“Good morning,” she greeted through a yawn.
“Good morning,” Max and I said in perfect unison.
We glanced at each other. Things immediately went right back to awkward.
Alice sat down beside me at the breakfast table, rubbing away the sleep from her eyes. Max placed a cup of coffee down before her before setting the food down. It was all on one big platter –family style– full of sunny side up eggs, bacon, toast, and a pile of freshly cut cantaloupe, apple slices, and grapes. My mind wasn’t on the food, though. It was on this awful silence that I couldn’t bare to sit in any longer.
“Talk about that elephant in the room, huh?” I blurted out, maybe because I just couldn’t stand not talking for more than five minutes. I was fairly certain that if I ever stopped talking, I’d probably die.
Alice giggled behind the rim of her coffee mug. She winked at Max. “Wow, you were right. He didn’t last very long.”
Max smirked. “Told you.”
I blinked at both of them in surprise. “You… You planned this?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Wanted to see how long it would take before you squirmed.”
Alice reached over and placed her hand on my knee. “Did you have something you wanted to say?”
“Yeah,” I answered, “but now I have no fucking idea what it was.”
“Would you like me to start?”
I nodded. “Yeah, shoot.”
Alice set her mug down and threaded her fingers together, placing her hands neatly on her lap. “I had a lot of fun last night,” she spoke softly. “And, if it’s okay with you, I’d like a repeat sometime soon.”
An ease washed over me, escaping in the form of a sigh. “I… Yeah. I agree.”
Max nodded in approval. As always, a man of few words.
“Yeah,” I continued. “You know what? If it’s okay with the two of you, then it’s okay with me. We’re all adults here. And it’s not like open relationships these days are super uncommon. I mean, if that’s what you’re hoping for. No pressure or anything. Is something burning? I think I smell something burning.”
“It’s your brain,” Max stated flatly.
I flipped him the bird, but chuckled nonetheless.
“Alice,” he asked, “does that work for you?”
She smiled wide, brighter than the morning sun. “Definitely. But only if you’re on board, too.”
Max raised an eyebrow at me. “I guess we can learn to share.”
I smirked at him. “You’re one smooth motherfucker, you know that?”
“I do my best.”
“Did you just make a joke?” I gawked at Alice. “Did he just make a joke?”
She giggled sweetly. “I think he did.”
Max did his best to suppress his smile. “Shut up.”
I whispered into Alice’s ear. “I think he’s blushing.”
The three of us laughed together, everything suddenly falling into place. The awkwardness I felt before dissipated into thin air, leaving nothing but a warm home and two other souls that I held closest to my heart.
9
Alice
The next week passed in the blink of an eye. Max, Jeremy, and me –we really had a good thing going on here. I found that there was a quiet understanding between the two that I could be adored and shared, and that I thought of them in an equal and affectionate manner. We’d managed to find a perfect balance, not only with our love lives, but between or work schedules and time at home. We just clicked. There was little that went unsaid, little to be misconstrued. Even with Max’s patent for being on the quieter side of things, he was always sure to involve himself in conversations when it came to our relationship. I supposed it made it a lot easier that Max and Jeremy were already such good friends. There was no jealousy to be had, no fighting that arose. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that we cared about each other deeply.
I adored it when the boys would come pick me up after my shift, which was always. Even though they were tired and a little grimy from dealing with emergencies all day, they always greeted me with a smile and a big hug. I did my best to ignore all of Cookie’s wolf whistling from the kitchen.
At home, Jeremy liked to play with my hair and braid it while we watched television together. Most nights, we tried to outsmart each other while watching new episodes of Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune. I was proud to say I was usually always the winner. I learned over the past couple of days that Jeremy definitely liked to cuddle, preferring to be the small spoon because it made him feel both warm and safe. He always managed to make me laugh, and it was always wonderful to wake up in the morning to the sound of his chipper chattering.
Max showed his affection in other, more subtle ways. He’d sometimes draw me a bath after a long day at the diner, using all kinds of wonderful smelling bath soaps and complimentary soaps. He especially liked to cook for me. Breakfast, lunch, dinner –it didn’t matter. He was always in the kitchen making up something for me and Jeremy to eat. I found him smiling a lot more, much to my absolute glee. And when it was just the two of us alone on the couch, he liked to let me sit in his lap while we watched the news together. It was a perfect fit. He’d often rest his chin atop my head and pepper little kisses into my hair.