“She reminded me poly exists for a reason.”
“Wait, what?” Dylan had a vague understanding of polyamory, which extended to an open relationship. “So, how open exactly are you thinking?”
Rus snorted. “What?”
“Poly’s just dating around, right?”
“I mean, in some cases, sure.”
“Yeah, so it would be us dating each other, but we could also date Kaiden? Or would it be like I date you, but you date Kaiden, and Kaiden dates me?”
“Yes and no,” Rus replied. “It wouldn’t be open perse. It’d be more like expanded. Instead of a couple, we could be a throuple, so we’d all be dating each other.”
“A throuple?” The word sounded hilarious and bizarre all at once, but Dylan did find himself intrigued. “Consider me piqued.”
“Hey, throuples are becoming way more common these days,” Rus said with a playful shoulder shrug. “And honestly, in this economy, a throuple is practically necessary for basic necessities.”
“Oh, yeah. I could probably get a nicer ride with three incomes,” Dylan teased.
“Nah, for luxuries like that, living the high life with a new car, you’d definitely need a bigger polycule. Like an octa-couple, octa-ouple, octagon-l-ouple. Coupl-a-gon… No, that doesn’t work.” Rus lost himself in the word play of combining octagon and couple into some terrifyingly massive dating pool.
“I don’t want that.” Dylan shook his head.
“The nice life or larger polycule?” Rus asked, stepping in closer.
Somehow, even as he looked up at Dylan, he possessed this domineering presence. Rus’ authority sizzled in the air between them.
Dylan gulped. “No big octopus polycule thing. Just the throuple.”
“Octa-cule.” Rus smacked his forehead at the realization, then smiled at Dylan. “And good, because that’s exactly what I want.”
That still presumed the potential third in their arrangement was on board with such things.
“How about we message Kaiden?” Rus held up his phone, revealing the group thread.
“It would be hard for him to dodge both of us,” Dylan replied. “But he’s probably just going to say he’s busy at work.”
“He still works at that art gallery, right?” Rus commented. “What’s he even do all day? He never really talks about it except when they have some party he’s forced to work.”
In which case, Kaiden would complain nonstop about his million and one tasks to complete before whatever fancy gala was scheduled.
“Mostly cataloging stuff by day,” Dylan replied. “Maybe showings to potential buyers, but that’s more Alison’s thing.”
“So, then maybe we just drop by,” Rus said. “If he’s actually busy, we won’t pester him, but if he’s not, he won’t be able to deflect either.”
“Sneaky.” Dylan smirked. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Fourteen
Kaidenfound himself lonely this last week. Alone and lost in his thoughts, with only work serving as a reprieve from the anxiety in his life. Home had become a battlefield of expectations from his family. He pushed back, and they collectively pushed back harder until they’d shoved him to the ground. The gym had turned into a chore, no longer an escape of endorphins.
Worst of all, he kept dodging Dylan and Rus. He was unsure what to make of things, but he knew the second he leaned on them, they could very well push back just like his family had. Kaiden knew that wasn’t true, simply an irrational fear eating away at his thoughts. Dylan had proven himself time and time again, and Rus hadn’t been in Kaiden’s life long, but he’d already shown himself to be a true friend. Still, not knowing how things were with his friends seemed so much safer than finding out. Kaiden could only handle so much devastation in his life at a time.
“Is this what you do all day at work?” Rus asked, startlingKaiden. “Doomscroll and avoid group texts?”
Kaiden blinked a few times, baffled by Rus and Dylan’s arrival. They’d pranced right into Slayer’s Brush, walking through the empty gallery and all the way to the counter in the back near the door to the stockroom.
“What’re you doing here?”
