“Since I first said it ten seconds ago. Shut up.”
“Youshut up!” Milo shot back.
I watched them argue without adding my own thoughts. Hearing Violet’s opinion only solidified my own. I was surprised that Riot would give in so quickly after we’d had a discussion about this.
Then again Roxie wasn’t just any random woman.
There was something about her I couldn’t shake. The carefree attitude she had on tour with us, like this was all a big adventure. The way she grinned right before making a joke, like she was already laughing at the punchline. How she felt pressed up against me when we hugged, like she wanted every part of our bodies to touch.
I understood exactly why Riot had surrendered to whatever he was feeling. Because I felt it, too.
Motion outside the bus caught my attention. “There they are. Coming out of the arena.”
“Told you,” Violet said.
“They aren’t doing anything!” Milo protested. “They’re just walking next to each other.”
“They’re walking,” Violet insisted, “like two people who just had sex and are trying very hard to pretend that they didn’t.”
Milo looked to me for confirmation. All I did was grimace. His shoulders sank like he was heartbroken.
“You all right, little drummer boy?” Violet asked.
“I guess. I was just…” He shrugged one shoulder. “I kind of like her too, ya know?”
“So what?” Violet said, and I could tell from the glimmer in her eyes what she was going to bring up next. “This doesn’t change anything. You two could share her. Or you three.” Her gaze collided with mine.
Milo rolled his eyes. “Weknowthat never works out well.”
Violet casually propped her feet up on the bus table and smiled. “On the contrary, my drumstick-twirling friend. It worked out great with me. For a while.”
“Until you decided you’re a five-point-five on the McKinnley Scale,” Milo muttered.
“It’s called the Kinsey Scale, you dork. And I’m more like a five. But my point still stands. Y’all handled our weird little polycule just fine while it lasted. Better than I expected you all to. I bet you could do it again.” Her gaze met mine again. “If you wanted to.”
I glared at her, then watched Riot and Roxie approach the door to the bus. It happened back when we first formed the band. Back before we chose the name Cherry Midnight, and were going by the now-retired name Animal Style. We were in Los Angeles, and had closed down a bar downtown before continuing the party in our hotel room. Back then, we could only afford one room, sleeping two to a bed. We couldn’t afford the minibar prices, but Milo had brought a bottle of vodka up to the room, which mixed well with a few Cokes from the hallway vending machine.
Two or three drinks later, when we had all lowered our inhibitions… it happened.
Violet was the one who suggested it. We all agreed on that after the fact. We had been talking about sex, or sex positions, or something along those lines. Violet mentioned that she had never been gangbanged before, but that it was a fantasy of hers. And then she smiled at the three of us.
That was all the invitation we needed.
It was great. Not just that first drunken night, but for months afterward. We toured, and played our songs, and had incredible sex almost every night—and in every possible combination you could imagine. Milo was kind of awkward at first about sharing a woman, but Riot and I never felt any jealousy or possessiveness.
It was only physical. Or at least, as much as it could be when the four of us were already friends and spent all our time together on tour. We were like best friends who also fucked.
Then Violet met Dana and quickly realized she preferred women.
I didn’t regret any of it. We’d all had a great time while it lasted, and if anything, we were nowcloserbecause of the experience, as unlikely as that seemed. And Violet’s queer awakening gave us an off-ramp without anyone’s feelings getting hurt. She wasn’t rejecting any of us individually; she was rejecting men as an entire gender. We could stomach that.
But Violet’s suggestion that we could do the same thing with Roxie?
I didn’t think it would work. Violet was a special situation, and it was ridiculously unlikely that we could replicate it with Roxie. Even if she wanted to.
Which she probably didn’t.
“You really think so?” Milo asked Violet. “You think she’s the type of woman who would be into…”
