"Alright, on three," Calev called out, "one, two, three!"
"Fuck!" Tristan called, his paper getting beat by scissors.
"Damnit," Aeson cursed as Tristan's paper covered his rock. "How do you lose and win at the same time?!"
"I guess I'm special like that," Tristan deadpanned.
"One, two, three!" Calev called again as Lachlan and Evander battled. Both ended up with the same sign.Two rounds later, Evander finally won, letting out a loud whoop that brought the whole room to silence.
"Rock, paper, scissors champion!" he called, giving silly bows all around. The other people in the room started to go back to their own conversations as he sat back down.
"Way to make a huge scene," Lachlan said, pouting. "I called second dibs, this is bullshit."
"Would a kiss make up for it?" I asked with a laugh, unable to resist his adorable pout.
"It couldn't hurt," he said quickly, playing up the pouting even more as he leaned in. His hand tightened in my hair as he moved his lips against mine. The kiss was soft and slow, building in heat until I felt like I was going to combust. Images of climbing him like a tree spun through my mind, and if we weren't in a restaurant, I couldn't have been held accountable for my actions.
'Fuck, she's perfect,' Lachlan's voice filtered into my mind, this time only him and Tristan in the mix, before I was alone again. I smiled into his kiss, giving Tristan a wink when I pulled away.
"Damn, that was hot," Aeson mumbled, his eyes wide as he took a bite of his burger and avoided eye contact with everyone for a moment.
"This is a family establishment, you guys need to keep it down and control yourselves," a middle aged woman with a mom haircut said, a look of disgust on her face. Either that, or her face permanently looked like she just ate a lemon.
"Excuse me? Other than one outburst, we’re just talking," I said with narrowed eyes. I'll be damned if she talks down to my guys.
"And making out with him," she sneered, her eyes narrowing on my and Evander's intertwined hands as she spoke. I'm not sure if it was to keep him or me calm. "I know that your generation loves to be different and do these poly relationships, but we don't need our kids to witness you all over them." Is she seriously slut shaming me right now?
"I'll do what I want, with who I want, Susan. Just because I kissed my boyfriend, not even making out with him, you feel entitled to insert yourself into our lives. You are the one making the scene here, not us. Don't you dare come over here and slut shame me because you live a miserable life," I challenged.
"My name isn't Susan?" she said, confusion taking over her features. Calev took advantage of the moment, standing and gathering our trash before throwing it in the nearby trash can, the rest of us standing to follow him out. The woman continued to stand there in confusion as we left the building, our laughter bursting free as soon as we got outside.
"You broke poor Susan back there," Lachlan wheezed around his laughter. "Though, it's kind of hot when you stick up for us." I snorted at his ridiculous statement, unable to stop myself.
"It's hot when I lose my temper?" I asked, resting my hands on my hips.
"No, it's hot when you put someone in their place for messing with your guys," Aeson confirmed with a cocky smirk.
"Well, then people shouldn't say shit about you in front of me," I mumbled, heading for the grizzly display.
"Would you have reacted if you were with anyone else?" Evander asked, not letting it go.
"No," I answered back with an eye roll. Nobody else in my life ever mattered to me.
"Oh my god, my heart," Lachlan said, clutching his chest dramatically. "Though I'm sorry you’ve been alone for so long, I'm kind of glad that we get to be the ones to show you how great the world can be, and how you should be treated." My cheeks flushed as soon as I realized why he was being dramatic.
'Damn you, Tristan,' I sent to him, feeling embarrassed that they had to hear one of my darker thoughts.
'Sorry, Sweetheart. I just wanted you to realize you don't have to be alone anymore,' he sent back, and I could read his emotion behind it. The anger at my former life, the excitement about our life together, and his happiness at seeing me enjoy things, all had tears threatening to burst out.
"Dammit," I mumbled, swiping at my eye and stomping ahead. I had a bad habit of refusing to cry in front of people, and they’d already had to witness it once. I knew they wouldn’t judge me for it, but old habits and all that. Nobody said anything while I regained my composure; instead, Calev walked up to me, throwing his arm around my shoulders and squeezing me in a side hug, before steering me into the bear exhibit. "Will they react like the fish did?" I whispered to Calev, not wanting the crowd around us to listen in.
"Nope, just wait," he said with a chuckle, moving us to a free space in front of the glass. He pulled me out of the way as Lachlan stepped up next to us, a grin on his face. The bears all seemed to sense him, stopping in their play and scanning the glass slowly, until their eyes stopped on us. The male bear ambled over, his body hunched low as he slowly approached his prey. A warning growl tore from his powerful mouth, loud enough to be heard through the glass. He came closer, his hair standing up like a mohawk as he showed his teeth to Lachlan, pacing back and forth on the other side. Lach, of course, just smiled back, maintaining eye contact with the bear as he came over to me and kissed my cheek. The bear calmed at that, apparently no longer seeing Lach as a threat.
"That was weird, I've never seen him get territorial here. I'm sorry, sir," a zoo worker said, looking completely shocked as he stepped through the crowd. "He's sweet enough that his keeper can go in and out of his exhibit."
"It's alright, something about me must have just set him off. You never know with wild animals," Lachlan said in a serious tone, leading us away.
"Well, I didn't really expect that," I said, giving Lach a playful shove. "You shouldn't taunt the poor thing."