I blinked at the wordgirlfriends. Were the women on either side of her now her partners?
“Oh, not us, honey,” Samantha said with a wave of her hand. “The three of us have been best friends since high school, but never girlfriends.”
“Forty years of these two breathing down my neck every time I start dating a new girl,” Isobel joked. “I’m dating a couple now. We’ve been seeing each other for just over a year.”
“I just started dating a couple,” I said, glad for the chance to connect with some people who would understand my situation. “It’s really new for me.”
“Are they cute?” Zach asked.
Without really thinking about it, I twirled my hand in the air, then laid it against my forehead. “Dear god, yes,” I said.
Everyone laughed, and in a flash, I became aware of the gesture.
Must be channeling Marco, I thought, only a little bashful.
“Then you know what I’m talking about,” Isobel continued. “It takes a lot of work to manage three people’s lives and find a way through all the different needs but figuring out how to give everyone personal space in there is part of the equation.”
I couldn’t really speak to the experience of managing a relationship on that level, but I nodded anyway, eager to feel connected. Everyone else dived back into the conversation, exchanging stories of previous relationships and debating the pros and cons of different expectations. Awareness of how complicated a three-person relationship would actually be grew like dread, inching up my skin and threatening to overwhelm the excitement I had been feeling about the guys.
Pushing aside the feelings, I forced myself to join back in the conversation. After all, how often did I have a group who would actually understand me and the path my life had taken? Alyssa came to join the table, and another pie appeared out of nowhere, and soon enough, the afternoon was inching its way toward the early evening. I helped clean up in the kitchen a bit, gave Alyssa and Claire my thanks for a wonderful Sunday, and even got a chance to drive Zach home and make plans for a friendly coffee date.
The brunch left me feeling good and optimistic about the future, even though I couldn’t help but linger over Isobel’s perspective. Building the relationship I wanted wasn’t going to be easy, but as the summer days got longer, I felt like I was ready for the challenge.
* * *
I slipped into The Forty-Eight around nine, hoping I would be early enough that the concert crowd wouldn’t have arrived, but I could still catch Demir and Marco. Sure enough, Marco was behind the bar, talking to the beautiful man with the long red hair. There were people scattered around, but the music was quiet, and the bar felt much less intimidating than when I came that first night.
“Grayson!” Marco hollered from behind the bar. He wore a loose neon-green shirt with a wide neck, hanging off one shoulder. The frayed edge of the shirt danced tantalizingly close to his nipple when he waved me over, and my mind flashed back to our night together, when I dragged my tongue across his pecs in that same spot.
I joined him at the bar, and he introduced me to Alex. From the way the bartender arched his eyebrows and pursed his lips while he met my gaze, I assumed he was close enough to Marco and Demir that he knew we were seeing each other.
“You here for the afterparty?” Alex asked. “Should be a great night for celebrity sighting, if that’s your thing.”
I shook my head. “I’m afraid not. I’ll be heading home soon. Just wanted to swing by and see if I could catch Marco here and Demir.”
“Let me grab him,” Marco said, dancing his fingers across the bar. “He can’t be far.”
He disappeared around the corner, and I caught another half-smile on Alex’s face. I guess I had gotten a confidence boost since the last time I saw him because I leaned forward on the bar, then shot him back a smile. “So…” I asked, “what have the guys said about me?”
“Ha,” Alex laughed. “They have my undying loyalty and secrecy. But smart move, trying to milk me for information.” He smiled to himself, and I noticed he had a touch of pink lipstick on. “You know you’ve got a couple of special ones, though, right?”
I smiled. “Yeah, I’m figuring that out.”
Marco and Demir came around the corner. Immediately, Demir began to apologize about only having a few minutes to say hi, but Marco hushed him with a kiss, and a second later, they pulled me in to their embrace to join them.
“The place looks amazing,” I said, gesturing to the dance floor. There were countless disco balls of various sizes hanging from the ceiling and what looked like some additional lighting set up as well.
“It’s a recycle,” Marco said. “You can do infinite disco balls about once every three years without people noticing we’re repeating.”
I laughed. “Well, I hope the nights go smoothly. I mainly just stopped in to say hi, but I also wanted to ask you both a question.”
They turned to each other, then nodded. “Sure,” Demir said. “What’s up?”
“I was wondering if I could take you each on a date next week? As individuals, I mean.” I paused, then took a breath. “I’m not sure if that’s something that’s okay in your relationship, but I thought it might be nice to know you outside of the context of being a couple.” My mind flashed over the brunch and a few things Isobel had said about her girlfriends. I almost launched into that story, feeling like I needed to explain myself, but luckily Marco jumped in first.
“We have a rule that we only date together,” Demir said, “but I don’t think breaking off and having dates with you would be a problem. What do you think, Marco?”
Marco leaned back on the bar, then arched his eyebrows my way, giving me that flirty look I was beginning to love so much. “Not a problem at all. I’d love you to take me out and sweep me off my feet. I’m just sad about one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m sorry I’ll miss you and Demir fighting over who is going to pick up the bill,” Marco said with a wink. “It sounds sexy.”
