, okay?"

I press my lips together and narrow my eyes. He amends, "Anything. But also, you can call the guys if you need anything. I'll answer, though, I promise."

I laugh at his honesty. "Okay, I will call you if I need you. Otherwise I'll text. And for emergencies, I'll call the other guys first."

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