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  Fortunately, Nolan recognized it for what it was, too. Even more importantly, he didn’t fall for it this time.

  The day the final decree was signed, he came over to our house for dinner and the three of us made love half the night, because he was finally free.

  It was definitely a celebration.

  Having him around all the time won’t be a hardship, even when Katie’s home. This is the moment Arlo and I have dreamed of and longed for.

  Arlo for far longer than me, I suppose. He’s forty, Nolan’s forty-one, and they first got together when they were fifteen and sixteen. Arlo and I have been together for twelve years, married for eleven. It was close to seven years ago when we had our weekend in Orlando where we thought we’d finally talk Nolan into moving in with us and convincing him to give up trying to chase Jerilyn.

  We both knew Nolan wasn’t really in love with her. Even he’d admitted he didn’t feel like he was in love with her.

  But his fear still ruled his life. He’d held on to the hope of being a father one day. That maybe he could learn to love Jerilyn more.

  Even though she was a bitch who manipulated him from nearly day one.

  Can’t fault the guy for trying. Had he not gotten her out of his system, he might never have been able to finally admit what me and Arlo knew all along—that we belong together, the three of us.

  That what we have together is perfection.

  Maybe it’s not “normal,” or even “easy.” Definitely not the default permutation.

  Except it fills our hearts and soothes our souls.

  Before I start packing Katie’s toys, I take a couple of pictures so I know where stuff goes when we set up her room at our house. The guys start loading larger items, like the couch, and Nolan’s bed.

  Shit’s getting real.

  I can’t stop grinning as I start packing faster.

  Like before Nolan can change his mind and chicken out. Because that would break my heart.

  * * * *

  It’s nearly nine that night by the time we finally call it quits, we’ve all had showers, and Arlo has placed an order for Chinese food to be delivered through Grubhub.

  We’ve also succeeded in nearly emptying Nolan’s apartment. Tomorrow, the plan is to pack his kitchen and the rest of his clothes. Then all that will be left is going through and thoroughly cleaning the place—vacuuming the carpets, mopping and scrubbing the kitchen and bathrooms, and emptying and cleaning the fridge. We won’t need a storage unit after all. It’ll take some further rearranging to put our house into some semblance of order again, and our garage is stuffed full, but it’s money we won’t need to spend.

  Our house, however, now looks like a bomb went off.

  And I couldn’t be happier.

  Arlo can’t stop smiling.

  Neither can I.

  And even Nolan looks practically…giddy.

  Lucas and Caine have both pitched in like crazy today, and I couldn’t be prouder of my son.

  My baby boy, who I thought I’d never really see again, is back.

  We sit in the living room to eat dinner, gathered around the coffee table, the TV on and playing an anime show from Crunchyroll that Lucas and Nolan both try to explain the plot of to me and Arlo.

  Lucas sits on the floor next to where I’m sitting on the couch, and every so often he leans over like he used to when he was little and rests his head against my leg, and I ruffle his hair.

  This is something I thought would never happen again. I’m damn close to crying happy tears.

  Caine got permission from his parents to spend the night after talking to me on the phone. Okay, so I might have led them to believe he’d be staying in the guest room.

  Like hell am I going to tell the boys they can’t share the same bed tonight. Tonight’s a celebration.

  Would I feel this cavalier if they were the opposite sex?

  Probably not.

  Does that make me a hypocrite?

  Probably.

  Do I even care?

  Tonight?

  No fucks given.

  Absolutely zero.

  * * * *

  “Do you think Caine will come out to them soon?” Arlo softly asks once we’re locked behind our bedroom door.

  The boys have put on music in Lucas’ room. K-pop, I think. Which makes my ears want to bleed, but that’s just me. It’s not loud enough to bother me, or for us to even hear with both bedroom doors closed.

  Just like with the eyebrow piercing—yay, it’s fucking gone—it’s not a battle worth fighting. Who even knows if Lucas has been able to listen to what he wanted to listen to while he was living with Bill?

