Marcus shrugs. “Sure. I’ll prep some coffee for the two of us. You still like yours black?”
Caleb nods. “You remembered?”
“Uh, duh. There’s so much I’ve never been able to forget about you, C.”
Bright red streaks flare up Caleb’s neck as his eyes turn down to the floor, as if there’s something interesting on the linoleum. Crumbs aren’t what I considerinteresting, however. His gaze flicks back up to Marcus.
“I’ll see you tomorrow morning then,” he signs, then spins to me. “Sorry, you’ve just been so quiet over there…”
I shrug. “No biggie. Just figured it wasn’t my place to interject.”
He strides over and presses a sweet kiss on my cheek. “Will I be seeing more of you in the future?” he asks me hesitantly.
I offer him a reassuring smile. “If you’re not too nervous to be near my rambunctious knee…”
His throat bobs on a silent laugh. “Going to take a whole hell of a lot more than a knee to scare me away. Adrenaline junkie, remember?”
From the corner of my eye, I see Marcus still standing in the kitchen, shifting awkwardly. “What about my husband, who still obviously has the hots for you?” I ask Caleb.
“Hey! I never said—” Marcus squabbles, but I cut him off.
“It’s okay if you do, babe. And it’s okay if you do too, Caleb. I promise, I’m perfectly fine with it,” I admit, feeling emboldened enough to test the waters with them both present.
Their heated gazes meet, but neither of them seems to know how to respond.
So I continue, “It, like, wouldn’t bother me if you—ifwe—all gave dating each other a try. Or whatever. Just to, I don’t know, see how that would work. I mean, obviously you work together now, so you’ll be spending boatloads of time with each other. Heh, pun unintentional.” I anxiously pick at the inside of my cheek with my teeth.
Marcus clears his throat, but it does little to clear the rasp from his voice. “You mean, like, you and him… and him andme?”
I nod. “And me and you.”
“So, a T-H-R-O-U-P-L-E?” Caleb asks me, fingerspelling what is so foreign that I’m not even sure there’s an actual sign for it. At least, it never comes up in any medical appointments I’ve interpreted for anyway.
I nod. My cheeks feel like they’re on fire right now. Oh god, I’m going to keel over in embarrassment, aren’t I?
“Babe, I don’t know…” Marcus hedges. “Are you sure that’s such a good idea?”
“I know I’m not personally in any shape to be making such big decisions tonight,” Caleb admits. “Can I go home and think about it?”
“Oh, yeah. Absolutely. If, I mean, if I read the room wrong, you’d be honest and tell me though, right?”
Caleb nods. “Yes. This is just a lot for one day, and I’m wiped. You?” he asks Marcus.
My husband sighs, his expression unreadable. “Yeah. I agree, too much to unpack at midnight. Best we just sleep on it.”
On that, Caleb gives me one more kiss and then shows himself out. When I get done brushing my teeth and changing into sleepwear, I find Marcus in bed with the light still on, waiting for me. He flips back the covers on my side and pats the mattress.
“I should apologize for not telling you about Caleb,” he murmurs when I flip off the light and slip in next to him, curling myself in under his arm.
“It’s okay,” I tell him.
“No it’s not. I don’t keep things from you. I never have. It didn’t sit well with me.”
I let my hand caress the silky material of his slip on his side. “I can pretend to be madder about it, if it makes you feel any better. But I’m truly not, Marco. Caleb explained to me that it was on him for nottelling me sooner. Listen, I appreciate you always looking out for my well-being as if I'm fragile, but every once in a while, it'd be awesome if you just, I don't know, take my word for it the first time when I say I'm okay. It helps to make me feel less broken, if that makes sense. I'm stronger than you give me credit for sometimes…”
He blinks at me, clearly unnerved by my request. I get it. He's so caring that it'll be hard for him to let go of that instinctual need to coddle me, but I can be patient with him as he struggles with it.
“So, we’re good?” he finally asks.
