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“Oh Gideon,” Casey laughed, his loud, belly laugh, “Should I pass her a note after study hall?”
Margaux still regarded me; her eyebrow turned up in question.
“Back to your conversation with Mom and Dad, and why suddenly you think I give two shits about the six people seated behind us? They’re clearly matched in similar combinations?”
“Mom and Dad strongly object to my relationship because it isn’t just with Clover. Or rather, Clover isn’t the only person in our relationship. So are Joaquin and Odin.”
I tried to school my features. To hide the fact that I nearly choked on my damn bourbon. Holy shit.
“Damn Casey.”
“None of us ever expected this to happen. Sure, we’ve always played together. But to all want to be in a relationship together? Clover is so damn special, Gideon. I wish she was here. I can’t wait for you to meet her.”
He continued his origin story of them as a quad. Followed by how he’d announced to our parents his intent to live openly in a polyamorous relationship. It shocked the hell out of me, to be honest. Not because I was against polyamory, but we were all from Kansas. From a very suburban, apple pie kind of neighborhood. My parents weren’t zealots by any stretch, but they went to church every Sunday, just as Joaquin’s parents did.
“We’re getting married!” I heard the dark-haired woman seated across from Margaux shout, waving her hand in the air with way too much enthusiasm. “Isn’t it beautiful? It just happened! Right before we came here.”
“So that’s why you were late.” Margaux joked, examining the ring.
By my estimations, none of them had been late. Margaux had been obsessively early. That was none of my business, though.
“The woman? What about her has you so taken?” Casey asked, touching my hand to get my attention.
“I don’t know Casey. I saw her earlier in the week, just walking across the club. Since then, I have been able to stop thinking about her.”
“A Domme?” He twisted his lips in the brotherly way he had. The one that told me I was an idiot, but he would not say so. I knew the next thing he was going to say before he even said it.
“You’re going to go down this road again after the whole Brooklyn debacle?”
Her name shouldn’t sting anymore. It had been more than a year. People just didn’t work sometimes. Despite the never-ending tension between us for control. That happened to normal couples too, not just people in the lifestyle.
“I appreciate the gesture.”Margaux’s voice once again pulled me back from tipping over into a downward spiral of terrible memories.“We can take care of our own bill. Thank you.”
Her friend tried to insist. She told her it was a celebration. But Margaux continued to refuse.
“Earth to Gideon.” Casey waved his hand in front of my face.
“Brooklyn was different.” I told him. “Royce gave me the same reaction. Margaux, though? It feels different. I don’t know how to describe it.”
I ran my hand down my face, trying to find the words that could do justice to the strange magnetism I felt when she was around.
“She gives off a unique energy, Casey. It’s hard to put into words. Brooklyn was a force. She came into a room and demanded every single person pay attention to her. This one. Margaux? I don’t think even she realizes people are paying attentiontoher. It’s intoxicating. The way she doesn’t care about being the focus of anyone’s attention at all.”
“Gideon…”
“Casey, if you’re going to tell me I’m crazy, I don’t want to hear it. I know how it sounds.”
Casey signaled for the waitress and ordered us another round and asked to see the dessert menu.
“Actually, I was going to say I understand the force of that pull. Because it’s what I feel for Clover.”
He sat back, assessing me in a way that made me feel exposed to my core. It was an intimate appraisal in a way only a big brother could. The action felt comforting in a way I hadn’t expected. Like he saw and understood me.
“You should probably go see if you can talk to her.” He nodded toward the door where the two groups gathered at the door to hug and kiss their goodbyes. “I’m going to hang out here and enjoy this blueberry shortcake. And once you come back, we can talk about Mom and Dad.”
5
Going out was a mistake. Lazlo and Dax didn’t know me personally. It had always been how our agreement went. Lazlo simply caught me at a weak moment. I’d been drunk on endorphins and his request insinuated into a soft spot where it came to him. What a disaster.
