A fresh start, right from the beginning. The start you should have had.”
She was close, so close. Her knees up on the seat, her breath on my cheek. “Kiss me,” she said. “That’s what I want. That’s the one thing I know.”
“Rick’s at home,” I said. “He’s only minutes away…”
She shook her head, and then her lips were on me, soft against my cheek. “Please,” she said. “Kiss me, Carl, right here.”
My heart was racing, my stomach all chewed up. My legs were wobbly and my throat was dry, and life felt unsteady and raw.
And all I wanted was him.
The man who laid everything on the line, who walked the road of truth and honour, no matter where that took him.
“Please,” I said. “Kiss me, Carl, right here.”
He turned his head and his lips were so close to mine. “We come together or not at all,” he whispered. “That’s how we are.”
I stroked his face. “But we’re a three now, right?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“So, things have got to change, no? Move forward? Evolve?”
“What do you mean?”
His breath was hot on my lips, and I breathed him in. “I love you, Carl.”
He stopped breathing, and his eyes turned wide.
“I love you, and I love Rick. I love both of you. I love both of you together, and both of you as just yourself. Sometimes I’ll want to love Rick, and sometimes I’ll want to love you, and sometimes, most of the time, I’ll want to love you both together.” I let him digest my words. “And sometimes I’ll want you to love each other without me. That’s how three should work, Carl. That’s how I want it to work. Naturally, however it feels right.”
“Katie… I don’t know…”
I put a finger to his lips. “Do you love me, Carl? I know you don’t like to say it, but I’m asking you. And I’ll know you’ll give me the truth because…”
He moved my hand from his mouth, and his lips pressed to mine. He took a breath, took my face in his hands, and he kissed me. He kissed me like he loved me.
And then he said it.
“Yes, I love you, Katie.” He paused. “And so does Rick, and he’s waiting for us at home.”
I pictured Rick, his kind smile, his beautiful body. The way he loved so easily.
I nodded. “Ok,” I said. “Let’s go home.”
His fingers were in my hair before I could move, holding me tight, holding me still. His mouth was urgent this time, his tongue hunting mine, his breath ragged. He let out a low moan, and pulled my body close to his, the warmth of him burning me up.
And then he let me go.
“We’ll talk about this,” he said. “All of us. We’ll make this work as a three, together and separately. It’s time.”
He pulled away from the truck stop.
“It’s real,” I said. “I told my mum about us.”
He raised his eyebrows as he worked up through the gears. “You really did cover a lot of ground this evening. What did she say?”
I laughed a little, remembering the moment. The shock, the surprise, the awkward questions. Do you… with both of them? At the same time? And do they…? Are they…? How does this work, Katie? How does it ever work?
And what about the future, Katie? What about marriage? What about kids?
And then my shock, my shock at the realisation I wasn’t repulsed, wasn’t armed with my usual I don’t even want kids announcement, that I’d been using right through my teens, right off the cuff.
I cut a long story short.
“She said she wants to meet you. Properly.” I smiled. “She wants to meet you both.”
“That’s something,” he said. “At least she didn’t run screaming.” He smirked. “And where does she want this to happen? We could take her out, a nice bite to eat, somewhere tasteful. Impress her with culinary delights.”
“We already decided.” I looked at him. “The Cheltenham Chase. I mean, you are coming right? You are coming to see me and Samson?”
He squeezed my knee. “Of course we’re coming. Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
And so it was settled.
Mum would meet my boyfriends at the Cheltenham Chase.
Right after Samson and I had kicked Verity’s nasty little ass to the kerb.
It was that same snooty receptionist at the Stroud office, the same one who’d judged me on interview day and found me severely lacking in my bite me, baby t-shirt. She didn’t give me any such look this morning, not in my posh little suit and my