We found a seat, ordered burgers at the server’s suggestion, and talked. He told me about his work and how it had all gone to crap. I told him about mine and how it, too, had gone to crap, just in a different way. I still had my job; I just didn’t like the new direction it had gone in. He, on the other hand, did not have a job because his employer went out of business. He also told me a little bit about his life growing up, and I opened up about mine.
I refused to agree to be their mate if they didn’t know what they were getting into. I had a lot of scars from over the years, none of them visible.
But mostly, we just talked about movies and favorite foods and different kinds of vacations we’d like to have. It was so very different from my date with Falkan, who apparently had more money than the entire state did, but it was equally nice. I didn’t need nice, fancy things. Heck, I didn’t need nice, juicy burgers. Just spending time with them would’ve been enough. But I lovedto see that I could fit into both of their worlds, one-on-one like this.
The question remained. Could all three of our worlds fit together?
Chapter Eleven
Griffith
Lunch with Kyle was indescribable. I loved the three of us together, but it was also great to be with each of them individually. I’d known a few trios growing up but hadn’t ever given much thought to how their relationships worked. They were my parents’ generation or even older, and their life together skimmed right past my adolescent brain.
If I’d been asked, I’d probably have said I assumed they were like The Three Musketeers. All for one and one for all, sleeping in the same bed together, the parents in the family. Until Kyle said he wanted to go out with each of us one-on-one to start, I figured we’d be together all the time. But there were aspects of being with each of them that I loved exploring. Falkan, as a dragon, had a royal, privileged life, one he was glad to share with the two of us. But he never made me feel like my lesser budget, especially while I was out of work, made me any less.
Kyle’s hesitant enthusiasm hid a quiet joy just waiting to be freed. He’d had a rough life, one his adoptive parents had neglected their duty to improve, but he held no anger toward them. Still had hope for a bright future—even if life had taught him not to expect it.
Falkan and I would ensure that his future glowed to the heavens, if he would allow us to do so. He had a busy afternoon, with work meetings at Animals, but he had agreed to go on a picnic with both of us the following day.
A private beach a bit north of San Diego was a shifter haven. We could go, eat, hang out, swim if it was warm enough—clothing optional—and then shift and hang out in our other forms whenever we chose.
I stayed up late planning what to prepare for our picnic, although Falkan offered to have it catered. We’d have to watch the balance there. Falkan could always pay for things, but I also enjoyed the act of making food for my mates. Early the next morning, a car pulled up in front of my house and out stepped our dragon with bags of groceries in his arms. I’d planned to shop in about an hour, which he knew, and the tricky dragon had managed to get me to tell him what I was making and what was on my list.
Shaking my head, I took the bags from him and gave him a big kiss before leading the way into the kitchen. “I could have bought these things, you know.”
“I do know, but since I wanted to help and, as you are about to find out, I’m not used to cooking much, this was the only way I could do that. I am prepared to be your sous chef, but I will require lots of supervision.”
“Kyle is quite the supervisor in certain circumstances…” I set the bags down and began to unload them. “Help yourself to coffee, and I was about to make some toast if you’d like some?”
“Perfect.” He poured himself a cup and refreshed mine before popping two slices of whole-grain bread into the toaster. “This I can do.”
“Are you saying you don’t cook at all?” Not only the cost but the health aspects of eating entirely restaurant food rushed through my mind. “Or do you have a staff?”
“I can cook if I need to. But I eat out often, and I don’t have staff.”
He buttered the toast and put two more slices down before taking a seat at the table. “Now, what I can I do to help?”
Falkan was better than he implied, chopping vegetables and mixing up chicken salad. I’d baked some chicken breasts the night before with this in mind. I made cookie bars and together, we prepared a fruit and cheese plate and one of crudités with ahomemade ranch dip. He marveled at the fact that ranch could be made from not a mix. Apparently even dragons bought that envelope at the supermarket. It was better than the bottle, and I didn’t hate it at all, but I preferred the fresh herbs and Greek yogurt version I made. He dipped a carrot stick in it, took a bite, and his eyes rolled back in his head.
Damn right, it was good.
And it felt nice to serve my mates good, healthy food. Especially when my lack of employment and income had me a little on edge.
We picked up Kyle at his hotel and started off up the coast. “I don’t know if it will be warm enough to swim,” I warned them. “The Pacific in this area is cooler than a lot of other beaches, and sometimes fog rolls in out of nowhere. It is fun to watch though.”
“Doesn’t matter.” Kyle rolled down his window and took a breath of sea air. “I love the beach any time of year, and I don’t get to go often enough.”
“I’m good, too,” Falkan added from the back seat. “Just enjoying being with the two of you.”
My sentiments exactly.
As luck would have it, we arrived to find the sun beaming down and enough of a breeze to keep it from being too warm. A few other shifters were there, enjoying the day, and we carted our cooler, blanket, two beach chairs, and an umbrella I’d dug out of the garage down to a spot near the water. Did we need all of it? Probably not. But I had kicked into autopilot with the same gear my gramps always loaded into the car. Last of all, I went back for the two body boards. When I reached my mates, they had set up our little encampment.
“Sorry there are only two chairs and two boards. We’ll have to take turns because it was all I had on hand.”
Kyle looked up from where he was pinning a corner of the blanket down with his backpack. “I think we’re good. I’m justglad to be here with the two of you. I had to shift some meetings around, but the people at Animals are very understanding.”
“That’s great. We wouldn’t have wanted to cause you any problems at work,” Falkan said, pulling his shirt over his head but leaving his trunks on. “If we are bodyboarding, I’m not doing it naked.”
