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“I guess I just never even thought about it,” she admits, “It feels…against the rules, somehow.”
“That’s the thing, Marlene, hearts don’t come with a rulebook. We make the rules.”
“Would you ever do that?” she asks curiously, “Be in a threesome or foursome or something like that?”
I shrug. “I’m not against the idea, although I’m not really into guys for the most part. But if I met the right girls, or one particular girl who likes to be shared…” I smirk at her, and she stares at me in disbelief.
“Okay, now I’m sure I’ve got to be dreaming,” she says flatly.
I laugh, then reach down and give her ass a little pinch that makes her squeak. “See? Wide awake.”
“I’m not really the jealous type,” I go on, “Yeah, I get jealous occasionally like anyone else, but it’s just a feeling. It’s normal, it’s natural, everyone feels it sometimes. It’s only when you can’t deal with it that it becomes a problem.”
“So you’re telling me you’d be okay in a relationship where you’re dating me, and I’m dating them?” she asks.
“If they treat you right, make you happy, and they’re cool with me, I’m cool with them,” I reply.
“Why? Why would you do all of that just for me?” she asks.
I chuckle. “Isn’t that part obvious?”
She stares blankly. “I love you, Marlene. It happened fast, but it’s there. And I like to see the people I love happy. If they make you happy, that makes me happy.”
And it’s true. I thrive off the happiness of the people I care about. Marlene’s eyes start welling up again and she slips her arms around me. “I love you, too, Todd. You’re entirely too perfect.”
I laugh. “I know.”
Chapter Twelve
Andrei
I’m staring at the ceiling when the door to the bedroom slams open. “We need to talk,” Corey says, in a tone that sends a chill down my spine, “Now.”
“What’s up, babe?” I ask, sitting up.
It’s more of an effort than it used to be. I feel heavier, weighed down by pure misery. We haven’t seen Marlene in a while now, and after hearing that she’s been seeing someone else, it’s like someone piled half a ton of bricks on my chest.
“I can’t take this anymore, Andrei. I can’t keep living like this,” he says, “We’re both completely miserable. If it were just me, maybe I could cope, but I can’t fucking stand to see you like this.”
“I’m sorry-”
“Don’t,” Corey shakes his head, “Just let me finish. I can’t keep watching you fade away to fucking nothing, you’re turning into a goddamn ghost. And if that means you want to be with Marlene instead of me, then just fucking tell me and I’ll go.”
His voice cracks a little on the last word and he looks away. My jaw drops. “Corey…”
“I love you, and this shit’s killing me,” he chokes out, “it’s like I’ve already lost both of you.”
His voice breaks and tears roll down his face. I scramble to my feet and make my way over to him, pulling him into my arms. I’m absolutely choking on the guilt right now. In all my moping and grieving, I’ve kind of been giving Corey the cold shoulder, too, and I hate myself for it.
He doesn’t deserve this, any of this, and the threat of him walking out is a real fucking wake-up call. “Baby, I’m so sorry,” I whisper, “I love you so much. I’d be fucking lost without you.”
I draw back a little so I can look at his face. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Corey, that hasn’t changed and it’s never going to. I want to go to bed next to you every single night, wake up to you every single morning, and spend every last one of our days together.”
“I can’t stand this, Andrei,” he wipes roughly at his eyes, “I know we promised, but staying away from her like this is destroying us. Not just individually, but it’s tearing the two of us apart.”
“I know,” I sigh, “I thought the separation would make it easier, but the truth is, we’re in too deep. There’s a big part of me that wants her waking up next to us, too.”
“Me, too.”
