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“You’re a wise guy now, eh?” Dean asks, standing and stepping up to me. He crooks a finger under my chin and lifts my face up so I’m forced to meet his eyes. “I’m truly sorry, and I don’t say that often. I should have gone after you and fixed everything then and there. I regret not doing that, but I promise you, if you can forgive me, I promise to never let you walk out of a door again without chasing after you.”
It’s a sweet gesture, and one I want to accept, but I can’t resist teasing him. “Even if I were going to the grocery store?”
“Especially if you’re going to the grocery store.” He’s adamant, and it makes me laugh.
Shane stands, and he and Niles move closer. “In that case, I swear I will too. Grocery stores are the single biggest attraction for single men looking to hook up.”
“Oh come on,” I laugh. “I’ve never met a guy in the cereal aisle. That’s an urban myth.”
“Nope,” Niles insists. “They hang out in the candy aisle.”
“Waiting for all the single women in need of a chocolate fix,” Dean confirms.
I slap his chest playfully. “You guys! The scary thing is that I believe you.”
“We may be many things, toots, but liars we are not.” Dean’s hands find my waist and his thumbs caress my hips through my clothes. “Are we forgiven? Or do I have to do something totally outlandish to earn you back? Because I’ll do it.”
“Don’t test him. He’s certifiable.”
I don’t doubt Shane’s words. Something about Dean and his over-the-top humor and playfulness tells me that he’s the type to do some crazy things to make a point—or just to have fun.
“I won’t push it,” I claim, putting my hands up. I don’t step away from his touch to say what I need to say next. “To be honest, I was really hurt. Beyond hurt. What you did crossed boundaries for me and it was really insensitive and selfish, like Niles said.” Each man’s face becomes a mask of contrition, and I continue. “But then I went home and I talked to my grams about it.”
“Your grandma knows about us?” Dean seems far too pleased to hear this, while Shane and Niles appear on edge, unsure of where this might be going.
“She does.” I press on. “And something she said rang true for me.” I take a deep, fortifying breath. “Long story short: you’re a bunch of doofuses who are at best reactionary and if I care about you at all, I need to learn to live with that. And… I need to stop worrying so much about what others think of me or my life and follow my heart.”
There’s a long, drawn-out moment of silence before I hear Niles whisper behind me, “And what is it saying?”
I turn sideways so I can see him better without cutting off my line of sight from Dean and Shane. I want all three of them viewable when I say this, because I have a feeling I know how they’re going to react, and I don’t want to miss a thing.
“That it wants you. All of you, for as long as I can keep you.”
Their expressions are a mix of elation and jubilation, and it fills me with profound happiness that I put it there.
“Toots,” Dean says, pulling me in so that our bodies touch from top to bottom and not a whisper of air can come between us, “you got us for as long as you want to keep us.”
“I second that,” Shane says, coming to stand beside Dean. His blue eyes bore into mine. “You’re the single best thing that’s happened to us all year. Hell, in a long, long time, and we’re not ready to let you go.”
“Ever,” Dean adds.
“And,” Niles says, closing in from behind and dropping a warm kiss to the back of my neck, “we’ve already decided that there’s never been a better fit for us than you. So…”
He lifts his head and looks to his friends, and as one they ask, “Will you keep us?”
A smile blooms on my face, spreading so wide my cheeks burn. I’ve never been happier when I reply, “Forever and ever.”
I know it’s only been a short time, but it feels like forever that we’ve known each other, and I’m ready to explore this thing between us to the very ends of the earth, if that’s what it takes, because a connection like ours only comes once in a lifetime. Or, in my case, three times all at once.
“Well, kids,” Dean says after a gentle but sweet kiss, “I think this calls for a celebration. What do you say we get back out there and party like it’s 1999.”
“It’s 2020,” Niles drawls.
“So?”
We stare at him for a single heartbeat, and then we all burst into laughter.
“Yeah, sure, buddy,” Shane says, joining his friend as they head toward the door. He claps him on the back as they step through to the hallway. “Do you think they have some Prince on the radio?”
