Page 48 of Laurels and Liquor

“I fuckingknewit!” I crow, laughing my head off.

“Lydia, have you lost your damn mind?” Gabby asks, sounding both amused and concerned.

“Matty and Lexi sitting in a tree. F-U-C-K-I-N-G,” I sing, doing a little happy dance.

“Jesus Christ. What are you, eight?” Mateo groans, and I can almost picture the exact shade of red he’s probably turning.

“Wait, what? No, they didn’t!” Lucas chirps, perking up.

“Wait, who’s doing who now?” Gabby shouts from the sectional.

“I thought you said you’re cooking with Luc. Who else is over there?” Mateo asks sharply.

“Gabby,” I tell him, pulling the phone away from my face for a minute. “Lex and Mateo finally boned,” I shout, throwing the hand not holding my phone into the air in celebration.

“You’re shitting me. Really?” Lucas nearly shouts, turning to face me with a wide grin and excited eyes.

“That’s the word on the street. Mateo and Lex finally caved and danced the horizontal tango,” I say in mock seriousness, smirking to myself as Mateo coughs.

Lucas bursts out laughing, nearly dropping the pan of eggs he was stirring. Gabby joins him in his mirth, and I smirk as I put my phone back to my ear.

“Did you have to make it sound like that?” Mateo sighs, exasperated.

I’m about to respond, when Lucas motions for my phone, still laughing. Intensely curious about what he might have to say, I hold it out eagerly.

“I gotta know, Matty. Did she—” Lucas cuts himself off, laughter bubbling up again until he’s breathless. He tries to start the sentence several more times, losing it before he can finish the thought, but he finally manages to pull himself together long enough to speak. “Did she top from the bottom, or—”

Whatever Mateo says in response sets Lucas off again, and he can barely breathe as he hands the phone back to me, wiping the tears from his eyes. When I put the phone back up to my ear, Lex’s voice sounds in the background, even if her words aren’t clear enough for me to understand. But I don’t need them to recognize the annoyed, exasperated tone she’s using.

“What? It’s the truth!” Mateo is responding, and I laugh.

“So do we need to hire a contractor to patch the holes y’all put in the walls? Is the bedframe still intact, or do we need to order a new one?” I comment through my chuckles.

“We shouldn’t leave you alone with Lucas anymore. He’s a bad influence,” Mateo groans, but it lacks any real heat.

“Speaking of not leaving us alone, do you think you’ll be back by Monday?” I ask, moving back to the toaster as it pops again.

“I hope so. And then I’ve got something to show you,” he says excitedly.

“Oh? It better not be a surprise, because you know we’ve put a moratorium on those,” I say in a mock stern voice.

Mateo laughs again, and my heart melts at the sound. My skin prickles a little, my pussy clenching on air. God, I need him to get back here.

“It’s not a surprise. Well, not a new surprise. I want to show you the building you never got to see,” Mateo says.

I blush a little, a flash of old guilt coming forward. I push it aside, done feeling sorry for myself.

“I’m sorry to cut this short; we’ve got to go do a thing. If everything goes smoothly, we’ll be back tomorrow night, and then I can show you The Garden the day after, okay?” Mateo says distractedly.

I agree and we say our goodbyes, and when we hang up, I’m left feeling more relaxed than I’d thought I’d feel. Ever since Rhett introduced me to the concept of polyamory, I keep having these moments of revelation, like pieces falling into place that I didn’t even realize were missing. I’d sensed tension between Mateo and Lex, but I’d never pushed them to explain it or solve it. And knowing that my pack mates are working things out settles a little slice of my soul. I’d have to ask Sylvie about this the next time I see her.

“You owe me $100, by the way,” Gabby is saying from the sitting room.

I look up at her, confused, but realize she’s not talking to me when Caleb scoffs loudly. “That wasn’t a real wager,” he protests.

“We shook on it and everything! You two-timing—”

“What was the bet?” I ask, cutting in before Gabby can work up a full head of steam.

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