Page 33 of When We Breathe
“You don’t trust it,” I finish for her. “I get it. Things moved fast when I first met Gabe, too. I didn’t trust it either. It’ll just take time, Alex. And we have time. We’ll continue to get to know each other and spend time together. You’re not a prisoner here. If you ever want out, you just say so.”
“I can’t stand this.” Gabe tugs her to him and wraps his arms around her, hugging her close. “You fit here, with us. Theperfectfit for us. We didn’t know you were missing from our lives until you showed up, and now we don’t want to be without you. Just give it a try, Shorty.”
I move in behind her and wrap my arms aroundthem, making our Alex sandwich, and she sighs, as if the weight of the world has been lifted.
“I’ll give it a try,” she says quietly. “But if you ever change your mind, and you don’t want me here, please just tell me.”
Someone hurt our girl.I want to know who made her feel unwelcome.
And I want to make sure she never feels that way again.
Chapter Thirteen
ALEX
Gabe: Have fun tonight, Shorty.
Igrin at the group text that I have going with my guys. I’m at book club at Billie’s Books this evening, and the guys are home, enjoying some alone time.
They need it. I’ve been with them every day for the better part of two months.
Two glorious fucking months.
Cooking with Adam, doing jigsaw puzzles with Gabe. Late-night movie marathons. We went on a hike, and I hated it, so we won’t be doing that again.
But we were on the boat every weekend until Adam finally had to winterize it and put it away for the season. I was sad. I love that boat. I love the condo.
I love my guys.
And I absolutely can’t get enough of having sex with them. I was scared to death of the anal play, but theyeased me into it, coached me through it, and now it’s my favorite thing.
“Why are you grinning like that?” Dani asks me. “Wait. That’s a stupid question. I’m glad they make you happy.”
“I didn’t know I could be this happy,” I admit as we choose seats next to each other to chat about the why choose book we read for this month. “Seriously, I feel like the universe is rewarding me or something.”
“You girls deserve all the love, and all of the best sex,” Millie says, clearly eavesdropping as she sits next to me. “Your brother just doesn’t want to know about the sex part.”
I snort at that. I still haven’t brought my guys home to meet my brother, but I think I’m ready to. Because even though I would have sworn that they’d get tired of me and would go back to being on their own, Adam and Gabe show no signs of letting me go anytime soon.
“Hey, no talking about the juicy stuff without us,” Billie says with a smirk, passing us all a glass of wine. She knows what our favorites are.
I quickly reply to Gabe.
Me: I get to talk about books and drink wine. Best night ever. You guys have fun, too! xo
Slipping my phone into my handbag, I turn my attention to the girls. The book club has grown a lot over the past year. I’d say at least twenty people are here, and it’s one of my favorite nights of the month.
“So let’s talk aboutTroubleby Brittanée Nicole,” Billie says, getting us started. “I loved this story.”
Several pairs of eyes shift to me, and I can’t help but snort. “OfcourseI loved it, too.”
“I think the author portrayed the bi-awakening so well,” Polly Wild, Millie’s sister-in-law, says. “I loved how much those two men loved each other, and their girl as well.”
It was truly a treat to read a book about a romance with dynamics similar to my own. Even though the story is completely different, I loved reading about a polyamorous relationship with two men and one very lucky woman.
My guys were even interested and asked me questions about the book, and it opened up conversations that we hadn’t had before.
Like how both men came to realize they were bisexual in their teens. Some of the differences between relationships with men versus women. It was seriously eye-opening for me.
