When I open the door to the café, bells tinkle and to my surprise, Justin and Corrie have already arrived. They’re seated together at a round table with three mugs of coffee in front of them, laughing and chatting like everything’s normal. I dart forwards. Holy shit, did they already start without me?
But then I make myself calm down. I’m a part of this too and any discussion would be worthless without my input. As a result, I slow my stride as I approach the table and smile like nothing’s wrong.
“Hey,” I drawl while taking a seat. “Nice to see you guys again. Did you find this place okay?”
“Hell yeah, it was easy,” Justin growls in return, shaking my hand. Even I have to admit he’s a good-looking motherfucker in an oatmeal sweater and dark jeans. “Good to see you. We got you a coffee. You seem like the kind of guy who takes it black.”
I nod.
“Thanks, and I do.”
Corrie giggles.
“I don’t know how you guys can stand black coffee because it’s so bitter without cream and sugar. As you can tell, I don’t like my coffee to taste like coffee.”
Justin fixes her with a fond look.
“That’s why you basically ordered hot cocoa.”
“And it’s delicious!” she exclaims.
Then Corrie takes a sip of her drink and ends up with whipped cream all over her cheeks and mouth. She’s adorable, and both Justin and I stare, dying to lick the sweetness from her lips. But instead, Corrie swabs her face with a napkin and smiles sweetly at us.
“So are you guys up for some serious talk?”
I snort.
“No, but I guess we should.”
Justin sighs.
“Yeah, it’s important. Wait, let me see if others are listening.” He swivels around in his chair and scans the café before nodding with satisfaction. “Alright, the coast is clear. Go ahead, honey.”
Corrie giggles again before going serious.
“Well, I just wanted to say that it was nice that we made it work because I have to admit that I didn’t want to have to choose between you two.”
I nod slowly.
“Yeah, I guess that’s a good part of all this. The truth is that I liked it too and even more, I’ve been thinking about a polyamorous relationship for a while now.”
Both Corrie and Justin turn to look at me.
“Are you serious?” she gasps. “Really?”
I nod.
“Yeah. As you know, my brother Chase and one of Corrie’s friends, Patty, are in a three-way relationship with Chase’s friend, Chris. We all thought it was pure folly when they got together and that it’d result in hard feelings all around. But instead, the opposite’s happened. The three of them consider themselves married and not only that, but they live together and have a beautiful baby girl. They’ve made the relationship work, and it just shows that anything’s possible. In fact, I’ve been thinking I wouldn’t mind something like that in my life.”
Justin looks startled and a gurgling noise comes out if his throat.
“Are your brother and his male partner … well, into each other?”
I shake my head.
“No, and I don’t even think Chris and Chase refer to each other as “partners.” They’re focused on the woman that they love, and the daughter that they’ve created together. It’s more about stability and mutual respect I think. They want their household to run smoothly.”
Justin gulps. “Holy shit. I had no idea people actually did things like that.”
I shrug.
“According to my brother, it’s more common than you think. There’s a whole community of people in these types of relationships and they’re not freaks or anything. They just don’t broadcast their living arrangements, or their particular romantic attachments.”
“Wow,” Justin breathes. “Fuck me.”
Fortunately, Corrie is a bit more articulate.
“I had no idea you felt this way, Cameron,” she murmurs in a low voice. “It’s startling to say the least.”
I shrug.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t exactly say that that I’m envious per se, but I see my brother and his family, and I wouldn’t mind having something like that myself.”
She nods.
“They are very happy together,” she murmurs while biting her lip. Then she shoots each of us a quick look. “But I mean … do think the three of us could be in a long-term threesome the way Chase, Chris, and Patty are? I mean, is that even a possibility?”
I shrug.
“I’m open to it, definitely. Of course, the two of you would need to be interested too because I’m not going to force you into something you don’t want to do, but I’m just saying that it definitely works.”
Corrie nods.
“I’m open to the idea too,” she says in a soft voice. “I know how happy Patty is with her two men, and both Chase and Chris are wonderful fathers to their little girl.”
We then turn towards Justin, who’s still sitting there stunned.
“So what do you think?” I prompt. “I know this is out of the blue, but have you thought about it this past week?”