Maya had never ventured into poly, but she would be foolish to not realize they were building a polycule. And she wanted to–she just knew she couldn’t be the only solid foundation. But getting Lily to open up was like pulling teeth and anytime she closed up, Hanna immediately followed.
The car slowed and came to a stop, the three of them exiting the car and making their way to The Tank’s entrance. Hanna let out an exhausted sigh before handing her ID to the bouncer.
Maya smiled, knowing it was likely because Hanna had to wrestle her ID out of her wallet. She would have to set those thoughts aside. Tonight was about fun, being present. She had been itching for this–the three of them, together. The few times she and Hanna had met up in Boston, they always acknowledged how much they missed Lily.
They moved into the bar; it was moderately packed, dark and loud, with a plethora of beautiful men in various amounts of dress confidently moving about. The air was thick with the heat of the crowd and the smell of cologne, male musk and stale beer. They approached a group of men who were clearly on their way out and took over their little wall table and two barstools.
“I’ll get us some drinks, beer ok? I don’t want to be too blitzed,” Lily half-shouted over the music so they could hear her. Both women nodded in agreement. Maya would go up later to grab waters. She didn’t necessarily want to ‘mother-hen’, but Maya knew Lily and Hanna would be as cranky as their hangovers were intense tomorrow.
Maya didn’t feel like sitting, but hovered over the barstool in case Lily wanted to. Hanna happily sat on a barstool, her head already bouncing to the bass beat that thrummed through the space. She reached around to grab Maya’s ass.
Maya smiled. Hanna could be insatiable, but Maya knew this was also her way of laying claim when they were out. She was most comfortable doing it to Maya, Maya noticed; maybe she didn’t think she could lay claim to Lily. Maybe that’s what the issue was.
“What are you thinking about?” Hanna’s voice brought Maya back to earth.
“How I can’t wait to get my mouth on both of you,” she replied. It had been too long, and Maya knew Hanna appreciated verbal confirmation that she was desired.
“Oooh, dirty, we gotta dance first though,” Hanna said.
“Are you saying you won’t kiss me on the dance floor?” Maya teased.
Hanna laughed. “Of course not!”
She felt a body behind her and Lily said, “It’s me, babe.” Maya wondered if she had meant to let the pet name slip.
Lily handed a beer to each woman and raised her glass to cheers. She looked at Hanna expectantly.
Hanna smiled, not understanding what Lily wanted, so Maya chimed in, “To us!”
Hanna’s face lit up in realization. “To us,” she repeated, and they all took a drink.
Maya hoped it had been a promise from the other two, as much as it had been from her. The heat of the bar superseded that of the Floridian night outside, with the crowd driving up the internal humidity. She could practically feel her curls and coils tightening. She continued to laugh with Lily and Hanna. They’d even danced, just the three of them, and a few times with some other patrons.
“Dance with me!” Hanna shouted now over the music.
“You two go on, I need a break,” Lily said as she leaned back, all cool and confident.
Maya recognized the look in her eye, it was the look she’d seen over a video call session, one where Lily was gearing up to watch her with Hanna.
Maya pulled Hanna to her a few feet away, just as a remix of “Dancing with a Stranger” by Sam Smith came on. Hanna wrapped her arms around Maya’s neck and their bodies quickly found the rhythm of both the music and each other. As they swayed, Maya glanced around Hanna to see they had Lily’s undivided attention. Lily’s face was slightly flushed from the heat, but Maya knew there was also a different heat there, its intensity peaking in her eyes.
“Can’t believe Lily wouldn’t join us,” Hanna said in her ear as they continued to move to the music. But Maya knew Lily liked to watch.
“Oh I think she’s participating, in her own way,” Maya said in Hanna’s ear, her eyes still fixed on Lily’s, a sly smirk creeping across the blonde’s pink lips. Still, Maya knew Hanna was a physical creature; she wanted both of them. Maya had picked up that Hanna equated touch with reassurance.
Understanding what she meant, Hanna intensified their movements, one hand resting on the back of Maya’s neck and the other sliding down to her lower back, just above her ass. Hanna plastered her body to Maya’s, resting her face in the crook of her neck. Maya smiled as she felt Hanna’s lips gently massage the sensitive skin there. Hanna turned them, Maya knew, so she could also make eye contact with Lily.
They stayed like that till the song changed to something Maya didn’t recognize. She felt Hanna’s body go slightly rigid, her lips moving from Maya’s skin and her head cocking up slightly. Maya pulled back to look at her, and her eyes were fixed behind her, calculating. Maya slowly spun around her so that Hanna’s back was fixed to her front, wrapping her arms aroundher lover so that she could get a sense of what she was looking at. She felt a wave of uneasiness crest and crash.
24
HANNA
Hanna knew this would happen one day; she just didn’t think it would happen in a predominantly male gay bar in South Beach. The abrupt unexpectedness intensified the break she felt at the sight of Lily talking to a redhead, a pretty redhead, her gorgeous curls flowing around her shoulders. Both women seemed to be enraptured with each other. Lily was smiling slightly, and Hanna knew that smile. Both women laughed and a red curl slipped into the mystery girl’s face. Lily didn’t even hesitate to tuck it back behind her ear. Hanna knew that move. The redhead grabbed Lily’s hand and pressed her lips to it. Lily didn’t pull away.
Fucking redheads!
Triads and throuples are poly on hard mode. The warning Hanna had seen slammed into her mind. A feeling crept its way up her spine, something she knew was jealousy, but she had no right to be jealous, not technically. Another thought dawned on her that she hadn’t truly considered, maybe because she didn’t want to, but poly simply meant multiple; maybe that’s what she was looking at: multiple possibilities for Lily.
