“Wait, Jonas, do not leave. You can stay.” She took a breath and licked her lips. “If you give me a baby.”
****
Jonas stopped dead in his tracks, his hand outstretched for the door. He turned to look at the Being woman as she moved from the bedroom to the front door. He wondered if perhaps she’d had a mental breakdown. By the look on Aaron’s face, he wondered the same thing.
“What did you say?” Jonas knew his voice was shaking.
Peri looked to Aaron then back to him. “I – I said you could stay if you give me a baby.” She rushed forward and took his hand. “I know it sounds crazy, but if Aaron and I do not have a child soon, they will reassign us to different partners. I love him, Jonas. I do not want to be parted from him. The thought of him with, with another woman and possibly giving her a child hurts me. Please? Please do not leave and let us discuss this.”
Jonas felt his mouth drop open. “You do realize to have a baby we’d have to have sex, Peri. As in you and me. I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear on this, but I’m gay. I’ve never been attracted to women. I’m apparently not like Aaron.” He looked up trying to hide his pain from his lover. Former lover. He couldn’t stay and be the third wheel, and he wouldn’t break up a marriage, or mating or whatever this planet called it. He’d go back to Earth and be alone for the rest of his life. He was alone before Aaron anyway.
“Jonas,” Aaron’s voice drew his attention, “I know it seems insane to you, but I think Peri has a good idea. I wish you would think about it. Please.”
“You want me to fuck your wife, Aaron? Dammit, I just broke her heart by walking into your life unannounced. Wouldn’t it bother you to know I’m between her legs? Wouldn’t it bother you to know she’s carrying my child and not yours?” He saw Peri’s eyes fill with tears, but she blinked them back.
“No.” Aaron’s voice held a certainty that had Jonas reeling backward. “If Peri were to give birth to your child, I would love it as my own. I love you, Jonas. I love her. If you two created a child together, I would be very happy.”
Jonas sighed and turned his back to the Being couple. “I don’t think I can. It’s more than just not - Jesus. It’s more than making love to a woman. I love you, Aaron, but it kills me to know you love someone else.” He felt his voice break as emotion overwhelmed him. Not only jealously but fear he had lost Aaron. He’d gone through hell to get to his lover, only to lose him to his people after all.
“I don’t know how to,” he closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. “I’ve never been with a woman before, and I never wanted to be with a woman. When my gay friends were dating women to hide their homosexuality, I never did. I’ve never pretended to be interested in women. I’ve joked, I’ve flirted, but I had no real interest. I’m sorry.”
He heard Aaron exhale behind him. “I just cannot give you up, Jonas. I cannot give her up either. What would you have me do? I cannot help the feelings I have for either of you. I will not be happy with just one of you in my life. Can you not find it in your heart to be open to her? This is not her fault.”
Jonas turned to stare at The Being couple. They made a striking pair. Inky hair, snow white skin. Jonas with his peridot-colored eyes and Peri with her bright amethyst eyes. “What do you mean it’s not her fault? I know that. You can’t help that you were assigned to each other.” Jonas moved to the couch and sat down. He felt defeated and hurt. He always thought a broken heart was just an overused saying. The pain in his chest told him how the term came to be.
“Of course, I was assigned to Aaron as his companion, but I never thought I would have feelings for him. He told me about you right away, and I was more than shocked that I felt such anger and jealousy toward you.” Peri hesitated briefly before she walked toward him, he could almost feel her pain and looked up to see it reflected in her eyes. She faltered a moment before sitting beside him.
“I know how you are feeling about me now because I am sure I felt the same for you. When I first saw you here with Aaron, I felt pain. The same as you would have felt if you had come home to find Aaron with a former lover. We have only been together for a few months, but I found myself attracted to him from the moment I saw him.”
Jonas shook his head and chuckled. “I guess we have something in common.” Peri looked up to him and smiled. For the first time, he thought he might understand why Aaron fell for her.
“Jonas, I just found out that Aaron and I,” sadness overwhelmed her and instinctively he reached out to take her hand. “We had conceived a child fulfilling our duty, but just as quickly we lost the pregnancy.” She closed her eyes and dropped her head. Aaron moved to her other side and wrapped his arms around her. The men looked at each other over her bent head.
Aaron’s voice was quiet. “We theorize that because of our physiology that it works against us when conceiving or carrying a child. I do not know how previous generations produced offspring, but somewhere between the last successful breeding an
d regaining our emotions, evolution has made it nearly impossible for Beings to copulate, gestate and produce children. Almost no children have been born since we’ve returned home. The few that have made it through gestation are weaker and smaller than previous generations.”
Peri raised her head, and Jonas felt his heart go out to the woman. Her eyes were red, and her chin quivered with emotion. “I had no right to ask you what I did. I should have known that with your attraction to Aaron you would not find me sexually appealing. I had hoped that maybe you would be like him in that you might be bisexual.” She shook her head. “I guess desperation kept me from thinking straight.”
Jonas found her choice of words comical and a laugh escaped him before he could stop himself. She looked up to him, her confusion apparent. “I’m sorry Peri. I’m not laughing at you, but in my culture, the word ‘straight’ is used to describe heterosexual people. With all this talk, it just struck me as funny.” Jonas chuckled at her grin, and he reached up to pull her into his embrace. Aaron let go of her and sat back looking at them.
“I spoke with Avery before I left Earth. He helped to get me transportation. Anyway, Beings can get pregnant and get a woman pregnant but,” he paused knowing he was just fueling the fire. “The thing is, each pregnancy is between mixed couples. One Being female was impregnated by a human, one Being male got his Otronian mate pregnant and one Being male has gotten his human mate pregnant.” He felt Peri stiffen in his embrace. Without thought, he pulled her closer and began to rub her arm to comfort her.
“Perhaps we can find a way to make this work. If Jonas is willing to try having sex with both of us at the same time.” Jonas was surprised when his body responded and heard Peri sharply inhale. “I am certain we can figure out a way.” Jonas looked up to Aaron. His light green eyes were hooded with desire, his breathing quickened.
“Stieg used to joke that when I’d get slightly drunk, I liked women’s tits. Do you have any alcohol?”
Aaron grinned, Jonas felt an answering smile.
****
Aaron, Peri, and Jonas were laughing by the time they’d finished the small bottle of romska’stad. Jonas said it tasted fruity, like wine, but it was powerful alcohol. His people hadn’t made or partook of it in generations but had started again when they regained emotions. The good thing about Being libations, it didn’t seem to give hangovers.
“Have you never kissed a woman before?” Peri was glassy-eyed, and her skin was flushed. “I wonder if we feel different.”
“I am the only one here who has kissed both a man and a woman. It is different.” The pleasant feeling of the slight buzzing of his skin and both his mate so close, had Aaron getting hard. He wanted to kiss both his mates.
Jonas raised his eyebrows at his statement and turned his attention to Peri. “Really? I want to see for myself.” Aaron held his breath as Jonas leaned forward, his eyes glancing to Peri’s mouth before their lips met. At first, it seemed they’d just touch lips and nothing more. Then Jonas groaned before he tilted his head slightly and cupped the back of Peri’s head. They wrapped their arms around each other, bringing their bodies flush. Their groans filled the room, and he could smell Peri’s arousal scent getting stronger. Aaron thought his cock would rip through his pants. Just when Aaron thought he’d lose his mind, they broke apart, both breathing hard, lips wet, and faces tinged pink. He wasn’t sure if it was from the kiss or the alcohol.