“Lucky I saved the fucking day!” Juniper bellows, and we all look at each other in disbelief.
Then we laugh, and laugh, and laugh.
“I think I need to go to bed,” I say once I’ve somewhat regained my composure.
“Me too.” Ethan groans, though neither of us make any attempt to stand or even crawl towards the bedroom.
“I might just sleep here.” Juniper curls up on the blanket then reaches for that cursed cushion to lay beneath her head.
“Oh no,” I slur, patting her shoulder. “Oh, no, no, no,” I slur some more, and Juniper sleepily sits back up. Smiling now, she lets me take her hand as I shuffle to standing. “You can sleep in our bed tonight.” Then I freeze in place, turning back. “If you want to?” I ask, almost soberly.
She giggles and holds my hand tighter then reaches back for Ethan’s. “I’m game if you are.”
Ethan stands on shaking legs, and we sway and snake our way along the corridor.
We stop outside the bedroom, hovering there like there’s a hidden barrier or a no entry sign we must navigate first. Then—
“It’s more than big enough for three!” Juniper charges in, flings the covers back, and dives onto the bed, beckoning us both to join her. “Well, come on then!” she says. “I’m getting cold!”
Ethan squeezes my hand. Then he closes the door behind us and follows me into bed with Juniper.
I have never been so hot.
Sunlight fills the room, and I wake with Ethan’s long hard body curled around me from behind and Juniper’s soft, supple figure at my front. One arm stretches beneath the lower ridgeof the pillow, where Juniper rests her head, and the other I curl around her soft middle, holding her as she sleeps, her hand clutching mine at her centre.
I want to move, but I don’t want to move.
Actually, my right arm is completely dead, and I’m uncertain whether I can move.
I wriggle my bum back into Ethan, trying to create a little space between us all, but of course my unintentional gyrating only causes him to hold me firmer against him and his stiff morning glory, which now presses against my backside. Fuuuuck.
“Mornin’, gorgeous,” he croons in my ear, and maybe I’ll stay here a little longer … Except—
“Morning, sweetheart,” I say then heave a sigh. “I really need a wee.”
With what I think is a rather impressive level of acrobatic skill, I manage to climb out of the bed, both without wakingSleeping Beautyand without tantalising my beast of a husband too much more. Though he turns towards the door just in time to give my bum a cheeky pat as I vacate the room.
I squeal, dancing across the hall to the bathroom, where I promptly have the longest darn wee of my life. I sit there a while longer, looking up at the skylight and the wondrous blue above. What even is this place? Will all this bright sunshine melt away our snow? I hope not. I look down. Not yet.
I shift on the seat, stomach churning. My thoughts whirl around and around.
Did Juniper really say she likes us?
And did Ethan really tell her we like her back?
Oh, god. My head pounds.
We all slept in that bed together last night. And it wasn’t even weird. Heck, it wasn’t even weird when I woke up, but …
My stomach churns, and suddenly I’m regretting drinking on an empty stomach.
I swallow. I have a sour taste in my mouth, and I don’t think it’s theTangfastics. I don’t regret it. Any of it. I don’t regret telling her all we told her. We shared so, so much, it was like … it was like we completely unburdened ourselves, and Juniper did too.
Last night, we told her things we’ve only ever told each other, and I’d like to think the same could be said for the things she told us. We were inexplicably there for one another, but it wasn’t just that, it was … something else. Like we connected, all of us, all together as a three. Of course, I can’t tell how Juniper feels about it, or how she felt in the moment, but it was like we were all on an equal footing. It was like, instead of inviting Juniper into our shared life, she invited us both into hers.
Chapter Seven
Ithrowup.Alot.Then I clean myself up. Wash my face. Brush my teeth. Twice. And run my fingers through my hair a couple of times before giving up on it entirely.
