Page 24 of Mayhem
Leaning back in his seat, Paetyn let his thoughts wander to the present they’d left Erin with. He had chosen it because it seemed fitting to the situation. It symbolized what essentially jumpstarted their pursuit when Paetyn knew it would have initially taken a few more weeks or months. Though, he knew there was no point in dwelling on it. The decision was solely Erin’s; they would accept it either way.
Erin was seated in the same position she’d been in since the men left, staring at the couch where they’d been seated. Of all the things she’d thought they wanted to talk about when Paetyn asked if they could come over. That had not been it. Dating them both would have been the last thing she thought the conversation would be about.
While they answered a few of her questions, she still had more—follow-ups to the ones she’d asked. She wanted a more detailed answer to why they shared women. Erin could understand that it worked out better for the two of them, and it just seemed to fall into place, but she wanted to know more.
It was something that they’d been doing for a long time—since Paetyn’s freshman year in college—which meant it had been almost twenty years. Six women over twenty years wasn’t a bad number. It also meant that the relationships had lasted a longwhile,or they didn’t often find women that they were both interested in.
Dating two men at the same time had never crossed Erin’s mind. The thought of it seemed a bit tiring. The way Erin assumed it was for people with a significant other who also had a little something on the side. However, it wouldn’t be as stressful if both people knew about each other. The relationship may go smoothly with nothing to hide and everything out in the open.
Erin knew that other factors would play a key role if she tried it. She would have to figure out how to spend equal time with each of them and keep up with their differences—what they each liked and disliked. It didn’t sound too difficult, but Erin knew that putting it into practice would be different.
She hadn’t seriously dated someone in a couple of years, and she wasn’t sure if the first time she got back into the dating game should be with two men. While they’d stated, those relationships worked out best for them. How was Erin supposed to know whether it would work out for her?
With that thought, she shook her head. The same way people found out anything. Try it to see. The question was, was she willing to try it? Willing to give being in a relationship with two men a shot when her relationships with one man never really panned out the way she thought they would.
Erin’s attention slid to the gift bag on her table. The decorative paper was arranged neatly and sticking out of the top. It was cute. Whatever was inside was supposed to be her answer to their question of whether or not she wanted to date them both.
Sliding up on the couch, she grabbed the bag and sat it in her lap. Moving the tissue paper aside, she peeked inside to see what she would be accepting or refusing. When she saw what it was, Erin couldn’t help the smile that overtook her face. She laughed lightly, shaking her head.
Erin placed the bag on the table before stretching out on the loveseat. They’d given her a big decision, and she wanted tothink about every aspect of what came with telling them yes or no. It wasn’t a decisionshecould make lightly, and while they hadn’t given her a timeframe in which they wanted an answer, Erin didn’t want to keep them waiting forever. It would be unfair to all of them because it would mean she was indecisive, and she couldn’t walk the fence in a situation like this.
Picking up her phone, Erin opened her notes app. There was no better way to make her decision than to write down all the pros and cons of each option.
She couldn’t listen to her head or her heart separately. She needed them to be on the same accord and determine what would be best for her. Because while being with two unbelievably attractive men was appealing, that didn’t mean it suited her.
With a deep breath, Erin began to list all of the cons. Once she finished with them, she’d list each man’s pros separately. It made more sense for the pros of each to outweigh the cons because she was sure listing their pros together would automatically do that, and she wanted to be more definitive.
Erin moved around her kitchen several hours later, making herself dinner, when her phone rang. She’d listed several pros and cons over a couple of hours when something jumped out at her.
Picking the phone up, she looked at the screen, seeing that it was her grandmother calling. Erin couldn’t help but smile. Her grandmother had been calling her every day since the move. It always happened that way when Erin moved. Her grandmother would call daily for the first few weeks until she felt Erin was settled in enough.
“Hey, Grams,” Erin greeted.
“Hi, Sweet Girl. How are you?”
“I’m doing good. How are you? Today was Rum and Rummy with your friends, right?”
Her grandmother lived an active life, and she and her friends had themed days throughout the week at their retirement community. It kept them all young and gave them something interesting to do during the day and evenings.
“It was, and we had a blast. However, Helen made the drinks strong. I think she forgets that we all aren’t as versed in drinking as she is.”
Erin laughed. She wasn’t sure that her grandmother had ever been versed in drinking. More than one tended to make her tired, and it was easy for her to stumble into a nap depending on the liquor used.
While Erin cooked and ate, she spoke to her grandmother. She learned that she and her friends would play croquet tomorrow. It was the first time Erin had heard of her grandmother playing the game, but she figured it would be fun for her either way.
By the time the two ended the call, Erin was almost finished washing dishes. After drying her hands, she placed her phone on the countertop and then rinsed the dishes and put them into the dish drainer.
Once finished, she dried her hands again and grabbed her phone, leaving the kitchen. It was a little before eight, so she grabbed her sketch pad and created some new designs. She would be going to a convention in a couple of weeks and wanted new pieces for people to choose from if they didn’t know what they wanted when they arrived.
For the rest of the night, Erin worked on different designs. Stopping now and then when a pro or con to add to her list pushed its way to the forefront of her mind.
7
Erin stepped out of the shower, grabbed a towel, and wrapped it around herself. She had an hour before she was supposed to be at Chayse and Nik's "We Live Together"gathering. She wasn't surprised that he'd gone through with having it. It was sweet he wanted to celebrate living with Chayse.
Theywaited until Kieran and Alijah returned from their honeymoon to have it, wanting all their friends to attend. Planning the gathering was the first thing Nik did when they'd returned, and the first thing Chayse did was help Erin tell Alijah that she'd moved to town.
Chayse had asked Alijah to help her get the last of her things from the apartment to get her there. However, when Alijah walked in, she immediately knew that the belongings were Erin's, and she'd had the same reaction Chayse had.
