Blue's eyes brighten. "Definitely."
Definitely.
Cloud's gaze finally flicks to me, then back to Blue, then to the blanket clutched around her body. Her smile widens, and she teases, "Did I interrupt sexy time?"
I step forward too fast. "She doesn't live here."
Blue shoots me a wounded expression.
Cloud blinks. "Oh."
Blue quickly recovers. Her smile returns. "He's being dramatic."
I say tightly. "I'm not. She's visiting."
Cloud studies my face for a beat, something thoughtful threading through her friendliness. Then she shrugs. "Visiting, living...whatever you want to call it. Hell, I don't know what to call my relationships these days either."
"Relationships?" Blue echoes, the word leaving her softly, almost reverently, like she's rolling it around to see how it fits. She shifts her weight, the blanket sliding a fraction lower on her shoulder as she leans closer to Cloud instead of away. Her eyes light, bright with interest.
I step closer to her, my pulse ticking up.
"Yeah. Relationships," Cloud states with the confidence of a quarterback playing in the Super Bowl.
"Plural?" Blue asks, tilting her head, voice dropping as if they're suddenly in on something together.
Cloud laughs under her breath. "Very."
Blue's mouth curves, slow and knowing. "At the same time?"
"Sometimes." Cloud's naughty grin grows.
Blue glances at me for half a second, just long enough to make sure I'm listening, then returns her attention to Cloud. "That actually sounds…freeing."
"Freeing?" I question. Something sharp tightens behind my ribs, as if the space she's imagining doesn't include me the way I need it to. My attention narrows, instinctively tracking every flick of her eyes, every breath, and already bracing to claim ground that suddenly feels threatened.
Blue hugs the blanket tighter, like she's holding onto a delicious thought before it can escape. "I've been thinking about how limiting singular definitions can be," she adds, almost casually, though her fingers flex against the fabric like she's buzzing under her skin.
Cloud's eyebrows lift. "Have you?"
Blue nods. "Yeah." She pauses, then, in a conspiratorial tone declares, "Especially when the connection doesn't feel small." Her gaze flicks back to me again before she smiles at Cloud, eyes alight with the thrill of possibility.
The floor tilts under my feet. My ears burn, and my insides shake with a rawness so intense, I swear, a claw is gripping my gut.
Cloud glances between us, then nods, satisfied. "Yes! You get it!"
"I do," Blue breathes.
The hairs on my arms rise.
Cloud glances between us, then chirps, "Okay. Yoga tomorrow. If you oversleep, I'll sneak in and yank you out of bed."
"No," I blurt out, before I realize it.
The two women turn to me with questions.
Silence fills the air.
"Red?" Blue asks, putting her hand on my bicep.
