Page 12 of The Surrogate Omega, Part Two

I cut Logan off before he can continue. “No, as my boyfriends. My supervisors found out today.”

Logan nearly chokes on the bite of pizza he finally starts to chew. Lake is still just very still, but he does turn his head in my direction, and I see the concern shining through his eyes. “Um, the fuck? Is everything ok? They didn’t act like assholes, did they?” Logan asks, anger already lacing through his voice like he’s ready to knock down my bosses’ doors and fight them for my honor.

I shake my head as I grab another piece of sausage pizza. I’m still a little worried about Lake, but I’m trying to keep this conversation as casual as possible. “Nah. My company is very open-minded about that stuff. I was annoyed though. Not at my bosses, but apparently, someone in the company saw us on a date together and immediately told the higher-ups. Thankfully, they have my back, but still, I hate seeing our shit spread everywhere. Who I date is no one’s business. So, I may have insisted that I take the two of you to the holiday party with me,” I admit sheepishly.

I feel kind of awful I put Lake and Logan in this position, and I won’t hold them to it, but my annoyance at my anonymous coworker trumped my common sense. “I kind of wanted to rub it in the face of whatever asshole went running to my boss. But,” I add, looking down at my lap, “I completely understand if you don’t want to or can’t go. I know it’s kind of last minute and both of your work schedules are insane. I won’t be upset. I just wanted to throw it out there.”

Finally, Lake snaps back into action. He takes my hand and squeezes it in a surprisingly uncharacteristic gesture of affection from him. “We got very lucky with the reaction of our jobs. Even you, Logan. I’ve been looking into it, and many people have lost their jobs over their poly relationships being exposed, especially in public service.”

I haven’t given it much thought, but he’s right. Especially for Logan, things could have gone terribly wrong. He just got lucky that he had the support of his precinct.

“True. It can still go to hell for me, but at least right now, things are ok. Unfortunately, I don’t think there will ever be a time I can bring both of you around for family events at work, at least not in the near future. I basically have a poly version of don’t ask, don’t tell happening. But it’s probably best-case scenario.”

Knowing that Logan needs some kind of physical contact right now, I slide my arm over the back of the couch, behind Lake, until I reach Logan’s shoulder and rub it, letting my man know we have his back. Logan relaxes into my touch.

“That’s fine, babe. You know we’ll both do whatever you need us to.”

Lake nods his head in agreement. “Agreed.” He turns back toward me. “And as much as social situations make me uncomfortable, I will come to this party. I can see how much it means to you.”

Logan grins around yet another slice of pizza, his eyes lit up with mischief. “Same, babe. I am so there. You know I love to stir shit up.”

I bark out a laugh. Of course, that’s why Logan wants to go. But that’s fine. I’m just happy they are both going to try to come. Understandably, my profession tends to take a back seat to theirs. And I get it. They are literally saving lives in their own way every day. I’m just editing science-fiction books. It’s still nice to get the focus for a while though.

I’m suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, though I’m not sure why. I need to touch my men and now. Without any warning, I basically throw my body over poor Lake so that I’m touching both of them at the same time. I kiss Lake, long and hard, before turning my head toward Logan, who laughs and grips the back of my head, bringing me in for a savage kiss.

It’s a few minutes before I can bring myself to detach from my guys and get back to my spot on the couch. Once we’re all settled again, I tell them about my coworker Zach. The guy is crazy shy but so sweet. I have been meaning to talk to him more and hang out with him outside of work, but life keeps getting in the way. This holiday party would be a good way to get to know him in a less formal setting. That is, if he comes, since he managed to get out of the last few.

After a while, we’re all finished and start to clean up. Logan has to head back into the city because he has work early the next day. This part fucking sucks. I’ve always been happier when Logan’s close, but now that we’re with Lake and we’ve acknowledged that, more than likely, we’re fated mates, it’s been close to torture to have to sleep apart from either of them. It’ll be a little easier for Lake and me, since we’re going to be together still, but I’ll be surprised if Logan gets any sleep at all. Let’s just get through these holidays and then I’m basically going to insist we find a place together, because this is driving me nuts.

SEVEN

Lake

Ihave just gotten out of the shower and am trimming my beard when my phone rings. It’s my personal phone, so I consider ignoring it, but just in case it’s an emergency, I glance down at the number and see that it’s Zoe. I feel weird ignoring her calls since I’m carrying her child and I’m her only check-in point, so I answer the call and put her on speaker phone.

“Hi, Zoe. I’m just getting out of the shower, so you are on speaker, but no one is around right now,” I tell her right off the bat, so she’s aware of the situation.

“Thanks for telling me, Lake. Did I catch you at a bad time? I can call backlater.”

I shake my head even though she can’t see me. “No, this is fine,” I tell her as I rub some lotion on my face. “We have Evander’s holiday party tonight, so I won’t be around later.”

“Oh, that’s right! I think you mentioned that the other day. You must really love that man if he’s able to get you to a party.”

I can’t decide if I’m supposed to be offended or not, but she’s not wrong, so I shrug it off. “Yes, I do love him more deeply than I ever expected I could,” I tell Zoe honestly.

What I don’t tell her is just how nervous I am for this party tonight. Nerves aren’t something I handle well. It’s just not a familiar sensation for me. While I’ve never much liked social situations, it’s mostly because I know how awkward I can be, and I’d rather just not deal with the stares and whispers behind my back about how strange I am. But I’m never particularly nervous. Today, however, I’m representing Evander in a way, and I don’t want to do anything that may embarrass him or cause him issues with his coworkers. My worries have been repeating in a loop through my brain since Evander told us about this party a few days ago, though I haven’t expressed them to either him or Logan when they asked.

Leaving the bathroom with just a towel on my waist, I make my way into Evander’s bedroom, my phone in my hand. Since his apartment is closest to the publishing company, Logan and I are staying here tonight. The bedroom is empty, so I place my phone on the bed and go to my designated drawer that Evander cleared out for me to pull out underwear for tonight.

Zoe makes a sound that could be closely compared to squeal. “That’s so amazing, Lake. I’m so happy for you. You deserve to be loved, and I’m thrilled you found two men who fit the job.”

I clear my throat as I continue to get dressed. I’m not exactly sure how to respond to that. I agree that it’s amazing, but I’m not comfortable with this conversation. I try to think about how River would steer it in a different direction without being rude.

“Thank you, Zoe, but can we change the subject? I feel uncomfortable.” So, that is probably not how River would do it, but it works, right?

Zoe isn’t offended. “Of course, Lake. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make it awkward. I just get excited sometimes. I actually called to check in, see how you were doing, and make sure everything is still going well with the pregnancy.”

On instinct, I cup my stomach. I still can’t feel anything, but I’ve noticed over the last few days that my stomach isn’t quite as flat as it used to be. I haven’t gained any weight yet, but there’s the slightest roundness right in my middle—the first indication that there’s anything going on internally at all.

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