  This is probably the most freedom he’s had in two damn years.

  “I don’t know,” I say. “When he does, that’s up to him. But we’ll be here for him.” I feel like our family is exploding in good ways, like a lush carpet of spring wildflowers blanketing a Yellowstone valley after a harsh winter’s thaw.

  It’s beautiful.

  “Let’s hope they’re not assholes,” Nolan mutters.

  Nolan’s starting out in the middle tonight. I’m lying on his left, on my side and half draped over him, one leg thrown over his and my head tucked in the crook of his left shoulder.

  On Nolan’s right side, Arlo lies on his left side and faces us, propped up on his left elbow and wearing a brilliant, playful grin.

  I can’t claim I know exactly how happy today’s events have made my husband, but considering how I feel with Lucas once again living with us, I can easily imagine.

  This is the culmination of nearly a quarter-century’s worth of dreams come true for him, having Nolan living with us.

  That’s a reason to celebrate.

  Nolan looks down at me, smirks, then looks over at Arlo. “Didn’t wear your ass out today, did we, old geezer?” Nolan teases.

  That’s a running joke between them, because Nolan’s a year older than Arlo.

  Arlo’s smile widens. He reaches over with his right arm, curls it around Nolan’s head, fists his hair, and leans in for a long, deep kiss that I can see hardens both of them. I love watching them together, the sometimes unrestrained passion between them. It’s sweetly raw and unrefined, a silent love language the two of them effortlessly speak with each other.

  Who needs porn when I have two real-life hotties of my own in bed with me?

  They’re both different when alone with me than when the two of them are together, and I don’t mind that. There’s a history between them that predates me and my relationship with Arlo by twelve years. They’ve been together twice as long as Arlo and I have.

  I’m the third wheel, in some ways. Not that I feel like one, though.

  Arlo’s the only man Nolan’s ever slept with, although he tried dating a couple of guys before he met Jerilyn. Arlo went out with men and women before we met. One of the things that drew me to Arlo was his nearly brutal honesty when it came to his heart. How he told me Nolan would always come first, in some ways. That I had to be okay with him and Nolan being friends despite their history and the fact that Arlo was still deeply in love with him.

  I know in the past people Arlo dated have been put off by that admission. But after spending nearly five years with a lying, manipulative narcissist, it felt refreshing to know exactly where I stood with Arlo. To know he’d be honest with me and not play bullshit passive-aggressive games with me.

  That if I asked him a direct question, I’d better be ready for the honest answer.

  Not that he was an asshole. Quite the opposite. He was gentle in his responses.

  Following years of grudging, prickly flattery and sweetly spat lies, it was nearly addictive.

  I think Arlo’s loyalty to his best friend and first love also drew me in. The melancholy tenderness in his eyes as he watched Nolan date someone, or as Arlo privately talked with me about his feelings, seeking solace from me, told me he was my soulmate.

  And so was Nolan.

  Because from the start
, Nolan adopted me as a friend. There could have easily been jealousy there, but there wasn’t. Spending time together felt right, even though back then it was just as friends.

  The way Lucas immediately took to Nolan also helped me hitch my wagon to Arlo’s dream to one day be a triad with Nolan. From the start, I gave Arlo standing permission that, if the opportunity ever presented itself, he could try to seduce Nolan to be with us.

  The same applied to me in reverse.

  In fact, for several years, Arlo’s standing theory was that if we could just manipulate the situation so that I had a chance to seduce Nolan, it might be the critical weakness within him to finally allow him to see how right this could be.

  Time and circumstances always conspired against us. Either Lucas was home when Nolan was single and visiting us, or Nolan was attempting to date someone while we were child-free that weekend.

  Then motherfucking Jerilyn entered his life.

  I didn’t like that woman from the first moment I met her. A nasty tingling sensation at the base of my spine went off, reminding me too much of Bill Motherfucking Webb.

  Unfortunately, I was right.

  But tonight, none of that matters.

  Tonight my men are happy, and we’re together.

