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“Oh. Is he non-binary?”
I shake my head. “It’s serious with Alexander and a woman named Willa.”
“Do they know about each other?”
“Of course,” I say. “It’s something of a menage.”
“You always could find yourself in the most deliciously complicated situations.”
Isn’t that the truth?
“What can I say? I’m in love for the first time in my life, it just happens to be with two people.”
“Only you.” He laughs again. “I bet that helps with your… proclivities.”
“It doesn’t hurt,” I agree. “How’s Cookie?”
“You know her, she’s like a cat. Whatever happens, she lands on her feet and keeps going. She’s been painting a lot, sold some even.”
“Good for her.”
“You going to see Delilah while you’re here?”
“Probably not. I’d planned on a longer stay, but something has come up and I need to fly out tomorrow. Only here long enough to sign some papers.” Getting to Minnesota is imperative. The quicker we deal with Alexander’s father, the better we’ll all feel. “Next time, I’ll bring Willa. You’ll love her, she’s smart, funny, and just has a way of making you feel comfortable.”
“Can’t wait to meet them both. I’d say we’d come visit you, but with the baby on the way… you know how it is.”
“No worries, I’ll try to get back soon. Maybe when the newest Parnell arrives.”
“Bree would love that,” he says. “Everyone was hoping you’d move back after school. I’m guessing that isn’t happening.”
“Not unless life fucks me over somehow. Willa’s family is all there. Her dad is Alexander’s coach. It just makes sense to stay put.”
Zander getting traded will always be a concern, but I’m lucky enough to be able to follow anywhere he lands. It’s something I never considered before I started feeling actual affection toward him. Alexander made me less selfish, and Willa even more so.
“You’re in that deep?”
“I am,” I admit. “Alexander is the perfect combination of hard and soft. Willa is passionate and dirty as sin. There’s no judgment between the three of us. Honestly, Fig, it’s been easy with them.”
“You mean your anxiety? You let them touch you?”
“I want them to touch me,” I clarify. Fig and I grew up together, and he noticed early-on that I was different than the other boys. When girls became the major focus of most of our friends, I took an even greater step away from the crowd. Girls wanted to hold hands, to hug, and kiss. I wanted no part in any of it. There was a party when we were maybe thirteen and a girl had pushed me into the closet with her, hoping for a make-out session. Fig saw and intervened, but I had a full panic attack from it. He made me fill him and became a constant buffer for me after that. His mother was the one who found me a therapist and helped me work through ways to handle my ‘issues’. “I want to touch them, too.”
“That’s good, Damian. That’s really good to hear,” he says. Fig has always worried I’d end up alone. While he used to encourage me to go along with him and his dates, we both knew that would die off when he found someone he loved. “It’s the death of the Voyeur Extraordinaire.”
“He’s not in full retirement just yet,” I say.
“Still. You look happy, my friend.”
“I am.”
I really am.
It’s early evening by the time the driver gets me to Ely, Alexander’s hometown. The sun is just beginning to go down. He described it as small. I thought that was an exaggeration, but I can see that it’s not. Not quite a one-street town. Close, though. When we turn on the road that leads to the hotel, I take in the beauty of the place. Even covered in snow, nature shows through.
It’s cold as fuck, though. I have to pull my collar around my neck when the driver drops me off. As soon as I step inside the lobby, my body starts to thaw from a raging fire in the stone fireplace. A few people stand close to it, warming up themselves. The front desk employee smiles at me and I nod before taking in the rest of the room. It’s a cozy place but dated and cliché with all the peeled log beams and furniture trimmed in buffalo plaid.
“Hey,” Willa greets me. I’d texted her on my way, so she’d know when to expect me.
