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“Sorry,” she mumbled, annoyed that, as far as she’d come, she still was having trouble saying this out loud. Nineteen years of training to be quiet and discreet died hard.
Quyen pursed her lips, eyes narrowing. “Okay, fine. Twenty questions it is. Let’s start with an easy one. Did you sleep with someone last night?”
O’Neal swallowed the too-large bite and nodded.
“Are you being safe and using protection? Because that’s truly the only thing I’m going to lecture you about.” She lifted her palm like she was taking an oath. “I swear.”
O’Neal’s shoulders loosened a little at that. “Yes. Condoms and I’ve been on the pill since I was sixteen.”
Quyen looked surprised. “Your super strict, you-can’t-talk-to-boys grandparents let you get on the pill?”
“Oh, hell no,” O’Neal said, nearly laughing at the idea. “I had really terrible periods, and my doctor said birth control could help. My grandmother said absolutely not. I mean, she wouldn’t even let me use tampons because she thought that could mess with my virginity. But afterward, the doctor spoke with me alone and offered me a prescription and the name of a clinic where I could get it filled without them notifying anyone.” She took a sip of her iced tea. “I knew I wasn’t getting it for sex, so I didn’t feel guilty getting it, even back then when I was still believing most of what I’d been taught.”
Quyen’s face scrunched up. “No tampons? Poor baby teen O’Neal. I wish we would’ve been friends back then. I would’ve snuck them to you.”
O’Neal smiled. “Thanks. I wish we had been friends too.” She stirred her tea with her straw, stalling, but then got irritated with her own behavior. Quyen was great. She wasn’t here to criticize her choices. She just wanted to know what was going on. O’Neal needed to grow a spine and trust her friend. “So, yeah, I’m being safe.” She cleared her throat. “With both of them.”
To Quyen’s credit, she kept her expression poker-face smooth. “Okay.” She nodded. “So both. That’s…something. I mean, I know you and Auden had a fight, and if no one has made any promises for exclusivity and you want to explore options and—”
“They both know,” she said quickly before Quyen could skip down the wrong path.
“Hold up.” She shook her head as if trying to clear it. “They bothknow?”
“Yes.” She glanced around to make sure no one was too close and lowered her voice. “Because, last night, I got back together with Auden…and Lennox. And I was with both of them…at the same time.”
Quyen’s slice of pizza froze halfway to her mouth.
O’Neal rolled her lips together, bracing herself. Her friend’s expression was a still-shot photo, but she could almost hear Quyen’s internal screaming, so she kept talking. “They’re,we’re, uh, polyamorous. So. Yeah. That happened. It’s a long story, but we’re in a relationship now.”
With very precise movements, Quyen set her slice of pizza down and smoothed the napkin in her lap.
O’Neal was sweating beneath her T-shirt.
“I see,” Quyen said, nodding almost to herself. “Okay. So I may need a minute. My brain…and possibly my ovaries just exploded.”
A choked laugh burst out of O’Neal, relief flooding her.
“So what you’re saying,” Quyen said, as if summarizing a lecture back to one of their professors, “is that you’re now dating Mr. Hot SwimmerandMr. Inked Artist, and they are both, you know, at your sexual disposal. Singular or together. Like you could call one or both right now and get a nice big dose of Vitamin D?”
“Quyen!” O’Neal’s face burned. “Well, I wouldn’t say it like that. And it’s not just about sex. We love each other. But, also, yes, I could.”
Saying that aloud felt empowering as hell. Yes. She. Could.
“Whoa.” Quyen considered her. “This is…” She waved a hand in front of her face. “I think this may have literally blown my mind. This is not what I expected this conversation to be about. So. Many. Questions.”
O’Neal pulled a slice of pepperoni from her pizza, watching the cheese stretch. “You can ask. Some things are private, but I can probably answer other stuff.”
Her eyes lit. “Really? I can ask?”
O’Neal swallowed her bite and nodded, the ability to talk about this with someone she could trust like a beautifully wrapped gift. “I reserve the right to pass on some.”
“Of course.” Quyen sat forward in her seat, pizza forgotten. “Okay. So first, is it as hot as it sounds or is it, like, intimidating?” She frowned. “Or exhausting? I mean two older guys and all that testosterone and Auden’s an athlete, all that stamina, that’s a lot of—a lot to handle. Literally and figuratively, I imagine.”
“Quyen!”
“O’Neal! We cannot have this conversation without me least acknowledging that there are two penises present.” She grabbed two breadsticks from the basket between them and held them up. “That’s a lot to deal with!”
O’Neal laughed and took the breadsticks from her, setting them back in the basket. “Fine. Yes, Iamexhausted. Itcanbe intimidating, especially since they have a lot more experience than I do.” She bit her lip. “But it’s also been really,reallyhot.”