  My hand trails down Nolan’s firm abs, through the short nest of dark hair between his legs, until my fingers circle his erection and close around him, slowly stroking him.

  They’re still kissing as Nolan softly moans over my actions. I feel his hips trying to rock in time with what I’m doing, and I snuggle in, sort of pinning him down a little.

  And I watch.

  I love to watch them together.

  There’s no worries about them taking care of me. They always do, if I’m in the mood for that.

  At some point in their kiss, despite Arlo seemingly having control of it, Nolan takes over. That becomes evident when Arlo ends up on top of Nolan after blindly fumbling around in the nightstand drawer to retrieve lube and a condom. I still my hand so Arlo can get the condom on him, and then they’re both moaning as Arlo impales himself, and I release Nolan and focus on Arlo’s cock instead.

  Arlo sits up, staring down at us with fierce triumph painted across his features. “Told you I’d wear you down one day, mister,” he hoarsely says to Nolan.

  I slant my lips over Nolan’s and soon find a fist in my hair securely holding me in place. I first think it’s Nolan’s, until I realize it’s Arlo when I feel Nolan’s hand skim down my back and curl around my waist.

  “That’s it,” Arlo says as he rides Nolan. “Enjoy tonight, buddy, because you’ve damn well earned it.” Arlo’s cock feels so hard in my hand that, at this rate, he might go off before Nolan does.

  Nolan’s kisses take on a simmering desperation I also know so damned well. We’re still kissing as his orgasm hits him and his whole body tenses along mine.

  “There’s our guy,” Arlo says. He sounds damned victorious, and it makes my clit throb in anticipation When he knows Nolan’s finished, he pulls off him and rolls me onto my back, breaking my kiss with Nolan. His cock easily slides deep inside me, and then it’s Nolan kissing me, his hand between my legs as Arlo fucks me.

  I’m already close. Nolan’s fingers knowingly close on my clit, gently rolling it and sending me into orbit while Arlo lets loose.

  Like that, we’re soon lying sprawled together in a messy dog-pile, catching our breath and starting to giggle like guilty kids who got away with emptying the cookie jar.

  Yeah, spending the rest of our lives like this is exactly how I want to do it.

  Chapter Eight

  Arlo

  Early Sunday morning, I awaken before Zoey and Nolan and happily lie there in bed with them, basking in the knowledge that Nolan is finally ours. It’s still difficult for me to wrap my head around the fact that one of my biggest and oldest dreams has finally come true.

  That he’s now living with us for good.

  That we’re going to build our house together, and be a family together.

  No more good-byes at the end of the night.

  Honestly? I was expecting him to turn scared and back out and try to renew his lease on his apartment for another year. I was prepared to get sneaky and play dirty, if necessary, to move him in with us. Even if it meant enlisting Katie and Zoey to work on him.

  Wouldn’t be the first time I threw Zoey at him in an attempt to hook him for good. Like I did seven years ago. We came sooo damned close to nearly landing him back then.

  I make no apologies for that, either.

  Look, I never said I was perfect, okay? But when you’ve loved someone for as long as I’ve loved Nolan, sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures.

  It’s not like Jerilyn and Nolan were married at the time. In their on-again/off-again dynamic that had spanned approximately three years, at that point, it was during an off-again period between them. One she’d instigated.

  One I hoped to make permanently off.

  I never hid from Zoey how much I loved Nolan. I’m blessed with a wife who’s not only open-minded, but she also happens to think my best friend and the first love of my life is hot.

  Which…well, he is.

  If Nolan hadn’t been so scared of what his family would do, I suspect he would have jumped at a chance to openly be with me back in college.

  And, hopefully, now.

  Hence seven years ago, since Nolan was once again off with Jerilyn, I planned a weekend in Orlando for the three of us. I used the excuse that I wanted to get Nolan away from home and help him stay out of his head for a couple of days. Jerilyn wasn’t the right person for him, and I think he knew it, but I wasn’t going to push that point.

