“I know.” Atlas grins.
“And I love you too,” I confess.
We’re no longer watching the movie. As the film plays on in the background, Atlas grinds on top of me. Electric jolts spark from the friction, coursing through my veins, up my spine, into my erection. He trails kisses to the waistline of my briefs, ducking underneath the blanket and working his magic. While I breathe in euphoria, the touch of a third-party member bristles the goosebumps that have erupted all over. Ezra pushes my chin with his index finger, luring me in for a kiss.
“You didn’t wake me up,” he murmurs.
Atlas hits a particular spot that makes me squirm. I hold my breath and wait for the sensation to subside.
“You looked like you needed the sleep,” I shudder.
“I did, but round two without me? No fair.”
“I didn’t—” Intense shivers wrack every inch of my body. I gasp, unable to help it. “I didn’t know this was going to happen.”
Atlas’s head pops from the cover, all boastful grins and crinkly eyes.
“He said he loved me.”
“It’s about time you told each other!” Ezra exclaims, slapping me on the deltoid.
“I know, I’ve been waiting forever,” says Atlas.
“Sorry. I’ve just . . . I’ve been afraid,” I say.
He climbs up my torso and lays his head in the crook of my neck. Ezra sits on the carpet. He squeezes an affirming hand on my forearm, taking the leftover space on my shoulder.
“I understand,” Atlas says. “I worry about us sometimes, too.”
“Why?” asks Ezra.
“I . . . there are times I feel like I’m intruding. I’ll listen to one of your conversations, then realize that I don’t share the same history. There’s this guilt I feel for allowing myself to be swept away from the high of a new relationship. I didn’t actually pause to consider or reflect on the entire lives you shared before you met me.”
So, the time for this conversation has arrived. I had an inkling we’d need to discuss this eventually. I brush the back of my hand over Atlas’s cheek, feel him breathe in an uncertain breath.
“Ezra and I may have an extensive history, Atlas, but the second you believe you’re not an integral part in this relationship is the second this, as amazing as it’s been, falls apart,” I say, driving in every syllable to emphasize the truth to my words.
“I’m sure I can speak for both Ezra and myself when I say that we were also swept away with the excitement of everything. But . . . I think that’s okay. We’re young. We’re discovering. We love each other. You came into our lives and you just didn’t want to let go. And I don’t want you to.”
“Neither do I,” Ezra says. “You mean so much to me.”
The cogs in Atlas’s head turn. It’s a while before he says anything, but Ezra and I don’t pry.
“I’ve never felt like this before,” he says eventually.
“Do you want to tell us how you feel?” Ezra questions.
Atlas sighs.
“I thought it was some silly crush. These two cute guys show up in a town I’ve lived in all my life and I was going to send them on their way and that would be that. I didn’t expect everything tohappen the way that it did. I . . . didn’t expect to eventually want what you two have. I definitely didn’t think I’d fall for you both.”
He’s spiraling—it’s in the edge of his voice, signaling emotions that run deep; because that’s who Atlas is. He’s a well filled to the very brim. I haven’t seen him like this in a long time. This must’ve been bothering him for quite a while.
“Oh, love, you care about this a lot, don’t you?” I say.
“Yes. I’m scared to lose it,” he murmurs. A tear splashes my chest. Another, then another.
“You’re not going to lose us,” I say. “We’re in this for the long haul.”
