Page 24 of Just Curious

Sensing his return finally, Willa slowly ended the kiss. With half-closed eyes, she then shifted to Jackson’s lap and began kissing him just as ardently. After a few moments of that, she disconnected her lips and sighed into Jackson’s chest. “You guys are the best. I can’t believe how lucky I feel right now.”

Casey spoke up then, sounding concerned. “How do you two see this playing out in the future? I’m not sure what level of intimacy and involvement you’re expecting from me. And I understand this is a loaded question because we just started our… whatever it is.”

Jackson looked at the emotion in Willa’s eyes and felt close to positive they were on the same page about this, so he spoke up. “Case, we don’t want you to feel as if you’re some side plaything we’re going to call up now and then when we want some kinky fun.” He laughed then and added, “Unless that’s what you’d like.” Seeing Casey wince, Jackson continued, “Seriously, I’ve known you nearly my entire life, and I know you deserve more than that from us.”

Nodding, Willa picked up Jackson’s train of thought. “If you’re willing to give us a go, I think it would be amazing to see how we do as a committed triad—or throuple in the new vernacular. Threesome… whatever you want to call us. Throuple always sounds silly.” She chortled softly.

“So, when you say committed,” Casey began, “you mean none of us would date anyone outside of the three of us, yeah?”

“Yes,” said Willa, and Jackson said at the same time, “Agreed.”

Willa went on, “Rest assured, Jackson and I will be careful with your feelings. There’s never a guarantee when it comes to relationships, and we’re bound to face some challenges, but the fact that the two of you have remained close through thick and thin says a lot about how you already feel about each other. I don’t want to jeopardize that any more than you want to disrupt what Jackson and I have built. But if at any time you feel this isn’t what you need or want, or you meet someone else, well… we’ll be sad, but we’ll understand.”

After kissing her cheek, Jackson told her, “Well said.” Looking at Casey, he went on, “If at some point you feel you’d like more space from us, please say so. But I, for one, am amazed at just how right it feels for the three of us to be together. I hope this feeling lasts and lasts. I know that you and I talked about having families in the future, and a gay lifestyle together wasn’t what we envisioned, but this is actually something we can all consider together—just maybe not this soon.” He grinned his charming, crooked smile at them.

Both Casey and Willa got thoughtful looks on their faces. Then Willa spoke up, “So, both of you want families and children?”

“I do,” answered Casey immediately.

“Definitely,” said Jackson. “That’s actually why Casey and I decided to keep our experience together secret for so long. We knew ultimately we wanted wives, and we worried that future partners wouldn’t understand...” He laughed then and added, “We never counted on the likes of you, Willa. But the question remains, how do you feel about having kids in the future? We might as well clear the air upfront.”

“I’ve always wanted a whole bunch of them, actually. I was so lonely growing up with no siblings, it sounded like fun to have sisters and brothers around all the time. I know that here in California especially there are plenty of examples of polyamorous families. I might do a bit of research into that and see how it works. Your families might be scandalized by us, though.”

“Nah,” protested Casey. “Mine wouldn’t be. My grandfather had his mistress living with his family for years, and if the stories are true, his wife liked having her there. So, my dad certainly grew up in a household that was accepting of alternate lifestyles.” He looked at Jackson and asked, “Your family has always seemed a lot more traditional. What do you think they’d say?”

Jackson’s face went a bit pink, and he looked at Casey. “I’ve never told you this, but my parents suspected there was something going on between you and me when we were teens, and they sat me down and told me they loved me and were proud of me, and all they wanted was for me to be fulfilled and happy. I think they were trying to save me the anguish of coming out to them.”

Willa chimed in, “What did you tell them?”

Jackson’s lips pulled up at one side with a lopsided grin, and he said, “We had a long conversation then about sexuality and being sexually fluid. They know I’m not completely straight, and they also thought labeling me or putting me into some arbitrary category would be counterproductive. They encouraged me to simply follow my heart.”

“Your parents sound amazing,” said Willa reverently.

“They are. I’m sorry you can’t meet them next week, but we’ll arrange something soon. Oh, and by the way, they think Casey is wonderful.”

Willa smiled and murmured, “So do I.”

Chapter 14

After a delicious dinner, they all headed next door to Willa’s house so Jackson could take a look at her laptop. She booted it up and showed him what was going on while Casey wandered around and looked at her living area. He couldn’t resist.

Leaving Jackson to fret over the mess that he discovered, she found Casey in her living room.

“Something tells me you haven’t updated your décor in years,” Casey observed. “It’s a nice enough look, but it doesn’t do much to reflect your style.” He looked at her somber face and added, “I’m sorry. I can’t help myself sometimes. I don’t mean to say you need to change anything. It’s your house.”

“No, it’s okay. I know the house looks dated. I just never got around to changing anything after losing my parents. My mom had a decorator help her spruce things up when I was about eight years old, and then she forgot about it. My dad never cared, and, I must say, it just felt normal to me. I’m always so busy writing, it just never occurred to me to make many changes. I also suspect that subconsciously it makes me feel closer to them, even though I understand that I need to move along with my life.” She looked down at her feet and continued, “The only things I got rid of finally were their clothes and personal items that had no sentimental value. I hope it doesn’t feel to you like I’m living in a memorial to my dead parents or some weird thing like that. The look of the house is more a factor of neglect than anything else. I don’t often have people over the way my parents used to.”

“Oh, Willa, I never meant anything of the sort.” He reached out and gently took her hand. “It’s a great house. It’s none of my business how you want to live, but if you ever want to modernize your living space, let me know, and I’ll do anything I can to help. I tend to look at interior spaces like a blank canvas, no matter how nice they are. It’s a blessing and a curse, I guess.”

“Well, you certainly did a spectacular job on Jackson’s house. I love the colors, the artwork, and the way everything seems so lush and comfortable.”

Casey grinned. “Exactly what I love to hear.”

For the next hour, they wandered around looking at the house, and Casey filled Willa’s head with hundreds of ideas for how she could update and enhance her living space. He even moved a couple of things around for her so they’d look fresh or be more convenient. By the end of the impromptu tour, she was ready to put him to work. The last room they came to was the bedroom at the end of the hall where Jackson was sitting at a desk, hunched over Willa’s computer.

Even looking at him in profile, Willa could see Jackson’s furrowed brow and hear the quiet expletives coming from him. She asked in a soft voice, “So… I take it things aren’t so good?”

Huffing out a long sigh, Jackson hit the power switch and turned to look at them. “You were infected with a Trojan Horse, and I got it removed and cleaned up the mess it made. I hope I got everything put back the way it’s supposed to be, but we’ll have to see how it acts next time you try to use it. You should be alright now, but if things start acting weird, let me know immediately. And be sure to back things up all the time. Changing passwords would be a good idea as well, like Casey said.”

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