  Pushing before, when we were in college, had nearly pushed Nolan away because of his fear. I’d already received an all-clear from Zoey to try this, too. She was on board with us trying to bring Nolan in as a permanent third with us.

  Lucas was with Bill that weekend. So I booked the three of us a room at a hotel across the street from Universal Studios with the excuse that we were going to show him a good time that weekend. Except we didn’t mention anything about sex.

  Then we drove Nolan to Orlando that Friday after we all left work early, took him out to dinner, got him drunk…

  And yeah. I kissed him right there in front of Zoey, while she stood behind him, hugging him. I reminded him of everything that was good and perfect between us from the start. That we were now adults, and he was no longer beholden to his family for any damn thing.

  Zoey persuaded him, too. Reassuring him she knew all about us and loved and wanted him, too.

  That weekend, he finally gave in to me.

  It’s a weekend I will always cherish. I know Zoey does, too, because she finally got to see that side of Nolan up close and personal instead of through me recounting the events.

  Unfortunately, fucking Jerilyn blew up his phone all day Monday, wanting to talk to him after a weekend of radio silence from him because I’d shut off and confiscated his phone. It was like she could sense he’d had a fun weekend without her and it terrified her that she’d pushed him away too far for her to recapture.

  By Wednesday, they were back together—again—and Zoey and I sadly watched the cycle start once more between them.

  No, Nolan didn’t admit to Jerilyn what we’d done that weekend. He’d told her we went to Orlando, but left out the fact that we’d spent the entire time from Friday evening until check-out Sunday in bed together and getting room service.

  Unfortunately, that time, Jerilyn ended up pregnant a couple of months later. I’m still not sure she didn’t do it on purpose despite her claims it was an accident and that she was on the pill. Before then, she’d claimed she wasn’t ready to have kids and didn’t want any for at least several years.

  Nolan is a good guy, too. Too good for his own good. Before even talking to me or Zoey about it, he proposed to Jerilyn at her suggestion, they went to the courthouse, got a license, got married
three days later during their lunch hour, and then…

  All Zoey and I could do was sadly stand back and hope our guy’s heart didn’t get shattered.

  Jerilyn never liked me. She didn’t like that someone besides her could make Nolan laugh or earn his attention. That we had a history between us she wasn’t privy to or part of. That he could have fun with me without her around.

  I was one of his few friends she didn’t manage to run off. She even confessed to Zoey once it was like I was Nolan’s boyfriend, and that it irritated her how close I was to him. Zoey suspects Jerilyn was trying to rile her up to help her put a wedge between the two of us.

  I think the only reason Jerilyn tolerated Zoey is because she had no clue how much Zoey was in love with Nolan, too. All due credit to Zoey. She forced herself to be nice to Jerilyn so we wouldn’t end up permanently shouldered out of his life.

  And one Friday night when Katie was only two, while I was out of town for two weeks at a training workshop, Nolan showed up at our house late that night, in tears and miserable after having left Jerilyn following yet another fight. Lucas was at Bill’s, fortunately.

  Zoey called me, took Nolan to bed, and I was on the phone talking to them the whole time she made love to him, making him promise us he was finally going to divorce Jerilyn.

  He was too scared to move in permanently with us, though. Although he did stay with us for four weeks, until he could afford to get his own place.

  Understandably, we didn’t want Jerilyn to have anything she could use against him in the custody proceedings. And we got it. But those four weeks cemented in both my mind and in Zoey’s that Nolan belong to and with us.

  Just like we belonged to and with him.

  I think he finally realized it, too. All those stolen, sometimes drunken moments we had between us back in college, those frantic, frenzied afternoon encounters in high school, had built a shadowy but solid foundation for us to complete, now that we were adults.

  We hated it when Nolan moved into his own apartment. As he worked to free himself from Jerilyn, we finally saw our Nolan return, though. His personality, his sense of humor.

  His sweetly pushy way of getting what he wanted with us in all the ways both of us loved.